by RED BEERGOGGLES » Fri Jun 04, 2010 4:12 pm
Tonights Liverpool Echo
Liverpool FC braced for more departures - Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano set to follow Rafael Benitez
LIVERPOOL are facing a monumental battle to convince star trio Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano not to follow Rafa Benitez out of Anfield.
The Reds’ search for a new manager began in earnest today as the dust started to settle on Benitez’s dramatic departure after almost six years in charge of the club.
Managing Director Christian Purslow and Academy Ambassador Kenny Dalglish will lead the search for the new candidate and they will be looking for a man with vast experience who possesses outstanding coaching acumen to replace Benitez, who is understood to be “devastated” that his reign is now over after weeks of speculation.
While he dares not make a mistake in appointing Benitez’s successor, Purslow is faced with just as big a challenge in attempting to show Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano that they should stick around on Merseyside and give the new man another season.
Torres, for starters, has refused to commit his future to the club and both Manchester City and Chelsea are waiting in the wings to snap up the Spaniard if – as is looking likely – he feels Liverpool are not going to be in a position soon to challenge for top honours.
The Reds’ leading scorer has made it clear that he will not be making a decision until after the World Cup finals – he sat out Spain’s 1-0 win over South Korea in Innsbruck last night after not sufficiently recovering from knee surgery last month – and Liverpool’s hierarchy will face an anxious wait to see if he ends up delivering bad news.
Liverpool have consistently stressed that they have no intention to cash in on Torres but their hand could be forced if the 26-year-old, who moved to Anfield in the summer of 2007 in a club record breaking £20.2m deal, does not feel they can make sufficient progress.
Gerrard, similarly, has informed those closest to him that he does not want to be distracted by speculation during the World Cup finals but has indicated in recent weeks that he knows he will have a tough decision to make once the tournament is over.
Nothing would give Gerrard greater satisfaction than to play a massive role in Liverpool’s revival and to help them challenge for honours once again but, equally, nothing would dismay him more if the club’s top brass ended up delivering a succession of empty promises.
Real Madrid, whose efforts to sign Gerrard were cranked up a notch on Wednesday following a three-page editorial about him in the respected sports newspaper Marca, are waiting in the wings to pounce if Liverpool fail to come good.
Mascherano has stalled on signing the new contract that was offered him in March and, as a player who is closely allied to Benitez, it is now likely that he will depart after Argentina’s World Cup campaign has ended; his situation is complicated by the fact his wife and daughters are hankering for a return to a Spanish speaking environment
Benitez himself is unlikely to be short of offers for a new job and Inter Milan have stepped up their attempts to convince him to succeed Jose Mourinho at the San Siro in the near future.
“We really like Rafa Benitez and he is in our favour since the Champions League final in Istanbul,” said Inter director Gabriele Oriali.
“He has a certain affinity with the Nerazzurri. But the choice will be made by our president Massimo Moratti. He will listen to his staff, and then the last word is his.
“Whoever comes to Inter will not upset everything. We have a winning team”
An Inter statement then confirmed: “If Benitez, shows interest for the Inter bench then he will be one of the candidates, but not the only one.”
Keeper Pepe Reina, meanwhile, admits he was stunned by the news of Benitez’s departure.
“It’s a sad moment for Liverpool, for Rafa Benitez and for the players who have been with him,” said Reina.
“He was a very important person for the club for six years. Liverpool grew with him and Rafa also grew thanks to Liverpool.
“I hope that this crisis passes. That a person so important for the club as Rafa Benitez has left is news that you never would have expected and that you never would have believed.
“The only thing left for me is to thank him for his confidence during all this time. I wish him the best of luck.
Sorry if I don't sugar coat this enough for the (It wont happen to us brigade )but there it is in all its dark finality .....only a World class manager will ensure their stay and quite frankly that scenario unfolding is completely unlikely ,so I will leave you to dwell on that little FACT
with regard to money, so i'm not expecting much progress in the league, i reckon it will take us a few years to get out of this mess. Anyway it will be a completely new Liverpool next season. 
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