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Anfield's pain game
Aug 19 2008
by Liverpool Echo
OVER the weekend Rafa Benitez moved to deny claims in parts of the media that we was about to resign in fury after Liverpool’s owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett pulled the plug on the Gareth Barry transfer bid. Here Liverpool writer Tony Barrett examines the ongoing tensions behind the scenes at Anfield which have surfaced with the Liverpool boss again airing his long-held frustrations at the start of the new season.
Barry and Alonso
TO put it bluntly, if Rafa Benitez had had his way Gareth Barry would now be a Liverpool player and Xabi Alonso wouldn't.
The Reds boss was more than willing to sacrifice Alonso – and belatedly told him so – if it meant Liverpool would then be in a position to sign Barry.
But as the Barry deal dragged on without being concluded and Liverpool did not receive the big offers for Alonso which Benitez had hoped for, an unhealthy impasse was created which is still to be resolved.
The relationship between Benitez and Alonso has deteriorated, to the point where the pair had a bust up in the build up to the Champions League qualifier against Standard Liege.
Having previously been settled at Anfield, Alonso is now adamant he has to leave after learning that his manager no longer values him as highly as he once did.
The problem is, Liverpool have not had an offer which would allow them to do business and grant Alonso – and Benitez for that matter – his wish.
Both Juventus and Arsenal have expressed an interest but the figures mentioned by both clubs came nowhere near to meeting Liverpool's expectations.
The situation is complicated still further by the fact that the deal which brought Alonso to Anfield saw Liverpool guarantee his former club Real Sociedad 6m euros if he was sold for 16m euros or less.
Anything above that and a 20% sell on clause kicks in, making it almost impossible for Liverpool to sell Alonso for 16m euros or less and still claim to have done good business.
Meanwhile, Benitez remains desperate to sign Barry before the transfer window closes but, despite claims from the Reds boss that he has been assured by Tom Hicks that the necessary finance is in place, it is unclear as to whether or not this is the case.
Benitez to walk away?
DESPITE reports suggesting that the Reds boss had considered his position, resignation was never a serious possibility.
As well as the myriad of reasons given by Benitez in his denial of the stories, there are two other key factors which need to be taken into account.
Firstly, the days of top managers giving up on contracts which plough millions of pounds into their bank accounts every single year over a point of principle appear to be long gone.
Secondly, and more importantly, there is no chance of Benitez walking away while at loggerheads with Rick Parry as he would feel he had suffered a very public loss of face.
His frustration at the failure to sign Gareth Barry is there for all to see and there have been times during the past 10 days when it has even turned to exasperation but quitting has not been a consideration.
Conspiracy theorists have pointed to the fact that the "Benitez on brink of Liverpool exit" story first appeared on the home page of Spanish journalist Guillem Balague as evidence that the Reds boss had pulled a stunt to alert the world to how frustrated he had become.
But even his biggest critics agree that if this was the case, the timing was awful as not only did the story appear less than 24 hours before Liverpool's first game of the season, it also meant that Benitez's attempts to turn the spotlight on Parry at the pre-match press conference was rendered instantly futile.
Balague is a hugely respected journalist with excellent contacts throughout football and he stands by his story that Benitez had thought about quitting.
What is beyond doubt is that, even if this was the case, it was never a serious consideration.
The owners
NEITHER Tom Hicks nor George Gillett have gone public on the ongoing Gareth Barry situation despite the continuing fallout.
But privately, Gillett is fuming that Rafa Benitez has chosen to make his displeasure public about Barry not being a Liverpool player.
The American businessman and his son Foster were heavily involved in the bid to bring Barry to Anfield and believe the Reds boss has since overstepped the mark.
Hicks' position on the matter is less clear with Benitez having told the media at the weekend that the Texan has told him the money is in place to sign Barry despite the fact that no further offer for the player is imminent.
Significantly, Hicks and Gillett chose not to put their names to an official club statement insisting the £18m asking price for Barry was too high, preferring to leave it to go out in Parry’s name.
In effect, Parry was handed a smoking gun, in all likelihood because the owners feared any perceived lack of backing for Benitez would have a negative effect on their already negligible popularity among Liverpool's fans.
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