I haven’t written anything for this site for a while. 2010 was obviously very disappointing for Liverpool fans, it was difficult writing for the site when there was so much stuff going on with our club that I was directly opposed to or, as a minimum, couldn’t relate to. I want to address this situation with our current manager though.
Rafa Benitez had a poor final season with the club. He finished 7th in the league and with the team that he had, this was seen as under performing. This was something that all football fans agreed on. That team should have done better last season. As is normal, there were both sides to the argument. Some fans believed that Rafa was a clown, that he wasted money on sub standard players and that he had lost the dressing room at the end. Others, and I would fall into this camp, believed that he made some mistakes but was working with his hands tied and that he carried the can for everything that was wrong with the club – much of it, nay the majority of it being the ownership of Hicks and Gillett.
The media and fans who form their ideas from reading the media told us that we needed a steady hand, a manager who would ‘steady the ship’ and get the best from this underperforming bunch of players we had. Benayoun was sold but that was alright because Rafa never used him anyway. Mascherano was sold but he was over-rated. So Roy was appointed and he should get rid of the some of the dead wood and bring in players who would improve Liverpool. Roy was the answer, supposedly. What were his credentials? Well, he too reduced his team’s league position 5 places from the previous year. He too was knocked out by Atletico Madrid in Europa League. He won LMA manager of the year. I think the other fella was sacked.
So there we have it. Roy was to turn the club around, improve their 7th placed finish. After all, he had a squad of international players. Nobody expected Roy to win the league (although Mr Wenger stated we would be in the title race). Fans didn’t expect the league.
Fast forward 6 months. Liverpool enter the new year, deservedly in the bottom half of the table. With negative goal difference. Until Bolton, if a team took the lead against Liverpool they won. 0 points from losing positions. Knocked out of the Carling cup at home against 4th division opposition. Weak, uninspiring performances against City, Utd and Everton. Players who were bought in the summer, by and large, haven’t settled. Konchesky and Poulsen have had nightmares, Meireles has shown promise in certain games. Over £20m was spent on these players also. Curious press conferences (I am being polite). Players consistently out of position, naïve tactics (when Mick McCarthy bends you over, you have issues), route one football and being vulnerable at set pieces (must be that zonal marking eh Mr Gray?).
So whose fault is all that? Rafa Benitez of course!?! Expectations have been altered retrospectively, now it is poor Roy’s fault that he inherited a squad that is in the bottom half of the table, conveniently forgetting the fact that his appointment was to improve the players and club’s performance.
In my opinion, we have to move on managerially. Time for Roy to go, he shouldn’t have got the gig in the first place.
Who should we get as our next manager? It is a good question. There are some exciting bosses out there, doing fantastic jobs with their clubs. Deschamps, Villas-Boas, Klopp and over the weekend Rangnick became available. If it takes until the summer to prise some of these away, so be it. There is a certain Scottish gentleman waiting in the background who would love to take the reins for a couple of months.
What have we got to lose, this season is toast under Roy.
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