Matthew Cain's blog » Rafael Benitez

Why sacking Rafa Benitez opens a wound that won’t heel

Matthew — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:36:49 +0000

There are many sound reasons for the sacking of Rafael Benitez:

the breakdown of his relationship with Xabi Alonso
some poor mid-market signings
Charlie Nicholas could never work him out (although Arrigo Sacchi did)
last season

I’m past caring. Like Paul Tomkins I’m ambivalent – this last season has been tough. And after defending Gerard Houllier’s bunker to the end (in a fashion that would have made Peter Mandelson proud), reluctant to make the same mistake.

But Rafa’s departure has cut a wound in me that will not heel. Because the club, from top to bottom, has not behaved as it should – as it promised. It has treated a dedicated, hard-working, loyal servant in a shabby, underhand manner. In doing so, it has ripped at the bonds of affection I have for the club.

Supporting LFC isn’t a leisure activity for me. I’m not sure I even like football. I’m not from Liverpool. I may never live there. For most of the life I remember it’s been a top 8 side rather than title-challengers. I’ve been the glory hunter with the worst sense of timing ever!

Instead, supporting Liverpool Football Club for me has always been an ideological endeavour. I support it for its values:

Respecting the past but creating new traditions
Maintaining principles based around Shankly’s ‘football socialism’
Remaining loyal and discreet.
Respecting each other, and servants of the club for more than winning silverware

These principles are no longer alive at LFC. Even though many of the fans still hold them dear there are too many in positions of influence and power who do not. For all his failings, David Moores ensured a respectful send-off to Evans and Houllier. Both were dispatched with succession in mind. This board apparently leaked discussions with Benitez whilst he was on holiday. Statements given to fans are now apparently untrue. And he was deprived a dignified send-off. Senior executives, having been brought in to achieve one task and failed at that, have moved on to more sexy tasks: negotiating with prospective staff, briefing journalists, opening up direct lines of communication with players.

This is not the first time the current leadership of LFC has disgraced itself. It is not the first time it has made a mockery of that ephemeral concept, the Liverpool Way. But for me, and perhaps for them too, Benitez’s departure is a new low. And if we can’t treat our own with respect, who are we?

I’ve seen in the Labour Party what happens to people when their levels of pragmatism and compromise are pushed to breaking-point; it’s painful. I make no grand statements for what I will or will not do next season. And I hope to be careful not to act out of spite less it cheapen the memories and be disrespectful to those who remain, loyal to the Liverpool Way. But win or lose, it won’t mean the same. And you can’t place a value on that.

Why Rafael Benitez should part own the club

Matthew — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:00:23 +0000

I don’t think football clubs should be owned by rich individuals. Listing them on the stockmarket doesn’t work either. Some sort of Trust or co-operative model is much more appropriate because it can ensure the business is run for profit but that can be reinvested in the community which sustains the club, and without that profit coming at the expense of that community (grotesque ticket prices, for example).

However, fans owning football clubs is not enough. Any democratic ownership is not without its problems, as people invovled with supporters trusts will tell you. It appears that Notts County fans sold out their stake too cheaply and for a false promise of greater gratification than they could provide themselves.

Any successful organisation needs to be aligned to achieve the same objective. And in modern football that objective isn’t as simple as winning a competition. Competitions must be prioritised, budgets balanced, short term signings balanced against long term development. And style matters, too. Bolton fans never warmed to Gary Megson because they didn’t like the teams he put out. Chelsea fans didn’t care about Mourinho’s awful brand of football because they wanted results. They didn’t care about the long term financial security of the club, because they wanted trophies in the short term. Harry Redknapp got Portsmouth short term success but the club is on the verge of anhiliation. Shouldn’t his interests, and those of the club been better aligned?

The most successful clubs are those with a long term football leader (Wenger, Ferguson, Lacombe – even Dario Gradi in a different way). They have such an investment in the club that a financial stake isn’t so relevant. But a second tier manager isn’t going to be bothered about win bonusses. But shouldn’t Wenger be rewarded for keeping the club’s books balanced? Shouldn’t Rafa’s plans for improving the academy and reserve set-up come with an incentive?

Senior players could also have ‘share options’. Steven Gerrard contributes significantly to the marketing of the club and will contribute a great deal as a former player one day. But he has no obvious incentive to sign autographs in town, give exclusive interviews to the in-house TV channel beyond the contractual requirements. Short term financial incentives won’t work – but literally owning a piece of the club would be very different.

If senior management of any business part owns it, it ensures the short term incentives are aligned with the long term stability of the project. That the harder they work in the short term, the better they will do in the longer term. That they will place structural health over a quick win. Surely football, as much as any other business, needs these traits?

Henry Winter: Should Liverpool fans trust him?

Matthew — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:20:48 +0000

Henry Winter, Daily Telegraph football correspondent, has come in for a lot of criticism amongst Liverpool fans recently. Here’s just a flavour:

“Henry Winter is a poncey gobshite who watched football from the study window as a child rather than playing it.
“He is the Martin Tyler’s Monkey of Sports writers. He’s in with the old boys club and that includes Liverpool players. Nothing is every the fault of Gerrard or Carragher.

Juan Loco, Red and White Kop

“Henry Winter is a fairweather friend to us. It was cold and foggy tonight, therefore he’s being a c*nt again
macca888, Red and White Kop

“Everyone from Collymore to Hansen to Merson to to Lawrenson to Bright to Cascarino to Henry Winter are spreading lies and making false accusations against our number one.”
Captain-Carra on RAWK

So I’ve looked back at Henry Winter‘s track record to try and assess whether he’s a journalist Liverpool fans can trust.

I’ve no doubt that Henry Winter respects Liverpool Football Club. He wrote last season:

“walking up to Anfield is always one of the most emotive match-day experiences possible in English football.”

and

“If Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena do not appear £27m well-spent, Benitez’s overall record is good. It is too premature to turn against him.”

He also has a track-record of association with the club. Henry Winter was the ghost writer of Kenny Dalglish’s autobiography and co-wrote Steven Gerrard’s excellent autobiography. It’s inconceivable that those two, in particular, don’t trust him and whilst they may not have his number on speed dial, I’m sure that he gets more private insights into the club from them than many other journalists do.

Last season, he was occasionally critical of the club’s performances – although none more so than many fans. Whilst Winter didn’t cover himself in glory by declaring in February:

“Another year wasted, another title campaign in ruins and another blow to Rafa Benitez’s reputation: Liverpool’s credibility this season now rests on progress in the Champions League – and that’s a fact.”

Henry Winter has a strong track-record of saying nice things about Liverpool’s star players: Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

“In an age of change, Gerrard’s devotion to one cause is remarkable.

“Steven Gerrard has all the trappings of fame but he will never be trapped by them.

“Not many footballers have Cup finals named after them. Gerrard has two: the Champions League epic of 2005 and the FA Cup climax the following year.

And when Gerrard dived to win the last minute penalty against Athletico Madrid in the Champions League, Winter made no reference to Gerrard’s embarrassingly dramatic dive but focussed on the Madrid players ‘losing their discipline’.

It’s not that Henry Winter thinks Liverpool is a team man team. He praised Mascherano and Alonso for a couple of performances last season. He also wrote:

“The question has never been about whether Liverpool boasted the spine to win the title, certainly not with a backbone of Reina-Carragher-Gerrard and soon Mascherano and Torres. The problem has been the supporting cast. The arrival of Martin Skrtel, a mixture of the no nonsense and nimble, and, more recently, the indefatigable Robbie Keane and promising Albert Riera has given Anfield reason to hope.”

Unfortunately he also wrote: “Ryan Babel could emulate [Ronny] Rosenthal – if used through the middle. Liverpool have options.” But it would be wrong to hold that against him; many Liverpool fans have thought something similar from time to time.

However, Winter has never been particularly complementary about Benitez. Last season he produced a full-range of subtle criticisms of El Gafa:

“When Benitez eventually quits these shores, his leaving do will feature few members of the managerial community.

“Jose Mourinho is 1,000 miles awaybut remains at the forefront of Benitez’s thoughts.

“So no more rotation please and it is known that Liverpool’s players have held inquests into why they dropped points at home to lesser foe.

“Maybe all the “negative Liverpool’’ jibes made him loosen up, eschewing his usual caution” [After the Real Madrid second leg].

“When assessing whether Anfield’s love affair with Benitez has soured because of some crazy tactical decisions by the Spaniard in domestic combat, certain realities need remembering. There will always be Istanbul 05 when Liverpool played poorly (but won), always be the memory of his tactical destruction of Barcelona in Camp Nou, always be the reality that he also reached Athens 07 when Liverpool actually played well (but lost) . . . Any Kop dissent towards Benitez may come only if the coach fails in his usual European Cup trick of outwitting distinguished opposition. Real Madrid lie in wait and passage to the quarter-finals would reinvigorate Benitez’s standing.

“Keane’s treatment simply exposes the reality that Benitez is a cold manager, clearly an individual raised at icy Real Madrid rather than in Liverpool’s more compassionate, family-driven atmosphere. Gerrard’s famous lament about Benitez, that his career ambition remained a desire for a “well done off Rafa”, has never rung truer. Benitez’s approach to man-management has always been a hand at the throat not an arm around the shoulder. Cold, cold, cold. Benitez is a one-man cold snap.

Winter has occasionally resorted to statements that are just inaccurate:

“Then the murmurs of disapproval towards Benitez might become a chorus. Then the annoyance over why on earth he takes off Gerrard and Torres will spill forth . . . Benitez has erred with his substitutions, with not drilling the players enough in combating corners, corners and free-kicks and with that naïve outburst at Sir Alex Ferguson.

That, after we’d just beaten Real Madrid in the Bernabeau, Portsmouth away and were yet to lose to Middlesbrough.

That notwithstanding, there has been no inaccurate transfer speculation (although he urged the club sign Emile Heskey last winter), no inaccurate quotes about zonal marking, substitution by numbers, resting Torres or rotating more than other managers.

One of Winter’s most controversial articles this season was ‘Rafael Benítez will blame everyone but himself for Liverpool’s plight‘, which triggered my exchange with Gareth Roberts. In that article, he claimed that:

“some people tire of the self-absorbed Spaniard. We’ve heard all the excuses before. We’ve seen the utter reliance on Gerrard, Torres and, for all his recent woes, Carragher.”

And the passage that concerned me:

“Liverpool can afford to sack Benítez. Compensation would be less than £5 million under the “mitigating the loss” principle if he found employment, but no desire can be detected within the club for a regime change.

“The impressive managing director, Christian Purslow, is not the type for knee-jerk reactions. But it is known around Anfield that Purslow has talked to Benítez about his style of management, notably his cold detachment from the players.

“Sensible businesses plan for succession and any defenestration of Benítez should take place only in the close-season. Who knows? Benítez might win the FA Cup.

That particularly worried me – it sounded like a passage that could only have been written after a private chat with someone senior in the football club.

Henry Winter might not be your favourite journalist – and I haven’t written about the nice things he’s said about Everton and Manchester United. But he’s not antagonistic towards Liverpool Football Club – and apparently has good relationships with key figures inside the club. Although he is a Benitez-sceptic he stops short of the foolish uninformed criticisms that others make.

Verdict: Henry Winter is no Benitez fan but has good enough relationships with the club to respect what he has to say.

George Gillett says sack Rafa? Don’t believe the papers

Matthew — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:36:57 +0000

I woke up this morning to the FiveLive sports report suggesting more turmoil at Anfield as Liverpool’s co-owner George Gillett criticised Rafael Benitez “in the wake of the team’s defeat to Chelsea”. So did George Gillett say that the owner criticised the manager for the team’s performance this season, after the Chelsea game?

The story had more than a ring of truth: George Gillett was said to be the driving force behind the owners’ conversation with Jurgen Klinsmann, which united fans in favour of Rafa and against the board. And turmoil at Anfield is nothing new after Benitez received an instruction to focus on coaching the team in one hostile transatlantic conversation in November 2007.

The first thing I did, then, was to log on to the internet to find out more about the story. I read the Guardian’s article first:

George Gillett ‘blames Rafael Benítez’ for Liverpool’s poor start.

Then in the office I saw the splash on the front page of the Telegraph’s sport section:

George Gillett: blame Rafael Benítez for Liverpool’s failings

Online, the ‘exclusive’ article in The Times which had “obtained a transcript” of a conversation with a fan that George Gillett “expected to be a private chat”.

Only by then, I already knew the story was nonsense. Within minutes of logging on to my favourite fans’ site, Red and White Kop, the following facts became clear:

the story was not new. The conversation happened on the day of the Liverpool v Hull City game
the report of the conversation had been in the public domain for some time
George Gillett was not casting aspersions on Benitez or the team, in the context of the games this season. The comments were taken completely out of context

The Times article was truly misleading. Rather than “obtaining a transcript”, it would appear they cut and paste a forum post. And then, outrageously, edited out the sections written by the person who conducted the interview and passed off the note of a meeting as a “transcript”.

The Guardian has since had the good grace to apologise for its article. It reads:

The original omitted to attribute quotes from the fans’ group to the newspaper where they originally appeared. This has been corrected.

And over 11,000 people have read the post on Red and White Kop which helps clarify the story, mitigating the impact of some of the national newspaper reporting.

Now, there may be a story in here somewhere. Perhaps the transcript was passed to journalists yesterday in an effort to a) stoke further suspicion of the manager b) give a favourable impression of the owners investment or c) motivate fans to agitate against the owners.Maybe some of the journalists ran the article in good faith.

There certainly are issues worthy of further investigation. How much debt really is on the club? How much do the owners envisage for transfers? On what basis does Gillett claim that Liverpool’s financial position is better than Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea? And what impact is the delay to the stadium having on the local community around Anfield?

The lack of journalistic inquiry – and the attempts to pass off others work as their own – only goes to serve cynicism amongst Liverpool fans that the media care less for the truth than getting a hostile reaction.