Jun
3
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.
Related posts:
- Why Rafa Benitez will never be a media darling
- George Gillett says sack Rafa? Don’t believe the papers
- Why Rafael Benitez should part own the club
- LFC half season review 2009-10: Livin on a prayer
Beautifully put and so close to how I feel and to the feelings of many fans I know.
We can accept failing on the pitch because that’s sport, but to fail in being what we have always been, a club with a heart beat in tune with its fans, caring, professional, honest, a Gentleman of a club, that hurts and like you and many my love of the club is non-negotiable which just makes the recent events all the more painful
thanks David
Nice piece. As a scouser and a Liverpool Fan all my life I can agree with you on your points. The principles of Liverpool FC, the Loyalty of the club, “The Liverpool way” is all but dead. I think this has been because of the way football has evolved over the past 20 years too. Money has taken over and it has taken a lot of passion out of the game. Passion that Liverpool FC relied upon.
Rafa Benitez’ time here was mixed. The highs far out weight the lows. But under the ownership, he could never win, even when he was winning! Our best season ever in the Premier League were marred by calls from a minority of fans and a lot of the media that Rafa had “cracked up” and “needed to be sacked”. His future in the game will always now be questioned because of the circumstances he was under here and the final poor season he had. He will always be under Mourinho’s shadow, even though Rafa has got the better of him many times before, and will probably get the better of him again. Even though Mourinho has always managed a team in the best possible circumstances he could wish for. I wish Rafa all the best at Inter Milan, he will always in my eyes be as good as Mourinho at the top of the managerial chart. I just hope he gets a chance their by the fans and the media and the backing of the people above him.
I think one step toward restoring the Club back to its ways is to employ Dalglish as manager. He was our last successful league manager and he can be reborn here, along with the club. No arab owners with an unlimited pit of money will make the club as appealing as when you first started supporting us. Hard work and loyalty, like back in the Shankly days will make us great again in my opinion. We need our stars more than ever to work hard, and be loyal in these pressing times. Liverpool FC can rise again, one day.
Mike
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Great post and really interesting read but the fact of the matter is that Benitez HAD been given a real chance unlike a lot of top flight managers these days and he had consistently failed to do what the board and more importantly, the supporters had asked of him… challenge for the Premier League!
His tactics season on season were geared towards Champions League and general cup glory! He took Gerrard and Torres off in key games… was it Fulham when Liverpool where drawing at 60mins?
He was out of touch with the supporters needs and Hodgson is a MUCH better candidate IMO!
interesting read though!
Not to be argumentative but didn’t we finish 2nd? Season before last? Many would consider that as challenging for the title and if the owners had been smart and made money available for strengthening at that point instead of stealing the cash from the Alonso sale, perhaps we would have been challenging again last season.
I wouldn’t like anyone to think that I didn’t see Rafa’s faults but he did what he could with what he had and nothing will change till we get rid of the parasites in the board room
Does anybody really care about the Premier League? Compared to the Champions League it really is a second class victory, IMO.
Being the Champions of Europe is a far greater honour than winning the Premier League.
Unfortunately, much of the primacy given to the Premier League is due to people watching Sky coverage of football with its largely old fashioned, insular and dare I say it xenophobic attitudes. These attitudes have rubbed off on our fan base rather more than many of them would like to admit, bearing in mind that Sky TV is owned by the same bunch that own the Sun.
The relevance of the media is quite telling considering that Broughton in an email to Jim Boardman dismissed his complaints (about the sacking of Rafa amongs other things) by saying that the media didn’t seem to agree with him (Boardman). This is a quite telling statement because it indicates that if the media back something the fan base will follow. So you have the nonsensical accusation against Benitez of concentrating on the Champions League before the Premier League as if that is a bad thing let alone a requirement for generating funds. Then you have the defensive formation accusation which is patently nonsense even though Sky would protray the 4-2-3-1 formation as 4-5-1 when it is in fact 4-3-3 when attacking and 4-5-1 when defending. Then there is the zonal marking nonsense, the same zonal marking that was employed by almost every team at the recent World Cup but because Sky do not cover that then it did not happen.
The fans who wanted Benitez out were quite simply either too stupid to have an opinion or they were deluded or plainly malicious. They fell in to 3 camps:
1. Sack Rafa – We are a big club so we can go in for and get Pellegrini, Capello, Mourniho etc. etc. etc. As if any top manager would come and work in the insane conditions prevailing at LFC. This is plain delusion and it disqualifies such people from having an opinion on this topic because they have not even understood the reality of the situation.
2. Sack Rafa – We need a manager like Hodgson, . So people are want the club to higher a lower calibre of manager. This is plainly malicious. Would these people trade Gerrard for Joseph Barton? Because that is what they wanted. That Hidgson took a mid table club to the Europa League final is meaningless because Steve McClaren did something similar not too long ago and we know how that turned out when he took the next step up whereas Roy has already made the next step up previously and royally failed.
3. Sack Rafa – Get anybody else in. Pinpointing a problem without a solution is meaningless. Rather it is quite childish and such people deserve to be ignored.
The sacking of Rafa was quite malicious and has set the club back to a position where it has not been since Shankly took over. Say goodbye to the Champions League because we are not going to win it. Say hello to mid table because that is where we will languish. There is no buyer on the horizon and the Yanks will manage to re-finance. The only thing that might get them out is relegation but I would hope that would never happen.