Don’t Question Benitez’s Judgement
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
It could be that I’m hyper-sensitive but there are a lot of people out there who are quick to remind us of the number of bad buys that Rafael Benitez has made in the five years that he has been in charge at Liverpool. Remember Morientes, they ask, and Josemi? And how can anyone forget about Robbie Keane?
Of course, it is true that Benitez has made some bad buy but these tend to be overwhelmed by the good ones. There’s Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel for instance. And who brought in Xabi Alonso? Even Fernando Torres, a signing that at the time was shrouded in doubt – remember those who claimed that he wouldn’t score enough goals for us – can be viewed as something of a bargain seeing what is being paid for strikers these days.
Indeed, perhaps the biggest compliment that can be made to Benitez is that he’s managed to build a team capable of challenging for both the Premiership and the Champions League with the budget that has been made available. This might seem like a strange statement given that Benitez has been given millions to spend. What he has never had, however, is the luxury to push that little bit harder and exceed the strict limitations of the budget imposed on him in order to get a player.
Three years ago, Liverpool tried to sign a promising full-back at Seville by the name of Daniel Alves. He was Benitez’s main target and every effort was made to get him. Yet, every time that an agreement seemed to be drawing near, Seville suddenly decided to up the price. And when this went over £12 million it was decided to give up.
Whether this was Benitez’s decision or Rick Parry’s – or both of them agreed – we will probably never know. What we do know is that a year on Alves moved to Barcelona for some £25 million and that Liverpool are now about to pay around £18 million in order to get someone who plays in the same manner as the Brazilian.
There are plenty of other examples. Benitez was interested in both Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey yet his priority was in getting players who were ready for the first team. He just couldn’t match what Arsenal were willing to spend in order to get players who had to wait a couple of years before they could really be considered as being ready enough to play in the Premiership.
Not that Benitez is the first manager to have to face up to these limitations. Roy Evans, for instance, wanted to bring in the experience of Teddy Sheringham yet was over-ruled by a board of directors who thought that the spending money on a 29 year-old didn’t make much sense. Of course, he then went to Manchester United and gave them that little bit extra that led to them winning the treble.
Who knows what would have happened had he joined Liverpool? Just as who knows what would have happened had Liverpool moved faster in order to get a young Portuguese kid by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead they waited a bit longer to think the deal over and suddenly found that Manchester United had agreed a deal with Sporting Lisbon.
So, what does this all prove? That perhaps, sometimes, it is better to listen to a manager’s instincts and get the players that he wants even if it means paying a bit more. In the long term, it could prove to be the cheaper option.
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7 comments:
Thank f**k we never got ladyboy! i love this club but that would've been too much to stomach!
Great article!
Couldn't agree more mate.
Some very valid points and well put but...aren't we meant to be strengthening the squad. Johnson will hopefully be a good buy but I don't see the point of selling other first team players to recover the cost. We still need a right winger, a striker, a replacement for Stevie when he's out and a decent 2nd keeper. At the moment it looks like we could be losing Arbeloa, Dossena, Mascherano (if the reports are true)and Babel. All of which can be match winners AND score goals in important games. Surely it's better to keep them and add to the squad? If the wage costs are prohibitive then the owners need to dip into their millions to back Rafa.
Exactly right with Rick Parry gone maybe Rafa's only constraint will be money now. How many times have we lost out on players because of management/board of directors etc. messing about. Apparently rafa did not want Keane without getting Barry 1st for his new system he had planned to work. He thought it was piontless 2 get Keane without getting Barry 1st. And he never would or could of then paid for Keane at that price tag anyway price.
As stated in the article Raffa hasn't always had the money to buy the players that he has wanted and in certain instances has had players that he didn't want foisted on him. This has meant that he has had to have a rolling programme of bringing in cheaper but better players, with the intention of replacing them when finances allowed. Most managers are in the same position and Raffa has been more fortunate than most in the sums made available to him. But under Raffa we have steadily improved and now only need to strenghen the squad in 1 or 2 postions.
Even with the money Rafa had at his disposal, he had to raise an entire team and create a new look side. Right from Goal Keeper, Central Defenders, Wide backs, Mid-field and forward lines have undergone a complete rehaul (twice). Hell, he has been able to get the Wings finally working with Riera, Babel, Yossi and Kuyt. Even though only Riera is an out and out Wide player.
Only Gerrard and Carra remain from when Rafa took over. You look at the bench and even there we have no players from Houllier's time.
Rafa has purged all of the players he inherited, got their replacements, and gradually sifted through them adding more quality on the field and the bench.
Personally, I believe Johnson is a great addition even if its costing 17 M. He has the quality to work the wings and his crosses are pretty good. The zonal football Liverpool plays would probably cover him against being caught up-field. But selling Arbeloa is going to be a mistake unless Darby is ready to make the step up.
If anything I believe Rafa would only be keen on selling Dossena, as in Aurelio and Insua he has enough quality of to work the Left back position.
Hopefully, we are able to retain Mascherano. And if we end up loosing him, hopefully we can replace him with a mid-fielder of world-class quality.
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