It’s already not been the best of weeks for Liverpool. A defeat at Manchester United is never easy to take, but now former manager Rafa Benitez has revealed some worrying information about the clubs hierarchy.

Pressure on the decision makers at Anfield is already at fever pitch, and Benitez’s accusations will only add further strain to the relationship between the Liverpool board and the clubs fans.

Benitez said: “The last year at Liverpool I had directors who knew nothing about soccer and you couldn’t talk about soccer with them. My relationship with [Inter Milan] president Massimo Moratti is good; he is a man who knows his soccer.”

The sceptical side of me looks on Benitez’s comments as a well timed bitter shot at the club who sacked him. Benitez is a clever man that will know that after a defeat to Manchester United will mean confidence amongst fans will be low. When Liverpool fans have low confidence they inevitably put the blame on the hierarchy at the club.

However if there is some truth in the claims it does make remarkable reading. Could a football club of Liverpool’s stature and history really have directors who are that out of touch with the on the field side of things?

If they have then it is nothing short of ludicrous. In an era of where football is a multi-million pound industry, it is often tempting to look at clubs from a purely business side of things. But there needs to be support from high up in the club for on the actual playing side.  It does make you feel slightly sorry for Roy Hodgson.

The worrying thing looking forward for Liverpool fans is that the proposed takeover  at the club seems to have faded away, and that the rumoured disjointed structure at Anfield could be set to remain for the foreseeable future.

It is never surprising to hear Sir Alex Ferguson saying something ‘controversial’. Whether it’s emotional, pointless sniping at a beleaguered enemy or an attempt some kind of Jedi Mind Trick deployed to ‘psych out’ Liverpool and their players is up to you. An interesting point with Ferguson’s ‘Torres is the biggest cheater ever, EVER’ (possible paraphrase) comments is that they made headlines in most of Monday’s (English) newspaper sport sections – and this is indicative of the apparent need for character-centric narratives for much of the English press.

Of more interest however, rather than his ‘diving’, is his lack of incisiveness when playing alone up front. His two integral moments in Liverpool’s temporary comeback (winning the free kick and penalty) came with the entrance of David N’Gog alongside him at 2-0. The former was created largely with N’Gog drawing Jonny Evans out of position, allowing Torres to play off the dozing O’Shea and run behind Vidic. For an hour, without a partner alongside him, Torres was ineffectually drifting along the back-four, as Liverpool’s midfield struggled to find him with the ball. Roy Hodgson’s initial reaction to that may well be to partner Torres with N’Gog for the forseeable future – and it will probably end up being a popular move with the Sky Sports/Match of the Day punditocracy, as it necessitates a change from The Purveyor Of All That Is Ever Wrong With Anything Ever, Rafa Benitez, and necessitates Steven Gerrard moving into his ‘best position’ (where, curiously, he rarely plays well enough to stay for an extended period of time) in the middle of midfield.

But that not only moves Gerrard from the position where he has been most effective for his club (in the ‘hole’ behind Torres), but also means Roy has to play a 4-4-2: yes, the very same 4-4-2 that was routed by Manchester City and their fifty holding midfielders at Eastlands. And yes, the same 4-4-2 that became unable to get the ball back off United yesterday once the score went to 3-2. Well, one could argue, he has to leave Torres up front on his own then – to maintain a midfield worthy of preventing a complete massacre – even if it reduces Torres’s efficiency, at least he won’t lose games, and Torres will surely start scoring sooner or later.

But what if he doesn’t? Jurgen Klinsmann stated when in charge of Bayern Munich that he will play two strikers at every opportunity, partly to help keep his strikers fresh. The strain upon a lone striker is so great, in terms of the physical stature, pace, technique and concentration needed to perform the role effectively, that playing the role without a significant break would soon be detrimental. ‘I wouldn’t like to be Torres in two years’ was the general idea, and the strain on Torres may be akin to that placed on Ronaldo at Inter Milan – as from a silky, quicksilver forward he too tried to become a buccaneering lone striker, with injured consequences. And now we look at the Spaniard. From his arrival at Liverpool in 2007 he has been working almost without a break: in 2008 he played in the Euros (a major tournament generally means a truncated break for players), then the next season he spent playing (without a winter break) and working hard recovering from injuries, then the Confederations Cup before the same story the next season, before the World Cup.

And it has taken its toll: once fresh-faced, blond and smiling, then blond and powerful, now Torres lopes around defences, unfit, brown haired and non-threatening, like a late-era Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United. With a partner alongside, the strain is less apparent, as he is not having to work as hard against four defenders – but playing N’Gog or Kuyt alongside him leaves the midfield often unable to cope against teams with 3 central midfielders. Perhaps the solution is give Torres an extended break, perhaps for a month or two, in order to recharge his batteries. Roy can try and muddle through with Babel, N’Gog, Jovanovic and Kuyt – and maybe Torres could well come back refreshed and (at least) as good as ever.

Feel Free to drop me a tweet: http://twitter.com/mickyscallon

Can Raul Meireles (Right) add some bite to the Liverpool midfield?

Fernando Torres returned to goal scoring form to give Liverpool’s season a much needed kick-start against West Brom. But will this be the start of a bright season for Roy Hodgson’s side or will the men from Merseyside disappoint once again?

It’s been a bit of strange week for Liverpool. It started with midfielder Javier Mascherano apparently going on strike and refusing to play in their embarrassing 3-0 defeat to big spending Manchester City. But the week ended with their first league win of the season and a couple of very astute from Hodgson.

Hodgson has wasted little time in spending the money that will come when Mascherano completes his move to Barcelona and while neither Paul Konchesky nor Raul Meireles are of quite the same standard as Mascherano they will make the Reds a stronger side.

Meireles is very much in the Mascherano mould and would appear to be a like for like replacement. He was criticised by the Portuguese media before the World Cup for not having enough guile in his game, but this could be exactly what Liverpool need. He will add the steel and protection to the midfield that looked so desperately against Manchester City.

Konchesky is another who will improve Liverpool. He may not have the glamour of an Ashley Cole  type full back, but he is steady and will be a reliable player for Hodgson to turn too.

I would argue that Liverpool are in a better position for a successful season then they were at this time last week. Although losing Mascherano is a blow he was an almost a luxury player to have in midfield, and other players can do equally as good a job but for considerably less of the price. Namely Meireles.

I still don’t think Liverpool will have enough to challenge for the title, but if they can keep Torres and Steven Gerrard fit, the likes of Meireles and Konchesky will add a stern resolve to their side which was so bitterly missing during the Rafa Benitez era and I expect them to pose a much greater challenge for a Champions League spot.

At the end of the 2003-4 season Liverpool had finished 4th in the Premier League and had not won a trophy. It was to be Gerard Houllier’s last year in charge and Liverpool began the search for a new manager. At the end of the 2003-4 season Valencia had finished 1st in La Liga and won the UEFA cup. Much like the Portuguese winner of the Champions League that year, Valencia’s manager was in held in high regard and both were about to make a move to England.

Liverpool are considered an historic team in English football having dominated at different periods between 1970 and 1980. When Rafael Benitez was chosen to succeed Gerard Houllier it was considered a smart move by both parties; Liverpool had signed a master tactician who had proven success in Europe. Benitez had left behind the politics and looming spectre of debt hanging over Valencia, it is now six years hence and much like Mourinho before him Rafael Benitez has left his club by “Mutual consent”. Unlike Mourinho though Benitez will not be held in universal regard, Mourinho’s time at Chelsea was a success, could the Rafa era also be considered one?

(Firstly, I must say that I am not comparing Mourinho’s time in England to Rafa’s, there is a parallel between both their appointment and departure but the similarities cease there.)

To determine how successful Benitez was we would have to clarify what success means for a manager. First and foremost success can be measured in Trophies, with teams at the elite level Trophies are to be expected and in this regard Benitez is only modestly successful. The stand out moment on his tenure was the Champions League win in 2005. Many words have been written about the night in Istanbul and I will only add to say that regardless of the years since no-one can deny that to inspire a team at half-time with the game seemingly finished was and is Benitez’ greatest success. An FA cup and UEFA super-cup were to follow but for his 6 years only the Champions League was a major trophy in Liverpool’s cabinet.

Trophies cannot be the only hallmark of a manager if they were to be Arsene Wenger would be out of a job, another measure of success for any manager is to leave the team in a better shape than when you took over. It is here that Rafa Benitez has been most successful. The turnover of players was high with many not suited to his style of management and yes there were some horrific signings (chiefly Morientes) but Rafa was not alone in this regard, Jose Mourinho signed Mateja Kezman and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the same time period and neither could be considered a success. If you were to look at the squad Rafa inherited and compare it with that he leaves there is a stark contrast.

In the summer that Rafa Benitez took over Liverpool’s talisman, Michael Owen, was leaving for Real Madrid. The squad itself was left with only one world class player in the form of their captain. As Rafa Benitez leaves Liverpool he leaves behind at least 4 world class players, a Goalkeeper who I consider to be one of the top 5, a destructive midfielder who was misused at West Ham and the world’s best and most prolific striker. All of whom joined under Rafa Benitez, the next manager to take over at Liverpool has a much more solid basis for success than Rafa himself had.

It is his greatest failing though that due to some circumstances beyond his control and some solely of his own making Benitez was never able to form a Premier League winning team. After finishing second in 2008-9 pundits felt that Liverpool could go on to win the Premier League. In reality it was wishful thinking, in the summer just passed Liverpool merely replaced the first team players that were transferred out. In doing so Liverpool were unable to take any forward steps much like the transfer window’s before. Benitez was always forced to supplement any signing’s by letting other players go. A winning squad cannot be built in this fashion it needs improve on the first team whilst retaining players for flexibility should any injuries occur. It was the lack of this flexibility that saw Liverpool fall so far this season without a direct replacement for Xabi Alonso ready for the beginning of the season many of their games got bogged down in Midfield as a direct option such as Alonso was missing. Fernando Torres was injured on international duty (again) and with no viable alternative due to the enforced transfer policy Liverpool suffered dramatically. Liverpool fans were disappointed to see Peter Crouch, Craig Bellamy, John Arne Riise and Sami Hyypia all have more successful seasons.

Under normal circumstances Rafa Benitez would only be considered a moderately successful manager with a terrible season a perfectly valid reason to appoint a new manager. However over the last 3 years the highly leveraged American buy-out has removed the cashflow necessary to continually compete at the highest level and maintain a strong squad. The embarrassment to be asked whether Liverpool could fulfil their fixtures for the upcoming season is a damning indictment of the ownership. In the end Rafa Benitez leaves the Liverpool team in a much better position but the Liverpool club in a much more dire one, none of which can be blamed on him. It is interesting to note that Rafa Benitez leaves another club due to board room politics and the grim spectre of debt, if he is appointed Internazionale manager he will probably pray that Massimo Morratti does not give way to a foreign investor, he’s dealt with too many before.

So it seems the end is drawing close for Rafa Benitez at Anfield, with reports all over the place pointing to the Liverpool owners offering Benitez £3 million to leave immediately. Quite what has happened to bring Liverpool lurching in to another crisis so soon after the season has ended is unsure, but for me, he’s been under pressure ever since he guaranteed the club would finish 4th back in January.

That at the time looked a long shot as Liverpool huffed and puffed there way through turgid performance after turgid performance. Even the most biased Liverpool fans were unsure if it was attainable but come the May 9th, the club had crashed from almost winning the Premiership in 2008-2009, to almost not qualifying for Europe in 12 months. No doubt it was all Sir Alex Ferguson or referee’s fault. At the moment the Daily Mirror are claiming he’s actually been sacked, most of the other stories are saying he’s been asked to leave.

Now, I’ll be honest, I simply didn’t think the club would see sense and try to get rid of him. I’m sick of the apologists blaming the board for Liverpool’s problems. It’s a phony war, it doesn’t cover the fact that Benitez has spent so badly, so consistently over the 6 years he’s been at Anfield. Yes, the board are culpable for some of the problems, but it doesn’t cover the fact he has sold 34 of the 77 players he has signed. Almost half, that is a frightening amount, that is probably the worst turn over of a manager at a club in the modern era.

The club are not in a position to sack him due to the financial situation, Gerrard and Torres are being linked with clubs, Mascherano wants to leave for family reasons, Benayoun is on the verge of joining Chelsea. Transfer targets have now had to be downgraded from Champions League players to Europe League targets. Yet for all that, people still go on about that night in Istanbul. 5 years ago. Or winning the F.A. Cup on penalties against a newly promoted West Ham side. 4 years ago.

This is a club on the edge of the precipice, financially and football wise. Last summer I wrote that Aston Villa had more chance of winning the Premiership than Liverpool and was roundly castigated by Reds fans who thought I meant Villa would win the league. I didn’t, I meant Aston Villa had more chance of winning the Premiership than Liverpool. As it turned out, they finished higher in the table but neither of them had a chance of troubling the top end of the table.I just thought Liverpool had no chance of winning the title.

This is a manager who sold Liverpool’s best prospect in years, Stephen Warnock to Blackburn and then replaced him with abysmal left back after abysmal left back. Warnock’s career has continued to blossom since his departure and is developing in to one of the leagues best left backs. This is a manager who spent the summer of 2008 trying to flog Xabi Alonso and then whined all summer 2009 when Alonso told him he wanted to leave. Then replaced him with an injury prone midfielder who he then seemed to fall out with. Outstanding.

The only people I imagine who will be sad to see Benitez go are anyone who supports anyone else in the top eight. Of course there will be plenty of Liverpool fans, still blinded by the amazing comeback in 2005, unable to see just how far the club have fallen since that night who will be distraught. I don’t understand it. If Liverpool had won the league in 2008-2009, for me they would have been the worst Premiership title winners since the league started in 1992 and probably the worst league winners in nearly 30 years since Villa won it in 1981.

I won’t fall into this trap of speculating who’ll replace him, but I don’t doubt CV’s will be whizzing themselves to Anfield as we speak. I doubt anyone else, apart from Graeme Souness, could make a worse job of it than Benitez has the last 4 seasons, 2008-09′s second place excluded. The added bonus is the club have Kenny Dalglish there to steady the ship in the current climate and that alone will make sure the club will move onwards away from Benitez’s dire tactics and referee baiting.

Leave me your comments below and you can always find me on http://twitter.com/paulbestall

Every neighborhood has one of “those” houses.  From the sidewalk, it is gorgeous – an old Victorian with plenty of historic, quirky charm.  Many people have houses, but this is home.  As you get closer, you notice that the porch seems a little worn, but nothing that a good coating of paint won’t solve.  When you walk inside, you notice the hardwood floor is creaky, and you are trying to decide whether that adds to the charm or would drive you nuts.  You walk into the kitchen, and you go a little slack-jawed.  The sink has separate faucets for the hot and cold water like in the 1940s.  The counter has tiles missing.  The two burner stove and teeny oven look like a fire trap.  There is only one bathroom upstairs, and it is a biohazard.  Your contractor buddy who came with you reports that there are big cracks in the foundation, the basement has a ton of water damage and the furnace looks like it could explode at any moment.  As you walk out the front door, you turn to your friend and ask, “Who on earth would buy this house?”

As Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett try to find a buyer for Liverpool Football Club, many of the potential purchasers are probably asking themselves the same question.  Hicks and Gillett have turned to Barclays to find a buyer in the £500 million range, which would include paying off £240 million of debt.  The question is what would a buyer get for £500 million?

On the upside, you get one of the best brands in all of sports, one that commands a world-wide following, and a group of passionate, dedicated fans.  These fans, who sing songs about players long dead, weep at the mention of victims of Hillsborough and will follow their team up to and through the gates of hell, are a very valuable asset.

However, the downsides are enormous.  Anfield has plenty of history and charm, but it is difficult to monetize history and charm.  What Anfield really needs is another 25,000 seats and all the modern amenities that draw corporate clients and gives normal fans an opportunity to drop another £30 each game.  To build another stadium will cost the new owner another £350-400 million or so. 

However, if you are going to lay out that kind of quid, the fans will demand a quality team.  And let’s face it, those wonderful singing, crying fans are a pain in the neck.  Over the past six years, Liverpool under the direction of Rafa Benitez, has more net expenditures in the transfer market than any team other than Chelsea and Man City, where money has no meaning.  Rafa has spent in the transfer market like a drunken sailor at a Hong Kong brothel, and still the fans march and protest and scream that more needs to be spent.  With a porous back line and the top players eyeing the emergency exit door, without a serious spending spree in the transfer market, this team will get worse before it gets better.

At this point, any prospective owner is looking at spending almost £1 billion to turn Liverpool FC into a modern, title contending team.  For that owner, the first £1 billion of income would just go to making him whole. That owner will not see a return on his investment until sometime between a long time from now and never.

Which begs a larger question.  Hicks and Gillett are not a couple of hayseeds who won the lottery and decided to buy Liverpool.  They are seasoned, experienced sports owners.  They are well entrenched in the sports industry and understood the financing and brand management of owning a team.  If they could not make a go of owning Liverpool, and instead became the bane of the fans’ existence, what makes someone else think they could do better?  The hard truth is a new owner who cares about money would be hard pressed to improve on Hicks and Gillett’s experience at Liverpool.

Given that reality, the universe of potential Liverpool owners has shrunk to those who do not care about money – oil sheiks, Russian kelptocrats, Chinese industrialists, and others who look at owning a team as a diversion rather than an investment.  Those people exist, but there are a lot fewer of them compared to a couple of years ago before the global economic meltdown.

Unless Barclays can entice one of these ultra-rich types that Liverpool is a luxury good that they need to have, Hicks and Gillett will be hard pressed to find a buyer.  In the meantime, the club could be entering a period of stagnation.  As they wait for a buyer that may or may not come, fans should expect transfer spending to be slight and results to disappoint. 

Instead, the team will come more and more to resemble that Victorian house that has been on the market too long.  It will still retain some charm, but the weeds will start to grow in the front lawn as that “For Sale” sign becomes just another neighborhood fixture.  The longer it stays on the market, the fewer buyers will be interested.  Every house has its buyer, but it could be a long wait until this property changes hands.

It’s safe to assume that the current Liverpool squad needs rebuilding and reconstruction this off season if they are to replicate the form that saw them finish runners up in the 2008-2009 season. It Liverpool aspire to challenge for a top four finish or the title, new bodies and a fresh outlook may just be what’s needed at Anfield. Before transfers are targeted and bought, some current Liverpool players should put on The Clash and ask themselves, Should I Stay Or Should I Go? It’s the million dollar question that ultimately must be answered if room is to be made for potential summer transfers.

To the neutral observer, over the course of 35 games played this season in the league, Liverpool have been lacking in a few key positions. Currently sat in 6th, Liverpool stand to finish a whole four places behind last years campaign with a few of their best players looking old, uninterested, or injured.

I think it’s finally time for a few of the Liverpool old guard to hang it up, or move on to a new challenge and new chapter in their careers. On the other hand, some of the quality players at Liverpool should stay and continue to play for the shirt and the supporters of one of the greatest clubs in English football. Their Premier League experience will be vital in helping to rebuild the team and will also help any new blood brought in over the summer to settle and adapt to the English game.

• It’s Time to Move On

Rafael Benitez – Let’s face it Liverpool fans, what else can Rafa do for Liverpool? He’s won the Champions League in his first year, the FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FA Community Shield, reached another Champions League final and took Liverpool the closest they’ve come to the league in ages. After losing key players such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa to Real Madrid last season, his squad hasn’t been the same creatively and in attack. I think Rafa leaving will be best for Liverpool. Think of his exit as a fresh start for a new manager. If he stays, where does he go from here?

Steven Gerrard – Once the heart and soul of Liverpool, now the invisible midfielder who may not even deserve to represent England in South Africa this summer. Gerrard has been the epitome of a player who looks uninterested and ready for a fresh start. I like Gerrard and believe he still has years to contribute to football, just not Liverpool. At 29, Gerrard has now been at Liverpool for almost 12 years. His performances as Captain for Liverpool this year have been uninspired at best. Rumors suggest a stint abroad in Italy or maybe Spain. Even if it were for a year or two, Gerrard needs to relocate his passion for football before he gets too old and looses it.

Jamie Carragher – He won’t retire, he’s only 32. But the center back this season has looked a step or two off the pace of the demanding Premier League. In fairness, Carragher overcame an early season woeful slump in form to then steady the ship and produce more reliable performances for Liverpool at the back. He’s still passionate about playing for Liverpool, but can the Reds rebuild and chase the title with the aging and slowing Carragher at the back? Sure his football smarts, dedication, work rate and pride playing for Liverpool are second to none, but those traits won’t win a title in such an important position.

Ryan Babel – If Benitez stays, he needs to play Babel more frequently and even start the young Dutch winger. For me, Babel seems to have never really gotten the chance he’s deserved by having a good run starting with the first team. Likely, Babel will leave and find a club where he’s guaranteed to start and then be able to prove his worth to the Dutch National team. I for one hope he stays in England, I think Babel is a quality player with pace to burn and could have a good career in the Premier League. Still though, recent events point to his exit.

Albert Riera – Obviously leaving Merseyside as soon as he gets the chance after falling out with Benitez. Dropped from the team and uninterested to play under Rafa after having publicly questioned the boss, Riera needs a new club quick or risks becoming a fleeting memory at Anfield. He could realistically stay if a new manager comes in, but is likely to move on after a short career at Liverpool.

• Stay and Build

Fernando Torres – Could leave and follow Rafa, but the Spanish striker could have a long and legendary career in English football with Liverpool. Too soon to go back to Spain and unsure if he fits in Italian football, Torres needs to stay at Liverpool and work on his fitness to lead Liverpool’s front line in the prime of his career. If Liverpool find funds to splash on new players this summer, Torres could be just the player to build a league or Champions League winning squad around. He’s that good.

Glen Johnson – Well he’s English, which means he’s unlikely to move abroad, but Johnson has shown great form when fit for Liverpool and remains England’s first choice right back. No real reason to leave what so ever for Johnson, has enjoyed his first year with the Reds and will only get better. Johnson should continue to win England caps and aid Liverpool’s back four and attack for years to come.

Alberto Aquilani – What an enigma Aquilani’s been at Liverpool for the past year. Purchased from Roma in hopes to replace the midfield maestro Alonso, or play further up the pitch in a more attacking role, Aquilani has battled injuries and match fitness during his short career at Liverpool. Must stay, get healthy and hopefully pay back some of the investment that was spent on his 20 million euro transfer fee. Like Torres, Aquilani is injury prone, but could be a fine midfielder and another young player to build a team around.

Javier Mascherano – The midfield tough man needs to stay right where he is. Rumors have surfaced in the past concerning a possible move to Barcelona and for me, I just don’t see where Mascherano fits in the Barcelona midfield. Mash was recently made the captain of the Argentina national team and could stand to captain Liverpool should Gerrard move on. With a fit Aquilani pushing forward in midfield, Mascherano is just the anchor to hold in midfield and protect the back four.

Yossi Benayoun – The Israeli footballer shoud keep his attacking wing play, quick feet and Premier League experince at Liverpool and become a leader at the club. Will turn 30 in a few weeks, but with his fit, athletic body type, Benayoun could realistically stay and continue to perform at Liverpool for 3 or 4 more years. If Benayoun were to leave, I’m unsure where he could go. I think he fits into Liverpool perfectly when he comes off the bench and can use his pace and quickness to change a game late on.

Liverpool simply haven’t possessed that cohesive team feel or ability to finish off opponents this season. It seems to again come down to consistency in the league and after 38 games, the league table won’t lie. Most likely, Liverpool will finish in 5th or 6th, depending on if Manchester City or Tottenham slip up. If the Reds are to have European, or more importantly, Premier League title aspirations, changes must be made at Anfield or Liverpool will risk stagnancy.

In my previous posts, I discussed Arsenal and Spurs and so now we will turn our attention to the Anfield outfit that has been on a downward spiral this season. Below are my top five transfer/ownership/managerial suggestions for Liverpool heading into the summer transfer window. Please add yours in the comments section!

5. Find Another Forward: Assuming Fernando Torres is healthy and sticks with the Reds next season, Liverpool still need at least one other capable forward if they are to challenge for fourth in 2010/2011. Currently, David Ngog and Ryan Babel, while decent (one even scored yesterday), just don’t cut it in terms of goals. So who can help the Reds out? Enter David Villa. Yes, yes, I know he’s been linked with about 4,000 clubs over the last few years but it looks more and more likely that he will ply his trade in the Premier League next season. Plus, we already know he and Torres play well with each other for Spain so, for me, this is a no-brainer, regardless of who the manager is next season (more on that in a minute).

4. Sign Gary Cahill: This rumor has really heated up in the last few days, especially since Cahill could figure for England this summer with half of the England back four either hurt, cheating on their wives, or quitting the team. Liverpool seriously need the services of a quality back four and Cahill would easily welcome a chance to Never Walk Alone…

3. Find New Owners: Hicks and Gillett have completely screwed up almost everything they have done since buying Liverpool. Seriously, I am American and I’m smart enough to know that these two guys have no clue what they are doing in English football. Somebody who loves the game and loves Liverpool needs to passionately take charge of this wonderful club. I’m trying to find anyone who disagrees with this so please let me know if you do and I’ll laugh at you when all the Liverpool supporters trash you in the comments section.

2. Find Yet Another Forward: Let’s think about it; you had Peter Crouch, Craig Bellamy, and even Robbie Keane and you let them all slip away. Any one of those gentlemen would be on the field before Ngog right now and, instead, two out of the three are on teams that are higher in the table than Liverpool and the other has scored 13 goals in 15 games (in the SPL, to be fair). For this suggestion, I will simply say that ANY experienced striker will do: Emile Heskey perhaps? Possibly Luca Toni (I know, dreamland). Or, dare I say it, Michael Owen (sorry, I had to). The point is, it doesn’t really matter who this player is; what matters is that they provide depth and leadership even if they only play a few minutes each week.

1. Fire Rafa Benitez: His time has passed. It’s as simple as that. The beginning of the end, in my opinion, was the loss of Xabi Alonso. It wasn’t so much the loss of him but what Rafa did with the money he got from the sale. Maxi Rodriguez and Alberto Aquilani just aren’t filling the void. But that’s water under the bridge at this point and Liverpool need a fresh start with a fresh manager who has fresh ideas. It looks like the Champions League is out of reach this season and the Reds will certainly benefit from a new manager who can get them back where their fans think they belong. Mourinho? Hodgson? You tell me!

Somewhere deep in the bowels of Anfield there is a timer ticking down.  That timer shows about 100 days on it now, and tomorrow it will show about 99, and sometime this July the timer will hit zero.  At that point, a bell will ring and Liverpool Football Club will have to begin a massive process of undoing the horrendous financial mistakes of the Rafa Benitez era.  Sometime this July a $100 million loan payment will come due, and with no Champions League money coming in for the 2010/11 season, no cache of funds sitting in the bank and no prospect of future earnings to be found, Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will have to start selling their big names.

Not that their big names will mind very much.  Fernando Torres has already laid the groundwork for his exit claiming that Liverpool needs to sign David Villa and David Silva for him to stay.  While he is at it, perhaps he should also include Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the resurrected body of George Best.  They all have an equal likelihood of joining Liverpool this summer.  The other big Liverpool name, Steven Gerrard, has spent this entire campaign looking like the paler, more aggravated version of his former self.  In past years, Gerrard seemed to be able to will Liverpool to victory.  He now looks like a man who seems to be willing himself into a different shirt.

This is the current lot of the fabled Liverpool Football Club.  Mired in sixth place with more draws and losses than wins, trailing Tottenham and Man City in points and, more importantly, trailing those teams and Aston Villa in games in hand, a Champions League spot for next season looks all but impossible.  For Liverpool to survive intact, Champions League revenue was absolutely critical.  Without it, the modest Anfield Stadium, no matter its history, simply does not have enough seats and amenities to finance the club’s ambitions.  Moreover, as a player like Torres enters his prime years as a footballer, he cannot afford to spend those years playing for a mid-level team that looks like it will struggle to get in the UEFA tournament, let alone the Champions League.

All of this trouble can be laid squarely at the foot of Benitez, who hectored, threatened and blackmailed his owners into spending money that they did not have on players who wound up being gigantically over-priced.  Benitez seems to have gotten his financial advice from Bernie Madoff:

Over that same period of time, Arsenal actually netted a positive £1.95 million from its transfer market dealings and Manchester United netted a positive £5.65 million, including its windfall for the Ronaldo sale.  Outside of the Billionaire Boys Club of Chelsea and Manchester City, nobody in England comes within £60 million of the net expenditures Benitez has made.

Furthermore, many of those expenditures have been true clunkers.  Alberto Aquilani (£20 million) is just beginning to find some form after spending most of the season healing from an injury that was evident before the purchase was made.  Glen Johnson (£18 million) has shown the inconsistent form that made him excess baggage at Chelsea.  Ryan Babel (£11.5 million) has never lived up to his promise.  Alberto Riera (£8 million) has managed to bad-mouth his way off of the Anfield sinking ship.  As for Robbie Keane (£20 million), the less said, the better.

While Benitez will be off this summer to try to pollute Juventes or Real Madrid with similar sludge, Hicks and Gillett are left to deal with the toxic waste site that is the current Liverpool FC.  Whatever loan agreements they currently have in place pre-date the collapse of the credit markets, and it is highly unlikely they will be able to negotiate a more favorable deal.  When those loan payments come due, the only asset they can use to service them is value of their current squad on the transfer market.

With better management and a more reliable strategic vision, Liverpool can rebuild over time.  However, things will probably get worse before they get better.  Whatever Liverpool’s results this year, their squad next year will almost certainly be less glamorous and probably be less skilled on the pitch.  As dark as things may seem for Liverpool at the moment, these are probably the good times compared with what is to come.

Count MSNBC TV host Joe Scarborough among the growing number of people who think Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez should be fired.

With Liverpool’s season seemingly getting worse each week, it was a bit of a surprise to see Scarborough, the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, mention Benitez on his Twitter account. After after some research, I quickly learned that Scarborough is a soccer fan and supports Liverpool FC.

In his tweet on Saturday, Scarborough wrote “I am doing a Today Show at 7a and then will rush home to see Liverpool [play against Stoke City]. Thanks. (PS – Fire Rafa).” He also added to his Twitter feed, “It’s terrible at Liverpool. How did Rafa so effectively destroy the greatest club in English history?”

Here’s what Scarborough said about Liverpool in his additional tweets:

In addition to calling for Benitez to be fired, Lucas Leiva was another target for Scarborough’s ire. “Lucas is not good enough to play in the EPL, let alone on its greatest club,” “Words fail. So does Lucas,” and “How long does the Lucas experiment get in the way of rebuilding the greatest franchise ever? Does one game buy another two years?”

While I agree with Scarborough that Benitez should get sacked and is destroying the legacy the greatest club in English football history, I disagree with his assertion that Leiva is terrible. The Brazilian didn’t have the greatest game against Stoke, but Leiva has been far better this season than last. Is he the best player for that position? No, but he’s the best they have at the current moment.

Lastly, here’s a clip of Joe Scarborough talking about Liverpool on-air from a previous season: