Rafa Benitez and The Premiership Title

Liverpool Football Club could do no wrong and had it seemed set a standard that everyone else tried to emulate. We had the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea trying to take the title from us. Unfortunately this happened twenty years ago, whilst we were managed by Graeme Souness. All though a good player and servant of the club, his management skills were not as good as they should have been and Liverpool Football Club lost its grip on the league title and other competitions.

Twenty years later we have seen the formation of the Premier League take place and several more managers come and go. Roy Evans was the last member of the original Boot Room to take over. He did well but the club was still hankering after the premiership title. With this in mind, we had the first joint tenure in the country. Gerard Houiller joined him but as was expected this did not work and Roy Evans was sacked. As a supporter, I said it then and I will say it now - I honestly think that it was Gerard Houiller that needed to leave. Roy Evans I honestly believe if given longer would have bought some more honours to the club. Gerard Houiller though in his defence did get us up to second place in the premiership, bought the league and UEFA Cup home but the premiership title did not happen. At the lowest point of his tenure we were seventh in the league - something that was not acceptable to the clubs hierarchy and supporters alike. The title we craved for seemed further away than ever.

The club again looked abroad and Rafa Benitez was bought in. I will admit to hoping that they would bring in someone who had experience of the premier league but was soon won over by Rafa. Things improved straight away, the misfits were sold and new players bought in. The winning mentality seemed to be back in the team. We had home grown players in Jamie Carragher and Stevie Gerrard, both had come through the academy and were following the rules set down by Bill Shankly. We began to win things again, the FA Cup came home and we had the miracle of Istanbul - a night of mixed emotions that bought the Champions League cup home (the old European Cup).

Liverpool supporters have been in heaven ever since but still crave the premiership title.
Last season we reached second place and had the highest point tally that the club had ever amassed. If we had turned the draws into wins, the title would have come home.

This season started with our hopes really high, but along with players that do not seem to want to play for the team, we have had more injuries than it appears the club can cope with although we have an academy full of players, some of whom have proved they are ready for the challenges of the premier league. We are now languishing at seventh place in the premier league - Will we catch up - I honestly don't know but what I can say is, at the moment Rafa the premiership is further away than ever so in your own words you are failing the city of Liverpool, its team and its supporters. I know the American owners must take ninety nine per cent of the blame for this. It is due to their bad management of the club and their complete misunderstanding of how to run a premiership club that we have been unable to buy the players needed to help us surge forward and bring the title into our sights. On the managerial side we have a large squad, mainly of fringe players that a good manager should be able to take by the scruff of the neck and turn them into players that will compliment the team. This is not happening at the moment and although he has said he will bring players into the team from academy, it is not happening at the speed it should. It is no good letting players like Jay Spearing play every now and again, they have to play week in and week out under the stewardship of Stevie G and other senior players to learn their trade.

I honestly think that Rafa still sees the Champions League as his main priority - perhaps that is one of the failings of being a European manager. To a manager in Europe it does appear to be the one thing that the clubs all hanker for. I wish he would sit down with some of us and have a good discussion about Liverpool Football Club, so that we the supporters could perhaps understand his methods better and so that he could understand why to a Liverpool supporter the premiership is the title that most of us want to see come home.

We have watched and waited for the last twenty years, our hopes high in August but by April - the normal question appears - Where have we gone wrong and why aren't the players good enough. Sometimes I wonder as supporters, if we are not just being greedy and want too much. Nine times out of ten though, the Liver Birds in me kick in and the Shankly spirit arises. No we are not being greedy, we just the success that Liverpool Football Club creates to continue.

Rafa, you say you want to win the premiership- please give us the signs that this will be the case. Tomorrow we face Manchester City and again you are quoted as saying this is the start of our season. I am sorry Rafa our season started at the end of August, at the same time as everyone else. We have a squad that should have been capable of keeping us in the top four, even though there have been a spat of injuries. It is down to you and your staff Rafa and I as much as I hate to say it sometimes I do wonder if your heart is in it

I have been to two games at Anfield this season and we won both comfortably. Unfortunately, I am not at tomorrow's game and although I hope we win, I am a little concerned at the moment about who may be in the team. We have four of our senior players returning from the controversial treatment in Belgrade and I according to press reports they will be in contention for a place. Please Rafa only play them, if you are sure they are 100% fit. Christmas is approaching and any supporter will tell you that is benchmark in a team's season. If we are not in the top four by then, I doubt if we will be in May. Of course another thought occurred to me, I am getting to the point where I see myself as a good luck talisman. We win the games where I am present, otherwise we lose. If only I could afford to come up every week, then the premiership would be ours.