That Was The Season That Was

But sadly, it was not to be. The cracks had already begun to appear in the pre season Middle Eastern tournament. Several of the players, still tired from their exerts during the closed season, became injury victims before the season had even kicked off. It was also the summer transfer window and with rumours flying here, there and everywhere, players, staff and supporters had no idea of who was leaving and who was staying. This resulted in the one thing that supporters and the media alike blamed for our downfall, early in the season. Xabi Alonso had decided enough was enough after being treated badly by Rafa Benitez the season before and was sold. Sami Hyppia had also left, after not having the assurance of new contract. In one foul swoop, we had lost the two players that were part of the backbone of the club. With the funds raised, Rafa Benitez went to Italy and bought Alberto Aquilani. A player who was in fact injured and would not play we were told until October. That deadline and several more were passed and Aquilani has only had a handful of games.

Our first game was against Tottenham at White Hart Lane and it was game that an understrength Tottenham should have lost. Harry was yet to work his magic on the team but it was a sign that they meant business this season. We had lost the first game of the season and already the knives were out blaming the selling of Xabi Alonso. The defense was in a mess and along with a team already littered with injuries the signs were already there that we were on a downward spiral.

This continued throughout the season, our defense was a mess, our striking force stood at nil with Torres injured for most of the time - Rafa does not appear to realise that you need more that one striker in a team. The middle of the park also had problems with Stevie G being injured for part of the season. Players were being played out of position, week after week and our results suffered. There were the moments of brilliance, such as the Manchester United game at Anfield and the Derby game, but these were few and far between.

Our cup campaigns were also in trouble. We did not get very far in the league cup, but it looked as though our fortunes had changed in the FA Cup when we were drawn to face Reading at the Majeski Stadium. The match turned out to be a shambles and the replay even more so - Our lads, who by then were showing signs that Rafa Benitez had lost the dressing room, appeared not to have the heart to win and the game and the cup were lost.

Questions were now beginning to be asked about the manager, but fans were still on his side saying that it was just a blip and we did still have the Champions League - This was the competition, that we seemed to do well in, due to the fact that Rafa prefers the foreign competitions and his teams and tactics are normally spot on. This season though it was different with so many players in the team that were not fit to wear the shirt, players injured and players playing in the wrong position , we fell out of that competition and into the Europa Cup, which was previously known as the UEFA Cup. The club, the media and the pundits were also saying that , although not ideal if was Liverpool's last chance of getting a trophy and the talk was that we be heading for the final in Hamburg. Again sadly this was not to be, we went out to Athletico Madrid and along with our hopes of a fourth spot in the league, the season was in tatters.

People are now beginning to ask serious questions although most of the blame has been put on the inept management of the club by Tom Hicks and George Gillett. They have placed the club into what can only be described as a black hole. Liverpool Football Club is now £351.4 million in debt according the accounts published last week. I have downloaded these from Company House for a small sum if anyone wishes to do the same.

hey do not unfortunately make a very pleasant read. Because of this Tom Hicks and George Gillett have finally put the club up for sale at an over inflated price of £800 million. This is of course is due to pure greed and the fact that the pair of them are determined to make some money from their little escapade of running a football club. To help this happen as quickly as possible RBS and Barclays Capital have put in place a part time Chairman called Martin Broughton. Having listened to him several times, he does appear to have a good business head on his shoulders. He did a question and answer session for LFCTV at the weekend and I will be honest when I say that I was impressed but the time set aside for this should have been a lot longer.

But ultimately of course the blame for bad team morale, badly picked teams, bad tactics and inept understanding of the English Premiership and extremely bad substitutions most of the time. Although with the fact that Benitez has had funds, although limited to spend, most of which has been spent on players who themselves do have a clue about what playing in the premiership means and how good they need to be. That person of course is the manager.

Rafa Benitez has now been with the club for six seasons and to be honest his time is now up. He has lost all sense of direction, has no man management skills and a team that simply will not play for him. It is rumoured that our top players, Stevie G and Fernando Torres will leave , not just because they need to be sold to balance the books, but because they are now refusing to play the Benitez style of football. They want to have the freedom of the park and play like they have played since their schooldays. If that happened I am sure that our results would be better.

For the last two weeks Rafa Benitez and his agent have been courting the as to whether he would leave or not. A decision needs to be made on this by the powers that be very quickly. This is only my view but if he is not replaced, I am sorry but I can see the championship beckoning and the black hole we are in getting bigger and bigger.
If you would like to take part in a vote, my fellow blogger Barry Ringstead is holding a vote regarding Rafa's future. Please feel free to cast yours. It would be lovely to know if people's minds are changing.