£96m reasons why liverpool shouldn't sack benítez...
Just stumbled over an "Open Letter to Rafa Haters: £96m Reasons Why Liverpool Shouldn’t Sack Benítez", and since I've wanted to write about this topic for ages now, I decided to grasp the nettle and share my view on the matter. Some parts I took from the "open letter", other parts are things I came up with myself. At the end of the post, there's a direct quote from the "open letter".
Apparently, there are three reasons why people want Rafa to get sacked:
1. He hasn't managed to win us that damned league title that we've been wanting for some 20 years now.
2. He has spent too much money on low-quality players.
3. His decisions during the matches don't make sense.
Let's now look at the facts. (Or "faxt", as Rafa would have it.)
Since we won that title the last time, Liverpool have struggled in the league finishing five times outside of the top four until 2004. However, in the 90s a top four finish wasn't enough to be eligible to play in the Champions League. As per definition, Liverpool only qualified three times for this competition between 1990 and 2004. Then Rafa came along, and since then we have never failed to meet the Champions League requirements. We have been to two finals, winning one. In the league, we have finished 3rd twice and runners-up once. The only year we failed to make it in the top four (and finished 5th) was the one where we qualified for the Champions League as defending champions. Also, we won the FA Cup under Benítez - the world's oldest and most prestigious domestic cup.
And all this we accomplished with relatively little funds, even though we practically had to overhaul an entire squad that (in most cases) was aging and lacked quality. Today, the only survivors of that old squad are Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
According to the website liverpool-kop.com, who have compiled the net transfer spending of Rafael Benítez’ tenure, he has spent a total of 95.8 million pounds up until 2009 as the figure below shows:
(http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2009/12/exclusive-liverpool-fc-net-spend_16.html, accessed 29/01/2010)
This table doesn't include the spendings for 2009-2010, and it's a bit difficult to list them because some fees are described as undisclosed, but it's pretty much like this:
Transfers IN:
· Alberto Aquilani £17.1 million
· Glen Johnson £17.5 million
· Maxi Rodríguez Free
· Sotirios Kyrgiakos £2.0 millionTransfers OUT:
· Paul Anderson £250,000
· Jermaine Pennant Free
· Miki Roque Free
· Sebastián Leto £3 million
· Álvaro Arbeloa £3.5 million
· Xabi Alonso £30 millionTotal Bought: £36.6 millionTotal Sold: £36.75 million
In total, Rafa Benítez has spent 95.8 million pounds on a premier league squad (including reserves, young talents, etc.). However, people still insist on comparing his spending with the likes of Chelsea, ManUtd, Arsenal and others, when this is clearly a misinterpretation of facts due to other factors that they neglect to present. For instance, ManUtd already had a core squad and they were basically just fine-tuning gaps or areas for improvement. Arsenal have eight years more time to put in place what is now to be seen as the best scouting network in the world. And Chelsea had already forked out hundreds of millions of pounds before Benítez could even get started.
This is contributed by the figures from the annual Forbes list of Most Valuable Soccer Teams that I showed sebastiona yesterday. Technically, Manchester United may be the most valuable club in the world, but their current value of 1,870 million dollars includes 54% of debts. Arsenal (1,200 million dollars) even have 107% of debts per value. Chelsea have a value of 800 million, 92% of which debts. And yet they keep spending money. The owners of Manchester United took a bank credit when they bought the club and instantly transferred these debts onto the club. Considering these figures, Liverpool have been almost economical. Their current value (as of August 2009) was determined as 1,010 million Euros, 59% of which are debts. But instead of spending millions over millions, Rafa has had to sell in order to buy. This explains the rather even balance for the 2009-2010 season.
Yes, he has spent 95.8 million pounds on the current squad, but there are roughly 35 professionals in it, amongst which names like Reina, Torres, Mascherano, Johnson, Riera, Agger, Škrtel, Benayoun, Aquilani and Kuijt. These players alone cost a total of 119.1 million pounds, and Rafa had to buy 25 more players. If you do the math, Liverpool made quite a lot of money selling the players they didn't need anymore to reach a net spending of only 95.8 million pounds.
As for his decisions considering the line-ups and the substitutions, there are always people who think they know better. It's always easy to say after a match what Rafa should have done during it. And actually, even though Rafa's decisions might not be easy to understand sometimes, they usually make sense in the end. Also, he's been making decisions like this ever since he took over. There haven't been any major problems before this season, so it's too easy to just blame Rafa's decisions for the current "suboptimal situation". There's also the fact that key players left and couldn't be replaced, and there's the major injury problem that nobody could have predicted.
We have an anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” which we cherish with every breath we take, and unlike many other clubs who use this, it is our true identity because we actually live up to this famous saying with the deeds and support we give to our team/club, even if the people in charge are not what we want. However, it is starting to emerge that our supporters are dividing into two groups: the true Liverpool fans, and the anxious “I am a glory-hunter but I don’t like Man Utd so Liverpool is my alternative”. Unfortunately the latter are directing their panic attacks at the wrong people (Rafael Benítez). They neglect facts and figures to brainwash the fragile among us, and want him replaced by a guy who first wants the all clear from one of our rivals, which to me is totally unacceptable and quite insulting to be honest.
The light at the end of the tunnel could be making that 4th spot ours, and if not… maybe it will get rid of some of these fickle, glory-hunting morons who wrongfully call themselves Liverpool fans.
Apparently, there are three reasons why people want Rafa to get sacked:
1. He hasn't managed to win us that damned league title that we've been wanting for some 20 years now.
2. He has spent too much money on low-quality players.
3. His decisions during the matches don't make sense.
Let's now look at the facts. (Or "faxt", as Rafa would have it.)
Since we won that title the last time, Liverpool have struggled in the league finishing five times outside of the top four until 2004. However, in the 90s a top four finish wasn't enough to be eligible to play in the Champions League. As per definition, Liverpool only qualified three times for this competition between 1990 and 2004. Then Rafa came along, and since then we have never failed to meet the Champions League requirements. We have been to two finals, winning one. In the league, we have finished 3rd twice and runners-up once. The only year we failed to make it in the top four (and finished 5th) was the one where we qualified for the Champions League as defending champions. Also, we won the FA Cup under Benítez - the world's oldest and most prestigious domestic cup.
And all this we accomplished with relatively little funds, even though we practically had to overhaul an entire squad that (in most cases) was aging and lacked quality. Today, the only survivors of that old squad are Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
According to the website liverpool-kop.com, who have compiled the net transfer spending of Rafael Benítez’ tenure, he has spent a total of 95.8 million pounds up until 2009 as the figure below shows:
(http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2009/12/exclusive-liverpool-fc-net-spend_16.html, accessed 29/01/2010)
This table doesn't include the spendings for 2009-2010, and it's a bit difficult to list them because some fees are described as undisclosed, but it's pretty much like this:
Transfers IN:
· Alberto Aquilani £17.1 million
· Glen Johnson £17.5 million
· Maxi Rodríguez Free
· Sotirios Kyrgiakos £2.0 millionTransfers OUT:
· Paul Anderson £250,000
· Jermaine Pennant Free
· Miki Roque Free
· Sebastián Leto £3 million
· Álvaro Arbeloa £3.5 million
· Xabi Alonso £30 millionTotal Bought: £36.6 millionTotal Sold: £36.75 million
In total, Rafa Benítez has spent 95.8 million pounds on a premier league squad (including reserves, young talents, etc.). However, people still insist on comparing his spending with the likes of Chelsea, ManUtd, Arsenal and others, when this is clearly a misinterpretation of facts due to other factors that they neglect to present. For instance, ManUtd already had a core squad and they were basically just fine-tuning gaps or areas for improvement. Arsenal have eight years more time to put in place what is now to be seen as the best scouting network in the world. And Chelsea had already forked out hundreds of millions of pounds before Benítez could even get started.
This is contributed by the figures from the annual Forbes list of Most Valuable Soccer Teams that I showed sebastiona yesterday. Technically, Manchester United may be the most valuable club in the world, but their current value of 1,870 million dollars includes 54% of debts. Arsenal (1,200 million dollars) even have 107% of debts per value. Chelsea have a value of 800 million, 92% of which debts. And yet they keep spending money. The owners of Manchester United took a bank credit when they bought the club and instantly transferred these debts onto the club. Considering these figures, Liverpool have been almost economical. Their current value (as of August 2009) was determined as 1,010 million Euros, 59% of which are debts. But instead of spending millions over millions, Rafa has had to sell in order to buy. This explains the rather even balance for the 2009-2010 season.
Yes, he has spent 95.8 million pounds on the current squad, but there are roughly 35 professionals in it, amongst which names like Reina, Torres, Mascherano, Johnson, Riera, Agger, Škrtel, Benayoun, Aquilani and Kuijt. These players alone cost a total of 119.1 million pounds, and Rafa had to buy 25 more players. If you do the math, Liverpool made quite a lot of money selling the players they didn't need anymore to reach a net spending of only 95.8 million pounds.
As for his decisions considering the line-ups and the substitutions, there are always people who think they know better. It's always easy to say after a match what Rafa should have done during it. And actually, even though Rafa's decisions might not be easy to understand sometimes, they usually make sense in the end. Also, he's been making decisions like this ever since he took over. There haven't been any major problems before this season, so it's too easy to just blame Rafa's decisions for the current "suboptimal situation". There's also the fact that key players left and couldn't be replaced, and there's the major injury problem that nobody could have predicted.
We have an anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” which we cherish with every breath we take, and unlike many other clubs who use this, it is our true identity because we actually live up to this famous saying with the deeds and support we give to our team/club, even if the people in charge are not what we want. However, it is starting to emerge that our supporters are dividing into two groups: the true Liverpool fans, and the anxious “I am a glory-hunter but I don’t like Man Utd so Liverpool is my alternative”. Unfortunately the latter are directing their panic attacks at the wrong people (Rafael Benítez). They neglect facts and figures to brainwash the fragile among us, and want him replaced by a guy who first wants the all clear from one of our rivals, which to me is totally unacceptable and quite insulting to be honest.
The light at the end of the tunnel could be making that 4th spot ours, and if not… maybe it will get rid of some of these fickle, glory-hunting morons who wrongfully call themselves Liverpool fans.