Déjà vu as Benitez lays down the law
May 26 2007
by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
IN the summer of 2004, Steven Gerrard gave an interview which exposed why the Gerard Houllier regime had run its course.
Having been at the end of his tether for the best part of 18 months, disturbed by the lack of progress of his club, he decided in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool’s Champions League qualification enough was enough.
“The next few weeks will be the most important in the recent history of this football club,” he said.
“I will be watching what happens very closely.”
Liverpool had just pipped Newcastle to the fourth Champions League spot, and while Houllier was hailing the achievement, the captain was mourning the fact such a routine expectation was now being perceived as worthy.
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There was a clear subtext to Gerrard’s comments then, and although he stopped short of demanding a change of manager, this was the inevitable consequence of any revolution.
Had Liverpool not acted, they wouldn’t have avoided the narrow escape when Chelsea made the second of their three summer approaches for Gerrard between 2003-05.
It’s impossible not to be reminded of the agitation and hunger for change Gerrard felt then when Rafa Benitez speaks now.
On Thursday morning, he effectively repeated what the captain had said three years ago.
“The club must act now… the next few weeks are crucial…if we don’t do more we can’t compete for the title…etc…”
There are those who argue to dismiss the competency of the entire structure of the club takes the argument to the extreme, but the shambolic organisation of the Athens trip did nothing to help those in the firing line, even if UEFA carry most blame.
In the early hours of the morning, as Benitez pondered what to say at Thursday’s Press conference, he was strolling the streets around the team hotel because he had no room to sleep in.
The facilities at the team’s base were described by management and players as shocking.
When Liverpool’s representatives spent a couple of days in Athens after the semi-final, they were promised luxurious bedrooms which turned out to be unavailable when the team arrived.
AC Milan encountered similar problems.
In their wisdom, UEFA picked a city with just one airport in the same week a major global pharmaceutical conference was held, block booking all the top hotels. Fiasco doesn’t do the organisation justice.
Many players had to move out as soon as they arrived, with Benitez eventually giving up his accommodation completely.
“If we don’t win, there will be bloodshed at this club,” someone close to the manager warned on Tuesday evening, making it clear Benitez saw UEFA as partially but not exclusively responsible for the problems.
The zeal for revolution this column reported on last week was evident in Benitez’s comments after the match.
Wednesday night felt like a watershed for Liverpool in Europe. Rather than the climax of an exciting new era, it was the end of one.
From the callous approach of UEFA, to the depressing sight of a minority of fans pushing down barriers (how do they qualify these actions when they’re wearing yellow, justice stickers, may I ask?), right through to the inappropriate preparations of UEFA and the club, which were frankly embarrassing.
The majority of right-minded Liverpool supporters must have made the depressing return feeling wounded by their experience. I know many who wonder why they bother. The idea of the European Cup final is sometimes more exciting than the experience of it.
George Gillett and Tom Hicks have spent six months commenting on their extraordinary purchase, but nothing exposes the cracks more than a cup final defeat.
It’s now up to them to keep their part of the bargain to ensure on and off the pitch Liverpool is run like a club worthy of its stature.
The focus is shifting to them, and it’s their job to shift it back to Benitez.
They’ll do this by investing in the team and then taking care of the other under-funded departments.
If they succeed, it’s then up to Benitez to prove how astute he is in the transfer market.
The loss of chief scout Frank McParland to Bolton is a blow, especially since the jury is still out on the track record of Eduardo Macia. His purchases must be up to scratch if the money is there, but he can be sure his dependency on the same Italian agents will be monitored if the signings aren’t good enough.
The loss of Paco Herrera last summer was compared to the departure of Patrice Bergues in 2001, which had a destabilising impact. At the moment, worryingly, that still stands.
Make no mistake, Liverpool head into the closed season a club deeply divided, with talented backroom personnel leaving and many key figures barely on speaking terms.
If the summer of 2004 was considered one of the club’s most important in recent history, it may look like a picnic in comparison to what may follow.
May 26 2007
by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
IN the summer of 2004, Steven Gerrard gave an interview which exposed why the Gerard Houllier regime had run its course.
Having been at the end of his tether for the best part of 18 months, disturbed by the lack of progress of his club, he decided in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool’s Champions League qualification enough was enough.
“The next few weeks will be the most important in the recent history of this football club,” he said.
“I will be watching what happens very closely.”
Liverpool had just pipped Newcastle to the fourth Champions League spot, and while Houllier was hailing the achievement, the captain was mourning the fact such a routine expectation was now being perceived as worthy.
Story continues Continue story
ADVERTISEMENT
There was a clear subtext to Gerrard’s comments then, and although he stopped short of demanding a change of manager, this was the inevitable consequence of any revolution.
Had Liverpool not acted, they wouldn’t have avoided the narrow escape when Chelsea made the second of their three summer approaches for Gerrard between 2003-05.
It’s impossible not to be reminded of the agitation and hunger for change Gerrard felt then when Rafa Benitez speaks now.
On Thursday morning, he effectively repeated what the captain had said three years ago.
“The club must act now… the next few weeks are crucial…if we don’t do more we can’t compete for the title…etc…”
There are those who argue to dismiss the competency of the entire structure of the club takes the argument to the extreme, but the shambolic organisation of the Athens trip did nothing to help those in the firing line, even if UEFA carry most blame.
In the early hours of the morning, as Benitez pondered what to say at Thursday’s Press conference, he was strolling the streets around the team hotel because he had no room to sleep in.
The facilities at the team’s base were described by management and players as shocking.
When Liverpool’s representatives spent a couple of days in Athens after the semi-final, they were promised luxurious bedrooms which turned out to be unavailable when the team arrived.
AC Milan encountered similar problems.
In their wisdom, UEFA picked a city with just one airport in the same week a major global pharmaceutical conference was held, block booking all the top hotels. Fiasco doesn’t do the organisation justice.
Many players had to move out as soon as they arrived, with Benitez eventually giving up his accommodation completely.
“If we don’t win, there will be bloodshed at this club,” someone close to the manager warned on Tuesday evening, making it clear Benitez saw UEFA as partially but not exclusively responsible for the problems.
The zeal for revolution this column reported on last week was evident in Benitez’s comments after the match.
Wednesday night felt like a watershed for Liverpool in Europe. Rather than the climax of an exciting new era, it was the end of one.
From the callous approach of UEFA, to the depressing sight of a minority of fans pushing down barriers (how do they qualify these actions when they’re wearing yellow, justice stickers, may I ask?), right through to the inappropriate preparations of UEFA and the club, which were frankly embarrassing.
The majority of right-minded Liverpool supporters must have made the depressing return feeling wounded by their experience. I know many who wonder why they bother. The idea of the European Cup final is sometimes more exciting than the experience of it.
George Gillett and Tom Hicks have spent six months commenting on their extraordinary purchase, but nothing exposes the cracks more than a cup final defeat.
It’s now up to them to keep their part of the bargain to ensure on and off the pitch Liverpool is run like a club worthy of its stature.
The focus is shifting to them, and it’s their job to shift it back to Benitez.
They’ll do this by investing in the team and then taking care of the other under-funded departments.
If they succeed, it’s then up to Benitez to prove how astute he is in the transfer market.
The loss of chief scout Frank McParland to Bolton is a blow, especially since the jury is still out on the track record of Eduardo Macia. His purchases must be up to scratch if the money is there, but he can be sure his dependency on the same Italian agents will be monitored if the signings aren’t good enough.
The loss of Paco Herrera last summer was compared to the departure of Patrice Bergues in 2001, which had a destabilising impact. At the moment, worryingly, that still stands.
Make no mistake, Liverpool head into the closed season a club deeply divided, with talented backroom personnel leaving and many key figures barely on speaking terms.
If the summer of 2004 was considered one of the club’s most important in recent history, it may look like a picnic in comparison to what may follow.
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