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View from the Kop

Are Roy’s signings better than Benitez’s?

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Early noise from the Hodgson regime is already being met with some groans of fans suffering from a 2009-10 hangover. Resolute but unattractive displays by Liverpool against Arsenal and West Brom have unsurprisingly done little to alleviate the nagging doubts. The humbling scoreline at Eastlands that came in conjunction with the zenith of the Mascherano debacle made for extremely uncomfortable viewing. ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ still rings true from the Kop, of course, but rumblings of dissatisfaction are not uncommon in the public houses dotted around L4. The freshest and often the most fervently scrutinised topic is transfers.

Rafa Benitez was, in his pomp, the master tactician. You could certainly argue that he got the best out of limited resources, evident in Istanbul, and at the end of the 2008-09 season Rafa could boast of a campaign of attacking football that was simply exhilarating at times. But was his Achilles heel the transfer market? Or was the American ownership anchor what prevented us from coming up for fresh air? The Yanks can largely be blamed for the stagnation of last season but, if Benitez had spent the £2oo million-plus transfer kitty he received over his twelve transfer windows in charge more prudently, it could have been avoidable.

Rafa definitely had a knack for spotting a bargain, with the relatively cheap acquisitions of Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Pepe Reina the prime examples, but he could be wayward. Stand up Craig Belllamy, Jermaine Pennant, Andrea Dossena, Fernando Morientes, etc. The most blatant example is Robbie Keane, but the circumstances around his purchase were never crystal-clear so I’ll give Rafa a break on that one.

This is not an attack on Benitez but an auspicious defence of Roy Hodgson. Similar accusations of a team bereft of flair and pace that plagued Rafa’s dying moments could be aimed at the latest squad. Instead I would argue  that as an attacking force it exceeds 2008-09: a combative midfielder in Meireles, with perhaps more goals in him than Mascherano and with experienced cover in the form of Poulsen; Gerrard in the Alonso role, a position that gives him more opportunity to make those driving runs from deep areas and where his excellent range of passing is utilised at its maximum; and Joe Cole, at worst a player that produces ephemeral brilliance in the final third that Torres can work with and at his best quite unplayable.

Like many fans I was crying out for the signing of Arda Turan on Tuesday to give that extra option of pace out wide. It would have been a welcome addition of a player who seems to have the appetite and certainly has the raw ability to ply his trade here. But alas, the ownership saga prevails. Hopefully Milan Jovanovic can, in his role as a wide man, provide cover for our left-back in the same way as Dirk Kuyt does on the right. Aurelio and Konchesky are both capable of pushing forward and delivering well, and with Glen Johnson’s consistent aggressive forays down the right Nando should have plenty of opportunities. This will potentially give us a balanced attack that can play through the middle and stretch the opposition full-backs when the opposition team bus is parked on an Anfield goal line.

There is still the Reina-Carragher-Gerrard-Torres spine that Benitez built around; with limited resources Hodgson has done well to not only keep that structure but to raise it a level with some new flair in Joe Cole that the expensive Aquilani unfortunately couldn’t provide, and with some palpable freshness now that Mascherano has been cleared out to be replaced by the talented and bargain-priced Meireles. It may be a while before this new team is able to manifest the Hodgson blueprint. But if he can put together a team resembling the 2008-09 season,  with some nuances and improvements, then he certainly cannot go far wrong.

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32 comments

  • trev says:

    i guarantee that a liverpool with a quality winger and a first choice eleven would win the leaque name a better starting side all we need is a couple of top players to slot in when we need them one being a top striker meireles is a better all round player than mascaranano poulson better than lucas babel will come good given a good run ngog improving pacheco starting to show real class reina best keeper in the league johnston best attacking fullback torres gerrard speak forthemselves

  • trev says:

    man city will not keep all the players happy too many egos roys doing a good job give him a chance

  • Lfc4life says:

    I’m as hardened Lfc supporter as they come…
    But when fans spoke of getting rid of rafa and installing the likes of MOn or klinsmann in I would for a laugh say I’d rather have Roy…
    For this to actually have happened and Roy to be our manager stills beggars believe!
    What else is unbelievable is that your trying compare one the worlds most wanted managers to Roy?

    Roy is a yes man and doesn’t have a clue!

    4-4-2 against city with our squad was the biggest joke iv ever had the displeasure to witness and at 3-0 down he made his first change?
    The he gets a rid of aqualani when he’s finally fit at a time when we are exactly blessed with creative players?
    But it’s early days, so I’m prepared to give the man a chance to show what he’s capable of doing with a side that’s supposed to be challenging!

    But From what iv seen pre season and since is our style Of football has deteriorated… It’s the worst football iv seen by any Liverpool team!

    If he we don’t improve soon, I cannot see us finishing higher than 6th…

    Then who will you blame… The owners or Roy?

    Both aren’t good enough for a club as big as ours!

    I hope I’m wrong about Roy

  • Paul says:

    Lfc for life. I completely agree!! Thank god someones talking sense. I said all the way through rafas tenure that all of the critics would not realise how good he was, until he had gone, that’s already proving the case! Roy is a decent manager, fair enough, but benitez is exceptional!

  • Blessings to everyone.Fair comments some.My best for LFC4Life indeed your remarks are Totally correct.We will MISS Rafa guaranteed.Come Jan 2011 more pain.The press and the so called EX great players all played a part in Rafa’s demise.He was not a saint of course mistakes he made but just remember 2008/9 season.His imprint was all there and the 4-4 draw against Arsenal was what prevented us winning the league.Look @ the stats.Roy will NEVER buy a TORRES.Indeed some the lesser players he bought he gets beaten up with Lack of money really.DaniAlves anyone? Meireles was on Rafa’s list of future stars.YNWA

  • Mike76 says:

    Agree with posts 25 & 26. Rafa was undoubtedly a great manager but had to work within a budget and had snakes both within and outside the club working to get him out.

    I disagree with the authors points about Bellamy, Pennant et al. You miss the point here that these players were bought BECAUSE of our lack of funds. If Rafa went to Parry with a list of targets, I have read elsewhere, that he usually had to settle for 3rd/4th choice due to money. The other thing to mention here is that Pennant especially decided not to make the step up to playing for Liverpool, he was more interested in partying and turning up late for training. Not Rafa’s fault I feel.

    The other thing to mention is that Rafa did not have a nice 200M spread evenly over 6 years to spend, and he raised a lot through sales. He also bought a lot of young players (a la Wenger) but will not now be able to see them develop.

    I also think it is far to early to be making comparisons. The worrying thing for me is the capture of Paul Konchesky and the pursuit of Carlton Cole. Neither of these players are Liverpool quality.

    • Andrew Blanche says:

      Mike76, you’re second paragraph is a very good point. It’s obviously too early to compare the two thoroughly, this is more of a hopeful article analysing what Roy has done so far. I’m a genuine Rafa supporter and doubtless it was made extremely hard for him to keep up the bargain buys throughout his tenure. Like you I was sceptical about the benefits of bringing in Carlton Cole. I’m divided on both Mascherano and Aquilani leaving.
      New owners coming in and investing heavily in 1st/2nd choices for Roy would undoubtedly be ideal. The owners obviously negatively influenced Roy’s potential in the market as well, perhaps most evident in his pursuit of Carlton Cole. I do think the business involved in capturing Joe Cole and Meireles was excellent and promising, and Konchesky is solid. You are, of course, right in saying that nothing is conclusive yet.

  • Lfc4life says:

    Paul, John and mike – It’s good to know a few of us share the same views… I’m sure there’s a few more too out there 😀

    Another thing to look at was rafas WIN/LOSE ratio.. Before last season it was fantastic, even after his departure it was still very good!

    If Roy or any other manager can replicate or better it, the league would surely be ours…
    But I don’t think he can even come close to it…

    I never got it when fans wanted King Kenny to take over, but I so do get it now… His WIN/LOSE ration was at the least great… But I always thought this was a step backwards until we got Roy…

    I can’t think of anyone better than kenny to take charge at this time…

    But it does puzzle me how Roy jumped in ahead of Kenny and pallagrini(spelling)

    Who would you guys have other than Roy?

  • daboy says:

    Some of Hodgsons buys were Rafas targets namely Wilson and Jova and possibly Cole.
    I am a little disappointed with Roys buys but they must be given a chance and its not like the board left an open cheque book.
    I would like to say no doubt Benitez has left the club with a great legacy with the academy set up and quantities of talent on offer.

  • Jack says:

    You want to compare buying Torres arguably the finest striker on the planet when he is fit, turning a £6.5 million goal keeper into the best in the PL, nurturing a player who could not get a game in a mid-table club to being the best defensive midfielder in the world and now playing for the best team in the world? Why don’t you wait till christmas and watch some highlights of our games against Real Madrid (4-0) and Man u (4-1). Only then will you know how far we have fallen.

  • Burdick says:

    I don’t think that’s right

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