RAFA DESERVES HIS NEW DEAL

Rafael Benitez has many critics, but I feel the five year extension to his contract is well deserved. There are times when he can appear aloof and stubborn, while his pragmatism (frequent rotation) can be exasperating. However, his record at the top level, which includes winning two Spanish Championships and a UEFA Cup (in three years) at Valencia, cannot be overlooked. Liverpool fans can look back to the glory days (domestically anyway) all they want, but lets be honest, that was 20 years ago, and football has changed dramatically since then.

Of course, it‘s easy to say that football has changed and use this as an excuse, but since the days when Liverpool were ruling the roost, the standard of the top teams has improved to un-precedented levels. The points total’s of the top teams are a lot higher these days, and, excluding the outrageous 95 points that Chelsea amassed in 2004-2005, the League in recent years, has normally been won between 85 and 90 points.

In 2002, Arsenal won the league with 87 points, while in 2003, Manchester United captured the title with 83 points (the lowest total of recent years). In 2004, the unbeaten Arsenal team drew 12 games (Liverpool have been heavily criticized in some quarters for drawing too many games this season) but still ended up with 90 points. In 2006, Chelsea lost five games, but also ended up with 90 points, whilst in the last two years, Manchester United have won the Premiership with final points totals of 89 and 87 points respectively. These figures may not be particulary fascinating, but they are important to illustrate when summarising the job Benitez is facing.

During the 1980s (including 1989-90) Liverpool won the title seven times, but the figures make for some interesting reading. In the 38 game 1989-90 season, they won the title with 79 points, whilst second placed Aston Villa finished with 70 points, a total that both Liverpool and Chelsea will probably reach within the next four games. In the 1980s, there were also usually 42 games, and Liverpool’s highest points total was 88 points, the equivalent now, of 79 points. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have raised the bar much higher, and the last time a team won the title with a points total below 80, was Manchester United, ten years ago. This could be due to a number of reasons. Perhaps, the fact that more teams now play in the Champions League (compared to the old European Cup), has increased the standard of the very top teams. It could also be suggested, that the standards of the other teams further down the league has dropped. This is however, probably an argument for another day.

Gerard Houllier was Benitez’s predecessor and in 2002, Liverpool finished second with 80 points, above Manchester United. However, between October and March that season, Houllier was recovering from heart surgery, so that season is difficult to judge in terms of the impact of the Frenchman. His assistant, Phil Thompson was the caretaker boss for most of the season. Excluding that season, Houllier’s points total’s as manager between 1999 and 2004, varied somewhere between 60 and 69 points, and the team never finished higher than third in the league. His reign featured more than one false dawn. The clearest example being the 2002-2003 season, when his team took 30 points from their first 12 games. They eventually only finished with 64 points (in 5th place) and in mid-season went on an incredible slump of 12 games without a win, picking up only 9 points in that period. He amazingly, kept his job for another 18 months, but the damage was done.

Rafael Benitez’s first season was a tough one domestically. Liverpool lost 14 games and finished with 58 points, finishing 5th below Everton. This was, however, papered over by the stunning Champions League success, so it could be forgiven. In 2005-2006, his second season, Liverpool finished with 82 points, winning their last nine league games and winning the FA Cup. The team finished only one point behind Manchester United, and their points total would have won the league every year between 1995 and 2001. In 2006-2007, they finished 3rd with 68 points, but this was offset by reaching another Champions League final, defeating Chelsea in the semi final, as they did in 2005. Last season meanwhile, bought a final points total of 76 points. This would have been enough to win the league three times during the 1980s (on a 38 game basis). The team also reached another Champions League semi final, and were probably only prevented from reaching another final, due to John Arne Rise’s freak last minute own goal in the first leg at Anfield.

The argument I am trying to put forward is, that under the stewardship of Houllier, Liverpool were so often also-rans in the title race, but, the 2001 UEFA Cup win apart, were also never really serious challengers in Europe, and especially the Champions League. Sometimes they struggled to qualify, or didn’t even qualify for the competition. Benitez, however, has made Liverpool into one of the most feared sides in Europe, and the recent, impressive, back to back victories over Real Madrid and Manchester United have highlighted just how far Liverpool have come since the gloomy days of the late Houllier period.

It would be easy to say Benitez has not delivered the Premiership title to Anfield and that he should be judged by that. He has though, made the club into one of the top teams in Europe, and, over the last five years, the number one ranked team in Europe. If you had told a Liverpool fan in 2004, that their team would reach two Champions League finals (winning one), another semi final and a quarter final in the next five years, they probably would have laughed in your face. On the other hand, with the history and tradition of the club, this should be expected regularly, but to say the Spaniard is a failure would be a massive insult to him, although some pundits have suggested this on many occassions.

This season, Liverpool are title contenders, and if they win their last nine games (as they did in 2006), they will finish with 88 points. Judging by recent history, this will be there or thereabouts for the league title. People are talking about Manchester United having to lose three games, but actually, they only need to lose one game, and draw two games, which is not unrealistic. Of course it is a ‘big if’ for Liverpool to catch Manchester United and in all probability it won’t happen. However, under Benitez, Liverpool have certainly come a long way. They probably do draw too many games by today’s standards, but they are only perceived to draw too many games because the other top teams win so many. This is clearly illustrated by Manchester United’s recent run of 12 successive wins. It is therefore important, for the current Liverpool team to not be compared with the teams of the 1970s and 1980s. The game has moved on.

The Liverpool vintage of 1987-1988 is judged by many to be the greatest of all Liverpool’s 18 title winning teams. The flair of John Barnes, combined with the wonderful dribbling and awareness of Peter Beardsley, the goal-poaching of John Aldridge and the versatility of the vastly under-rated Steve Nicol, mustered 90 points from 40 games that season, the equivalent of 86 points in a 38 game season. Liverpool may come very close to that this year, and this, again, demonstrates the fine job the man from Madrid is doing.

Benitez’s team has only lost three league games since January 2008. They are incredibly difficult to beat and have completed League doubles over both Manchester United and Chelsea. Their current points total is their highest at this stage of the season since 1991, and this is the highest amount of points they have gained (after 29 games) since the Premier League was formed 17 years ago. They are also managing to combine a good league campaign with an excellent Champions League run. This is something they have not always managed under the Spaniard’s reign and have been widely criticised for.

To conclude the argument, it does have to be remembered that it took Sir Alex Ferguson seven years to deliver the title to Old Trafford. In 1989 and 1990, Manchester United finished 12th and 14th respectively. Benitez has always qualified for the Champions League and in his fifth season is putting together a title charge. He probably won’t win it this season, but people need to be more objective and not harp on about the glorious ‘distant past’. It is not about how far Benitez has taken Liverpool from 1988, it’s about how far Benitez has taken Liverpool from the point he took over in 2004. Liverpool currently have 61 points from 29 games, one more point than they achieved from 38 games in Houller’s last season at the helm. Doesn’t that tell us everything we need to know?

I believe, without any hesitation, that he thoroughly deserves his new contract, and it will be interesting to see if they can make that final push. Maybe then, we can stop hearing about the glory days (ex players are often the main culprits) and hear more praise for a man who has transformed his club. Like it or not, Rafa is here to stay, so be ready for more rotation of Fernando Torres, more midfield clumsiness from Lucas Leiva and more industry from the ‘un-droppable’ Dirk Kuyt. Pragmatic? Dogmatic? We would miss if he went though, wouldn’t we?