BENITEZ REALLY DOES DESERVE MORE RESPECT

Following the defeat to Lyon on Tuesday, I listened in despair to ‘so called’ Liverpool fans dialing into various radio phone-in’s calling for Rafael Benitez’s head.

This scenario would be sheer madness, and really could spell the beginning of the end for the eighteen times league champions.

It’s easy, when things are going badly, to blame the manager. And, while Liverpool have had money to spend during his tenor, Benitez has often had to sign his second or third choice player, rather than his desired choice.

There are numerous examples of this actually happening, but the media endlessly criticise his bad judgement in the transfer market. Sometimes there even appears to be a witch-hunt against the Madrid born coach.

Two seasons ago the Spaniard was keen to sign Florent Malouda instead of Ryan Babel, but ended up buying the Dutchman due to Malouda's wage demands. Back in 2006 the Spanish boss wanted to sign Simao, but ended up purchasing the enigmatic Jermaine Pennant. That same season Benitez wanted to purchase Daniel Alves (then a Seville player), but instead signed the much cheaper, although vastly underrated Alvaro Arbeloa.

More recent examples are the farce of the board choosing to sign Robbie Keane and not Gareth Barry, and, in August, the acquisition of Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Benitez would have preferred Michael Turner or Matthew Upson as more powerful options in central defence.

One welcome piece of news for Red's fans is that Alberto Aquilani, an expensive Benitez signing, played fifteen minutes for the reserves last night.

A judgment can be made on him in the very near future and the Italian certainly does have the ability to influence games with his neat passing and powerful shooting. And despite the undoubted pressure being placed on his shoulders the former Roma star should prove a hit with the Anfield faithful.

It must also be remembered that Daniel Agger is back in the side and building up his match fitness. Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson will all be back sooner rather than later and none of their injuries are long term. The fortunes of the Anfield giants could well look very different in a month’s time.

While it is disappointing for Liverpool that they have lost four games in succession, it’s still very early in the campaign.

In the league, so many teams have been dropping points to each other and it seems the Premiership has finally become the unpredictable circus we have all craved.

Many are already predicting that Liverpool will be out of the top four by the end of the season, but haven’t we heard this all before concerning the big four?

I vividly recall the 2001-2002 season. Manchester United had lost six games by the end of November, and were being written off by endless ‘experts’ and by the bookies (they were as much as 12-1 for the title at that stage). Inspired by Ruud Van Nistelroy, United then won eight league games in a row, and by the beginning of January were top.

It only takes a run of wins (which Liverpool are more than capable of) and a decent run of fixtures for everything to change.

No one can say that the five times European champions are playing well, but having a bad run in October does not automatically mean the end of the season.Liverpool supporters bemoaning Benitez’s decision making need to be more objective.

I heard a fan call Five Live on Tuesday night suggesting that Benitez was still living off the Istanbul drama of 2005. The caller also said that Liverpool won the FA Cup in 2006, but were lucky. Most annoyingly, he suggested that they had done "nothing" since. This observation is totally unfounded. Has this 'fan' forgotten that the team got to the European Cup final in 2007? Yes, the European Champions League final, is that really "nothing"?

Two years later, Liverpool nearly won the title, completing the double over Manchester United and Chelsea, and only lost two games in the entire campaign. No supporters, however frustrated, can say that during the three trophy-less years at Anfield, the club have not been in contention for the major trophies some way or another.

At this juncture I want to point out an obvious, but often discarded fact. Only one team can win each competition, something fans seem to forget in all the aftermath of disappointing defeat.

The 'big' clubs such as Liverpool or Arsenal should always be challenging on all fronts, and that's what the fans should expect. Liverpool have certainly done that, home and abroad in recent seasons.

Unhappy fans need to imagine the possible follow-on effects of sacking Benitez. If he left, would his Spanish or Spanish speaking players follow him out of the Anfield exit door? Quite possibly. Reina, Mascherano, and most unthinkable of all, Fernando Torres would probably all depart to pastures new.

Rafael Benitez is a top manager. As I have mentioned previously, in Gerard Houllier’s last season, Liverpool were eliminated in the UEFA Cup fourth round and scraped fourth place in the league with a megre 60 points. Last season Benitez’s team finished second with 86 points. There is no comparison.

If some people reading this are thinking that one season is too little a time to make a judgement, it must also be added that Houllier’s team were fifth the previous season with 64 points. The Frenchman’s team had been going backwards for a while. Benitez’s team have just had a few bad results in the last month or so.

Twice a La liga winner winner with Valencia, Benitez has taken his Liverpool team to two European Cup finals, a semi final and a quarter final. He has led the club to three comfortable top three finishes, an FA Cup win, and a League Cup final in his five years as boss. Anyone comparing his record to Houllier's is a fool.

In fact, if you compare the former Valencia manager’s record with that of Arsene Wenger’s over the same period, it is far superior.

The Gunner’s exciting start to this season has meant that Wenger is now a media darling once again. But football fans and pundits’ alike have short memories.

Arsenal are being praised to high heaven for their performances this season, but this time last year the Londoners had lost five league games. There were plenty of fan's calling for Wenger's dismissal then, but now the Gunners are being held in a positive spotlight once again.

People are so fickle and contradictory concerning their football analysis. We constantly hear how teams like Holland are technically superior and how all their players are comfortable on the ball, when England play badly. However, we also regularly hear how Liverpool's two Dutchman, Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel are not good enough to play for Liverpool.

Meanwhile, last night, Real Madrid were beaten 3-2 at home to AC Milan (a poorer team than Lyon), but Xavi Alonso was in the team. Where was his protective midfield play there I wander? Is he really so special now?

There is hope for Liverpool. Two seasons ago they only had one point from their first three Champions League group games. Subsequently, the team won their last three group games and qualified in style.

They then went on to beat Inter Milan and Arsenal in the knockout stages, and only lost in an incredibly tight two legged semi final to Chelsea, that went to extra time.

When all the players’, particularly Aquilani, are fully fit, Benitez can be judged more thoroughly. For now, it’s too early in the season.

In my view, the most important statistic Liverpool fans must look at is that the Merseysiders finished 29 points behind the champions Arsenal in 2004, when Benitez took over. Since then, Benitez’s Liverpool teams have finished above Arsenal in three out of the last four seasons and finished 14 points ahead of them in the last campaign.

Just five months ago they finished four points behind the current champions and 14 points ahead of Arsenal (a 43 point swing over five years). Have Liverpool made progress under Benitez’s stewardship? Of course they have.

Finally, if you believe in coincidences, the last time Liverpool lost four games in a row was late in the 1986-1987season. A mere four months later they were playing the most exquisite football with a team being heralded by many as the greatest side they ever had. The team went 29 games unbeaten and won the League at a canter the following year.

Things can change so quickly in football, just ask Sir Alex Ferguson. Mark Robins, the City Ground anyone? Watch this space.