Takeovers and Benefactors

There’s no doubt about it, Liverpool have come along
way since the misfiring collection of players brought together by Gerard
Houllier. Admittedly the young stars (Owen and Gerrard etc…) of the earlier
Evans/Houllier regime were able to flourish under the solo manager, but his new
additions to the squad such as Bernard Diomede, Salif Diao and recently released
Bruno Cheyrou hardly caused a major splash in the Mersey.

Liverpool’s footballing name was upheld by ‘lesser’
success in comparison to the glory seen pre and post Houllier, with the token
achievements in the League Cup and UEFA Cup – but this period is definitely seen
as a lull.

In June 2004, a successful Spanish manager by the name
of Rafael Benitez took over the reins at Liverpool and within a season turned
players like Smicer, Kewell and Dudek into Champions League winners. His tactics
went hand-in-hand with Liverpool’s existing style of play, relying on strong
defence and patient build-up play to break an opponent down. Furthermore, it
seemed like the only way for Liverpool was up, with a relatively young squad
oozing confidence after the fairytale of Istanbul.

But a recent phenomenon has seemed to stifle the
success which Liverpool naturally deserve – takeovers and benefactors. Liverpool
have watched by as their rivals are able to spend money in amounts which have
never been seen before, and had to make do with scraps left behind. The players
brought by this money inevitably provide success (and £30,000 a-week
bench-warmers) for their clubs, but leave the others unable to
compete.

This approach of throwing money at a problem takes the
shine away from real, deserved success, providing instead a hollow title and the
hassle of another trophy to polish. But if we want Liverpool to stand any chance
amongst the competition, perhaps we should swallow our MerseyPride, hide our
eyes from history and resign ourselves to the fact that Mr. Benitez might just
have to put in a call to the United Banks of America.

Seb