Football FanCast reporter Freddie Myers cannot understand why Rafa has to make do with 2nd best.

If there is one thing that completely perplexed me last season, then it was the treatment dished out to Rafa Benitez. Here is a man who has delivered his football club the Champions League title, FA Cup success and constantly played in Europe's elite competition - a title challenge would have been nice, but you can hardly say they haven't got closer every given year.

Quite why the board chose to publicly criticise the manager is anybody's guess, but it was really one that had little substance. Liverpool were motoring on nicely as they approached November, having got off to their best start in years, when the wheels of the football club came flying off the rails.

It was muted at the time that the fall out between manager and board centred on proposed transfer dealings for January. Here was Liverpool, in the best position they have been for years, and the manager wanted to make new additions in order to strengthen their title push. It made perfect sense in all honesty and the failure to do so cost them dear.

The club never recovered from the fall out, results suffered, their position slumped and both Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher came out and talked of the adverse effect it was having on the team and its morale. Rafa Benitez was under unprecedented scrutiny from the media and every bad result or dropped point was met with a barrage of speculation about his future; it seem to continue throughout and it was only when the club reached the Champions League semi that it all started to simmer and suddenly the owners came round to the fact that Rafa is not such a bad manager after all.

The whole season was a PR disaster for the football club and you only hoped that the club had learnt from their mistakes and decided to address their failings of last year and put full faith in the manager. Their performances last season proved that with one or two astute signings that a title challenge is well within their grasp; I mean they lost fewer games than Manchester United and just by turning a few draws into wins; would have been well truly in the mix last season.  

What concerns me this summer is that the board have been extremely tentative and judging by the transfer policy, Rafa has to juggle the market in order to obtain his targets. Selling to buy is certainly not the policy of a club with aspirations and having to buy second best as they are unable to meet the price tags of others, must be pulling Rafa's hair out. Why should he have to move for Robbie Keane because Villa is too expensive? Why should the club have to sell Xabi Alonso to raise the funds for Gareth Barry? They are not being fair to Rafa Benitez who will now find his job even harder.

There is no question that if Rafa fails to deliver or challenge for the title he will be replaced next season. Why the club are failing to give the Spaniard every chance to succeed, is a mystery to me and will continue to puzzle me as long as I live. Liverpool have the top director at the helm; unfortunately he is being failed by his supporting cast.