Rafael Benítez has come out fighting in the build-up to Liverpool’s crucial match against Arsenal tomorrow.
The Liverpool manager attacked two of his biggest critics and claimed that the priority of the club has shifted from silverware to debt management.
At a time when Liverpool are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the appointment of Bill Shankly, arguably their greatest manager, the Scot’s latest successor to the Anfield throne has intimated that Shankly’s oft-repeated mantra about Liverpool existing only to win trophies is no longer as relevant as it once was.
Benítez, clearly tired of shouldering all the blame for Liverpool’s season of woe, offered a rare insight into the financial restrictions he is working under at the debt-laden club.
He followed that up by ridiculing the managerial records of Graeme Souness and Jürgen Klinsmann, who led the criticism of the Spaniard after Wednesday night’s Champions League defeat by Fiorentina.
His frustrations came to the surface after a run of only three wins in Liverpool’s past 14 games. But they have been festering since last summer, when his spending power in the transfer market was all but wiped out by the servicing of the £250 million debt loaded on to the club by Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the co-owners.
The American duo had to find £60 million to secure a new refinancing deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland and with interest payments costing in the region of £30 million every year, Benítez has been forced to cut his cloth accordingly, turning a net profit on transfers and missing out on key targets such as Stevan Jovetic, the Fiorentina forward, and Matthew Upson, the West Ham United defender.
Benítez also warned that the continuing era of austerity at Anfield may result in Liverpool’s fans having to wait still longer for the success they crave.
“We have to accept our situation and then try to do the best in the conditions that we have,” Benítez said yesterday. “Can we improve with these conditions? I think so, but it is a question of time.
“When I signed my five-year contract [in March], we knew that we had to work together, so we will try to do the best for the club. Sometimes you can do it and still perform on the pitch and sometimes you have to wait a little bit.
“One of the priorities this year was to reduce the debt, so the club is working very hard to do this. I think that our position will be much better. It was one of the most important things that we had to manage. Along with football issues, we had to manage them together.
“The people inside the club know what the situation is. It is difficult to explain to the media and the fans every single issue, but we have to keep working inside and trying to do the best for the club.
“We have to approach every game and every competition trying to win and also at the same time try to manage with the real situation of the club.
“I have a responsibility and I have to manage the things that we have at the moment and try to do my best with these things. Can it be better? Yes, it can be, but the main thing for me is being ready to do my job.
“Can we do something in January [when the transfer window opens]? We will see, but we are working very hard together.”
While Manchester City plot a further spending spree next month, Liverpool will be left scouring the bargain basement as Benítez looks to bolster his squad with quality, if not quantity.
The Spaniard needs a forward to provide back-up for Fernando Torres, but the likelihood is that he will have to trim up to four fringe players from his squad just to be able to fund the purchase.
In the past 12 months, Benítez has spent about £37 million on Glen Johnson, Alberto Aquilani and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, but brought in more than £50 million through the sales of Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa, Robbie Keane, Sebastián Leto and Adam Hammill.
The club’s wage bill has also been reduced after the departures of Sami Hyypia and Jermaine Pennant, and by six further players going out on loan.
Benítez confirmed that, in net terms, he spent nothing last summer and reiterated that the situation may not improve in time for the next transfer window. “We were bringing money in and we spent some money,” Benítez said. “Can we do something in January? We will see, but you cannot guarantee anything.
“We have to work together, the financial department and also the manager of football. We are really pleased about the communication and sometimes you can afford things and sometimes you cannot.”
If either of the owners turns up at Anfield tomorrow they are likely to have to run the gauntlet of fans angry at the way the club have been run since being taken over by the Americans in February 2007.
It is another pair who attracted the ire of Benítez yesterday, however, with Klinsmann — who was once lined up by Liverpool’s owners as his possible replacement — and Souness, widely regarded by the club’s followers as the worst manager in their history, in his line of fire.
“The first time when they told me about him [Klinsmann], they told me that he was an expert in marketing, so I was surprised to see him as an expert in football, too,” Benítez said.
“Honestly, I don’t hear the comments. I switch Sky off. We have to win, we have a responsibility and have to concentrate on our job. If someone talks too much, that is their problem. The fans know the records they both have as managers is fantastic.”
The attack was laced with irony, but Benítez’s latest offensive undoubtedly found its target. After a spell in which it appeared that his heart for a battle had been all but wiped out by a series of disappointments, the Spaniard has come out fighting once again.
However, what his superiors at Anfield make of his latest salvo remains to be seen.
Top four is the target
Rafael Benítez says the return to fitness of his biggest stars has strengthened his belief that Liverpool will finish in the Barclays Premier League’s top four. The visit of Arsenal on Sunday will be the first time this season that the Liverpool manager has been able to pick his first-choice XI, with Fernando Torres, Alberto Aquilani and Steven Gerrard available.
“When you have your big names playing, it is easier for the others,” Benítez said. “They have confidence from that and it is easier to win games. We have been playing without two of the best players in the world in some games and if they are available and we have the majority of players available also, then I think we will win more games in a row and we will be in the top four.”
No comments:
Post a Comment