There used to be a time when as a fan base we boasted about having the most knowledgeable fans in Europe, a time when we believed in Shankly’s holy-trinity of the players, the manager and the fans. Those times are gone and our support is getting as bad as the likes of Newcastle and West Ham, fickle followings who follow the media like puppets.
If you asked me what the hardest job in football is at the moment without a shadow of a doubt I’d say the job of the Liverpool manager. Rafael Benitez has turmoil above him at our club, our two owners haven’t invested nearly enough into players, forcing Rafa to sell to buy and go for second-choices when it comes to both summer and January targets. What other club in the world is given the transfer budget less than relegation candidates Stoke yet are expected to challenge high-spending Manchester United and Chelsea? The answer to this question of course is none.
Rafa has done an outstanding job so far, bringing us a European Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Super Cup. Not only that but last season we had our best season in two decades, being just beat to the title by a Manchester United side we beat both home and away. This season has been a different story, something I do take into account. We lost Xabi in the summer and brought in Glen Johnson. After the signing of the right back Rafa said he had more money to spend on another big signing, that money was snatched from under his nose by our greedy owners, leaving us lacking in positions which that money could have been used to fill.
Up until this season everyone was behind Rafa, everyone knew that the owners were to blame for our lack of success in recent seasons, it seems people forget quickly and knee-jerk reactions have become the norm. The same fans who chanted Rafa’s name after the win over United last Sunday are the same people who are calling for his head after the loss to Fulham with a heavily injury-struck side. Plain and simple these fans are fickle, they don’t know what they’re talking about so simply follow what the media say. A pundits opinion becomes their opinion as they don’t have an opinion of their own.
I find this SOS Kenny Dalglish thing quite hilarious. Shouting to help from a man who has vocally backed Rafa Benitez is ludicrous, especially someone who showed they may not be up to Premiership management during a disappointing run at North East club Newcastle. I don’t know what people thing having a new manager will achieve? They’d wouldn’t be supported financially as our current manager isn’t, on top of that they’d have to start from scratch building their own squad, putting an end to our title chances, at least for the next couple of season. We don’t need a new manager, we need a new owner.
These aren’t the type of fans that were associated with Liverpool F.C in the past and it’s not the kind of fans we need in the future. Liverpool F.C needs to go back to its roots, a loyal fanbase dedicated to the team and the manager, who’ll back them through the bad times and the good. The kind of fans who know what they’re talking about, the kind of fans who study the game and learn the ins and outs, the kind of fans who know when we’re in a bad run of form or when something is actually wrong.
In Rafa We Trust
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.com