Lawrenson: Benitez must be shown exit door
Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes Rafa Benitez needs to be sacked as manager of the Anfield club.
The BBC pundit launched a scathing attack on the Liverpool manager and insists the Reds have fallen back instead of progressing.
He said: “Rafa Benitez must be shown the door at Liverpool at the end of the season.
“It is time for change and the Spaniard should go, even if Liverpool somehow manage to finish in the top four.
“Benitez has had six years at Anfield and, if anything, the club has gone backwards during his reign.
“Winning the European Cup in his first season won the manager some time and credit. And it will always be remembered as a truly remarkable achievement.
“But with Liverpool on a downward spiral, the most worrying question must be what on earth now is the future for Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres?
“Gerrard will be 30 in May, Torres is one of the best strikers in the world, yet their careers are being unfulfilled at Anfield under Benitez.
“If Rafa goes, what next for Torres? Either way, Gerrard’s talent deserves better. But take those two players out of the Liverpool side and the team is so average.
“Benitez’s record in signing players around the £10million mark is appalling.
“Look at the likes of Albert Rieira. Decent in his first season, but has flattered to deceive. Dirk Kuyt works hard, looks decent in a good team, but decent isn’t enough for the five-time champions of Europe. Emiliano Insua looks like little boy lost. Lucas will never be a top player. Frankly, you can go right through Rafa’s team and most of them are found wanting.
“Just compare the Liverpool side that lost to Wigan and now Lille to Gerard Houllier’s team in his final game in charge, a 1-1 draw with Newcastle in May 2004.
“This was the final line-up: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Murphy, Hamann, Gerrard, Kewell, Heskey, Owen.
“You cannot tell me that team, that squad of players, would not have beaten the Liverpool team which lost at Wigan. So, in six years in charge, Benitez has gone backwards.
“It’s ridiculous to suggest that the Spaniard has not had money to spend, either. He’s had a lot of money. In fact, there’s been a revolving door transfer policy at Anfield.
“Benitez spent £18m on a right-back, Glen Johnson, in the summer. Good player, but Liverpool needed another striker. That’s bad judgement. Alberto Aquilani is supposed to have cost £20m and replaced Xabi Alonso. Has it worked? No chance.
“So please spare us the sob stories about no money. Yes, the feud between the Americans has been a distraction, but it comes down to the manager and the players he has brought in and allowed to go.
“The supporters have been fiercely loyal throughout. They have been remarkable, in fact. But I went to Wigan on Monday night as a spectator.
“I sat with a group of fans who go home and away and now even they have turned. They won’t go again while Benitez stays in charge. Liverpool needed to really go for it at Wigan. To get that fourth spot, they need to get results away from home.
“But at Wigan, they were just too negative, sitting back and just trying not to get beat. Typical Benitez. So negative. He is a manager more suited to European football than the cut and thrust of the Premier League.
“The defeat in Lille leaves them with a lot to do to if they are to stay in the Europa League. Another disaster.
“What is an even more worrying prospect for Liverpool is them being squeezed out of fourth place by Manchester City.
“If Roberto Mancini’s men get into the Champions League, just watch them go. City will spend big, buy A-list players and Liverpool would be in danger of falling even further behind. That would be it for Benitez anyway.
“It’s fourth place or bust for Rafa – and he knows it.
“While I’ve always been a Benitez supporter and great defender of his, even for a large part this season, the time has come for change. And it should come even if Liverpool scrape into fourth.
“The incredible thing is that even with their stuttering form, they are still in with a chance of that fourth spot.
“That’s only because the other contenders – City, Tottenham and Aston Villa – have failed to nail it. Liverpool can still do it but they need to start winning big games away from home.
“Trouble is, having been so abject against Wigan on Monday night, there is little to suggest they will do it.
“However, even if the Anfield men pull off a remarkable end to the season and scrape in, this season has taught us that Benitez has had his time. He’s had six years and now, after going backwards, it’s time for change.
“Whether that change comes because Liverpool decide he has go, or Benitez gets offered another job at Real Madrid or Juventus, enough is enough.”
| Share on Twitter |
 |
 |
Got something to say? Submit your views below!
Birmingham City (away)
Sun 12th Sep - 4:00PMBarclays Premier League
Stream links available
Watch live football online on your computer!
Interested in betting on Liverpool?
News, tips, football odds and all you need to know about football betting in the UK.
Bet on Liverpool at online betting sites that offer easy and safe deposit options along with great promotions for real money punters including big bonuses and free bets!
Watch live football online on your computer!
i maybe pro rafa, but all i ask is give him ONE MORE SEASON to prove us wrong. next season = failure = exit..
i only read until “Benitez has had six years at Anfield and, if anything, the club has gone backwards during his reign.”, too lazy to read the rest of the shit
let’s see, i tried to get the data from wiki, from 1998 to 2004, liverpool managed to get total epl points 54,67,69,80,64,60, then rafa came, from 2005 to last season, 58,82,68,76,86. i expect this season to be lowest of his reign, but just a quick look can tell that the average has increased…
for player transfers, yea, he made stupid signing, but unless someone can provide me the data that among big 4(just big 4, not need to include other sudden rich club) during the same TIMESPAN, rafa has the biggest transfer failure. Let’s see, for example, arsenal got reyes, chelsea with shevchenko, united with berbatov, liverpool with dossena. there r more transfer failure than this, rite, from 2004 to now? I am too lazy to calculate.. but I am pretty sure the amount of rafa transfer failure is not the biggest just among BIG 4 (you dont need to include spurs, portsmouth, newcastle and the list go on)
after all, everton (damn!!) n villa r the only epl clubs that I can say all the signings are spot on…
For once, I agree with Lawrenson. The night at Wigan was perhaps the lowest I seen our team play during Rafa’s reign. I am a Red through and through. But if any neutral will think that Liverpool do not deserve to be in Champions League not even Europa League next season. Lawrenson’s comments nails the spot when it comes to the squad we have. When Houllier had Diao, Diouf and Cheyrou (4million, 10million and 4million) he was sacked after 12 months. Now Rafa has got Aquilani for 20 million and his playing time is worst than Sotiris Kyrigiakos.
He is really a dead man walking. I can see Gerrard losing faith in him and his performance on the field shows it all. Clearly Rafa has already lost the dressing room. Players are not reacting to him and they are no longer playing for him. When that happens, managers get the boot. But because we have the YANKS, the decision made is no longer in a footballing sense but financial sense.
If Rafa was sacked on Jan, we should be contending for CL spot with King Kenny and still have a chance to the 20million CL jackpot. Now it looks like saving that sacking cost of Rafa (which could be around 15million) has lost us the 20million.
Nice move YANKS and bye-bye Rafa.
hey give us some names of his successor too.
some name that could make us feel better.
some name with possibility though.
I’m not 100% back for Rafa. Very often, I’m tired of Rafa complicated tactics…but it’s just one crazy season that he fells through. Even your time as a footballer, you still had a slump period. If you want an instant success like Mourinho did, spare us some 200 million then.
Give him a chance, It’s just seven crazy months and now you leave him. How could we sing You’ll Never Walk Alone on the stand?
Good luck Mr. Laurenson
he should have gone after failed to win title last season which is a sitter.
I was one to say give rafa another season and then get rid if no title appears,
but im just thinking the transfer funds that are gonna be available in the summer should be given to someone else to spend (kenny king, Mourhino, oneil), because i cant stand seeing rafa buy players who cost between £11 – 20m and then left on the bench (for half or most of the season e.g aquilani, babel – keane).
when we are losing games and he brings them on for like for like players with 10-8mins to go, and leaves on non-attacking players (masch, lucas) on the pitch when we need goals, its pointless. play your most attacking players from the start if available especially at home to weak team!
i wish rafa could prove us wrong next year but it isnt worth the risk anymore, he wont better what his already done in the last 5 years
what a load of crap yet more sky sports media anti – liverpool rubbish, for a start johnson did not cost in cash 17million, that was what the value of his cost was, not what we paid, pompey owed lfc 10 million on the crouch deal that took old bean pole to pompey, so liverpool wrote that part of the deal off and paid 7 mill pounds.
whats more, i love it when these pundits, who can i say get it wrong, time and again! come out and start and bang on about this and that, when can you really see people like lawrenson not even coming into management,,,,,, what a joke these old pundits are, bottlers the lot of them, shearer, hansen, lawrenson, etc they all talk talk but never back it up, at least rafa has put his heart and sould into this club, you watch what happens to liverpool if rafa goes, i can tell you all know that javier will not be here, maybe not even torres, gerrard would not want to stay around another new area with the current owners, what about reina, the contract has not be signed, most of you are dreaming if you think another manager would have stayed on here at lfc under the current crao, ask yourself, could you be bothered to stick around if you had to work under the current rubbish that is going on and has done every since these fraud of businesmen came through the doors in feb 2007. be careful what you want, oh and your going to tell me that rafa lost the dressing room! what a load of clap trap,, reina has backed rafa, torres admitted he came becasue of rafa and the spanish set up, gerrrad siad he has got better under rafa, mascherano has just last week said “i’d play anywhere under rafa”
to all you fake fans, wake up and drink some energy drink, because with the crap thats happened at thsi club and the stuff that goes on around the corner in these hard months will be hard, thats what its been like for the surroundings for the players the staff and mostly rafa.
liverpool is bigger than torres, rafa and gerrard but it will not be un less we have more investment, NO MATTER WAHT MANAGER YOU WANT,,,
OUT GO FAKE FANS
OUT GO YANKIE OWNERS
OUT GO ANTI – LIVERPOOL FANS/ MEDIA COMPANIES, LIKE SKY, DIALY MAIL
OUT GO SHITE FANS WHO CAN NOT EVEN SEE THE BIG PICTURE.
IN;
RAFA, CURRENT PLAYERS, NEW INVESTORS, NEW PLAYERS AND A NEW START.
^ this