Is Benitez on the Way Out?

As Howard Webb blew the final whistle at Anfield on Sunday, the Liverpool players converged on him presumably to remonstrate about some perceived injustice which had cost them, at least in their minds, a victory. But there was something half hearted in the protests of captain Steven Gerrard and others. Their body language had all the hallmarks of a side going through the motions, and their motive seemed to be to send out a message that yet another lousy result was the fault of the referee, not themselves. And certainly not beleaguered manager Rafael Benitez.

For the very likeable Spaniard had stored part of this up for himself after the the icing on the exit from Europe cake was sprayed on by Fiorentina at Anfield last midweek. Benitez had bravely declared in the run up to Sunday’s home EPL match with Arsenal that Liverpool’s ‘new season season begins now.’

Benitez’s new season is now one game old. And he has still to win a point this season. The 1-2 loss at home to a resurgent Arsenal answered some questions about the North London side. After a hammering at home last month against neighbours Chelsea, another at the hands of Manchester City in the Carling Cup and an embarrassing if ultimately meaningless defeat in Greece at the hands of Olympiakos, Anfield would have been nobody’s first choice for the venue to avoid a fourth defeat in five matches.

And avoid it they did. After trailing to a Dirk Kuyt goal at half time, Glen Johnson, a player not considered good enough at Chelsea, had a nightmare second half scoring an own goal, before losing Andrei Arshavin who finished classily for the winner.

For Benitez however, this couldn’t have possible been worse. He has frequently pointed to injuries and absentees when explaining away a bad result. Against Arsenal, he had everyone available. For the time being, the ire of the supporters seems directed at the unpopular American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. Organised groups such as Spirit of Shankly have demonstrated against the owners and this seems to have protected Benitez from the direct firing line.

But whether the Liverpool fans like it or not, events overseas will have a direct bearing on their club’s fortunes, and it seems if they hold their breath, their fortunes may just be about to turn.

Gillett pocketed a  $280 million profit from the sale of his ice hockey team in Quebec, the  Montreal Canadiens. And Hicks may be about to join him rolling in the green stuff. His baseball side, the Texas Rangers, once notoriously mismanaged by former President George W Bush, are about to be sold for a sum believed to be in the range of $240m. This would be a timely boost fir Liverpool with the January transfer window about to open. It could however also mean the funds are there both to dismiss Benitez and pay off the rest of his contract, and replace him, while adequately compensating the current employer of whoever replaces him.

But all is not straightforward in the murky world of Tom Hicks’ finances. He has apparently been funding operating losses for both the Rangers and the Dallas Stars out of an interest reserve that is part of a $525 million loan on which he defaulted on March 31, according to sources who spoke to Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal. There are said to be lenders impatiently eying up the proceeds of any Rangers sale. Given the apparent frisson between Gillett and Hicks, it seems unlikely Gillett alone will volunteer to fund Liverpool without Hicks’ investing too. And if Hicks freed up capital is instantly snaffled up by creditors, that seems less likely.

None of which is good news for Rafa Benitez. There is some though. Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers are his next three opponents. Nine points and a healthy intervention in the transfer market may save his job. If they don’t, there’ll be no-one else left to blame.

EPL TOP 7

		Played	Goal Diff	Points
1	Chelsea	16	27	37
2	Man Utd	16	20	34
3	Arsenal	15	21	31
4	Aston Villa	16	12	29
5	Tottenham	16	13	27
6	Man City	15	8	26
7	Liverpool	16	10	24

Arsenal Profit as Big Two Falter

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