In Rafa I Trust on Derby Day

I really liked Rafa's interview earlier in the week when he talked about the lure of Real Madrid. Real Madrid are quite obviously very close to his heart. According to the interview they were offering him more money personally and more money for player transfers. Given the splurge over the summer I don't think anyone can doubt this.

So why stay? Why not leave our club and run back to his HOMELAND, the CLUB HE SUPPORTED AS A YOUNGSTER, with a BIGGER TRANSFER BUDGET and for MORE MONEY?

Well I think there are two reasons. The first is that the job isn't done yet. For anyone who didn't catch the excellent Gerrard interview in Four Four Two he said "He's (Rafa) a perfectionist: he's obsessed with perfection individually and as a team". In a perfectionist mind I believe leaving now would be hard, if not impossible - a failure. Secondly, and more importantly, he quite obviously has a genuine affection for our club. From day one he has surprised. Whether that's winning the champions league or celebrating in a pub with fans. He very quickly worked his way into the hearts of Liverpool fans, which is where he remains for most.

During the blame game posts (which I started because of our recent run of form) I made my feelings on Rafa very clear and I called for some 'peace time'. Now I realise that not all of my wishes will come true in relation to this but for today I would like to see everyone behind our club and behind Rafa. I realise that not everyone shares my thoughts about Rafa but no one should be in any doubt about his dedication to our club. No one should be in any doubt of his track record and

everyone should review the recent 'blip' against his overall record at Anfield. I'm not going to reel off the statistics here as you've probably seen them a million times already. If not, just go look at his record with our club, then sit down and look at the last ten results. Ask yourself honestly... is this in all likelihood a blip, a bad run of results exacerbated by injuries?

I'll be completing every tweet today with #ynwa and #irwt as a thank you to Rafa. He'll probably never know I was doing it. If we all do it he still may never know we're all doing it. But I don't care if he doesn't see, I don't care if no one sees it trending it's quite simply a thank you. I hope the power of Twitter may do the rest.

If you don't have twitter yet please go and get it, follow me @mcdonaldtaf and re-tweet my tweets and follow any other tweets with #ynwa and #irwt. I would also recommend @paul_tomkins, @lfctv, @robbohuyton and @empireofthekop as must have LFC follows.

Why I'm Saying "No to Ground Share"

I have been asked by a few fans about my thoughts on the potential ground share question which has arisen again. Twitter space is so short I thought it best to give some additional information here to back up my 'no' tweets.

Over recent weeks my head has ruled my heart while I have made an analysis of the level of damage being caused by our American owners. I think when you see any Liverpool fans not happy about something, especially given the volume of fans, part of you wants to stand by them. However, as a business minded person and a senior manager myself, I have a degree of empathy for the owners who currently have our club in a relatively healthy position financially.

But when it comes to the ground share I'm afraid I'm going to be all heart. There are many financial and business reasons to ground share. All across the world we are seeing businesses consolidating, especially through these trying credit crunch times. The reason for this is to save on costs and make two businesses operating together more profitable than they would be independently.

For us we would be looking at halving the design, planning and construction costs. Let's be honest we're not talking about chump change here, we are talking hundreds of millions of pounds. We would also see a major acceleration in getting from where we are now to collecting additional revenues. Additional revenues which would help promote the clubs on the pitch success.

Given we are the bigger club and that Everton would surpass their seating expectations (70,000 LFC / 50,000 EFC) I believe we would have a strong negotiation stance to get what we want out of any deal.

So it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Well no, there are also good reasons from the head why we shouldn't do it. The political fall out would be disastrous should the board of Liverpool even consider this option. There will be no mitigating factors on this one. They gave cast iron guarantees that we would not ground share. Now the world may have changed but to think this is the only option of getting a new Anfield would be wrong in my opinion. I think the owners already know that there would be a major backlash so I don't see it happening anyway. If it does, well I imagine we will see subscriptions for the supporters union increase significantly.

Any organisation has political rumblings inherently built into it. Some are managed very well but there are always conflicts and differences of opinion going on in them. So take our business with its current 'political rumblings' and then add in additional parties from Everton Football Club. Disaster.

Then there's the heart. The biggest problem for anyone looking to make the ground share reality? The fans' hearts. I don't want to ground share, I don't want to share our football club or its property with anyone. I don't want our great football club to have to share with anyone else. We are one of the top clubs in Europe, indeed the world. Why should we have to share? Again, I get angry at the years of mis-management pre-Purslow and I hope he is the man to move us forward commercially. The only rational business decisions for not having a ground share are in the paragraphs above but if you ask me, I can't give you any facts or figures, I just don't want to share.

Politically there is possibly only one way of moving this forward if the board really do want to consider it and after exhausting all other avenues. Early doors they need to set out their reasons why and let others set out their reasons why not. It should be an independently handled vote to the fans and not the board. I would expect a resounding 'no' but stranger things have happened!

Even after typing that last paragraph my LFC loving heart screams 'if it does get built (and it better had) why would we want to share it with anyone, never mind Everton. We are the biggest Merseyside club and its going to stay that way, they are not impinging on our successful image!'

NO TO GROUND SHARE!

Who is this McDonaldTaf idiot?

So who is this idiot mcdonaldtaf? Well now there's a question. You see most people do this as their first blog entry but in true mcdonaldtaf fashion the explanation comes after 17 other entries.

First of all let me dispel some myths:

I am not pro Hicks and Gillette (LFC's owners for non LFC followers)

I am not a writer for liverpool-kop.com, I have had two of my posts re-produced there

I am not Jaimie Kanwar

I am not an idiot because I trust in Rafa

I don't like country music

Ok, ok I do like country music but the rest is true!

I am a 33 year old Operations Director for an SME who provide support services to the lettings industry. I have a strong management background going back 15 years in SME's and among my skills I have strong I.T., finance and general management 'expertise' (loosely speaking).

I have a postgraduate diploma in Management and am on the third and final year of my Masters Degree in Management. Which is quite extraordinary given I left school with very little in the way of qualifications. However, I have been hard working and applied myself well. I have also benefited from working with exceptional Managing Directors throughout my career. All of them have shaped me into the manager I am today - and now I in turn (hopefully) teach the managers of tomorrow.

I do weight training 4 times a week (although I'm not as strong or big as I would like), play squash and football once a week. I generally run every other day. Except this week as I'm having a week off due to several niggling injuries. I am a 'chunky unit' rather than a toned skinny geezer. I was at one stage 22 and half stone and looked like a cartoon character with a big round face. I lost 5 stone a few years ago though and now live in eternal fear that 'bellys gonna get me'!

I have three kids (two I don't live with) Kadon, Kai and Abbie Rose. Abbie Rose is the latest addition and as the girl she is being locked in her room till she is 35! I live with my girlfriend (or life partner as she insists on me saying) Sarah who has changed my life over the last couple of years and made me the happiest I have ever been. Finally settled down!

Urm I guess that's it! Feel free to ask any other questions you have, although if you've read this far I would be surprised.

Liverpool Football Club - On the brink of collapse somewhere!

This morning in an alternative universe Liverpool Football Club woke up to a brand new world. Over the past 24 hours their owners have found themselves in increasing difficulty as the Dubai Government, who own the club through it investment vehicle DIC, find themselves on the brink of collapse. £44bn has been wiped off the stock of Dubai related companies and the credit ratings of its major companies downgraded.

What does this mean for Liverpool Football Club? Well DIC had followed their usual protocols of applying high leverage against the business assets to support it. The club has benefited from major activity in the transfer market and the building of a new stadium, which is 50% complete. If the Dubai government is unable to reach agreement with its companies' creditors then it could effectively collapse.

This would mean disaster for Liverpool Football Club as it is unlikely that anyone will see the opportunity to make a return on such a highly leveraged business. It is inevitable that work on the new stadium will cease and the possibility of a fire sale of its most prized footballing assets including players Fernando Torres, David Villa, David Silva and Steven Gerrard are more likely than ever. Given the debts were placed directly onto the club and guaranteed by DIC rather than through a special investment vehicle (holding company) it is highly likely that Liverpool will face a points deduction from the FA.

One of the truly great clubs of all time woke up this morning and found itself on the brink of falling down a deep black financial hole.

----------------------------------------------------

Back to reality.

What would have DIC done that would have been any different to H&G? In a world where credit was easy companies grew on the back of leverage against assets. What I believe would have been different would have been the sheer level of debts. Much like CFC face destruction if Abramovich fails, so would we.

IF H&G fail then LFC will be bought and we will not (I believe) face any points deduction. The debt levels are more than acceptable to a potential buyer at the moment and the company is run by an effective management team who are delivering its potential after years of neglect. This turnaround will take time and patience is required. Much like it is with Rafa at the moment.

We can't go out and buy players without taking on extra risk. It is a balancing act and one which Christian Purslow and his team is managing very very well!

Please do not comment on this page unless you have evidence of business reasons why H&G are bad for LFC. I don't want emotive comments, I want cold hard facts. Before you do, go do some research. I have done a lot for you and would refer you back to Blame Game Part One.

This morning I woke up and thought, thank god for that!

A response to Henry Winter for his tripe today!

Ok I need to keep this brief, but let me direct you (in response to your article today) in the right direction for some of the answers you think WE need.

Why is Benítez so cautious with Alberto Aquilani?

- why don't you ask the medical staff who will be providing their expertise and knowledge

How can the Italian acquire the match fitness he needs if he is used only a minute here and there?

- good question, look above. He'll be ready when he's ready. Out of interest what article would this be if he had played, got injured and was out for 6 months "Rafa rushes back Aquilani despite medical advice"? Let me guess "Benitez's stubborn streak continues as he defies medial expertise to play a not fully fit...."

Can Martin Skrtel deal with zonal marking?

- No, he gets played there in our system using zonal marking because he can't deal with it. Last season proved that.... oh hang on.... are you being serious?

Can Liverpool hold on to Javier Mascherano next year?

- Ask the board, the club coming in to buy him, Mascherano or his agent.

Can Benítez bring through more home-grown players, stiffening the team’s resolve?

- Ask him when he's had more time with control over the academy - as you refer to within your article.

Why has Ryan Babel got the hump?

- Ask Ryan Babel, he seems happy enough to whinge and moan elsewhere!

Are the finances so bad that Sotiris Kyrgiakos is the best centre-half Benítez could draft in?

- Ask the board.

Does he really believe “100 per cent’’ that Liverpool can finish in the top four when Manchester City have more money and Tottenham Hotspur more goals?

- No it's just a dream, again are you serious? City for all their money couldn't beat our depleted side and Spurs have just had their goals increased by a pretty freakish result by normal standards.

Is Lucas really good enough?

-*yawn* have you actually watched us play this season? Should have been MOTM against United and has been a silver lining during our injury crisis (yes we've had one of those)

Does he regret selling Stephen Warnock?

- Ask the board if he had to sell to buy.

Did he alienate Xabi Alonso by going for Gareth Barry?

- Xabi Alonso has answered this a million times, why does Rafa need to add anthing?

Would he jump ship to Real Madrid if Manuel Pellegrini gets the Bernabeu bullet?

- He himself has answered this a million times. My god you get paid for this, yes?

Questions, questions. And another, who is Benítez accountable to now?

- The board. I just needed common sense for that one Henry

United lose at home in the CL, Everton increase their run to 1 win in 10 but your focus.... Anfield?

Oh and a question for you that I really do need the answer to. If my aunty had balls would that make her my uncle? If you could do a story on my aunty's balls that would be great. It's been bothering me for ages and let's be honest, it would make for a much better article than the one you wrote!

LFC - Blame Game Decisions - Part Three (Forums, Spirit of Shankly and Fans)

It could be time to sell Torres and Gerrard and rebuild our squad with the proceeds.

Ryan Babel should be given a run of at least 10 games to build his confidence.

We must drop Kuyt because he is ineffective and useless.

Martin Kelly did well for a game, move Johnson to right midfield and play Kelly at right back for the rest of the season.

If Aquilani is sat on the bench then he's obviously fully fit, so play him.

and finally....

Get rid of Benitez and bring back Souness!

Internet Forums

How does it look to you. Is that a blueprint for success? Well take the combined 'expertise' from some forum contributors or 'experts' as some would say and this is what you end up with. I guess we're all entitled to our opinions but some, when stacked up like above, just beggar belief.

This is even before we get onto the vile contribution from other 'experts' who seem to be unable to string together a full sentence without the use of f***, sh** or cu**. These types of 'experts' are most dangerous when forum hunting in a pack I have found.

Now, don't get me wrong everyone is quite rightly entitled to their point of view. I have actually only started interacting in forums over the past couple of months. My expectations of what I might find were possibly just a bit too high though. I expected reasoned debate backed with some sort of evidence of logical thinking, interjected from time to time by the odd idiot. What I have found is a bit different, or perhaps the exact opposite in some cases. A lot of people (not all) seem to have a fixed point of view and you can't shift them no matter what evidence you produce. Others have very little to back up their point of view and seem to be working on a hunch or what they were told.

Knowledge is power but a little knowledge is just downright dangerous. This is where I have the biggest problem with forums. None of us contributors have the whole picture. We don't know who's playing well in training, has a slight knock, has full match fitness etc. But yet we take 50 - 75% of the information available and pass absolute judgements on players, managers and the club as a whole. Then when you reduce the knoweldge gap by providing evidence, well if it was on the phone it would be like this...

'Expert': Rafa doesn't bring through players like Wenger, why can't we get Wenger. Rafa is sh** at bringing through players.

Fact Based Expert: Do you realise that he has only recently had full control over the academy set up and here's the evidence? So really it's a bit unfair to level that accusation at him. We need to judge him over the next few years don't we?

'Expert': ... *click*

Fact Based Expert: hello?

I think you all know my views on Rafa if you read part 2 (CLICK HERE for PART 2) of this series. There are contributing factors with a weight of evidence behind them as to why patience is required. On the other side there is.... urm... well bad results. Short term views aren't helping anyone. We are in this for the long haul. Does anyone believe that without our injuries we would be so far behind? Yet people enter forums with a gut feeling or a reaction to a bad result. They seem to have already forgotten how well we did last season. Yet 6 months later we have the worst manager ever and now all his knowledge, that guided us so near last season, dropped out of his head. Now he's rubbish.

But here's the contradiction for every 100 posts in a forum a small percentage are well presented and researched arguments. They make sense and I nod my head and I think yes I agree with that, even if I didn't before, you have persuaded me. It's usually those posts that are followed by "you p*ick you don't know what you're on about' though. So I shake my head and between the nodding and the shaking I start to feel dizzy and slightly nauseous.

So, on the whole, I don't like forums. They're not places to go to talk things over or foster support at times of trouble like now. They're places to go and put forward a point of view without proper research and to generally have a go. The wheels are falling off, quick replace the driver. But that won't help and here is a full list of scientific research to show why the driver won't make any difference to the nuts holding the wheels on....... hello?

Spirit of Shankly

I really like the concept of a supporters union and I admire some of the work which is being conducted by SOS. At first I was concerned that it was a 'closed shop' and that interaction with them would be restricted. This has not been my experience to date. I have communicated with them on several occasions and they have responded with their point of view and encouraged me to attend a meeting. They have been continually open and courteous with me as I emailed question after question.

I do wonder though whether their initial raison d'etre will hamper them in the future. They will not be shaken in their conviction that the owners of the club are bad for it. I applaud the conviction of their belief but I think they could end up the wrong way of a one way alley. They have gone on the record as stating that they will not change their views and that, to me, was a mistake.

We are fast approaching deadlock. The owners of the club cannot be forcibly removed and they are hard nosed businessmen. Demonstrations or any other actions will not bother them while the club continues to improve commercially, which it is doing. They will only take action when they see it hit their wallets. I am unsure if SOS can generate the following it needs to effect this kind of change.

So the general bad feeling created continues and a section of the fan base continues to be unhappy. The danger persists that the corporate image may be tarnished and this could do immense damage to the club. SOS may then find a larger section of fans protesting about their actions.

I also have a genuine concern that within forums more 'hardcore / direct action' splinter groups are being discussed. They may be separate from SOS but they may damage by association, which would be a shame.

I know SOS has a sizeable following and I am one person. I would just ask them to consider the idea of 'peace time' again. We have enough to worry about on the pitch at the moment and is a year really going to make that much of a difference? Strategically I am sure it will be to their benefit, one way or the other.

The Fans

We are respected the world over and I don't believe many clubs have the special bond created between club and fans. We are known for our ability to stand by our club no matter what and we sing you'll never walk alone to re-emphasise the point at any given time.

It worries me though that the special relationship between club and fans is changing. Maybe its just my reaction to our current predicament. I have only really started interacting with the fans and club during this torrid time. Maybe it's down to the new owners or the 'situation' with the new owners. I really don't know but what I do know is that we don't just support 'the team' we support Liverpool Football Club. That means we support the manager, the staff, the players and even the cones used for training. At this moment in time our club needs our support. Not just the team, every level of the club needs our support.

To me that means:

- one huge voice at every game no matter what

- seeing #ynwa trending on twitter during every game

- everyone behind the manager until we're losing like this without clear reasons

- no demonstrations until, at least, we are over our blip

- support for every player whether they are playing good or bad

You see if we do this, if we just concentrate on supporting our club at this moment in time while the chips are down. No one can say that the famous 12th man didn't do his bit!

The Blame Game

There is no one individual to blame for our problems. We have a culmination of factors and errors. We're getting a bit like a soap opera. but don't look for one hook to hang it all on. We win together, we lose together and we stand together always. The blame game is about recognising that multiple factors are causing failure not one.

Some are blaming Rafa, some the owners, some the players, some the fans, some think it's all down to Dirk Kuyt. Add in injuries and poor form and the answer is in there somewhere... spread against all of them, except Dirk Kuyt! Rafa isn't infallible but he is recognised as one of the top managers in the world and he wants to be at Anfield. The owners have made mistakes but the commercial success off the pitch is improving. Some players had bad form but have now improved. Injuries are easing and hopefully the short term problems will be rectified quickly. Longer term I still believe in exactly how things are going now.

I hope the blame game has come to an end with this post, starting at Goodison!

LFC Points Production Ltd. - Open Letter to Business Today

If Liverpool Football Club was as 'ordinary' business, I wonder whether a letter asking for advice might look like this...

Dear Business Today,

I could really do with some business advice from you and I hope you can help.

Our business uses foot-e-ball machines to manufacture official premier league points. The business had been performing ok for a number of years when a decision was taken to replace the general manager. When the new manager arrived he brought with him a unique patented system of improving our foot-e-ball machines. He owns the patent and is therefore crucial, we believe, to the future success of making good quality premier league points. In fact we were awarded the runner up spot in the Premier League Points Awards 2008/9.

One of the key benefits of the new manager's systems is that he was able to considerably improve the efficiency and general performance of our existing machines. We were then able to make more premier league points than we had ever done in the past. In addition to this, through his knowledge and contacts, he purchased new foot-e-ball machines and then added his patented systems for improvement. Now I have to confess that some foot-e-ball machines were not compatible with his systems but on the whole the effects have been astonishing.

They were so astonishing that all of a sudden competitors were approaching us to buy some of our foot-e-ball machines. Some of the offers couldn't be turned down so all of a sudden we were making major profits out of our machines as well as improving our points production. This has allowed for our net costs to be substantially reduced across the business. For example the Alonso-T5536 machine was one of the first machines he bought and modified, we have recently sold it for a £20m profit because of the value added by the new manager's processes. Other example include the Crouch-Tallman - £4m profit, Bellamy-Crazyman2000 - £1.5m profit and the Sissoko-Destroyer2Z - £2.5m profit.

While the benefits from some of our slower production machines have been substantial. Our high efficiency machines, the Pepe-Stops897 and Torres-Destroyer, are now indispensable to our business but are each probably worth at least 3 times more than what we bought them for (at least £50m profit). Even one of the machines we have had for years (our most efficient points producer before the arrival of the new manager, the Gerrard-Dynamic-X4) has, we believe, increased efficiency and value since the adoption of the manager's new systems.

You are probably wondering what the problem is. Well recently there have been some maintenance issues out of the manager's control. We lent some machines out and they came back damaged and some other machines have had other problems. Of course everyone is looking at our general manager rather than the managers of the companies we lent the machines to or the maintenance manager. I am coming under increasing pressure from a small section of our customer base to replace him. However, I am confident that the manager will continue to add value to our business and win lots of new awards longer term.

How can I possibly get rid of a manager who is improving our points production (when the machines don't have maintenance issues) and continually increasing the asset value of the business?

What should I do?

Your sincerely,

Chris Parslow

LFC - Title Contenders or 4th Place Scrappers?

I missed the start of the game yesterday. I was soon shaking my head so violently at the news of two more injuries it nearly fell off when I caught up though! Despite the obvious knock on effect to the game plan and with all things considered the result could have been a lot worse by the time 90 minutes had elapsed.

I, like many a red, came into this season with raised expectations. After coming so close last season, with the addition of Glen Johnson in particular and despite the loss of Alonso, I expected us to be contenders until the death at least. 13 Games in and a revision of expectations given our start, as painful as it may be, is called for.

However, before I change our moniker from 'title contender' to 'CL qualifier' I wanted to assess some stats. Now don't get me wrong I am not about to state that we'll still win it and tell you to have hope. There are some interesting things to take into consideration though before I 'change the name title on the door'.

Last Season

This time last season we were sat 8 points ahead of the eventual Premiership champions, albeit with a game in hand. We had scored 21 goals and conceded a miserly 8, averaging less than one a game. This season we sit 8 points behind the Premiership champions. We are obviously doing something right as our goals to date this season are up to 29, ahead of United's 26.

But as with everything there is a fly in the ointment, well two to be precise. Chelsea are a further 5 points ahead of United and look (to me at least) to be the team to beat this season based on their current form. We have also conceded a lot more goals this season, perhaps because of an increased priority on attacking but it's more likely down to injuries, mistakes and poor form to date.

On a good run? Let's keep it up!

Some things are just out of your control as a Manager. Our recent run of injuries are testament to this. The African Cup of Nations could be Chelsea's downfall in the new year though. Yes, they have a strong squad and the funding to buy new players in January (although Ancelotti has suggested this won't happen) but they will lose Essien, Drogba, Kalou and Obi Mikel. With the consequences of the tournament usually taking their toll well into February the teams they face from January to mid February (Hull, Sunderland, Birmingham, Burnley, Arsenal and Everton) will be a little more optimistic than normal; and will hopefully 'up their game'. I wish the teams they face were a bit stronger but a bit more belief than normal may bring some surprising results. If not... well I don't see anyone getting past them!

A Merry Xmas?

In the run up to and including Christmas Chelsea have tough games (top 6 sides) against Arsenal (A), Man City (A) and Everton (H) before then running into Portsmouth (H), West Ham (A), Birmingham (A) and Fulham (H). The first three of these game will be critical to their ongoing success.

Alex Ferguson is probably rubbing his hands as during the same time frame United will face Portsmouth (A), West Ham (A), Villa (H), Wolves (H), Fulham (A), Hull (A) and Wigan (H). Arsenal will have a tougher time against Chelsea (H), Stoke (H), Liverpool (A), Burnley (A), Hull (H), Villa (H) and Portsmouth (A).

Us? Well a mixed bag starting with the derby against Everton (A), then onto Blackburn (A), Arsenal (H), Wigan (H), Portsmouth (A), Wolves (H) and Villa (A).

Another Springboard?

The win over United should have proven to be a springboard to winning games and building confidence. With key players coming back from injury I don't think there could be a better time to face Everton (even at Goodison). We need a game with passion and a game to build confidence and start getting this season back on track. From there we need to continue building confidence. Benitez said that the game against City was important, I believe Everton could and should prove to be our turning point.

I'm not going to be as bold to even hint that we'll be Premiership champions come May. However, I am going to say this...

We haven't through the loss of one player and within a few months gone from being Premiership contenders to having to scrap for fourth place. We have had an awful run of injuries and poor form from key players. I've seen enough to hope that we can pull ourselves into contention. I've seen enough results to know that the league is stronger this season and results not necessarily as assured as they once were. We need that springboard and then to build upon it... and we need it now! We can only focus on ourselves and let the other teams worry about their results and we need a winning run.

I'm going to leave our current 'title' on the door for now and review it again on the first of January. Hopefully at that point I'll be scheduling in another review for mid February.

LFC - Blame Game Decisions - Part Two (Rafa Benitez) Take 2

Ok. So maybe I just needed some positivity to balance out the pure volume of negativity. Paul Tomkins delivered the positivity, followed by others and Robbo was right. Once you start, it is so hard to stop writing these bloody things.

So although I have given away the ending. Part two of the blame game continues here.

The original blame game article can be found HERE

Part one of the blame game decisions (the owners) can be found HERE

This post is so much more difficult for me and maybe a bit out of my comfort zone. With the owners I conducted research on balance sheets, P&L's and the financial backers. Facts and data were easy to come by. I do this kind of thing for a living and am on the third year of my masters degree studying pretty much the same things. Business and the realities of business decision in the post credit crunch era come easy to me.

I looked for Rafa's balance sheet and his P&L but alas nothing. So I'll start with my thoughts before these postings. Rafa in my opinion is one of the best managers in Europe, or indeed the world. It amazes me that even though Real Madrid are reportedly lining up their third/fourth attempt to lure him away from Anfield and taking his impressive record to date in Spain and with Liverpool there are some who think his time should be up.

Now I have been accused of suggesting that he should be beyond reproach and not held accountable for our current run. This is not my opinion. In football, as in business, you work your way to the top. In most cases it's not about money or material things but a desire to succeed and some part of you (as mad as it sounds) wants the pressure. That is certainly, at this moment in time, what he has... pressure. He is the man in charge of our football club on the pitch and for a multitude of reasons the team is not delivering on a consistent basis. Having visited forums aplenty, depressing me with every mouse click, there appear to be common complaints about Rafa:

The team are not playing to their potential and we're losing

Well the team is injury riddled and other players have hit bad form at exactly the wrong time. We have a team which can beat any other team in the world - when all players are playing to their full capabilities. But then look at what I consider our starting XI and mark off where injuries or bad form have occured.

Reina - Good form and no injuries

Johnson - Injured

Carragher - Poor form at start of season

Agger - Injured

Aurelio - Injured

Kuyt - Fair form and no injuries

Mascherano - Poor form at start of season

Aquilani - Injured

Riera - Injured

Gerrard - Injured

Torres - Injured

Only two players out of eleven have been able to compete fully all season so far (and we're only 12 games in). Let's be honest if United turned up at Anfield without Rooney and Ferdinand, or, Chelsea without Lampard and Drogba we'd be rubbing our hands and banking the three points in our mind. What is more devastating is that the blame for our key injuries don't lie anywhere near Anfield. International injuries, long term problems and a freak accident at home accounting for most!

The only blame that lies at Rafa's door is Aquilani. Now he may turn into an Anfield legend and everyone will forget about these early days. At the moment though a fit creative midfielder may have made the difference to our early season run. This, he has to accept responsibility for. That said everyone was probably relatively comfortable when he first arrived. No one expected the injuries to hit us like they have.

He has blundered his way through the transfer market

Sorry! He has what? Ok, let me be honest about this. I too at one point questioned his transfer dealings. The problem being that you tend to focus in on the 'bad buys' without giving full consideration to the whole picture.

In the big buys section Rafa has performed exceptionally well. Players like Torres, Mascherano, Alonso, Kuyt and Johnson have all been successful while a brief view of Aquilani looks promising. We don't have the cash reserves to always buy big so Rafa has had to delve into the bargain basement to mid-range quite often. Here is where you end up with more of a mixed bag but there have been impressive signings such as Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Benayoun, Crouch, Luis Garcia and Riera. Other signings in this range have not really worked out, but all have provided varying degrees of contribution. Players like Morientes, Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzales seemed to struggle for one reason or another. The freebies to date haven't really worked out (apart from Aurelio), but they were free. From a business perspective players have generally been moved on for a profit under Benitez.

However... the clangers! Ryan Babel was not only courted by Liverpool Football Club, indeed I'm sure we had to fight to sign him. The guy quite clearly has the raw materials and it scares me to death that he will be an instant success elsewhere. On his day he is a formidable player, it's just that in a red shirt those days are few and far between, so far. To date though this signing has been a failure when you consider who could have been bought with the money, hindsight!

Lucas Leiva is possibly a warning shot about the dangers of letting Babel go. At the end of last season Lucas was considered by some as inconsistent and needing to be pushed through the door. During our injury spell this season though I believe he has been a silver lining. Against United, in my opinion, he was MOTM and he has put in other good performances since. He's not first team but he is a good squad player with potential for the future. That said we can't wait for Babel to shine forever.

Robbie Keane, well I'm still a bit bamboozled by it all to be honest. Did he not fit the system? Were there personality problems? God knows, but he was sold back at break-even subject to contractual conditions. There was obviously some underlying problem, although boy could we have done with him this season.

Significantly more success than failure though, with a squad which needed overhauling from day one. All of this achieved with an c.£80m net spend. When you consider the whole picture it would, in my opinion, be unfair to criticise Rafa's transfer dealings, unless you're looking for perfection but I'm not sure who has a perfect transfer record.

Mr. Motivator?

This, I believe, is one of Rafa's weaknesses. We all have them and we're, none of us, perfect. I actually suspect that as a manager he is quite introvert, very much like yours truly. There would appear to be a weight of evidence (player comments etc.) which would substantiate this.

Now let me go back to my business roots and out of football for a minute. Remember that while football is not the same as business in many ways, core management theories remain the same throughout all organisations (football clubs included).

With annual revenues of c.£60bn and an operating income of c.£3bn Tesco is the modern day story of success. Having successfully secured the majority of the UK market it is now extending its global reach. The man at the top? Unfortunately an Evertonian but Sir Terry Leahy has a self confessed introverted management style. Despite this he was instrumental in Tesco's UK dominance and it's ongoing globalisation plan. How? Well part of being a successful man at the top is in creating a team around you which compensates for your own weaknesses.

Back in LFC world I do not believe the return of Sammy Lee following the departure of Pako Ayestaran is coincidence. I also don't believe Rafa is in denial about his weaknesses. His ego not being as big as portrayed in the media. He is doing what any good Manager would do by building a management team with different skills and strengths as one complete unit around him.

He doesn't bring through players like Arsene Wenger

We are probably, in my opinion, about 40% of the way through a strategic plan to bring long term success to the club. It is true that success in bringing through players has been limited in recent years. However, it is only very recently that Rafa has had control over the youth set up. Since he's had control he has appointed new key men at the helm of the youth/academy set up and updated how things are done to be more in line with continental thinking.

It is simply unfair to even try and judge Rafa at this juncture in relation to bringing through players. He has not had chance to bed in his new ideas and we will need to come back to this one in the future.

What is it with crazy tactics and substitutions?

On this one I'm 50/50. There is no denying that Rafa has made some genius critical decisions which have turned games around. But then at the same time there are substitutions or players played out of position which leave me bamboozled.

However, we always have to accept that Rafa and his team have much more information pitch side than we ever have. We don't usually know if a player has a niggling injury or has been under the weather or even just looks tired. Also, most of the decision have little affect, some have a positive one while others (in the minority I suspect) have a negative outcome. Which ones do we generally remember most?

Dirk Kuyt should be dropped and others given a chance

I have seen people suggesting that Babel should be given a run in Kuyt's place. Now Dirk Kuyt to me is not scintillating and, in my opinion, has a lack of pace to be a fully effective out and out winger. But, and it's a big but... he is consistent and provides more defensive cover for Johnson allowing for him to be more effective. As a partnership on the right I believe it has the correct balance.

He also features regularly in the top 10 of the Actim index both generally and in an attacking sense. I'm not sure what people want, other than maybe a scapegoat?

Some have suggested moving Johnson up to right midfield with Kelly coming in at right back. Now is not the time to be trying things out. Especially at a time when we need stability and consistency. I do not believe he should be dropped; but he should not be beyond dropping. I really don't see a better alternative within our squad at the moment.

Didn't even mention his work-rate!

Summary

Rafa Benitez is not beyond reproach and should we continue to lose without good reason (of which there are plenty at the moment) then, and only then, should he be asked to step down. Those calling for his head now are, in my opinion, looking only at the short term situation rather than the long term plan. A plan which I believe at the end of this 5 year contract will have delivered dividends.

Expectations have played a key role. After last season we came into this expecting to be in contention from the start to end of the season. There are lots of reasons why it hasn't panned out that way and the fans feel let down. The results this season have been disappointing to date and we now have to painfully re-assess our expectations. No one likes lowering them, but this is a dip and not, in my opinion the end. I am confident that Rafael Benitez is the right man to take us to the end game... we just need some patience.

Longer term he needs time for the academy set up to be overhauled so we can judge him on bringing through players and shorter term he needs a fully fit team to be out there so we can start winning again. We have a team which can compete for the title, I don't believe we have enough quality throughout the squad and therefore injuries tend to hit us harder. There is no getting away from the factual information available about our injury crisis.

I will be interested to re-assess this blog entry at the end of the season!

Note: I may edit this post after. I'm in a rush (Sarah is nagging me) and I wanted to get this post out before our game today. Come on LFC..... YNWA!