The turning point of Benitez' first five years

Before people go off on one, this isn't me having a go at the manager.

I read a lot of people saying "we improve every year". Well without being too harsh, I think that's nonesense. I don't think we've improved drastically (if at all) since the end of the 05/06 season. And for me it was the summer of 2006 that was the key moment of Benitez' five years.

At the end of 05/06 season I thought we were as close to winning the league as we had been in the previous fifteen years. All we needed to make the step up from challengers to champions was a goalscoring centre forward to play alongside Crouch and a quick pacey left winger because Kewell was little less than useless. A right winger would of helped as well but after the year Stevie had out wide, that wasn't desperate. And for once I think Benitez identified the problem areas and we got players to fill those gaps in. We got Dirk Kuyt who'd been a revelation in Holland, we got Craig Bellamy who'd just scored 20 goals for Blackburn and we got Mark Gonzalez who was rated one of the best wingers in Spain at the time. We also brought in Pennant for the right and Aurelio to replace the declining Riise.

However none of those signings have really worked out and that's where it changed for Liverpool and Benitez. If Kuyt had brought his form from Holland to England, if Bellamy had scored anywhere near his Blackburn tally and Gonzalez not been sh*te, we probably would of won the league by now. I think we bought the right positions but possibly not the right players in hindsight (such a lovely thing eh) and because of it, we went backwards rather than forwards in 06/07 and I say that despite reaching the Champions League final.

Agreed. I actually expected us to go alot closer last season with the players we had and Torres and Stevie G on top form. Expected to be alot closer this season than where we are now too. Could still get better this season.

It still pains me to say, but United have the best team the league. So much so that they are able to take Rooney out and replace him with Tevez. I think all that it would take for use to win the league is a number of quality additions. It is easier said than done though as Rafa is not getting the money needed to buy these players.

I think part of the problem we've had is due to players playing out of their actual positions. Kuyt was an out and out striker in Holland, absolute goal machine, same too with Cisse but both have been shifted out to the right side of midfield. That maybe suggests that our next transfer target should be a right sided midfielder?

Good timing with that topic DLS.

Start another one before the United game please.

Before people go off on one, this isn't me having a go at the manager.

I read a lot of people saying "we improve every year". Well without being too harsh, I think that's nonesense. I don't think we've improved drastically (if at all) since the end of the 05/06 season. And for me it was the summer of 2006 that was the key moment of Benitez' five years.

At the end of 05/06 season I thought we were as close to winning the league as we had been in the previous fifteen years. All we needed to make the step up from challengers to champions was a goalscoring centre forward to play alongside Crouch and a quick pacey left winger because Kewell was little less than useless. A right winger would of helped as well but after the year Stevie had out wide, that wasn't desperate. And for once I think Benitez identified the problem areas and we got players to fill those gaps in. We got Dirk Kuyt who'd been a revelation in Holland, we got Craig Bellamy who'd just scored 20 goals for Blackburn and we got Mark Gonzalez who was rated one of the best wingers in Spain at the time. We also brought in Pennant for the right and Aurelio to replace the declining Riise.

However none of those signings have really worked out and that's where it changed for Liverpool and Benitez. If Kuyt had brought his form from Holland to England, if Bellamy had scored anywhere near his Blackburn tally and Gonzalez not been sh*te, we probably would of won the league by now. I think we bought the right positions but possibly not the right players in hindsight (such a lovely thing eh) and because of it, we went backwards rather than forwards in 06/07 and I say that despite reaching the Champions League final.

Our Problem was the new signings and our budget.We were buying second rate players when Manure and Chelski were buying the best in the world.give Rafa the Financial backing and he`ll get us more players like Torres.

strange how everyone goes on about budget constraints as an excuse for benitez blowing the title every year. what about wenger?...i haven't seen him spending tens of millions every season yet he has won a few premiership titles. Then again he is a genius who can spot genuine outstanding potential before anyone else and then nurture them into world class performers.

yeh but that wengers skill, he doesnt always get tatcics right and his man management isnt perfect, when they go into a slide it always seems to take them slighty longer than the other top 4 to jolt out of it.

i think funds are one thing, we dont spend anywhere near as much as manure or chelski, n we aint got such a youth system as arsenal.

dont get me wrong the academy is one of the best in the country along with say leeds n west ham but if there all lower league stanard players then thats a problem, i mean who else has come out recently, other than warnock n that young preston striker who had those injury problems, mellor i think. sure we got a good few prospects coming through.

rafa is more of a knock out comp manager ne who, esp. champ. leauge. our record stands 4 that. a better juande ramos maybe?

I think if the Champions League this week has reminded us of anything it is that the English Premiership is now the most difficult domestic league to win in the whole of Europe.

Everyone wants Liverpool to come first, everyone who has registered on here should expect and demand that - it is our heritage.

We're a better side than we were in 05/06.  We've had some dodgy draws at home that have hampered us, and United going on an 11 match winning run or whatever is something out of our control.  At no time in our clubs history could we have dealt with a team in their vein of form (check the stats).

If Benitez left us now it would be suicide for us as a club.  I'm not prepared to go back to the drawing board when we are moving forward.

At that time, we were buying players like Gonzalez, Bellamy or whatever and United and Chelsea were getting stars.
We couldn't compete with them financially but hopefully that will change soon.

Wenger's case was different. When he bought Vieira, Pires and Henry back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, they were not 25 million. They came and together with players like Bergkamp, Adams and more, they became a force in 2000-2006 after Wenger has been in charge for more than 5 years. Their current squad is talented but not experienced enough.

Nowadays, you can't get players for 10 million anymore. Even players like Bentley, Modric, Bosingwa, Nani, Fellaini and other random players cost 15 million+. My point is, players get more expensive but they are not necessarily better.

The 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid showed that the Premier League is a very difficult league. World's most successful European team, humiliated?

Benitez is buiding a strong team. Next, he is going to turn that strong team into Champions.
It's all about patience. Wenger and Ferguscum have shown that a manager's position needs to be stable and have full backing of the board, something we lack.

All it takes are patience,belief and effort. We're almost there.