One of Rafa's biggest critics, John Aldridge, has again gone all Rafa mad in his Irish Sunday column.
Forget 2005 - Benitez left Reds in ruin
RAFAEL BENITEZ has not taken too much of the blame for Liverpool's current plight in the relegation zone, but he is as guilty as anyone for the demise of our great club.
Benitez is set to take charge of his first game on English soil since he left Anfield last summer, as he prepares for a game against
Tottenham in the Champions League, and I cannot believe how fortunate he is to be returning as Inter Milan boss.
Don't get me wrong, Benitez wasn't a total disaster at Liverpool and some of the football his team played during the middle part of his five years on Merseyside was fantastic, but he had to go last summer and all right-minded people knew it.
BitterA few supporters stayed loyal to Rafa to the bitter end, but they really needed to take their blinkers off because everyone could see he was plunging the team deeper into the mire. Being loyal is a great quality of Liverpool fans, but some took it too far with Benitez.
Although Rafa would receive a huge ovation from the supporters if he came back to Anfield in the opposition dugout, those who
stood by him through thick and thin placed far too much stock in the fact that he was in charge on that incredible night when we won
the Champions League in 2005.
Let's be honest, luck as much as judgement is required when a manager finds himself 3-0 down at half-time against AC Milan, but the history books will forever show that the miracle took place and Benitez takes some credit for it.
He also needed fortune on his side as a last-minute Steven Gerrard goal denied West Ham victory in the FA Cup Final, before Liverpool went on to win another penalty shootout and cement Rafa's place in the hearts of the fans.
Those successes stood him in good stead when he lost his way in horrible fashion last year, as some fans refused to hear a word of criticism against him and clung on to the memories of the two Cup wins with too much sentimentality.
If they took a step back and looked at the mess the team were in for most of last season, those supporters would have realised
Benitez had become as big a problem at Anfield as hated owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
ShakyI fully appreciate that the financial restrictions Benitez had to work under at Anfield made his job very complicated, but his record in the transfer market was shaky and the squad he has left behind is not a good legacy.
Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano were good signings, but they don't really compensate fully for the rubbish he brought to the club - for quite a lot of money - down the years.
I don't need to remind you that I'm not a fan of Lucas and Ryan Babel, but the transfer that really set the alarm bells ringing for me
was Alberto Aquilani. He had a few quid to spend after selling Alonso to Real Madrid and he blew it all on a player who barely kicked a ball before he left Liverpool.
One of the main reasons why Rafa had such loyal backing was he said all the right things at the right time, with some fans enjoying his verbal sparring with Alex Ferguson and tributes to Bill Shankly.
I could see through those words because all managers have learned how to become good politicians these days. Fergie is a master
at it and the same goes for Arsene Wenger and even Roy Hodgson.
So when I hear Rafa saying he loves the history of Inter Milan and respects their fans, it confirms that he would say whatever was needed to keep people sweet.
For me, Benitez was always likely to walk away from Liverpool in the summer and when he was saying he didn't want to leave earlier this year, he was merely trying to get the best financial deal for himself.
He ended up walking away from Liverpool with a £6m pay-off and a job at Inter Milan that any manager would have relished.
Taking over the reigning European champions is not a bad gig to get at a time when your reputation is on the wane.
The reality is Rafa will never be short of work again because when you win the Champions League in the manner Liverpool did, employers will always come calling.
Benitez is on this elite list of managers who have won the biggest prize in club football and he has a reputation for being tactically astute in Europe, so the job offers will continue to roll in for him whatever he achieves at Inter Milan.
He will probably do okay at Inter because he inherited a top-class team from Jose Mourinho and it would be hard not to achieve success with players who proved their worth against the best last season.
FrightHowever, I'm backing Tottenham to give Inter Milan a real game at White Hart Lane on Tuesday night because this will be treated like a Cup Final by Harry Redknapp's men and they have the pace and quality to give Inter a fright.
Spurs should not be thinking they have Inter on the ropes after their thrilling fightback from 4-0 down at the San Siro a couple of
weeks back, because the Italians had taken their foot off the pedal long before Gareth Bale's sensational second-half hat-trick.
This is the real test of Tottenham's Champions League credentials and I don't think it is beyond the realms of possibility that they will beat Inter and even go as far as the quarter-finals.
It's still very much a learning experience for Spurs in Europe and their naivety will catch them out at some point, but I hope they give Rafa a run for his money as he returns to the ground where it all started to go wrong for him last season.
Liverpool were on the back foot from the moment they lost against Spurs on the opening day of last season and I wonder if Benitez will relive a few nightmares when he returns to White Hart Lane.
http://www.sundayworld.com/sport/john-aldridge.php