The Future Of Rafa Benitez

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Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks says he held talks with Jurgen Klinsmann in November about taking over as manager in case Rafael Benitez left the club.

"We attempted to negotiate an option as an insurance policy... if Rafa left for Real Madrid or other clubs rumoured, " Hicks told the Liverpool Echo. This happened when the club were in danger of going out of the Champions League at the group stages and suffering indifferent league form.

The American owners and Benitez had clear-the-air talks after the Premier League loss to Manchester United on 16 December and Hicks now insists the Reds manager has their full support. "After George and I had our long and productive meeting with Rafa following the Manchester United match, we put all of our issues behind us and received Rafa's commitment that he wanted to stay with Liverpool. Rafa has both of our support, and our communication has greatly improved."

The above excerpt was taken from Liverpool's official website www.liverpoolfc.tv & BBC.

Let's put this into a layman's perspective. How would you feel if your boss confessed that he/she was looking for other people to replace you. Put aside the claim that your employer is looking for insurance against you leaving your workplace.

Only one word came to my mind. Incompetence! The boss must be feeling that you are not living up to their expectation. In a more harsh tone, "you simply not good enough"!

So how will this affect Mr. Benitez? Another word come to my mind: Insecure! How can he possibly foresee his long term future at Liverpool when the American owners doubted his ability. True enough Mr. Hicks clarified that they have cleared the air and now has their fully support, but personally I think the damage has been done. Not a single person can withstand such demoralizing statement from their bosses unless you are a few days away from retirement. And knowing the "ego" Mr. Benitez has, he'll surely feel embarrass to his players and fellow managers about this.

As Jamie Carragher puts it, it's not the Liverpool way to wash dirty linens in public. True, Mr Hicks was very honest thru his admission, but this will put more spotlight on Liverpool and provide further opportunities for the media frenzy folks to speculate on his future. Trust me, all bad results will be put through the most detailed scrutiny from now on.

That leaves Benitez with no other alternative apart from quitting the club. The current situation doesn't help either. Liverpool's form has not improved and we are currently 12 points off the top of the Premier League table. We were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Chelsea and have been taken to a replay by struggling Luton in the FA Cup third round. If I'm a betting man, I will put my money on Mr Benitez to leave the club at the end of this season. Any takers?

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