So much ado about nothing - Liverpool Echo.co.uk
So much ado about nothing
Feb 23 2008 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
STAFF at a job centre on the Wirral breathed a sigh of relief this week when Liverpool defeated mighty Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Fears that they were going to have to try and find employment for a rotating Spanish manager proved unfounded as Rafa Benitez dodged the bullet which had seemingly been heading in his direction.
Not that there ever was any such bullet, of course. Not only had none been fired, none had even been loaded into the chamber – despite what sections of the national media might have wanted us to believe.
The fact of the matter is that there is no-one at Anfield at present who is in a position to sack Benitez even if that course of action was necessary and surely that power vacuum is the biggest story of all?
Who could sack him? The club's absentee landlords aren’t on speaking terms and haven’t been for quite some time so there is as much chance of Hicks and Gillett making a joint decision as of Charles Itandje winning the golden gloves award.
Benitez’s relationship with Hicks has improved markedly ever since the Texan intimated he was ready to back his manager for the remainder of his contract.
Gillett’s silence on the manager's position – and everything else to do with Liverpool for that matter – is in stark contrast to his co-owner’s public show of support and anyone who believes for a second that the American duo are singing from the same hymn sheet are as misguided as it is possible to be.
Joint ownership requires joint decisions and the only things that unite Hicks and Gillett at the moment are their nationality and their lack of popularity on the Kop.
From the very real possibility of Benitez being sacked by them back in November, in one of the most ironic twists imaginable his position has actually been strengthened by their continued presence at the club.
Should either or both of them depart then the manager’s position, like everyone else’s at the club, will come under review as it will be then, and only then, that the vacuum of power will be filled and big decisions can be made if necessary.
Talk of a shortlist to replace Benitez is similarly wide of the mark. Names like Martin O’Neill, Jose Mourinho and Frank Rijkaard have been mentioned but the fact remains that there is no shortlist.
The vultures arrived at Anfield on Tuesday night hoping to see a decent man lose his job but they left disappointed – but the thing is, even if the Reds had lost, Benitez would still be Liverpool's manager today.
And it may well be that he will out-last the current owners.
