A first-rate bit of news. No, I'm rarely happy when someone (other than a politician) loses his job, but it really is necessary at Liverpool. For those of us who have been watching the club for a while, it was evident that he and Rafa have been at odds over transfers into the club (I hope not out!) for years.
I know that if I was coach over a major club, and responsible for its performance, I would want to have control over my hires and fires. Only seems reasonable. If he is be retained or fired based on his performance, and that is dependent on the team he puts on the field, then he should have that control over who is on that team.
At the very least, over new additions to the team. I think he's done very well with a limited budget and if Keane wasn't his choice, it's no surprise to me that he didn't fit in to Rafa's plans. Rather than criticizing him over not using Keane, might we not ask if he tried his best to fit in a talented player that he didn't want and wasn't appropriate to the role of Torres' strike partner.
Oddly enough, one could see how someone with some football knowledge would think that Keane had played the same role with Tottenham and Dimitri Berbatov. But Tottenham played in a 4-4-1-1, and Liverpool plays in a 2-4-3-1. The two centerbacks stay back, while the two wingers come up and play alongside Gerrard (who plays behind the striker). Thus, you have a pretty good offense as long as your two fullbacks/wingers track back for defense - which requires discipline. Rafa has been very good at instilling that discipline.
Key here is that since Gerrard plays the role behind the striker, that really couldn't be taken by Keane, forcing him to play in a midfield role, or up near Gerrard. Which just didn't work for Rafa's style of play on the continent. Only when the team played a 4-4-2, which seemed to me only against lesser opponents, did Keane have a role.
So if the press is right (and admittedly they're probably only 50/50 at best), Keane was Parry's choice for what he thought would fit into Rafa's design of offense. If this is true, one of two things follows: either Parry sidestepped Rafa in bringing Keane onboard - not even asking, or - having asked, he ignored Rafa's wishes/advice and brought Keane in any way. Both are arrogant points of view. Perhaps he thought as CEO that he had the right (and the know-how) but today's game certainly requires more coordination in top management.
I cannot imagine someone telling Alex Ferguson who he should hire or who he should fire. It's one thing to be limited by funds, another to be given a player you didn't ask for. Just ask Mourinho.
Perhaps this will actually end well for Benitez. One can only hope.
Posted by artandscience at February 27, 2009 11:41 PM