A few weeks ago, site contributor Damien Parsonage wrote a piece for TTT about youth development, and how England lags behind other major nations; but with all the developments at LFC it got put on hold. Now, with the issue in the media following Franz Beckenbauer’s ‘kick and rush’ accusations, it seemed the right time to give this fine piece an airing.
While I remain an avid supporter of Rafa Benítez, I do not want this site to end up bitter at everything that happens regarding the next manager. Far from it.
No manager. Temporary Chief Executive. Temporary Managing Director. No spade in the ground, let alone new stadium. Spiralling debt. Key players (some, if not all) almost certain to leave. And two hated owners looking to get out, but whose asking price suggests they’re in no rush.
By Chris Rowland … Let’s face it, we quite like being members of the ‘Big Four’ – or should it be ‘liked’? Laying our egalitarian and anti-Sky sensitivities aside for a moment, it’s nice to feel part of the elite – and nowhere near so nice to feel you may not belong in it anymore.
As I somewhat inappropriately announced on Twitter (in that, regrettably, I did so before telling those concerned – occupational habit of Twitter, it seems, as Messrs Bent and Babel can attest to) – I have opted to no longer write for the club’s official website.
“I was born Spanish, I am no longer as thin (the anxiety doesn’t help), and yes, sometimes I help serving the dinner.” This was Rafa Benítez in an email to me after I’d run a piece explaining that senior figures within the media referred to the Liverpool manager as “the fat Spanish waiter”.
In this piece from May 10th, originally titled ‘The Past Is A Place That Doesn’t Exist’, I look at possible replacements for Rafa Benítez, should he be sacked (which, at the time, looked nailed-on; accurately so, it transpires). I talk about the idea of the legend that is Kenny Dalglish managing the club once more, and other names who were linked – O’Neill, Hodgson and, somewhat fancifully, Mourinho.
For writers, research is our training; the essential, unseen graft you put in behind the scenes that goes into the final work. Instead, Hansen chooses to coast. Indeed, does he even turn up? I love to hear him talk about defending, or handling the pressure of the big occasion, because he did his research on that – 20 years in the game. The rest, however, he phones in.
I used to think that ambivalence was another word for indifference. Instead, I now understand that it is more of a simultaneous pulling and pushing. Therefore, ambivalence sums up how I feel about Rafa Benítez’s inevitable leaving of Liverpool. Rather than not caring either way, I care both ways.
When Rafa Benítez personally invites me to meet him for lunch at the legendary training ground, Liverpool have just seen their six-game winning streak come to an end in Italy, but things are still looking good. There is no agenda; just a long overdue chance to say hello, and say thank-you for taking the time to write for the official site for four years.
