Nearly everyone knows that Steven Gerrard contemplated leaving the club in search of more trophies, but as he reaches his tenth year as a red, should Liverpool supporters be thanking Rafael Benitez for Gerrard's recent statement that he now wants to end his career with Liverpool?
Before Rafa took control in 2004, Liverpool was a team struggling in the league and were nothing more than a good UEFA cup side. Despite a good 2001 season, they had never really been considered to be one of the top sides in England on a consistent basis.
For the realistic Liverpool supporters out there, it is clear to see the progression of the club over the past four seasons.
Liverpool are now feared a great deal in Europe by some of the very best teams from the Champions League and it looks like Rafa is finally getting it right in the Premiership after his rebuilding process is nearing completion—the club is starting to look like the dominant force that it was once famous for.
Steven Gerrard appears to be going from strength to strength under the Spaniard and the captain's game seems to have improved considerably in the last four years. Some might say this is due to the quality of his teammates. Players like Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano, Dirk Kuyt, and Robbie Keane have been brought in by Rafa and it appears Gerrard's game has improved because of this.
The future for Liverpool is certainly looking good and not many supporters can deny that it is mostly down to the hard work of Rafael Benitez as the club's manager.
Gerrard has stated he wants to finish his career with Liverpool so should the club's supporters be thanking Rafael Benitez for this welcome piece of news?
Would you like to be forced to pay for cup games as part of your season ticket if you knew you couldn't make it to the games? Well that is whats happening at Manchester United right now. Have a quick look at my article explaining what is wrong with the compulsory Automatic Cup Ticket Scheme at Old Trafford.
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about 1 month ago
nice article jamie, read it immediately after i'd read one saying gerrard shouldnt be captain. for me, he is the most important player we have, and his combination with torres is excellent. while benitez has obviously played a big role in gerrard's improvement over the past few years, its some of the player's benitez has signed that have really enable gerrard to lift his game, namely mascherano and torres. you only have to look at the bolton game last weekend, where gerrard was shackled by muamba (?), in th first half, before the arrival of torres off the bench resulted in a gerrard goal, which should have been two. torres goal, gerrard assist for me provokes memories of bowled lillie, caught marsh, heres hoping they play together a lot over the next 5 years or so
from about 1 month ago
The arrival of many rafa signings uping gerrards game is a very good point and a definatefactor in gerrard becoming a better player, there wasnt exactly a great amount of world class players before rafa, I may have to put that in the article :-)
I acctually read that other article after i had wrote and published this one, I tbought it was quite funny I had sort of replied to that article without even realising :-)
Thanks for your comments Chris.
from about 1 month ago
There you go, Ive added your point of view to the article bud, Thanks for the idea.
from about 1 month ago
no worries, can be directly attributed to rafa though. i dont think we'd have been able to lure torres to anfield without rafa being in charge. then again, i dont think deco would have left barca if not to join up with big phil. obviously man u ist still going to be a fashionable club, but i wonder how much affect sir alex has on attracting good players. will be interesting to see what happens when he retires, especially with man city being able to outbid them
about 1 month ago
Good article!
Yes, I'm sure Rafa's success has contributed, but I don't want to think about him choosing to leave. I keep hoping that even if it weren't for Rafa , Gerrard would change his mind and stay :)
Rafa rules :)
from about 1 month ago
I think the Champions League win in 2005 is what really turned his head and made him rethink leaving the club.
Rafa is obviously not the sole reason why he stayed but I think the work he has done is a major factor to gerrards decision.
Thanks for the comments Michelle.
about 1 month ago
In all his seasons at Liverpool, they have started well some years and drifted away as time goes by. So the real test will come this season, we'll all have to wait and see if Liverpool sustain the pressure at the top of the table !!
It's going to go down to the wire for the 4th year running this time I feel and once the new year comes, there is NO room for error at all. United and Chelsea have both been there and done it. Liverpool have yet to prove they are capable.
My opinion is they will drop away again, but no one can ever be sure can they ?
from about 1 month ago
I agree this season will go down to the wire and i believe Liverpool will definatly be in there somewhere, I think there is only going to be 4 or 5 points between the top three, at the start of the season I had it as United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Its still a strong possibility, however i think it could be chelsea united and liverpool.
Chelsea and united definatly have the exxperience when it comes to the run in to the end of the season, something which is a bit of a disadvantage for them.
Thanks for your comments Carly.
about 1 month ago
Good article Jamie! Theres no doubt in my mind that Gerrard should be thanking Benitez, but thanks also have to be exchanged the other way as well! Had we not won the 2005 Champions League, Gerrard would have left, which would've meant no Gerrard final in 2006. In short, no Gerrard, no trophies for Benitez, no Benitez, no trophies for Gerrard. Very simple way of looking at it but it makes sense!
from about 1 month ago
I agree they definatly have each other to thank for certain success' in the last our years.
Although there are so many more factors to take in to consideration for istanbul and the FA cup final wins.
Thanks for the comments.
about 1 month ago
People occasionally argue that "all Rafa's done is win the Champions League", as if that's not awesome in itself with the team he had in his first season in charge. But what no one considers is the effect that victory had on the club. Who knows what might have happened, but I think it's pretty likely that Gerrard would've moved on.
from about 1 month ago
The money from the win definatly went to buying some good players for the next season, and the pyschological impact it had on the team and Liverpools opponents should not be forgotten either.
Thanks for your comments David.
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