Rafa Benitez and Liverpool's Success Like Oil and Water

If you've read my previous soccer/football articles, you know that I am a die-hard supporter of the Red Devils, and that my hatred of Liverpool runs as deep as it possibly can in someone who has never been able to experience a football match in England.

With that out of the way, I am going to approach this article with the objectivity it deserves.

Rafa Benitez and Liverpool's success is like oil and water. It's just never going to totally mix. Fill up a pint glass 80 percent of the way and dump a little bit of vegetable oil on top and see what happens. In about 10 minutes the oil will have sank to the bottom and the water will be resting on top of the oil.

It's grade school science, I know, but I can't help but think it is the perfect representation of Rafa and Liverpool.

Ok, back to your science project. Take a spoon and swirl it around in the glass. You have a temporary mixture, right? It's Liverpool's 2005 Champions League triumph, perhaps one of the best European club matches I have ever witnessed (minus the Moscow final last year).

The oil and water was mixed again when they failed to beat AC Milan in a replay of the 2005 final in 2007.

Liverpool haven't finished second in the league since the 2001-2002 campaign. I don't need to remind those in the Kop that it's been 18 years since they won the league and one more league title for United will tie Liverpool's all-time record of 18 league championships. Sure the oil and water were mixed again in 2006 in the FA Cup final.

Rafa Benitez has been with the club since 2004 and in four and a half years has delivered just two trophies. Hated rivals Manchester United have won five major trophies including two league titles and a Champions League title in that same amount of time.

While my hatred for Liverpool runs deep, I still can't imagine the club without its underachieving manager. Perhaps fans of the Scouse have decided that being competitive in the Champions League every year is enough for them, and Rafa is their man for them.

However, given the mockery that still goes on in the Anfield fixture in the Liverpool vs. United rivalry every year in which fans are consistently pointing out that they still have more league titles than their rivals, it seems to me like Liverpool fans would be more concerned with their league success.

The taunting seems kind of pathetic, it's almost like the criminal mocking the executioner before he does his job.

One thing fans of Liverpool and Manchester United are sure to see every season is the mind games played by both managers. This year, Benitez was the first to succumb. The problem is, when Benitez plays mind games they always tend to backfire, whereas when SAF plays mind games, it sends United on a great run of form. FACT! Benitez has only had one win since his rant.

FACT! Liverpool were headed to yet another draw had Mike Riley not wrongly red carded Frank Lampard. FACT! Rafa and Liverpool were keen (no pun intended) to sign the Irishman Robbie Keane in the summer, only to relinquish him yesterday for £12 millon less than they bought for him (and when you count the devaluation of the British pound over the last six months it's more like 13).

Robbie Keane has proven to everyone that he is one of the best strikers in the EPL, yet Rafa's rotation policy somehow never came around for Keane. When he played, he usually fared well. He's yet another solid player to fall victim to Rafa's horrendous rotation policy.

So let me talk about that policy. Such a policy rarely works for the top clubs in the Premier League. Success in the Premier League usually comes to those with the best quality (see how since Blackburn's 1995 triumph, only Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have won it).

I understand Rafa has got a big squad, and he wants to get players the appropriate amount of playing time so they stay healthy and fit. I get it. The problems such a system creates have seen the cons outweigh the pros during Rafa's tenure.

He always plays his strongest squad in Europe, and he always seems to get to the Champions League quarterfinal stage or deeper. Coincidence? I think not.

So now Liverpool, who have struggled to score goals as of late, are one £20 milli...wait £12 million striker lighter. They still have a visit to Old Trafford on the schedule, they have the Champions League to deal with, they are still in the FA Cup, when does Rafa start playing his strongest side game in and game out?

I am not saying that Liverpool don't have a chance at winning the league, or for that matter the Treble, what I am saying is that Liverpool's 2008-2009 campaign is starting to take on the stench of the previous three campaigns.

From Rafa's "FACT" press conference, to the complete and utter misuse (read non-use) of a fit Robbie Keane, to relinquishing a huge league lead at the top of the table to Premier League titans and hated rival Manchester United.

I appreciate the Kop's loyalty in standing in front of Rafa, I do. He's brought them European and FA Cup success. If Liverpool end this season trophy-less, when is it time for those who sternly stand in front of Rafa to turn around?