Rafa Benitez' Red-Volution

If you asked Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager, if he thought the form that Liverpool are in this season and the way they have gone about this season with aplomb was surprising, he will reply in indignation that there is nothing surprising at all, considering the rich history and tradition of the club.

Liverpool have been underachieving by their huge standards in the premier league at least for the last few seasons. In fact, you'll have to go back all the way to 1992, when the apartheid era in South Africa ended (that's how long ago it was) that the Reds last won the then newly-formed premier league crown.

Well, to be fair, they have rarely finished outside the top positions, with the usual spot No. 4, the last Champions League qualifying place has been their nesting ground for the last few seasons.

But amazingly, they have been stocking up the trophy cabinet with success in Europe and in the F.A and league cups. They even managed to win a treble: the league cup, F.A cup, and the UEFA cup.

Now, under Rafa Benitez, the most times red-faced surly Spanish manager, Liverpool have secured Champions League football in each of the last four seasons. The Spaniard guided them to a champions league win against AC Milan in the 2004/'05 season (which was their fifth champions league trophy).

Followed by a European super cup in 2005 and a third place finish in the league in the 2006/07 season and an appearance in the Champions League final where they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan.

They lost to Chelsea in the semifinals of the competition last season and secured a fourth place finish in the league.

But this season, boy, have we seen a resurgent Liverpool.

The last few weeks has been an amazing ride for Liverpool, given the ongoing problems with the contract issues  involving Rafa and his demands of having complete control over transfer policy, not forgetting our captain marvel Stevie G being investigated for an apparent assault.

And thankfully for them, everything has been resolved as Rafa's army has been going rampant in Europe and in the domestic league.

Now, I have to mention our forgotten hero, Robbie Keane, who made a cameo for Liverpool, the club he supported since he was a boy. He cost Liverpool £20 million. He spent six months and scored seven goals in about 28 appearances in all competition.

Apparently, Rafa wanted Gareth Barry but his decision was overridden by pool's sometimes assertive American bosses. Barry might have even scored more than seven goals in as many appearances, If Stevie G would let him take the penalties.

Fernando Torres cost the same price and his goal tally? Forty-four goals in 74 games. Despite being frequently not getting regular playing time due to injuries, he has weighed in with some important goals.

Liverpool has had most of us dumb-struck with the way they beat Real Madrid away 1-0 and then thrashed them 4-0 at Anfield. And in the following week, they mauled a feeble Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford.

And when you thought it was time they had enough scoring goals for fun, they continued the onslaught against Aston Villa, winning 5-0, with Gerard getting a hat trick.

You can't help but feel sorry for Fulham (yes, they beat Man United 2-0 on the weekend) whom they face next on the 4th of April and Chelsea whom they face in the Champions League quarter-finals on 8th April.

You begin to feel that this is more than a fluke or luck. Maybe they do deserve to win the Premier League after all. Consistency has been their biggest foe the last few seasons and just maybe, this season might indeed be theirs.

You have to hand it to Rafa, who earlier in the season 'attacked' Dear Sir Alex verbally and it backfired as his side looked to be out of the title race. But Rafa's used his magical Spanish brain and turned his side around when it seemed easier to just openly declare that the title race was over.

You can see the hunger and the steely determination in his eyes when he's shouting instructions from the touchline.

He almost seemed not too happy with the 5-0 result against Villa. He felt his side could have scored more goals and it wasn't greed, he wants goals, and rightfully so, for Liverpool now have a better goal difference than Manchester United.

Its going to be an exciting couple of months, with the title race now wide-open again and we have a three-horse race, well Chelsea lost but then again, there's eight games left and whatever the outcome, we know there's definitely going to be pure adrenaline rush.

The wheels are in motion, Rafa's red-volution has begun. It's flight or fight for the others.