Why Rafa Benitez Can't Buy the Title

This season has not only seen Liverpool mount their most credible challenge for the Premiership yet, but has highlighted the frailties of Rafa Benitez as a top class manager.

Benitez has lashed out in recent weeks at fellow manager Sir Alex Ferguson and made several comments that have made him look rather foolish in the English press. 

The fact he refused to acknowledge that Manchester United were the best team in the country, despite them winning the League, World Club Cup and being in the Champions League Final, and that he congratulated the team, but made a point of not doing the same for Ferguson shows he has not taken defeat well this year.

Ferguson, who, on the few occasions he has not won the Premier League has made a point of writing a personal letter of congratulation to the winning manager, must be extremely pleased with the way his team have performed this year, but also with how Benitez has crumbled under the pressure in the same way Kevin Keegan did all those years ago as Newcastle manager.

Where Benitez has made the biggest fool of himself comes with his comments about why Liverpool have not one the league. 

He has been quoted as saying Liverpool fans will have to wait for a new stadium before they can compete with Manchester and Arsenal in their huge stadiums, but what he has clearly failed to remember that Arsenal won the Premier League three times whilst at Highbury, a stadium smaller than Anfield, what was Benitez thinking…who knows.

His next moment of glory came when he claimed the main difference between his trophy-less Liverpool and the glory of Manchester United was the money United have to spend.  Maybe he should have checked some statistics before blurting out such an audacious statement.

Taking a look back over the past few years since Rafa took over at Liverpool, despite some differences in the final figures (due to Undisclosed fee’s being estimated), the Spaniard has spend somewhere between 50 and 70 million pounds more than his counterpart at Manchester.

To make the figures seem a little more daunting for Liverpool fans, the club was bought for £170 million by American pair George Gillet and Tom Hicks, while the Spanish manager has spent more like £190 million on around 50 players, that’s more money than the club is worth.

In the same period, Manchester United have only spent around £135 million, and yet Benitez still claims Sir Alex has ‘bought’ the league with his big spending.  What the Spaniard has failed to notice is that in every season since his first in charge at Liverpool he has spent more money than Ferguson, and has very little to show for it.

In fact the only season he didn’t spend more was his first season in charge, when he actually won the Champions League.

Maybe Benitez should stop trying to buy his way to success and learn from Arsene Wenger, who has spent little over half of Benitez’s total, and has a lot more to show for it.  If the early summer transfer rumours are anything to go by, then nothing is going to change on Merseyside, Benitez will spend big again, and Liverpool will win nothing.