Rafa Benitez Gets Albert Riera...But Fans Still Not Happy?

Yesterday Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez got the man he wanted...Espanyol winger Albert Riera.

So far this season pundits and fans have been only too eager to point out Liverpool's lack of width, and now Rafa has got a left-footed winger, so what do some "fans" do on the Reds' official message boards?

Slate the player before he even kicks a ball for us, and call for the manager's head.

Hmmm..."fans" indeed.

Riera may not be a household name, but what do you expect when Benitez has so little financial backing from the board to get the players he wants?

Plenty of household names have failed to make the grade at Anfield before...Nicky Barmby, Harry Kewell, Djibril Cisse and El-Hadji Diouf to name a few. Being a big name doesn't guarantee they will fit in with the team. 

Remember Crespo for Chelsea? Veron for Manchester United?

In addition, many players that weren't setting the world on fire when they were signed went on to make themselves Anfield legends...Sami Hyypia and John Arne Riise for example.

It's all about the system of the team at the time, the current players, and the manager.  Riera has not really played alongside the calibre of Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Robbie Keane, so he will learn from them.

Of course, there have been some signings that have not fitted in at all...Andriy Voronin for instance, who was sent out to Hertha Berlin on a season long loan yesterday.  Jermaine Pennant, another well-known name with so much expectation...only to fall out of favour after some inconsistent performances.

Riera deserves a chance...that's what any new player deserves. It was nice to see some die hard Reds on the boards making up songs for the new man already! Some of them were very original, and hopefully we will be hearing them at Anfield on Saturday.

Only time will tell whether Riera will be the man to help reinforce a title challenge—so in the mean time, let's support him, let's support his team mates, and let's support the manager. 

That's what fans are supposed to do anyway.