Football World

Rafa's rapidly rising Red Revolution
Ejaz Khan
12 July 2007



As new faces gather in Merseyside, the phases of Rafael Benitez’s planning begin to take shape. But will Liverpool's new strengthened horse stay in the race till the end?

As the number of new recruits trickle into Anfield, it’s exciting times for the Anfield Faithful. Rafa Benitez finally gets his way and and is granted his kitty to strengthen his squad. His patience is rewarded with the capture of Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and most likely Ryan Babel too. It is important to note that the “plan of action” continuously spoken about by Gillet and Hicks is beginning to be understood and its implementation shows that the Yankee duo trust in Rafa completely, and are following his strategy as incisively as he could have wished them to.


Phase one – Tying core players to the club - Completed

The likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina and Mohamed Sissoko have all secured new and improved long term contracts with the club, and will form the nucleus of the team for years to come. It must comforting to Benitez to have them commit their future’s to Liverpool and they will remain his key players regardless of new faces that are coming in on a now steadily pace.

Phase Two - Bringing Players in - Currently in Process

Having secured the Big name signing of Fernando Torres for a club record fee, most will agree with Steven Gerrard that it is undoubtedly Liverpool’s boldest sign of intent in decades. Not having someone to finish off the Reds smooth build –up play has been a major cause for concern at Anfield for many a season. Having found a replacement for Luis Garcia in Yossi Benayoun, and with the imminent arrival of promising 20 Year old Dutch forward Ryan Babel, Liverpool are taking strides in the right direction. Liverrpool fans have always been fans of Thierry Henry and soon boast “the next Thierry Henry” Babel in their starting lineup . There’s nothing Liverpool fans wouldn’t do to see the charismatic Quaresma don the Red of Liverpool! The talented winger has been linked with a big money move to Merseyside and would definitely be an instant kop favourite were he to sign for the Reds. Who knows,with the way things are going with Rafa in the Transfer market, he might well be doing stretch exercises with Gerrard and co at Melwood in the coming week(s)!


Phase Three – Build for the Future – Constantly developing...


This is an ambiguous phase, for good reason.

1) Building a stadium, with a bigger capacity, close to double the size of anfield’s capacity, and bigger than Old Trafford, seems to be in the pipeline, and it is now a realization that a bigger a crowd, a louder ambience, will bring: more motivation for the players, more feet in, and inevitably more money for sustainable development. Everyone’s happy! One can already contemplate a colossal cauldron of noise, and if the current Kop is anything to go by, imagine double the noise rocking the New Anfield to it’s core. The best fans in the world, finally being rewarded for their unabated loyalty. Good things come to those that wait, and Liverpool fans have been waiting a long time.

2) Building or filling up the talent pool. Players from all over the globe are being snapped up by Liverpool scouts and it’s plain to see that this is another phase of the Rafalution at Anfield as Benitez looks to the future. It is indeed a blessing that Rafael Benitez is at the helm at Liverpool, and he really has the best interest of the club at heart. He is set to break the Premiership duck for the Reds, maybe not in this coming season, but definitely in seasons ahead. It will be foolhardy to even dare insinuate a title push is on the cards, with the new players still to adjust to their new teammates, Manager, league, homes, lifestyle, etc. As new faces join the Reds, it’s the phases behind the scenes that are resulting in swift actions and changes before Liverpool mount their saddles for the upcoming campaign. Good on the board ,and congratulations to Rafa Benitez in getting what he has always wanted … a faster horse to race with…..