Monday Football

11 May 2009

by Jerrad Peters

Don't feel sorry for Benitez, Liverpool

Rafael Benitez believes his side are at a financial disadvantage when compared to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

The Liverpool manager made the remarks in an interview with Setanta ahead of Saturday's late match against West Ham at Upton Park. The Reds, he claims, cannot afford the type of role players who typically warm the benches at Emirates Stadium, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.

"Look at the squad we have now compared to when I arrived here," he boasted. We have better players with a winning mentality. But," he added, "it's still very difficult when you analyze the financial power of Chelsea United and Arsenal, with the money they can spend."

Curious words from the same man who signed Robbie Keane for 19 million pounds in August, only to ship him back to Tottenham Hotspur at a 3 million pound loss in January. In fact, a closer look at the numbers exposes Benitez' entire theory as hogwash.

When Liverpool visited Old Trafford on March 14—and thumped United to the tune of 4-1—the value of their bench exceeded 26 million pounds. The most expensive player was 11.5 million pound flop Ryan Babel, while Emiliano Insua was the only free transfer of the bunch. Even he, don't forget, came to Anfield as part of the Gabriel Paletta swap that cost Liverpool a further 2 million pounds.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, named 45.75 million pounds worth of talent to his bench. Dimitar Berbatov, however, accounted for 30.75 million pounds of that total. But when you substitute the Bulgarian for usual pine-rider Carlos Tevez, United's bench value quickly shrinks to just 17 million pounds. Furthermore, among Ferguson's substitutes that day were Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes—each of whom are world-class players and didn't cost the club a nickel.

But what of Arsenal and Chelsea? Appropriately, they went head to head this weekend and further debunked Benitez' presumptions.

As it turns out, both London sides began Sunday's match with just over 20 million pounds of talent among the substitutes. At 9 million pounds, Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was the most expensive player. Manager Guus Hiddink's bench also included free transfers Michael Ballack, Michael Mancienne and Henrique Hilario, producing a final total of 21 million pounds.

Similarly, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's Sunday substitutes included three players who signed for less than 2 million pounds, and one player who came up through the ranks. Of the seven players, Emmanuel Adebayor was the most expensive at 7 million pounds. The entire bench was valued at just under 21 million pounds.

So what, exactly, is Benitez' problem? Since arriving at Liverpool in 2004, he has thrown money every which way to arrive at his current squad. And it's arguable that the likes of Babel, Arbeloa, Lucas, Fabio Aurelio, Andrea Dossena and Albert Riera are worth far less than the fees paid for them in the first place.

Then, of course, there are the many flops who have already been through the Anfield doors during Benitez' tenure. Djibril Cisse, Antonia Nunez, Mauricio Pellegrino, Fernando Morientes, Jermaine Pennant, Craig Bellamy, Boudewijn Zenden, Mohamed Sissoko, Andriy Voronin and Robbie Fowler Part II can be included in that list. It doesn't exactly make for inspiring reading if you're a Liverpool fan.

Perhaps Benitez would be surprised to learn that he spent a total of 69.4 million pounds between both transfer windows in 2007-08. That's over 20 million more than the 47 million pounds spent by United and the 42.5 million doled out by Chelsea. And Arsenal, with less than 20 million pounds paid out in transfer fees, spent not even a third of Liverpool's budget.

Don't listen to Benitez when he whines about what he perceives to be a financial disadvantage. But make no mistake, he is at a disadvantage—only it's an intellectual one. As each of his rivals in the Premier League's big four can attest, "It's not how much you spend, Rafa; it's how you spend it."

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