Raphael Benetez? how long left for the manager

1 ANSWERS

1. amomipais82
   

   HI,
   During the summer transfer window of 2009 Xabi Alonso, one of the key members of Benítez's squad, was sold to Real Madrid following a lengthy pursuit in a deal reportedly worth £30 million.Alonso admitted Benitez' attempts to sell him the previous summer were a deciding factor in his move [29]. Alonso was immediately replaced in the squad by the Italian Alberto Aquilani, signed from AS Roma, who was recovering from a long-term injury. Despite the capture of England right-back Glen Johnson from Portsmouth, who made an encouraging start to the season after a £18.5 million move,the money gained from the sale of Alonso and other fringe players was less than Benítez' expenditure. This prompted discontent amongst considerable sections of the club's fanbase who believed Benitez was not being backed sufficiently in the transfer market.After injuries to several of Liverpool's central defenders, Benitez signed Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos from AEK Athens for a reported fee of £1.5 million, the modest sum serving as a further indication of the lack of transfer funds at the Liverpool manager's disposal.
   
   Liverpool made a disappointing start to the new season, losing two of their first three league games. Benítez' decision to sell Alonso and replace him in the side with Brazilian Lucas, with Aquilani having arrived at the club injured, was called into question. Benítez defended his decisions, arguing Liverpool's slow start was due to key players such as Gerrard being below par[34]. A series of high-scoring league wins in September was followed by four consecutive losses away to Fiorentina, Chelsea, Sunderland (courtesy of a freak goal deflected off a beachball) and at home to Lyon - Liverpool's worst run in 22 years. A 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Anfield provided Benitez with brief respite before further loses away to Arsenal, in the League Cup and Fulham. This was followed by a 1-1 draw in Lyon leaving the club poised to exit the UEFA Champions League in the group stage. With only one game won in ten fixtures the media, but not the Liverpool fans, questioned Benítez' future at the club, particularly if he were to fail to qualify for the Champions League.
   
   It suggested this Liverpool team was missing Benítez' characteristic defensive rigidness and lacked the necessary depth to cope with injuries to key players such as Gerrard, Torres and Johnson. Benítez' decision making was called into question with his decision to withdraw Yossi Benayoun for Andriy Voronin near the end of the Lyon game, when the game was still 1-1 was greeted by a chorus of boos from the Kop, a rare vocal objection by Liverpool fans. He received further criticism for withdrawing Fernando Torres in the Fulham clash, despite the Spanish striker carrying an injury. Despite this criticism, victory over Manchester United in October gave Benítez his 114th win out of 200 Premier League games, a record only bettered by Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager.
   
   On November 24, Liverpool won their must-win game away to Debrecen but were eliminated from the Champions League after Fiorentina defeated Lyon 1–0. Benítez told Sky Sports after the game that he had 100% belief in Liverpool to finish in the top four of the Premier League, and win the Europa Cup too. He said "our job was to win - we won. There are many positives. We cannot control the other game though."[citation needed] Liverpool's chief executive Christian Purslow also ensured that Benítez would not be losing his job in an interview with Sky Sports immediately after the final game of the Champions Leagu

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