Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
This week, a friend of mine bound for pastures new bestowed upon me her collection of old football magazines. I can't begin to explain how exciting this is to someone like me. You see, my friend's magazine collection is taller than her and it stretches back through the years to historic headlines like, "Leeds - The Future Is Ours" and "Vialli Knows What I Can Offer - Jody Morris" It's comedy gold, it really is.
By sheer coincidence, on the night when Rafa Benitez signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool, the first ageing magazine plucked from the pile contained an interview with the then new Arsenal manager, the unknown Arsene Wenger who, while he wasn't defending Ian Wright from an ugly incident with Steve Ogrizovic, was talking of his intention to take the long-ball merchants of North London and, "create a more dynamic way of playing and to bring in creativity."
How funny it seemed back then when I was 18 and Arsenal's idea of dynamism was to kick the ball harder and higher than anyone else. It's not so funny now. 13 years on, I've got grey hairs and a spreading tummy and Wenger has a team who can make passes so accurate and fast that they seem laser-guided. Time, patience and talent has given Arsenal an entirely different reputation and a infrastructure that is the envy of Europe.
The American owners of Liverpool, the Gruesome Twosome of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have made numerous mistakes since splashing out on their new toy, but the decision to award a long-term contract to Benitez is the best move they've made since they arrived. The outspoken Spanish boss fought tooth and nail for the chance to run the club as he saw fit, autonomously and without interference. Now he will have the chance to fight Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson on terms that at least come close to being equal.
It is one of the most amusing ironies of English football that chairmen, especially the new ones, believe that success will be derived from splintered power, a director of football and a manager working in tandem, yet if you look at the two most consistently successful teams since the inception of the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester United, they are run by powerful individuals and not by committee. Chelsea, with the artificial influx of cash, should be dealt with as an anomaly, but even their greatest glory came under the personality cult of Jose Mourinho.
Benitez's new contract, and the powers that we can assume came with it, gives him the chance to emulate that young, idealistic Wenger and create an empire in his own image. With five years in the bank, he can afford to bring through young players, mould them into exciting footballers and field a team that can play in a manner expected of those famous red shirts. He can lead with unadulterated power and unquestioned authority, never having to worry about the interference of the board, or a chief executive, always acting in what he deems to be the best interests of the club.
He has the power and he has the authority. Now it's time for him to take the club onto the next level. Fans of other clubs may be cutting this article out and saving it for a good chuckle in 13 years time, but I've got a funny feeling that it is the Liverpool supporters who will have the last laugh.
By sheer coincidence, on the night when Rafa Benitez signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool, the first ageing magazine plucked from the pile contained an interview with the then new Arsenal manager, the unknown Arsene Wenger who, while he wasn't defending Ian Wright from an ugly incident with Steve Ogrizovic, was talking of his intention to take the long-ball merchants of North London and, "create a more dynamic way of playing and to bring in creativity."
How funny it seemed back then when I was 18 and Arsenal's idea of dynamism was to kick the ball harder and higher than anyone else. It's not so funny now. 13 years on, I've got grey hairs and a spreading tummy and Wenger has a team who can make passes so accurate and fast that they seem laser-guided. Time, patience and talent has given Arsenal an entirely different reputation and a infrastructure that is the envy of Europe.
The American owners of Liverpool, the Gruesome Twosome of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have made numerous mistakes since splashing out on their new toy, but the decision to award a long-term contract to Benitez is the best move they've made since they arrived. The outspoken Spanish boss fought tooth and nail for the chance to run the club as he saw fit, autonomously and without interference. Now he will have the chance to fight Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson on terms that at least come close to being equal.
It is one of the most amusing ironies of English football that chairmen, especially the new ones, believe that success will be derived from splintered power, a director of football and a manager working in tandem, yet if you look at the two most consistently successful teams since the inception of the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester United, they are run by powerful individuals and not by committee. Chelsea, with the artificial influx of cash, should be dealt with as an anomaly, but even their greatest glory came under the personality cult of Jose Mourinho.
Benitez's new contract, and the powers that we can assume came with it, gives him the chance to emulate that young, idealistic Wenger and create an empire in his own image. With five years in the bank, he can afford to bring through young players, mould them into exciting footballers and field a team that can play in a manner expected of those famous red shirts. He can lead with unadulterated power and unquestioned authority, never having to worry about the interference of the board, or a chief executive, always acting in what he deems to be the best interests of the club.
He has the power and he has the authority. Now it's time for him to take the club onto the next level. Fans of other clubs may be cutting this article out and saving it for a good chuckle in 13 years time, but I've got a funny feeling that it is the Liverpool supporters who will have the last laugh.