Who would want to replace Rafa Benitez at Liverpool?

Stories emerged last night that Rafa Benitez has been offered £3 million to walk away from Liverpool after talks with chairman Martin Broughton, as the club seek to avoid paying the £16 million Benitez would be entitled to if he were to be sacked. Whilst there are no indications yet that the Spaniard will accept the payoff, Liverpool fans must be wondering who would want the position should he depart.

Benitez’s position has been in doubt since January when he was targeted to replace departing Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara. He passed up that opportunity in the hope that there would be renewed investment and subsequently a healthier transfer budget to bolster a squad which was drastically underperforming. However, it appears the board are not able to assure him of this and have effectively issued a vote of no confidence.

Somewhat understandably, Benitez is understood to have stressed that Liverpool cannot recover without an end to Tom Hicks’s and George Gillett’s calamitous ownership. However, it appears that any takeover could be some way off with any investor having to meet the American duo’s £600-800 million asking price for the club, and as such the board has sought to end the impasse by offering Benitez a way out.

Benitez’s departure would throw up a number of questions, some more easily answered than others. In the first instance, it is hard to imagine that Benitez would be out of work for long with Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti known to be an admirer. More difficult to predict would be the future of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres who both want evidence the club can strengthen the squad and compete for honours next season.

However, perhaps the most pressing question is: who would want to replace Benitez? With no money to spend, owners that nobody wants and who are actively looking to sell the club, an imbalanced squad whose star performers are unsettled, yet expectations for silverware as high as ever, it is difficult to see who would leap at the chance of jumping into the hot seat at Anfield.

Martin O’Neill and Roy Hodgson have both been mentioned as potential replacements, but they have now committed their futures to Aston Villa and Fulham respectively. Jurgen Klinsmann, who Tom Hicks scandalously admitted to ‘sounding out’ over the position back in 2008, is currently out of work but his poor spell at Bayern Munich highlighted his unproven ability at club level.

Beyond that, it is hard to see who is available and would want the job. In all likelihood, the club may be required to appoint a short term option before any takeover is completed. This is unlikely to go down well with the fans of a club who are desperately seeking to end their title drought and recover from a largely disastrous season. It is also difficult to imagine that this would do much to encourage Gerrard and Torres to stay.

Whilst Benitez’s faults were obvious last season, his position has been severely undermined by owners who have financially crippled the club and shown him no faith whatsoever. Few could blame him for accepting their offer and walking away, head held high having guided his team to a European Cup and FA Cup. He would be a tough act to follow, and given the circumstances, most would struggle do a better job.

June 3, 2010