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SOME say Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has been incredibly unlucky this season.
Dogged by injuries to his key stars.
Caught in the crossfire of the ongoing power struggle between the club's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Unable to get the cash to buy the players he wants.
And do not even mention the beach ball incident at Sunderland!
Rafa's supporters insist Lady Luck has not smiled on the Anfield chief at all.
But I cannot subscribe to that view. Football management should never be left to chance.
And even though the beleaguered Spaniard may not have had the rub of the green on occasions, he still enjoyed one of the biggest slices of footballing good fortune this year.
When Rafa signed a new five-year contract in March, he not only won the Lottery, he won the Boat Race and Grand National as well.
There is no doubt he did a stellar job after taking over in June 2004. He breathed new life into Anfield, persuading the Chelsea-bound Steven Gerrard to stay and winning the Champions League in unforgettable circumstances in Istanbul in his first season in charge. Wow!
He followed that up the following year by beating West Ham on penalties in the FA Cup final and then, in 2007, he guided his club to another Champions League final - this time losing to AC Milan in Athens.
No trophies followed the following season nor the one after and, in between, they also failed to land Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.
But last term, on their way to finishing second behind Manchester United, Liverpool 'rewarded' Benitez with his new deal that ties - or rather handcuffs - him to the club until 2014.
I am all for clubs sticking by their managers. Stability and continuity are a sure route to success if you do not have Roman Abramovich's spending power.
But you have to question the Liverpool board's decision to give a five-year contract to a manager who has failed to deliver a league title and, arguably, blew his club's chances of landing that elusive crown last season with his infamous 'That's a fact' rant.
It is an indictment on a top flight which now considers fourth place a success. Years ago, winning the title was the only true gauge.
I was sacked by Barcelona for finishing second to Real Madrid two years after I won La Liga. Had I been in charge now, that would probably be considered a triumph.
Too many Premier League clubs are just satisfied finishing in the top four. They are not prepared to stretch themselves like Chelsea are.
Avram Grant was booted out by Abramovich after guiding the Blues to the runner-up spot in the Champions League and Premier League.
Imagine if he was at Liverpool? He would probably have been given a contract extension. But second-best, or rather fourth-best, seems to be enough at Anfield these days.
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The way things are going, though, Liverpool may not even achieve that in this campaign - and they have only themselves to blame, after luring their manager into the comfort zone with that five-year deal.
The club are said to be struggling off the field as much as on it but they cannot afford to get rid of Rafa.
Gillett and Hicks know it. Rafa knows it. We all know it.
I am not advocating his sacking. But why did they not give him a shorter deal? To give him such a long one was madness.
It is not only the Liverpool defence who are tied in knots.
We have a situation now where the club probably cannot get rid of their manager even if they want to. They are stuck with him.
Liverpool are in a straitjacket - and they cannot get out.
TERRY VENABLES was talking to PAUL JIGGINS
Dogged by injuries to his key stars.
Caught in the crossfire of the ongoing power struggle between the club's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Unable to get the cash to buy the players he wants.
And do not even mention the beach ball incident at Sunderland!
Rafa's supporters insist Lady Luck has not smiled on the Anfield chief at all.
But I cannot subscribe to that view. Football management should never be left to chance.
And even though the beleaguered Spaniard may not have had the rub of the green on occasions, he still enjoyed one of the biggest slices of footballing good fortune this year.
When Rafa signed a new five-year contract in March, he not only won the Lottery, he won the Boat Race and Grand National as well.
There is no doubt he did a stellar job after taking over in June 2004. He breathed new life into Anfield, persuading the Chelsea-bound Steven Gerrard to stay and winning the Champions League in unforgettable circumstances in Istanbul in his first season in charge. Wow!
He followed that up the following year by beating West Ham on penalties in the FA Cup final and then, in 2007, he guided his club to another Champions League final - this time losing to AC Milan in Athens.
No trophies followed the following season nor the one after and, in between, they also failed to land Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.
But last term, on their way to finishing second behind Manchester United, Liverpool 'rewarded' Benitez with his new deal that ties - or rather handcuffs - him to the club until 2014.
I am all for clubs sticking by their managers. Stability and continuity are a sure route to success if you do not have Roman Abramovich's spending power.
But you have to question the Liverpool board's decision to give a five-year contract to a manager who has failed to deliver a league title and, arguably, blew his club's chances of landing that elusive crown last season with his infamous 'That's a fact' rant.
It is an indictment on a top flight which now considers fourth place a success. Years ago, winning the title was the only true gauge.
I was sacked by Barcelona for finishing second to Real Madrid two years after I won La Liga. Had I been in charge now, that would probably be considered a triumph.
Too many Premier League clubs are just satisfied finishing in the top four. They are not prepared to stretch themselves like Chelsea are.
Avram Grant was booted out by Abramovich after guiding the Blues to the runner-up spot in the Champions League and Premier League.
Imagine if he was at Liverpool? He would probably have been given a contract extension. But second-best, or rather fourth-best, seems to be enough at Anfield these days.
Advertisement
var RStag = "";try{RStag = segQS;}catch(e){RStag = "";}document.write('');
The way things are going, though, Liverpool may not even achieve that in this campaign - and they have only themselves to blame, after luring their manager into the comfort zone with that five-year deal.
The club are said to be struggling off the field as much as on it but they cannot afford to get rid of Rafa.
Gillett and Hicks know it. Rafa knows it. We all know it.
I am not advocating his sacking. But why did they not give him a shorter deal? To give him such a long one was madness.
It is not only the Liverpool defence who are tied in knots.
We have a situation now where the club probably cannot get rid of their manager even if they want to. They are stuck with him.
Liverpool are in a straitjacket - and they cannot get out.
TERRY VENABLES was talking to PAUL JIGGINS