When asked by Richard Keys after Liverpool’s victory against Aston Villa about whether Reds manager Roy Hodgson was left a mess by previous boss Rafa Benitez, Andy Gray responded:
“I think so, the squad he inherited was better than the one he left, and I’m sure Gerard Houllier would back me up on that.”
Although I am reluctant to go over old ground about this as the focus should be very much on the future, there has been a mantra from many footballing pundits, including Gray, that Liverpool needs a massive rebuilding job. I would agree to an extent that after having one disastrous season where we finished seventh, a certain amount of player re-organisation is required, but pundits do seem to have short memories. For me, saying that Rafa left a worst squad than Houllier is very wide of the mark. Ironically Gray went on to praise Pepe Reina and David Ngog for their performances against Aston Villa, despite the fact they were both Rafa buys.
You only have to look at the squad that Rafa inherited to see Gray’s comments are inaccurate. Djimi Traore? Bruno Cheyrou? Salif Diao? El-Hadji Diouf? Igor Biscan? Are any of these players better than the likes of Javier Mascherano, Alberto Aquilani, Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger that Rafa left Roy? Remember the majority of the squad had only two years previously finished second on 86 points. Along with top class players such as Reina, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres, there were able bodies around them such as Johnson, Kuyt, Rodriguez, Agger and now Lucas. So where are Gray’s comments coming from?
Certainly there can be an argument made that Rafa left a weak squad in terms of depth. It is clear that if Liverpool ever want to compete for the title again, the size of the squad in terms of quality must increase to be able to compete with the teams at the top of the table. On Roy Hodgson’s arrival at the club in the summer, he was concerned by the lack of quality in the squad in regards to depth but a few months down the line, although he feels light on numbers, he feels he can trust the players he has at his disposal to do the job required.
When Roy came into the job last summer, like many others, he believed he was coming into a squad bereft of quality. After spending time with the players though, he has gradually seen that the players in the squad are better than he initially believed.
This is not to say the squad needs no improving, it certainly does. Despite the good form of Maxi Rodriguez and David Ngog, another winger and striker are needed to make the second half of the season a better one for the Red. A left back would not go amiss either but I hope Roy doesn’t go looking for a centre-half to replace the sidelined Jamie Carragher. If Daniel Agger stays fit, then he is more than capable of covering for the vice-captain.
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