Rafa’s Latest Challenge: Figuring Out How Loans Work
Benitez in a familiar pose
Rafa Benitez is a man easily upset these days. If it’s not beach balls, it’s referees not awarding penalties, or some other gameday irritation. However, his biggest career gripe has always been transfer funds, notably the lack of them.
Since joining Liverpool, owners have given him a decent amount of cash to splash when the windows are open, until last summer, when he was afforded barely enough cash to purchase Sotiros Kyrgiakos, a hackneyed, clearly bemused central defender from AEK Athens. His other signings, Alberto Aquilani and Glen Johnson, were paid for by the sale of Xabi Alonso, and it looks like this January, Rafa’s forced to sing off the same song sheet: loans, loans, loans, and maybe a couple of million to pick up a player out of favor elsewhere.
To further exacerbate his malaise, he’s not even been promised any money raised through sales. Imagine that! As if the task of getting back amid the Big 4 weren’t already challenging enough.
I can’t wait for his comments to the press about how the lack of transfer funds is dooming his squad, but more than that, I await the fallout.
Wild conspiracy time!
