ESPN is reporting that a couple of the larger English book-making services have stopped taking bets on whether or not Rafa Benitez will be the next EPL manager to get the sack or leave of his own accord. Speculation at this point on a successor lands largely on former manager Kenny Dalglish. Of course, this will be huge news in Liverpool (and one would suspect, Madrid, where’s he often rumoured to be taking over at the end of this season) today, just before the Reds take the field in their Round of 16 1st leg against Real Madrid.
The problems at Liverpool are largely centered around the debt owed by the two owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the power struggle between Rick Parry and Benitez, and Benitez’s insistence that he be the main man at Anfield, in charge of both picking the team and controlling the transfers. He has not signed the offrered contract, and so this situation remains fluid. Stay tuned for our Round of 16 Day 2 preview coming later this morning. It could be quite an interesting game today in Madrid.
This is just what we needed today. Fantastic.
I still like Liverpool over Real Madrid, though; Benitez is a great coach when it comes to these two-legged ties. I wonder what effect Benitez’s departure would have on Liverpool’s Spanish contingent? It’d be a shame to destabilize Reina, Torres, Riera, Alonso, and Arbeloa…well, maybe not Arbeloa, but you get my meaning.
It’s not the best of news, to be sure. I think this situation will come to a head after the season though, I would think the hierarchy at Liverpool would be loathe to make something major happen while the league and CL campaigns are still going on.
The hierarchy might not, but Benitez might.