The Ugly Demise Of The Rafavolution

What was vividly clear on Wednesday night at Anfield was not how bad the team played, but how helpless Rafael Benitez looked on the sidelines - utterly incapable of lifting his players, and not a hint of his tactical genius in sight.

The case of his rotation policy should no longer be a point of debate, as he has shown time and again that it brings results (and to a certain extent, silverware) in the long run. However, what has been slowly unfolding in the past few games has been a gradual decline in the standard of play, as well as players who look short of motivation and confidence all of a sudden.

Over-confidence after the Derby game, or shell-shocked when they escaped with a lucky draw in Porto? Whatever it is, a good manager should be able to bring his players over any transition. It appears that Benitez no longer has the ability to do that.

Sure enough, the team will probably pick up the pace again after another 10-20 games, but as has been the case the past few seasons, by then the title would have been long gone, and any long unbeaten streak would be useless.

The Champions League win a couple of seasons back was also a fluke, make no mistake about it. The team displayed great courage and mental strength to fight back from 3-0 down to win it. But these things happen only once every 100 years.

Just as well, the players we bring in are not good enough either. They are skilful, no doubt, and some of them are world-class by virtue of being internationals, but what we need are winners. When the chips are down, the team tries, but are not able to take the games by the scruff of their necks unlike Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United. The effort is always there, but there is never belief in their eyes.

We need Mourinho. Pay off Chelsea, find Benitez a job as the youth team coach, and bring in The Special One to instill the winning mentality back in the team that once ruled not just England, but Europe as well.