Rafael Benitez has got a contract that he does not deserve. The amount of dough he is getting in his pocket, in his current account, in his offshore banking account reminds me of some of the bonuses city bankers got while bankrupting the system and then got bailed out by you and me. And that does not really sit comfortably with me, it actually rankles my inner self. Only sometimes, I admit though. He has asked for it, knew he had a strong hand with the fans firmly behind him and called the croupier’s bluff. The croupier probably spat with bitterness, but had to wilt to save some face. For the money he gets, he is still far from infallible. He makes mistakes. He can be stubborn. He is probably stubborn by nature. As a kid, rather than building sand castles and marvel at them getting washed away by waves, he’d get on a rock and marvel seeing the waves getting broke against the rocks and himself with his hands wide open. Still, he’s getting all that dough for the very simple reason he found himself in a place and a position where such astronomicality is the order of the day. I firmly believe Benitez is a football man, and even if his time were in that where you play the game or manage your team in front of thousands and then get the bus home with the same spectators, he would still be doing this 24/7.

Last season, but still in the 2009 year we had to endure the chants of ‘Rafa’s cracking up’. The chants did the rounds around every English stadium as much as the ‘Sit Down Pinocchio’ used to do. Admittedly Rafa did not crack up Ferguson’s hold on the title, but he far from cracked, as he managed Liverpool excruciatingly close to the finishing line. The summer was ordinary, with the books being simply balanced rather than fed, albeit with huge transactions. The difference between first and second might be very thin, but the effort to skip from second to first is extraordinary. After buying time for himself with his European Cup victory in his first season (or is that the deed itself?) followed by an F.A. Cup, while achieving a high level consistency in European football through out every season, he signaled that his whole squad and set-up can properly challenge to the title.

Hopes were raised by the faithful, but at the time it seems that he’s only built beautiful sand castles and the waves are simply carrying them away as if there was nothing. He needed some muscle into his castles but never got it. A foreign manager provokes the English media in two ways. Broadsheet papers for an instance, love interviewing him as he makes their paper look more intellectual and in a way exotic, especially in his early days. The tabloids would love to see him fail as you know fish and chips is better than paella. After building him up, the broadsheets would love to break him up as someone with a different philosophy from yours can be intimidating and there’s few better sights than seeing a cleverer guy falling on his arse. And when this guy happens to manage Liverpool the view is coupled with a few strippers on the side. When, your influence infiltrates into the terraces then you’d be even excused to carry a mirror so it can reflect your glee.

Four consecutive defeats is definitely crisis material. Four defeats in the league when it’s still October is lower middle table material. The cut-throat edges for the coveted title are unmerciful, and they have already left severe verging on the fatal bruises. What is though unfathomable for me, is how a manager that was lauded as recently as this summer could be getting not just flak, but vitriol from all four corners to even infiltrate in a way the Kop.

Given all the circumstances, tomorrow’s match against Manchester United exacerbate all its proportions, that is playing right into the hands of Sky and its partners in crime. The frenzy created is beyond their wildest dreams. Deep down I feel that this game is simply one that Liverpool must get something out of. Still and it is a big still, one match wouldn’t change my thoughts and opinion about one person.

Liverpool F.C. is a vehicle to escape the grit of real life. Sometimes I feel like a sucker for eleven millionaires trotting around. I hardly have idols anymore. My big reverie is for the Liverbird. I though admit huge respect for the man at the helm. Sacking him is unthinkable. Firstly, it’s not the Liverpool way of doing things. Sadly though, that philosophy has been long deterring and while it should be the main reason the cold facts suggest that Mr Gillett is behind Rafa because he can’t afford sacking him.

Are Liverpool then stuck with Rafa? For a change the lack of funds are working in Liverpool’s favour.