IT was a moment of black comedy on a dark morning for Liverpool. As a tired Rafael Benitez was being grilled over his team’s Champions League final defeat to AC Milan the previous night, the familiar chirp of a mobile phone ringtone pierced the hush of the press conference. The tune? ‘Z Cars’, the song synonymous with city rivals Everton. Nothing, though, could interrupt Benitez as he delivered a startling assessment of the way he feels Liverpool have been run since his arrival at Anfield three years ago. The Spaniard has long grown frustrated by his inability to regularly compete for top-quality names, but the depth of the obvious disillusionment shown yesterday will no doubt surprise American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. And it didn’t stop there. Benitez is pressing for a review throughout every aspect of the club this summer as he attempts to close the gap both on and off the field to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. To reach Athens was a magnificent achievement, but it’s the 21-point gap to champions United that is now the greater concern. Perhaps victory on Wednesday would have helped mask the deficiencies that have been evident for some time. But the soul-searching defeat always encourages has provided Benitez the ideal opportunity to outline his vision of the way forward for Liverpool. “There are lots of things we can change, and I’ve been talking with the new owners about these things,” says the Liverpool manager. “If you see their chart that they have, it is clear there are two different things: sport and business departments. “The football operations are something we can improve. We need to work hard to try and find the right players and prepare things for the future, talking about the reserve team. “With the business department, it’s clear that we can also change things. With all these things together, we can get better.” | 
Article
