Scaremongering or harsh truth, you decide!

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The storm clouds are circling above Anfield yet again with another story about our unscrupulous American owners surfacing. This time it’s over the amount of funds they have given Rafael Benitez to strengthen his squad.

The Rafa out brigade will argue that he has had £37 million to spend on Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani, but has he really been given that much? Think about it. Johnson cost £17 million but £7m was owed to us by Portsmouth from the sale of Peter Crouch last summer so, in essence, he only really cost £10m something of a bargain I’m sure you’ll agree.

Aquilani came in at a slightly heftier price tag of £20m but that will be paid in instalments of 5m here and £5m there so not a bad deal in the grand scheme of things. You could argue that the Johnson and Aquilani deals were covered by Alonso’s £30m move to Real Madrid.

Rafa’s wheeler dealer tactics have served him well but as he looks to swoop for a defender, he will have to sell yet again before he can even consider looking at the likes of Hull’s Michael Turner, Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross and Steven Taylor of Newcastle United to name but three names linked with moves to Anfield.

The problem is that, before he signed his new contract, he was promised an annual transfer kitty in excess of £20m in addition to whatever money he recouped from selling players. Now it has emerged that he is only being given £1.5m to spend in the market, the supporters are again furious that the manager has been strung along by two American conmen at a time when the squad needs strengthening.

It appears that history could repeat itself if our club goes from being on the verge of winning the title back to top four mediocrity as was witnessed under Gerard Houllier’s time in the Anfield hot seat. The only difference is that he was backed in the market by the chairman at the time and brought in dross whilst Benitez wants to bring in quality to replace the players who have left and is finding himself highly restricted.

There is no two ways about it, Liverpool are another Leeds United in the making; a once-great club at the heartbeat of both the local community and English football, now on the verge of going under. (Daily Mirror)

I have say that I am more than a little worried about the way the Americans are running the club but hopefully things will not go down the Leeds United path, but perhaps I am being too optimistic. I know that most fans want the DIC to come back and try to wrestle control from Messrs Hicks and Gillett, but It doesn’t seem likely any time soon.

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