No team has a divine right to win their respective league, and Liverpool is no different. But don't tell that to the fervent fan base of Liverpool Football Club - especially this coming '09-'10 season. There seems to be a synchronicity about the new season that everyone is aware of, even rivals of LFC.
Manchester Utd have won three titles on the bounce, coinciding with the maturing of 'C07' and the team as a whole. But with Los Blancos unringing that bell and with Scholes, Giggs and Edwin van der Sar reaching for the pipe and slippers, there just isn't the hunger there for another title. It can't be understated how important it is in losing Christiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez - two players who were always the ones who dug out that elusive winning goal. And on many occasions last term, it was just one goal that saw them win a game.
Chelsea have not really addressed their aging collective either. Has the new manager new tricks to teach the old dogs - this is pretty much the same side that won two consecutive titles in 2005 and 2006. Their players, and their style are well known to the rest of the division now, but don' let that fool ya. They stifled Barcelona until the very last kick that saw them go out of the Champion's League last May, and they came within a dry sole of a football boot of winning it in the final last year, when Terry slipped, taking what would have been the victorious penalty-kick.
Arsenal seem to have become a feeder club for Kasbah-rockers, Manchester City. But we've seen Monsieur Wenger pull a rabbit from a hat before, but still very much an unknown quantity in their current set-up.
Manchester City have are on the verge of becoming Galacticos-oop north. They have assembled quite a strong squad now with Scouser-dodger Gareth Barry, pimp-wannabe Adebayor, Kolo Toure and 'Rocky' Santa Cruz joining in the fun. But can Sparky Hughes instill passion, drive and discipline into such a highly paid bunch.
And so it is, that Rafa has the wind at his back. His squad has settled and matured into what is his baby now. Add to this a palpable belief that was born out of coming so close last season; if just two of the eleven draw had been victories, Liverpool were champions. And Rafa had finally dun-de-double over Man Utd and Chelsea, only sharing the spoils with the Gunners.
We've lost Xabi Alonso - on the back of his best ever season - but others are there now with a great opportunity to fill his vacuous void. And it's in this scenario, that progress can be made.
So just how much pressure is on Benitez now? For, like I said, synchronicity is on his side. He has had more freedom in the last four months, than he's had in the last as many years. Is it from just now that we can start to judge, or are well into that period of judgement now?
I am of the opinion that if LFC were unsuccessful in winning the Premier League, we still have a great coach in charge. And this is when we have to really have faith that we'll win it some day. Football in general needs to leave behind the notion that managers have a shelf life. Even if Liverpool don't win the title for another 20 years, does this mean that we ship out a man that has us in touching distance? No, I say.
Kenny is back. What that means exactly, no-one is entirely sure, but he does bring with him an air of greatness - and maybe this is what the club needs to give it that one last push.
