[quote author=zlatan18 link=topic=40459.msg1112537#msg1112537 date=1275578313]
I was not a rafa fan, but rafa made our squad stronger. My vote is for rafa, although in saying that.. Ged did have much less money to spend
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In real terms Ged spent far more according to the 'Transfer Price Index' which is quoted as between 95% and 99% accurate.
In actual terms, Houllier spent £130.9m on players. In today’s money, adjusted using TPI (i.e football inflation) that equates to £245m. But of course, it’s important to see how much was recouped; more on that in a moment.
In actual terms, BenÃtez has spent £223m. In today’s money (transfer prices have of course risen since he started buying players in 2004), adjusted using TPI (football inflation) that equates to £278m.
Houllier sold players for an actual amount of £60.3m. Using TPI inflation, that translates to £99.4m.
BenÃtez has sold players for a total of £159.3m. Using TPI inflation, that translates to £215.1m.
Therefore, Rafa BenÃtez net spend, when adjusted to inflation, equals £63,550,192, compared with Gérard Houllier’s far greater total of £146,061,083.
On average, using TPI to create an even playing field, BenÃtez has spent £10.5m net per season, while Houllier spent £24.4m; roughly two-and-a-half times as much. Houllier clearly had more supportive backers than BenÃtez.
Of course, these figures include money raised by selling players they inherited.
Both men lost around £12m (actual) on local stars who went to Real Madrid (McManaman in 1999, Owen in 2004) for less than their market worth due to contract issues, within one year of the new boss taking over. So that was an early blow to both managers.
However, only 29.5% of Houllier’s income was from selling his own players (such as Heskey, Barmby and Ziege); the rest came from selling his predecessor’s signings, or home-grown talents like Fowler, Thompson and Matteo.
By contrast, BenÃtez has raised £128.8m TPI (£109.9m actual) from selling his own players: 59.8% of the money he has raised through sales has been from offloading his own purchases – twice as much as with Houllier.
Now, of course, in some cases (such as Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena), BenÃtez was selling his own mistakes for a loss. I don’t think there is a manager alive who hasn’t done this (Houllier did so with Ziege, for example), and the key is to get as much as possible, as quickly as possible.
However, a lot of money was raised from selling the likes of Alonso, Sissoko, Bellamy, Crouch, Carson, et al, for a profit; in some cases, after a few years of sterling service.
What’s interesting is that every single player Houllier signed has now left Liverpool FC. They did so for an actual combined price of just £52.6m, or £86.9m when adjusted with TPI.
BenÃtez has already raised far more than this from his sales, and that’s before (perish the thought) any potential sale of Torres, Reina, Agger, Johnson, Benayoun, Kuyt and Mascherano, who between them, at current value, could raise another £150m.
In fairness to Houllier, players like Hyypia and Hamann left the club on free transfers having served the Reds with distinction, to the point in time when they were too old to sell. None of us would complain if Torres left on a free, aged 33, after seven more years of goals.
Even so, the figures seem to support the view that BenÃtez has outperformed his predecessor.
Conclusion
In conclusion, BenÃtez has had to sell his own players to raise much of his own transfer funds. He has also raised more money through European progression, and yet despite this, the current squad costs only £143m, between £50m-£100m behind those of Spurs, City, Chelsea and United.
BenÃtez’s win percentage in the league is 55%, to Houllier’s 49%. But Houllier only had one year of Chelsea’s wealth to contend with; and the Stamford Bridge outfit spent another £100m the summer BenÃtez arrived.
Houllier had a great United side (1999) and Arsenal’s Invincibles to battle, but BenÃtez has had to face what Alex Ferguson believes to be a better United team, plus the might of Chelsea (and now City). And of course, when BenÃtez arrived, that Arsenal side were reigning champions.
BenÃtez has averaged 72.2 points per season, Houllier managed 65.7 (just 2.7 more points on average than in the ‘disastrous’ season we’ve just witnessed). Houllier qualified for the Champions League three times (once would be for the season after he left), BenÃtez five. BenÃtez’s best tally in a season was 86, Houllier’s was 80.
Houllier won four trophies, BenÃtez two. BenÃtez won one of the two that really matter, and made another Champions League final.
Houllier did a good job – especially up to 2002 – and BenÃtez has done a better job.
However, Rafa cannot regularly work miracles, and the more financially adrift the Reds find themselves, the harder it will be to simply tread water, let alone forge ahead.
Source:
http://tomkinstimes.com/2010/05/houllier-vs-benitez-spend-analysis/
