It came as no surprise to see the former Anfield youth team coach and Liverpool legend Steve Heighway deliver a parting shot at Rafa Benitez over the decision to let him leave after 18 years at the club.

Rather than let emotion guide our responses (something we have come to learn has little to do with the Spaniard’s make-up or decision process) let us take a level-headed and logical look at the mechanics behind this parting of ways between Liverpool and the man who steered them to two successive FA Youth Cups.

Liverpool, over the years, have been well-known for their production and development of superb young talent, not just the club in Red but the city in general. The likes of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and David Thompson at the dawn of Sky Sports and the Premiership, live TV and the money train making its maiden voyage. Joey Barton, Stevie Gerrard, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy and the rest all bled from the heaving streets of Liverpool, all top-class players who learned their trade on the back streets and in the park.

Many of these were nurtured and developed to blossom into the talents they are today by Mr. Heighway. No-one can deny what he did for these young players at a time when guidance and great care was needed to polish these rough lumps of coal into the diamonds they have become. He’s a great man with a great history and has been a great servant to Liverpool FC and, indirectly, to other clubs around the country, where some of his flock ended up. A plethora of youth only rivalled by those greatest of rivals in Manchester.

By Heighway’s own confession, no-one is better at coaching the 17-18 year olds than he is, and removing him now could cause irreparable damage to the progress of some of his protégés. Ego? Truth? Time will tell, but the one thing you can be sure of is that Rafa will approach the task with supreme professionalism and nothing close to emotion. The best will remain, the rest he will cull without mercy.

Make no mistake, the driftwood will be cut loose as Benitez sweeps through, and herein lies possibly the main reason for Heighway’s departure. He was not ruthless enough in his decision making, and although there is a lot to be said for nurturing a young player at the right time and also taking him down a peg or two at others, identifying and letting go of the ones who are not the grade seems to have been the problem.