Let's get at least one thing straight: No one wins the Champions League by a fluke. So everyone who jealously undermines Liverpool's achievement in Istanbul on this website is usually a fan of "the other three" wishing it could have been them.

It's now an incredible nine years since Manchester United took the trophy back to Old Trafford. Were there howls of "fluke, fluke" when they dumped Bayern Munich with two last-minute goals? Of course not.

The main reasons for that were, firstly, because it was Bayern and everyone else hates them, and secondly, it was snatched from the German outfit in such a dramatic fashion that anyone with a footballing soul was celebrating in disbelief pumped full of adrenalin. I jumped out of my seat for another team for the first time in my life!

'Benitez sometimes reminds me of a desperate man on Christmas Eve, attempting to buy all of his presents in a rush and not stopping to think whether his purchases will actually be any good'


However dramatic Liverpool's comeback was against AC Milan, it just didn't hit the same heights as United's. Of course, United were going for the treble as well - an amazing feat in modern-day football. Liverpool crawled home in fifth place the season they won it, all of their eggs in one basket.

The reason they finished so low in the league that year was clearly because they were concentrating their efforts wholly on winning in Europe. Milan tend to do the same, allowing Inter to gallop off with Serie A title. It depends on the club and where their priorities lie.

Sir Alex Ferguson will always want to win the Premier League and the Champions League. That is what makes him different. But for everyone else in England the priority seems to be one or the other.

So how should we judge Rafa Benitez's achievements at Liverpool? Should he be getting rid of under-performing stars in the summer? Well, yes, but it was he who brought them to the club in the first place.

He sometimes reminds me of a desperate man on Christmas Eve, attempting to buy all of his presents in a rush and not really stopping to think whether his purchases will actually be any good - just look at Andriy Voronin, Jermaine Pennant, Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt for starters.

Liverpool have a first-team squad of 34 players who actually have numbers and names on the back of their shirts. That would be fantastic if all 34 could play a bit. Unfortunately, looking through the list makes painful viewing. The basis of a truly top quality side is there, but Benitez never seems to know quite how to finish it off.

The Liverpool squad is not capable of challenging for both major trophies. In fact, Manchester United and Chelsea now look like the only two in the country who can. The tender age of Arsenal's squad and a lack of cover have resulted in them faltering badly.

Is this what it has come to? The Big Four are way ahead of the rest yet, when it comes down to it, there is a tier system among those four. Really, there is now only a Big Two.

I don't think that Rafa should be contemplating who to get rid of at Anfield in the summer. He has had his time and his fleeting glory. For a club like Liverpool, winning the Champions League is tremendous but the Premier League is vitally important to the fans.

Liverpool will never win the title with Benitez at the helm as he is incapable of handling a sustained two-pronged attack - and it is clear where his priorities lie.

It's not about getting rid of the deadwood at Anfield, it's about telling Rafa to try his luck somewhere else.