Sharpys top lip
Player Valuation: £60m
Frenchman Jacques Crevoisier, who spent two years at Anfield under Gerard Houllier, slammed the reign of Rafael Benitez - insisting the Spaniard's signings and policies have brought the club to its knees.
If that was not enough, Crevoisier also branded former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett "a***holes" who treated Liverpool as their own private bank.
The educated 62-year-old, a qualified psychologist, now assists Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger with his squad. He has previously worked with Tottenham.
In an interview with French football magazine So Foot, Crevoisier said: "Liverpool's current failure is linked to three people - Benitez, Hicks and Gillett.
"Benitez is an excellent coach but he recruited over 60 players during his time in charge. And, apart from Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, his signings across five years were pitiful.
"Benitez brought in a staggering amount of players and at some cost. He is a very good tactician but a very bad recruiter.
"His communications were weak and his links with the players did not work. When the team lost it would be the players' fault and, when they won, it would be thanks to him.
"People who were at the club at the same time as him told me he was a megalomaniac, with people having to pledge allegiance to his way of doing things.
"The three players I've mentioned don't require an army of scouts to tell you they are very good, while all the rest were average.
"Sotirios Kyrgiakos, a central defender for Liverpool? That does my head in.
"Lucas has been trying to make a name for himself for four years but we know he won't succeed. He is just not good enough, a very average player.
"There are too many such players at Liverpool. Ditto for Joe Cole - apart from a bit of technique, he has never been consistent.
"Let's not forget he spent most of his time on the bench at Chelsea and is on an enormous salary.
"It's a similar story for Christian Poulsen. I'm not a fan of his at all. Mascherano has more talent than Poulsen in one of his toes.
"Milan Jovanovic is a joke - there should be no place for him at Liverpool - while Philipp Degen and Maxi Rodriguez are rubbish.
"Great players don't come to Liverpool these days. Top players don't just join clubs for money, they also join to win trophies. And while some clubs offer both, Liverpool don't any longer.
"Steven Gerrard has carried the team for a long time but can't keep on going flat-out all the time.
"He and Torres must not be condemned as they have masked the inadequacies of their team-mates with extraordinary displays that they cannot reproduce in the long-term.
"Peter Crouch wanted to leave the club because he wanted to play matches. Benitez never changed his system irrespective of the players he had at his disposal.
"Crouch had to wait for Torres to break a leg before he got a game and Benitez virtually never picked them in the same team, so Crouch left to get playing time elsewhere."
And, ahead of Chelsea's visit to Anfield tomorrow, Crevoisier reckons new Reds boss Roy Hodgson is now paying the price for all of Benitez's errors.
He added: "Benitez got rid of Houllier's legacy, then installed Spaniards at all levels of the club and dismissed people who had been there for decades - including some who had played a part in the club's history.
"He practised a scorched earth policy towards his predecessors.
"Now, if you look at Benitez's legacy, you'll say his scouts were no good. Has he left the club in good health? No. Has he prepared for the future? No.
"Benitez is a charmer. He comes on TV with a nice smile but I'm not fooled.
"People at Liverpool told me 'Rafael is a lucky b*****d, he got his personal glory from a single half in Istanbul'.
"Yes, he's a good tactician. When Houllier and I were at Liverpool, we lost twice to his Valencia team. "I also don't forget that he led the team to the Champions League final but people are very disappointed with his way of working.
"I'm very sad to see such a great club struggling in the table but I don't think they will go down. They will finish around 10th.
"As for Roy Hodgson, I have a lot of respect for him. He knew he was arriving during a transitional period for Liverpool.
"He worked miracles at Fulham and will need time at Liverpool - who are a legendary club - but he is the manager they need.
"We don't know what the club's new owners will bring but at least they have their own money.
"That is unlike Hicks and Gillett, those a***holes who came to make money off the back of football.
"Liverpool has human and historic dimensions and you can't consider it like a traditional business.
"The former chairman David Moores did not sell the club for financial reasons - and he hoped that the buyers would build a new stadium and invest in strengthening the team.
"I met him after the sale to Hicks and Gillett and he was disgusted. He told me, 'They bought the club on borrowed money, they came to make money by putting the club in danger and by using Liverpool's money to finance their own borrowing'.
"They almost brought the club down and I'm very happy to see that the courts in London authorised it to be sold.
"But, if I was asked to rejoin Liverpool's coaching staff, I would refuse because I want to be able to sleep peacefully at night.
"There is no miracle solution at Liverpool and the task is immense.
"It involves reorganising the club, restructuring the management team and choosing people of quality and class in key positions.
"The new owners must bring back stability and sufficient financial backing.
"A new stadium is a priority too and, above all, patience is required."
But still they love the FSW......!!!! They are as bad a s Geordies....
