Liverpool should be wary of falling into the trap of social media hype before appointing their next manager.
That is the warning of former Reds boss – and Istanbul hero – Rafa Benitez.
The Spaniard had plenty of praise to share for Xabi Alonso, though suggested that social media is blinding fans to the bigger picture.
“He’s a big name, good professional, good lad, clever, doing really well so I understand why,” the Celta Vigo boss told Rob Draper of The Guardian.
“[But] imagine Steven Gerrard was around and doing well. Then it would be: ‘Gerrard!’
“With social media everything is going too fast so that people don’t see the big picture.”
That said, the Bayer Leverkusen boss has more than earned his plaudits judging by his exploits in Germany.
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Who else should Liverpool go for?
Let’s play this out hypothetically.
If Liverpool weren’t to win Xabi Alonso’s signature, or if we went in a different direction, who else could replace Jurgen Klopp.
Ruben Amorim is one name that has popped up frequently in such discourse, though has less than five seasons of senior management under his belt.
More experience than our former classy midfielder, though the challenge is not quite as significant as toppling Bayern Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga.
The options beyond the pair then arguably only get steadily less appealing.
We do take Benitez’s point, though the pickings are looking rather slim beyond Alonso at this stage.