You can keep your hands off Rafa, Reds

THERE is a great debate going on among the Liverpool faithful about Jurgen Klopp’s swashbuckling style of football creating massive holes in his back line.

However it is the sub-plot which will interest, intrigue, and worry Geordies busy enjoying Newcastle’s eye-catching start to a new Premier League season.

Why? Because one name keeps cropping up for consideration among talk of a replacement for Klopp. Rafa Benitez. Klopp will have served two years with the Kop come next month but in his last four games he has drawn two, lost two and won none, which does not sit pretty with supporters who once won the European Cup on a regular basis.

Benitez was, of course, the last Liverpool manager to lift that illustrious trophy, still lives in the city and is remembered with warm affection for how he served during a lengthy stay.

Of course, opinions vary on the Liverpool FC Forum message board, from Benitez’s ship having already sailed from the port of Liverpool to his organisational ability in sorting out defensive frailties being just what the Reds currently require.

United fans may find it ironic Klopp should lose the hearts of some Scousers by playing the way one of their Euro winners Kevin Keegan famously did at Newcastle with his Entertainers - and it is true Klopp is well liked by the neutrals nationwide for his engaging personality, ready smile and style of play.

However, the natives are restless and that is dangerous.

For Newcastle, however, the thought of Benitez being lured away is terrifying. All on Tyneside is built round this man and if he was lost to the cause we all fear what Mike Ashley would do next. We recall with a shudder the likes of Joe Kinnear and Steve McClaren! What heightens concern is Liverpool are next up at St James’ Park a week tomorrow, for goodness sake, and if Benitez should engineer a spanking for his old club then the murmuring on Merseyside could become a roar. Liverpool have conceded a whopping 16 goals in all competitions so far, which is suicidal. I could not imagine a Benitez side doing that.

I compared Keegan and Benitez recently, saying one is a romantic and the other a realist. Klopp is firmly in the fantasy class who want to win trophies the perfect way through flowing attacking football.

Benitez, on the other hand, will make certain the back door is firmly bolted because any team conceding regularly will win nothing.

He managed Liverpool from 2004 until 2010, becoming a folk hero when winning the Champions League in 2005 with a stirring comeback from three goals down, and being voted UEFA Manager of the Year for the second successive season.

He also lifted the FA Cup in 2006 and reached the Champions League final again in 2007, coming ever so close to rewarding the Kopites with their great desire, the Premier League title, when finishing 2008-09 runners-up. However, a lack of financial backing from new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks led to a sad parting of the ways.

I have time for Scousers because in many ways they are like Geordies, but my message to them is simple: Keep your hands off Benitez!