Rafa Benitez has had his fair share of critics, me amongst them. His inability to make a concerted attempt on the Premiership title, his apparently former obsession with rotation and his complaints about lack of money are all justifiable reasons to ask some questions.

Despite that, the facts are that he has taken Liverpool to the Champions League semi-final for the third time in four seasons and he has again achieved Champions League qualification for next season. Add to that a European Super Cup and an FA Cup and his four years at Liverpool don't seem to be too disastrous.

I have been won over by Rafa and I understand why a majority of Liverpool supporters backed him when the footballing world were beginning to question his right to hold on to his job.

So we are left with a wonderful club with a fantastic history and a bright future. A team containing some of the best players in the world. A successful and proven manager and a fan base unlike any other found in the country. (I know, I've criticised Liverpool before. Do so at your peril!)

So in these circumstances, with a Champions League semi-final to look forward to, why is it, do you think, that the owners and chief executive seem so determined to ruin the whole thing?

With the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett behaving like six year-old schoolgirls and refusing to even talk to each other, the situation is becoming a huge embarrassment for Liverpool. I feel some sympathy for Chief Executive Rick Parry who has been caught in the middle of this ridiculous charade, but he has now been very much embroiled in the row.

Parry did allegedly attend the infamous meeting with Jurgen Klinsmann last year together with both Hicks and Gillett. It was originally thought that only Hicks had held the talks. This news must have been a kick in the teeth for Rafa who would have counted Parry as his only guaranteed ally in the brewing troubles.

Benitez has said that he is 'very calm but would like some answers.'

Fair play to Rafa. I would be a long way from calm in this situation.

It would be a terrible shame if these apparently conniving and scheming men who do not seem to have Liverpool at heart at all, were to drive away the manager who has restored some of the pride to the Kop. I hope they can sort it out and I hope that these grown men can find it in themselves to apologise to Rafa and plead with him to stay on. They do not deserve him.