I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Benitez is the leading candidate:
- Title with Tenerife (don't know how impressive this is, to be honest)
- 2 La Liga titles with Valencia (first title in 31 years)
- UEFA Cup, FA Cup & Champions League with Liverpool...Liverpool!
- Realising Gerrard is not a central midfielder (certainly not in a 4-4-2) and converting him into a brilliant right winger
- Buying 3 genuinely world class players in Mascherano, Alonso and Torres
- Understanding the importance of ball retention in midfield - Mascherano and Alonso
- In theory, being Spanish should be a massive advantage with the wealth of Spanish talent out there
I know he bought a lot of dross (notably Keane and arguably Aquilani), but there were some other good signings aside from the above, like Reina (?ú6M), Garcia (?ú6M), Bellamy (?ú6M), Skrtl (?ú6M) and Agger (?ú5.8M). He was very close to putting together a brilliant team: Reina, X, Skrtl, Agger, X, Mascherano, Alonso, X, X, Gerrard, Torres.