Martin O'Neill wouldn't even be at Anfield tomorrow if he'd had his way. And not because he could do without having to look Rafael Benitez in the eye or the sudden pressure he's suffering at Aston Villa. But because he could have been England manager. Before Fabio Capello was appointed, the Sunday Tribune understands, O'Neill met FA representatives and would have been willing to take the job were he given a measure of control over the national-team infrastructure from youths to senior team that couldn't quite be countenanced by Soho Square.

You could tell for sure then that he was a boy from Brian Clough's class. That was exactly the sort of control Clough attempted to claim from the FA back in the '70s. And exactly the sort of control Benitez managed to secure at Liverpool back in March. The Spaniard's new contract – radically redrafted eight times – didn't give him full control of transfers but control as close as to makes no difference. Benitez finally got to exert a strong influence over every single aspect of the club and now enjoys an autonomy that goes beyond either Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger. And, of course, O'Neill.

It goes without saying, given it was one of the sore points that saw those terms secured but, had Benitez enjoyed that kind of power in the summer of 2008, he could have pushed through a suitable price for Gareth Barry and prevented a whole load of Liverpool's current problems. Benitez's posturing and prevaricating then turned what was already a tepid relationship with O'Neill tense and, as recently as July and Barry's surprising move to Manchester City instead of Melwood, the Villa manager fired another broadside. "Did Liverpool take it for granted Gareth Barry would sign for them? They may well have done."

Yet for all their mutual antipathy – O'Neill explaining, "Do I have a good relationship with him? I don't think so" – were the two to actually sit down and have a highly unlikely glass of wine after tomorrow's match, they could find a lot of common ground to complain about.

First of all, Barry's City switch has – aside from deepening their own rift – been the root of many wide-ranging issues for both. Benitez's initial pursuit of the player was the trigger for Xabi Alonso's exit over a year later yet, in eschewing Liverpool, Barry has denied them what the manager thought was the obvious upgrade to the Basque and now any fluency in midfield as Alberto Aquilani remains absent. It wasn't a factor against Stoke thanks to Fernando Torres's early goal but may yet test them as it did against Tottenham if the striker can't similarly stun lesser teams so early. As Harry Redknapp said: "They had no one who could get the ball to [Steven] Gerrard playing in that hole off Torres. It would have been hard to press Liverpool like we did if Alonso had been in their team, as he can turn the ball around corners with just one touch."

Whatever way you look at it and whatever way Benitez eventually rectifies it, so far the whole instability surrounding Liverpool's central midfield smacks of clumsy management.

O'Neill didn't even get the chance to be clumsy as Barry simply wanted away but the former captain took with him all assurance and authority from Villa's side, an aspect only accentuated by Martin Laursen's unfortunate retirement. Further damage is done though by the fact Barry's mobility provided such a seamless link between defence and midfield, often covering a real shallowness in O'Neill's squad. However, in staking Barry's Villa future on Champions League qualification and showing no sign of a contingency plan it could also be argued that, much like Alex Ferguson with Cristiano Ronaldo's long-determined departure, O'Neill chose to take a punt rather than properly prepare. He has now been left with the smallest squad in the Premier League and an absence of leaders to guide them.

More of that in a moment though, because it's directly related to the second and most substantial moan Benitez and O'Neill might share: the fact they are both more-than-proven managers who frustratingly dwell on the threshold of the next stages of their careers. And they are now under pressure to make the push since the great power they've accumulated at their clubs – particularly Benitez – demands responsibility. For Benitez to win the title, for O'Neill to make the Champions League.

Last season's tilts could be partly explained away by the theory you need to go close once before you crack it. What's important then are the enhancements gleaned from experience. But there are suggestions neither manager has allowed that to be the case. Because what arguably cost them last year was not so much a lack of experience but a lack of numbers. The two used the least amount of players in the Premier League, Liverpool just 23, Villa just 20 (three of those not even starting). And both suffered staggering slumps at different stages of the season as absences took effect. No wonder. But neither has notably bolstered their squad.

Glen Johnson at least provides greater fluency on the right for Liverpool but it's still hard to see who'll fill in when the stars don't feature. Benitez's ritual response here is "the money we have". But, leaving aside the exhausted argument over net expenditure, there is another issue. What won United the title last year wasn't huge signings like Berbatov but a huge squad. And a somewhat home-grown squad. Ferguson gave 13 different United graduates – from Wes Brown to Danny Welbeck – more than a game each. Benitez just two, Jamie Carragher and Gerrard.

This week provided another example. One of Benitez's notorious youth signings, 18-year-old Daniel Ayala, this time largely impressed against Stoke's aerial assault but Liverpool immediately announced the signing of journeyman centre-half Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Why wasn't Ayala encouraged and the £2m put towards "someone to help Torres and Gerrard" as Benitez has already indicated he wanted? The battle over the academy was one which Benitez won early in his Liverpool time. With Frank McParland appointed the new director in May, he insists "It will not be long before the improvements become clear".

Nevertheless, with so much uncertainty at the top and potentially one of the most open title races in years, Benitez's lack of reinforcements may yet prove irrelevant. The crux, however, is that he could have truly forced the issue. There's no such comfort for O'Neill as he has a weaker squad in a much, much stronger mini-league with the emphatic improvements at Manchester City and Tottenham.

Like Benitez, O'Neill can also point to the balance sheet as Lerner indicated as far back as May this would be a "more modest" summer. But again, there's another issue here. When Lerner said that he also outlined his club's expected economic policy. "I think that when we set out to build up the squad, we probably expected year four to mean more modest spending than year three." Yet now at year four, as last season's starters and slump indicate, O'Neill has barely built a squad. Even taking into account the exits of Barry and Laursen, the net €68m O'Neill has spent in that relatively short time should surely warrant a much wider and well-equipped panel. That, it must be said, is clumsy management.

It also raises the often unsaid issue of O'Neill's lack of long-term planning. Although a terrific man-manager who immediately seems to realise what exactly is required at a club, its resources and how to make it all work to instant and emphatic effect, he's never really stuck around anywhere long enough to see just how far he can take them. Five years at Wycombe, five at Leicester, five at Celtic.

While it must be admitted each of these clubs could be viewed as stepping stones, it should also be acknowledged just what a slovenly state O'Neill left Celtic in. Bloated, overpaid and overage, the squad required major surgery and Gordon Strachan was still the manager who made the breakthrough to the Champions League second stage.

To even get to its qualifying stage now, O'Neill requires that kind of radical renovation in his Villa midfield. Without Barry he has outlined how he wants "to try and be a bit more inventive from the middle". Still though, signings are needed. "We are trying to get some extra players in if we can and, in our own way, we're hoping to look after the players. There's a long way to go."

Certainly. Since, for all the worry around Villa following the opening-day defeat to Wigan and Europa-League loss to Rapid Vienna, it shouldn't be forgotten they lost at home to Stoke on the opening day last year. O'Neill, like Benitez, will have to get things back under control. But it's become harder to negotiate.

mdelaney@tribune.ie

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Liverpool v Aston Villa

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