David Villa was and is out of all team's financial reach, if you look at the money Real Madrid spent this summer, then you know if Villa was available they would have had him.
If Liverpool are gonna be tight with money and replace Benitez then they need an English or even British manager, who is capable of wheeling and dealing. Look at what Harry Rednknapp has done for my team Spurs! A good example would be sold KP Boateng to Pompey for 4 million then signed Kranjcar for 2m.
Liverpool like Spurs already have world class players, such as Reina, Gerrard, Torres in fact they are better than the players at Spurs(except maybe Modric who could be on a par with them) so what they really need is some squad depth particularly up front and I dont think Benitez is looking in the right places. He is a great manager and has led you to Champions League success but may be time to give someone else a go.