Interesting take on things, despite the fact he states we are playing in the "semis" tonight!
Kevin McCarra
Tuesday January 9, 2007
The Guardian
Rafael Benítez is not given to histrionics and even when he lambasted Bolton's style the other week it still sounded like a speech he had been rehearsing in the shaving mirror. Immediately after the glory of Istanbul there was an impression that his mind had turned to fine-tuning the pre-season training plans. He never gets carried away, but frustrations were apparent after the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
The Liverpool manager was not rebelling or making a futile attempt to put pressure on the board but there was a regretfulness when he said, with other clubs' buying in mind, "If you have £10m, OK, you can get this one." The manager is unlikely to be spending that sum on a single player this month, unless he first offloads current squad members. "If you don't have the money you have to work harder," he accepted.
He has a particular gift for preparation and it was a coup for Liverpool to recruit such a person. In his third season on Merseyside, however, the Spaniard has a realistic view of the task ahead. The implication that Arsenal are big spenders was inappropriate, but it is understandable that he should look wistfully at Arsène Wenger's fully developed youth programme.
All Benítez can do for now is press on with his painstaking approach, hoping to counteract the higher levels of talent at the clubs seen as his Premiership rivals. He can devise a strategy, as he confirmed while beating Manchester United and Chelsea on the way to taking the FA Cup last season. The knockout tournaments suit him best, with the apotheosis coming in the 2005 Champions League.
Saturday's FA Cup tie was no such galvanising occasion. For half an hour there was a possibility that the holders would grind down Arsenal, but Benítez's team were not their meticulous selves in defence. Once they had been breached, the Anfield line-up turned into a collection of dogged triers rather than the tough, resourceful unit they can be. Steven Gerrard has the potential to be a game-changer but Arsenal had merely to stop him and did so on this occasion.
These sides face each other again tonight on the same field in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final, but taking that trophy would not be fulfilling for a manager who seized the Champions League and then the FA Cup during his first two seasons with Liverpool. Too many of his players are just short of the top level. Regulars guess that three at most would make the first team at Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. Benítez would probably not dispute that verdict with any genuine vehemence.
He has arrived at a difficult moment in his tenure. There are aspects to please him and for all the lapses in away games Liverpool hold the best home record in the Premiership. With one defeat in the past 10 league matches, even the travels are going far more smoothly than they were. Benítez, none the less, will wonder about his long-term destination.
A strong finish is needed if Liverpool, who last claimed the title 17 years ago, are not to collect fewer points this season than they did last, and there will not be many more European sorties to take the mind off that if the Champions League tie with Barcelona goes as most pundits predict. Failed efforts to close the gap in the Premiership lead to exhaustion, as people at Anfield understand perfectly. Gérard Houllier inched Liverpool into the runners-up berth in 2002, seven points behind Arsenal. Two years later they came fourth, 30 points adrift of Wenger's men as Arsenal regained the title.
Benítez dreads repeating that Houllier pattern. He has a good squad, but cannot depend on it outdoing itself whenever a major occasion arises. Results against United and Arsenal in the current campaign have been chastening. Liverpool do need a squad in which the ability is spread more evenly and, although Benítez generally buys well enough for odd exceptions, such as the surprisingly ineffective Fernando Morientes, to be overlooked, he cannot afford the exceptional talents.
He is bidding in a very different marketplace from United, let alone Chelsea. None the less the present Anfield board, bearing an overdraft of about £80m, has done all it can for him. Benítez must pray for the Dubai International Capital group to complete its takeover in the next month or so. The manager will then have to plead eloquently and persuade DIC that it is no more than common sense to fund major transfers that avert the danger of stagnation at Liverpool.
Guardian Part II: (At least we are back in the Quarters!)
Benítez pours all available resources into League Cup
Dominic Fifield
Tuesday January 9, 2007
The Guardian
Rafael Benítez has admitted he may have to scrap his initial plan to rest key personnel in tonight's Carling Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, with Liverpool's hopes of claiming domestic silverware this season effectively hinging upon progress in the competition.
The likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have been included in the squad for the fixture at Anfield, which was postponed last month because of fog, because the manager is aware that the league cup now represents his most viable route to a trophy this term. Liverpool are 14 points adrift of Manchester United in the Premiership, were eliminated from the FA Cup by Arsenal on Saturday and face a daunting tie against Barcelona in the knockout phase of the Champions League next month.
"I have an idea about the next game and the players that we could use," Benítez said. "We could say 'We can rest Gerrard' or 'We can rest Xabi Alonso' but maybe we have to have other possibilities. We also have to think about the Premier League and the Champions League but it's important to stay in this competition too. In some positions we can maybe use other players but the problems are always at right-back or in central midfield."
The Spaniard considers his squad to be thin in those areas, hence his pursuit of Lucas Neill and Javier Mascherano in the transfer window. He will include Jerzy Dudek in the starting line-up tonight, honouring his promise to play the Pole in cup games this season, but Liverpool will attempt to avenge Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal with what is in effect an experienced first-choice team.
Benítez remains painfully aware of the problems he has had against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United since taking the reins at Anfield, with his record against the trio - six wins, including a Community Shield, and 14 defeats in their 24 meetings - an indication of the toils endured.
"Against those big teams we aren't performing or getting the results we might have expected," said Alonso. "That's something that worries us. In the Premiership they all still have to come to Anfield and we have to show we can get results against them. But the defeat to Arsenal on Saturday makes us more determined to beat them this time around. It is a good game for us to have so quickly. We now have a quick chance to make amends."
That was also the view of Liverpool's Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt, who insisted that the team were not deflated by their FA Cup exit and were keen to make amends tonight. "We deserved more than we got on Saturday but Arsenal are one of the better teams in the Premier League so we already know it will be tough second time around. Let's hope the defeat we suffered is an incentive and we can win tomorrow, because we want to win trophies. I hope that first defeat gives us an extra boost.
"Liverpool still have three trophies to go for. For us now it is a question of going on in the Premier League, Champions League and Carling Cup. As players you always want to win trophies. We have lost one but there are a few more trophies to fight for and the Carling Cup is one of them."
Kuyt, who took his tally to eight for the season with his header in Saturday's defeat, reflected Liverpool's frustration at being beaten on the counter-attack by Arsenal. "They made three chances and got three goals. That is the big difference between us and them. They have very fast players up front so it is difficult when they score the first goal."
Kevin McCarra
Tuesday January 9, 2007
The Guardian
Rafael Benítez is not given to histrionics and even when he lambasted Bolton's style the other week it still sounded like a speech he had been rehearsing in the shaving mirror. Immediately after the glory of Istanbul there was an impression that his mind had turned to fine-tuning the pre-season training plans. He never gets carried away, but frustrations were apparent after the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
The Liverpool manager was not rebelling or making a futile attempt to put pressure on the board but there was a regretfulness when he said, with other clubs' buying in mind, "If you have £10m, OK, you can get this one." The manager is unlikely to be spending that sum on a single player this month, unless he first offloads current squad members. "If you don't have the money you have to work harder," he accepted.
He has a particular gift for preparation and it was a coup for Liverpool to recruit such a person. In his third season on Merseyside, however, the Spaniard has a realistic view of the task ahead. The implication that Arsenal are big spenders was inappropriate, but it is understandable that he should look wistfully at Arsène Wenger's fully developed youth programme.
All Benítez can do for now is press on with his painstaking approach, hoping to counteract the higher levels of talent at the clubs seen as his Premiership rivals. He can devise a strategy, as he confirmed while beating Manchester United and Chelsea on the way to taking the FA Cup last season. The knockout tournaments suit him best, with the apotheosis coming in the 2005 Champions League.
Saturday's FA Cup tie was no such galvanising occasion. For half an hour there was a possibility that the holders would grind down Arsenal, but Benítez's team were not their meticulous selves in defence. Once they had been breached, the Anfield line-up turned into a collection of dogged triers rather than the tough, resourceful unit they can be. Steven Gerrard has the potential to be a game-changer but Arsenal had merely to stop him and did so on this occasion.
These sides face each other again tonight on the same field in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final, but taking that trophy would not be fulfilling for a manager who seized the Champions League and then the FA Cup during his first two seasons with Liverpool. Too many of his players are just short of the top level. Regulars guess that three at most would make the first team at Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. Benítez would probably not dispute that verdict with any genuine vehemence.
He has arrived at a difficult moment in his tenure. There are aspects to please him and for all the lapses in away games Liverpool hold the best home record in the Premiership. With one defeat in the past 10 league matches, even the travels are going far more smoothly than they were. Benítez, none the less, will wonder about his long-term destination.
A strong finish is needed if Liverpool, who last claimed the title 17 years ago, are not to collect fewer points this season than they did last, and there will not be many more European sorties to take the mind off that if the Champions League tie with Barcelona goes as most pundits predict. Failed efforts to close the gap in the Premiership lead to exhaustion, as people at Anfield understand perfectly. Gérard Houllier inched Liverpool into the runners-up berth in 2002, seven points behind Arsenal. Two years later they came fourth, 30 points adrift of Wenger's men as Arsenal regained the title.
Benítez dreads repeating that Houllier pattern. He has a good squad, but cannot depend on it outdoing itself whenever a major occasion arises. Results against United and Arsenal in the current campaign have been chastening. Liverpool do need a squad in which the ability is spread more evenly and, although Benítez generally buys well enough for odd exceptions, such as the surprisingly ineffective Fernando Morientes, to be overlooked, he cannot afford the exceptional talents.
He is bidding in a very different marketplace from United, let alone Chelsea. None the less the present Anfield board, bearing an overdraft of about £80m, has done all it can for him. Benítez must pray for the Dubai International Capital group to complete its takeover in the next month or so. The manager will then have to plead eloquently and persuade DIC that it is no more than common sense to fund major transfers that avert the danger of stagnation at Liverpool.
Guardian Part II: (At least we are back in the Quarters!)
Benítez pours all available resources into League Cup
Dominic Fifield
Tuesday January 9, 2007
The Guardian
Rafael Benítez has admitted he may have to scrap his initial plan to rest key personnel in tonight's Carling Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, with Liverpool's hopes of claiming domestic silverware this season effectively hinging upon progress in the competition.
The likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have been included in the squad for the fixture at Anfield, which was postponed last month because of fog, because the manager is aware that the league cup now represents his most viable route to a trophy this term. Liverpool are 14 points adrift of Manchester United in the Premiership, were eliminated from the FA Cup by Arsenal on Saturday and face a daunting tie against Barcelona in the knockout phase of the Champions League next month.
"I have an idea about the next game and the players that we could use," Benítez said. "We could say 'We can rest Gerrard' or 'We can rest Xabi Alonso' but maybe we have to have other possibilities. We also have to think about the Premier League and the Champions League but it's important to stay in this competition too. In some positions we can maybe use other players but the problems are always at right-back or in central midfield."
The Spaniard considers his squad to be thin in those areas, hence his pursuit of Lucas Neill and Javier Mascherano in the transfer window. He will include Jerzy Dudek in the starting line-up tonight, honouring his promise to play the Pole in cup games this season, but Liverpool will attempt to avenge Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal with what is in effect an experienced first-choice team.
Benítez remains painfully aware of the problems he has had against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United since taking the reins at Anfield, with his record against the trio - six wins, including a Community Shield, and 14 defeats in their 24 meetings - an indication of the toils endured.
"Against those big teams we aren't performing or getting the results we might have expected," said Alonso. "That's something that worries us. In the Premiership they all still have to come to Anfield and we have to show we can get results against them. But the defeat to Arsenal on Saturday makes us more determined to beat them this time around. It is a good game for us to have so quickly. We now have a quick chance to make amends."
That was also the view of Liverpool's Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt, who insisted that the team were not deflated by their FA Cup exit and were keen to make amends tonight. "We deserved more than we got on Saturday but Arsenal are one of the better teams in the Premier League so we already know it will be tough second time around. Let's hope the defeat we suffered is an incentive and we can win tomorrow, because we want to win trophies. I hope that first defeat gives us an extra boost.
"Liverpool still have three trophies to go for. For us now it is a question of going on in the Premier League, Champions League and Carling Cup. As players you always want to win trophies. We have lost one but there are a few more trophies to fight for and the Carling Cup is one of them."
Kuyt, who took his tally to eight for the season with his header in Saturday's defeat, reflected Liverpool's frustration at being beaten on the counter-attack by Arsenal. "They made three chances and got three goals. That is the big difference between us and them. They have very fast players up front so it is difficult when they score the first goal."