Benitez tells Mourinho: Try naming my team now
Aug 18 2007 by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
RAFA BENITEZ believes Chelsea have lost a key tactical advantage when they now face Liverpool – because Jose Mourinho can no longer guess the Reds’ starting eleven.
Mourinho famously announced Benitez’s starting line-up in a Press Conference ahead of the teams’ first Champions League semi-final meeting in 2005.
Benitez felt his options were so limited with a less powerful squad, it was easy for opposing managers’ to predict his selection when the most important games arrived.
The Anfield boss relishes the fact that’s not so easy now, with the weekly guessing game about who’ll start ensuring Benitez can always keep a trick or two up his sleeve.
“It’s not easy for anyone to predict the team now because we have two players in each position,” said Benitez ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Chelsea.
“After just two games, people can see it’s fantastic for us because we can change six players as we did in Toulouse and still win the game. But of course, I know such positive judgements will depend on the results. When we change the team and win it’s good news, but if we don’t people will say ‘why change?’.
“What’s important is that we don’t just have a lot of options, but we now also have different qualities to change a game from the bench, using players who can have an impact in the way Babel did at Aston Villa last week.
“I hope I won’t have to try to change too many games this season, but if I have to do it, I am able to do it with confidence now.”
Meanwhile, Steve McClaren could be heading for a possible dispute with Benitez after ignoring the Liverpool boss’ appeal to rest Steven Gerrard for next week’s meaningless international.
Gerrard was included in the England squad, despite his broken toe, because he’s been declared fit to play against Chelsea tomorrow.
If the skipper features against the Londoners, he’ll then undergo further tests to see how the injury is before deciding whether he should play against Germany.
Benitez has made it clear he doesn’t want his captain risked in a friendly, but McClaren has the right to have Gerrard assessed by the England medical staff.
Aug 18 2007 by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
RAFA BENITEZ believes Chelsea have lost a key tactical advantage when they now face Liverpool – because Jose Mourinho can no longer guess the Reds’ starting eleven.
Mourinho famously announced Benitez’s starting line-up in a Press Conference ahead of the teams’ first Champions League semi-final meeting in 2005.
Benitez felt his options were so limited with a less powerful squad, it was easy for opposing managers’ to predict his selection when the most important games arrived.
The Anfield boss relishes the fact that’s not so easy now, with the weekly guessing game about who’ll start ensuring Benitez can always keep a trick or two up his sleeve.
“It’s not easy for anyone to predict the team now because we have two players in each position,” said Benitez ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Chelsea.
“After just two games, people can see it’s fantastic for us because we can change six players as we did in Toulouse and still win the game. But of course, I know such positive judgements will depend on the results. When we change the team and win it’s good news, but if we don’t people will say ‘why change?’.
“What’s important is that we don’t just have a lot of options, but we now also have different qualities to change a game from the bench, using players who can have an impact in the way Babel did at Aston Villa last week.
“I hope I won’t have to try to change too many games this season, but if I have to do it, I am able to do it with confidence now.”
Meanwhile, Steve McClaren could be heading for a possible dispute with Benitez after ignoring the Liverpool boss’ appeal to rest Steven Gerrard for next week’s meaningless international.
Gerrard was included in the England squad, despite his broken toe, because he’s been declared fit to play against Chelsea tomorrow.
If the skipper features against the Londoners, he’ll then undergo further tests to see how the injury is before deciding whether he should play against Germany.
Benitez has made it clear he doesn’t want his captain risked in a friendly, but McClaren has the right to have Gerrard assessed by the England medical staff.
RAFA 
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