RAFA on Stevie.etc.

[Vermilion]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/08/03/rafa-benitez-tells-steven-gerrard-he-will-continue-to-sacrifice-him-115875-20682996/

Rafa Benitez tells Steven Gerrard he will continue to sacrifice him

By Simon Mullock, sundaymirror.co.uk 3/08/2008

Rafa Benitez has told Steven Gerrard that he will have to continue sacrificing himself for the Liverpool cause as he tinkers with his team.

Anfield boss Benitez says the £20million capture of Robbie Keane has made his team even more flexible - and that Gerrard will once again be asked to play in a variety of positions.

Gerrard excelled as a foil for striker Fernando Torres last season after forging a reputation as one of the best central midfielder's in the world.

But Benitez said: "If we play a 4-4-2 formation then Gerrard can play as a midfielder. If we play with Torres on his own up front then Gerrard and Keane can play either side of him.

"I don't think that St even will be frustrated by that. "I was reading an interview recently about Gerrard's role in the England team and he is now very clear about his role in the football world - that you need to adapt, think about the team, and play in different positions when it is required.

"I think Steven is clever enough to do that. If he needs to adapt then he will adapt because he is a player of quality who can play in different positions."

Benitez added: "I bought Robbie Keane because he fits in with what I am trying to do at the club.

"He can play in maybe four positions in the team. I see him as a player who understands the game and who will always work hard. He knows what his manager wants him to do. I like players who can fit into different styles during a game. Robbie has a good mentality - a winning mentality. As a manager, you look for these qualities in every signing you make, but I am sure that Keane is this type of player."

Liverpool's pre-season preparations have been based in Europe - and Benitez is hoping that Manchester United and Chelsea will eventually pay a heavy price for cashing in on money-spinning long-haul tours of South Africa and the Far East.

Benitez said: "We prepared two or three different options for pre-season and in the end we decided that the best thing would be to stay in Europe.

"Maybe there are times when a club has to go to Asia, America or somewhere because these kinds of tours are good for the club in terms of money.

"But in our case we judged that it would be better to stay in Europe because we had a lot of players at the European Championship and we didn't want them to travel too much.

"We also have players going to the Olympic Games and it can be a disaster if you continually ask players to travel around the world. "The board at Liverpool agreed with my ideas.

"I accept that when you go into a training camp you have to play games to earn some money and hopefully United and Chelsea will eventually regret the options they took."

"If Steve needs to adapt then he will adapt because he is a player of quality who can play in different positions" - Benitez

[frank the tank]

legend of a man..... he demands the power to dictate all things going on at the club and if he continues to get that, his legacy will go on for years.... i don't think scolari or even fergie has the power to tell the club powers that be where we are playing our pre-season tours..... whereas benitez has complete control....

wenger might have a similar thing at arsenal as well to be fair...

[-V-]

And rightly so. I expect to see Stevie playing wide right at times this season. Why? Because it will be best for the team in specific situations. Gerrard can't and won't complain because he finally had a world class squad around him now

[Vermilion]

legend of a man..... he demands the power to dictate all things going on at the club and if he continues to get that, his legacy will go on for years.... i don't think scolari or even fergie has the power to tell the club powers that be where we are playing our pre-season tours..... whereas benitez has complete control....

wenger might have a similar thing at arsenal as well to be fair...

And rightly so. I expect to see Stevie playing wide right at times this season. Why? Because it will be best for the team in specific situations. Gerrard can't and won't complain because he finally had a world class squad around him now

[rage]

gerrard will play on the right more often than not. in a 4231 keane will play behind torres and in a 442 gerrard will play on the right.

of course i also think football has moved on and we'll see a lot more fluidity in both formations and positions. i see gerrard and keane interchanging a lot. the only pace i don't see gerrard playing much anymore is in central midfield.

[frank the tank]

gerrard will play on the right more often than not. in a 4231 keane will play behind torres and in a 442 gerrard will play on the right.

of course i also think football has moved on and we'll see a lot more fluidity in both formations and positions. i see gerrard and keane interchanging a lot. the only pace i don't see gerrard playing much anymore is in central midfield.

although i do feel that we will see stevie g in a number of positions in a lot of games next season.... when we are winning he can change to an additional central midfielder and keep it tight, when we are losing he will go up front, he will also play left wing and right wing a lot too..... if and when the likes of dossena get sent off, gerrard will even play full back if necessary...why? cos he is a ****in legend and in my opinion, gerrard is still our best player in about 8 positions.....

[Exiled_red]

I think Gerrard will be happy playing a number of roles in the team as long as we're doing well

[Parm]

legend of a man..... he demands the power to dictate all things going on at the club and if he continues to get that, his legacy will go on for years.... i don't think scolari or even fergie has the power to tell the club powers that be where we are playing our pre-season tours..... whereas benitez has complete control....

wenger might have a similar thing at arsenal as well to be fair...

I did wonder why we werent on a tour of the usa but this cleared it all up for me

[Exiled_red]

I did wonder why we werent on a tour of the usa but this cleared it all up for me

Also maybe the yank owners didn't want protests on "home soil"

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

I think Gerrard will be happy playing a number of roles in the team as long as we're doing well

exactly what i was thinking, nothing will be said until we hit a rough patch an then those idiot pundits will be calling for stevie to play " a more central role "

he's proved he can score from anywhere on the pitch anyways so its not much of a sacrifice to make IMO.

[badpiggy]

on the right or free - stevies best positions. emphasis on his attacking ability is what matters.

[friedk]

the more players we have who are comfortable in a variety of position, the more fluid we become and the more difficult we are to play against.

I believe with the quality of our central defenders, and in Mascherano possibly the best holding midfielder around, we will more often than not play with 5 attacking players.

[slimbimjim]

I am ****ing excited but at the same time, I hope we can sort out our mentality against Manure and the Chavs not to mention reduce the number of draws.

If we can sort that out then we have No.19 in the bag

[Guest]

Stevie is limited playing in a central midfield role. That was never his best position.

[Nicey]

I am ****ing excited but at the same time, I hope we can sort out our mentality against Manure and the Chavs not to mention reduce the number of draws.

If we can sort that out then we have No.19 in the bag

We really have a team full of big big characters .. Intimidating is a word I would use .... Masher, Keane, Torres, Gerrard, Barry, Pepe, Carra, Skirtel, Agger, Hypia, even that beast Dosser ..

Big lads, winners .. any team in the world would not like to face a team of men like that