If you want to divide opinion in the red half of Merseyside, ask a sample of Liverpool fans what they thought of Luis Garcia.
Half will tell you he was a maverick, a genius, a magic man well worth having in your team for those miraculous moments like the lob against Gigi Buffon, or the volley against Chelsea.
The other half will tell you the little Spaniard was a luxury, a liability, a man who misplaced so many passes that he cost the team more goals than he provided.
Think what you will of the Atletico Madrid man, but statistically Liverpool – at Anfield - struggle without him.
In Garcia’s last two seasons at Anfield, Liverpool dropped just two home points in either season to sides outside the big four when the diminutive Spaniard started.
Last season, Benitez’s first without the former Barcelona schemer, Liverpool dropped 10 points at Anfield – not including the draws with Arsenal and Chelsea. Whatsmore, this with Rafa's self-proclaimed 'strongest squad'.
Already this season two more points have gone against Stoke, and again against Crewe The Reds were lacking invention whenever the situation needed something other than a cross.
Garcia offered that something different. His movement was elusive, he was two-footed, he spotted passes that didn’t seem to be on…and granted sometimes they weren’t!
But Liverpool have never truly replaced that unpredictability that so often broke the deadlock in tight games at Anfield, the kind of unpredictability that The Kop cry out for whenever Dirk Kuyt plays another telegraphed square ball.
Liverpool have a man in Dani Pacheco who can fill Garcia’s void – and potentially do so with far more consistency.
You might question the timing of this article when Pacheco didn't even feature against Crewe, but the best arguments are surely put forward after careful consideration - not as a knee-jerk reaction to a Carlos Vela-like star performance.
Recently created goals by Pacheco for Lucas Leiva against FC Lucerne (in pre-season) and Jordy Brouwer against Middlesbrough Reserves have provided little cameos of the teenager's talent.
Right now, Pacheco is only 17 and Benitez is adamant you can ruin a player’s development by playing them too early between the ages of 18-21. Who am I to argue?
But Liverpool fans will have seen the potential in Pacheco during pre-season, he desperately deserves to be given his chance in League Cup games like Tuesday’s against Crewe.
The gifted teenager possesses the type of vision that very few other Liverpool players possess, he is a natural number 10 and, with seven substitutes now available, Benitez should just consider using him as a game-breaker the next time the scoreboard reads 0-0 at Anfield.
Good article. Personally I loved Garcia and we need more players who are unpredictable like him. Pacheco has that but he could take another season.
Cant wait to see Garcia back at Anfield this year
Half will tell you he was a maverick, a genius, a magic man well worth having in your team for those miraculous moments like the lob against Gigi Buffon, or the volley against Chelsea.
The other half will tell you the little Spaniard was a luxury, a liability, a man who misplaced so many passes that he cost the team more goals than he provided.
Think what you will of the Atletico Madrid man, but statistically Liverpool – at Anfield - struggle without him.
In Garcia’s last two seasons at Anfield, Liverpool dropped just two home points in either season to sides outside the big four when the diminutive Spaniard started.
Last season, Benitez’s first without the former Barcelona schemer, Liverpool dropped 10 points at Anfield – not including the draws with Arsenal and Chelsea. Whatsmore, this with Rafa's self-proclaimed 'strongest squad'.
Already this season two more points have gone against Stoke, and again against Crewe The Reds were lacking invention whenever the situation needed something other than a cross.
Garcia offered that something different. His movement was elusive, he was two-footed, he spotted passes that didn’t seem to be on…and granted sometimes they weren’t!
But Liverpool have never truly replaced that unpredictability that so often broke the deadlock in tight games at Anfield, the kind of unpredictability that The Kop cry out for whenever Dirk Kuyt plays another telegraphed square ball.
Liverpool have a man in Dani Pacheco who can fill Garcia’s void – and potentially do so with far more consistency.
You might question the timing of this article when Pacheco didn't even feature against Crewe, but the best arguments are surely put forward after careful consideration - not as a knee-jerk reaction to a Carlos Vela-like star performance.
Recently created goals by Pacheco for Lucas Leiva against FC Lucerne (in pre-season) and Jordy Brouwer against Middlesbrough Reserves have provided little cameos of the teenager's talent.
Right now, Pacheco is only 17 and Benitez is adamant you can ruin a player’s development by playing them too early between the ages of 18-21. Who am I to argue?
But Liverpool fans will have seen the potential in Pacheco during pre-season, he desperately deserves to be given his chance in League Cup games like Tuesday’s against Crewe.
The gifted teenager possesses the type of vision that very few other Liverpool players possess, he is a natural number 10 and, with seven substitutes now available, Benitez should just consider using him as a game-breaker the next time the scoreboard reads 0-0 at Anfield.
Good article. Personally I loved Garcia and we need more players who are unpredictable like him. Pacheco has that but he could take another season.
Cant wait to see Garcia back at Anfield this year
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