Is Benayoun injured?

[BigChief]

I've been racking my brains trying to understand why our ONLY goal threat was taken off when we needed to score at 1-1?!

If he was "tired", or it was "tactical", then that's not good enough I'm afraid. I was hoping/expecting/praying Lucas' number would come up for Voronin. When it was Benayoun I knew we were out of Europe. Their second goal was meaningless in the scheme of things.

ps. this isn't a sack Rafa post. I want to know if Benny's ok for manure.

[FatTony]

Tactical and booed by the fans...things ain't rosey

[BigChief]

So he'll play against manure (for 60 or 30 minutes at least). I'll probably watch that game then. I still enjoy the way he plays. Might as well watch and cheer him before he moves to Man City.

[DannyMan2006]

Crazy substitution. But so was bringing Lucas on for Gerrard in a merseyside derby. We won that game thanks to Lucas winning a penalty.

I would never have made that substitution or the Yossi one, but you win some and you lose some.

[Scratch]

See, i would have taken Benny off...with Aurelio on the Left and Kuyt on the right, Benny had started to become a periphery figure up front, not getting involved at all....did want to see Babel come on tho, i thought there defence looked shaky and Babel could have caused them a few problems.

[andrewces38]

I've been racking my brains trying to understand why our ONLY goal threat was taken off when we needed to score at 1-1?!

If he was "tired", or it was "tactical", then that's not good enough I'm afraid. I was hoping/expecting/praying Lucas' number would come up for Voronin. When it was Benayoun I knew we were out of Europe. Their second goal was meaningless in the scheme of things.

ps. this isn't a sack Rafa post. I want to know if Benny's ok for manure.

Rafa has said in the Daily Mirror that Yossi was tired

"We have too many problems with different players," said a beleaguered Benitez. "We have too many problems with Glen Johnson breaking down before the game, then Steven Gerrard and Martin Kelly.

"With Gerrard it is the same groin problem as before. He felt something so we had to change him. It was not a risk because he wanted to play and the doctor said he was OK.

"He trained the last two days so he was OK. We will have to check on all the players in the morning and it is too soon to say who will play on Sunday against Manchester United."

Benitez tried down to play down being booed by the Kop, who were angry with his decision to substitute goalscorer Yossi Benayoun, as he tries to halt Liverpool's worst slump since 1987.

"The fans know that Yossi is a good player, but I felt that he was a little bit tired and I wanted to use fresh legs," he said.

"I understand Yossi is a good player and the fans are happy to see him on the pitch.

Liverpool led through Benayoun's fourth strike of the season before losing to two goals in the last 18 minutes to deal yet another blow to their disintegrating season.

The Reds are third in Group E - six points behind leaders Lyon - and Benitez admits they must win their last three games to reach the last 16.

"We've done it before and we have to do it again," he said. "We have to be ready for the next game, win it and after that do the same for the next two.

"We've done it before and we have to have the confidence that we can do it again.

"It was a difficult game for us, but we were winning one nothing. We had two or three chances to change everything and we conceded and then again in the last minute.

"I'm really disappointed because we should have won."

Benitez must somehow raise his injury-ravaged side for Sunday's clash with United at Anfield.

"It is something we have to do," he said. "We have to prepare for the game, push the players and keep going. We have to have the confidence that we can do it."

[wildman]

I've been racking my brains trying to understand why our ONLY goal threat was taken off when we needed to score at 1-1?!

If he was "tired", or it was "tactical", then that's not good enough I'm afraid. I was hoping/expecting/praying Lucas' number would come up for Voronin. When it was Benayoun I knew we were out of Europe. Their second goal was meaningless in the scheme of things.

ps. this isn't a sack Rafa post. I want to know if Benny's ok for manure.

benayoun came off coz he ws knackered it was qutie clear at the game his legs had gone and he was struggling

[Guest]

Why was it crazy to substitute him???

[BigChief]

benayoun came off coz he ws knackered it was qutie clear at the game his legs had gone and he was struggling

Unless his tiredness was going to lead to an immediate injury (which it sounds like wasn't), I'd rather have a knackered Benayoun standing around behind Ngog waiting for one crucial chance than see him come off.

Rafa made one good decision of bringing Lucas on and winning a penalty. He's made about 10 bad decisions of keeping Lucas on for too long or playing him next to Mascherano when Benayoun/Gerrard would have been a better option. More good decisions over bad decisions is what wins you recognition.

[DannyMan2006]

Why was it crazy to substitute him???

Because he's a player who can score a goal or create one with a mazy dribble. When you need a goal you take of the players who can't do this that will not effect the balance of the team.

Taking of Lucas would have been a better idea, he didn't have a bad game but like i explained, you take of a player who can't create or score and bring on one that can.

[Scratch]

You don't take of a defensive midfielder when it is obvious that we were not having the better of the play, and were in danger of conceding a second goal (which we still did). Taking Benni off was the right decision...bringing Voronin on was the wrong one.

[BigChief]

Scratch, that's a ridiculous notion. So by the same token if Torres was visibly knackered in a game and we needed a goal you would bring him off rather than Lucas?

Replace Torres in the sentence above with our only goalscoring threat yesterday - Benayoun - and you'll see how ridiculous that sounds.

[dww]

Scratch, that's a ridiculous notion. So by the same token if Torres was visibly knackered in a game and we needed a goal you would bring him off rather than Lucas?

Replace Torres in the sentence above with our only goalscoring threat yesterday - Benayoun - and you'll see how ridiculous that sounds.

I don't think it is ridiculous - we have seen games this season already where a knackered/not sharp Torres offered very little if anything at all. It is perfectly sensible to take such a player off if you have an option you feel will do more. The question is then whether the robust approach of Voronin was a good one. I'm not sure that the answer to that is as clear cut as some make out. I do however which we had a much better option than that to try.

[Scratch]

Scratch, that's a ridiculous notion. So by the same token if Torres was visibly knackered in a game and we needed a goal you would bring him off rather than Lucas?

Replace Torres in the sentence above with our only goalscoring threat yesterday - Benayoun - and you'll see how ridiculous that sounds.

I don't think it is ridiculous - we have seen games this season already where a knackered/not sharp Torres offered very little if anything at all. It is perfectly sensible to take such a player off if you have an option you feel will do more. The question is then whether the robust approach of Voronin was a good one. I'm not sure that the answer to that is as clear cut as some make out. I do however which we had a much better option than that to try.

Like DWW says, if Torres was knackered and offering nothing, as i saw Benni doing last night, then you're damn right i'd get him off and put on some fresh legs...it's just in this case, the fresh legs i'd have chosen, giving Lyon's make-shift defence, would have been Babel's.

[BigChief]

Like DWW says, if Torres was knackered and offering nothing, as i saw Benni doing last night, then you're damn right i'd get him off and put on some fresh legs...it's just in this case, the fresh legs i'd have chosen, giving Lyon's make-shift defence, would have been Babel's.

Ok agree to some point there regarding Babel. But, if anything, Voronin's done better this season than Babel - and that's a bad inditement on Babel. So in a way, Voronin had to be tried.

And I like the sentiment that we'd take a visible/useless Torres off. Demento, if he managed us, wouldn't. And he knows something about winning the league. Unfortunately.