EPL Talk » Liverpool

Is Rafa Headed Out the Door?

Eric Altshule — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:34:32 +0000

Rafa Benitez gave a bizarre interview to the Times yesterday, and Liverpool fans should be worried that the pressure may be getting the better of their leader. When a manager spends time talking about the support he is getting from the management, threatening to quit, and talking about the legacy he wants to leave behind, he sounds less like a manager worried about this weekend’s game against Man City and more like a man who wants to put this whole mess behind him.

The Benitez model of management was always about thrusting your entire stack of chips into the middle of the table. With a modestly sized stadium and owners who are not oil sheiks or Russian kleptocrats, Liverpool could never afford highly-priced players from their operational income. Instead, they needed victories in major competitions if they were going to compete with Chelsea, Manu U and Real Madrid for players. Winning the Champions League, the FA Cup, and other major competitions allowed Liverpool to finance their appetite for big names. They pulled an inside straight in 2005 when they won the Champions League, which allowed them to participate in the tournament the next year even though they finished fifth in the EPL.

However, that run of good cards may be coming to an end. This summer Benitez spent £17 million on an injured Alberto Aquilani (which Benitez portrayed as some sort of bargain price because he was injured) and £18 million on the good but hardly outstanding Glen Johnson. With his soft center in the back line, limited options on the bench and a complete reliance for goals on Fernando Torres, who has had trouble staying fit this season, things look bleak for Liverpool.

Barring a miracle, Liverpool will not qualify for the knock out stages in the CL and are faced with a difficult path to get into the top four this season. If Liverpool loses the revenue stream that comes with European football, the entire operation will have a stink of death about it. Without reinforcements, the team is growing older and improved performances seem unlikely. Without success, reinforcements cannot be bought. This is the pain spiral that hits teams with limited resources that do not husband those resources wisely.

Benitez knows this, and his consternation over this reality leaked out in that Times interview. Without European football, the options are bad for Liverpool, and the job of managing Real Madrid seems to be Benitez’s escape hatch. When he threatens to resign if Liverpool sells Torres (which nobody seems to have proposed) or talks about how “I want to leave a winning legacy,” this is clearly a man thinking about his life after Anfield.

Moreover, if Liverpool finish where they seem to be headed this season, I have a feeling the Kop will be ready to accept a new manager too. Benitez high risk strategy in player purchasing always felt tenuous to even the most passionate supporter. The Benitez era has been two miraculous Gerrard-inspired Cup finals away from resulting in a barren trophy cabinet, and the fans may be ready to see a more relaible path to success.

Benitez Cannot Buckle Under Pressure

Paul Bestall — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:05:21 +0000

“It is difficult for us to qualify, but not impossible,We have to win our game and see what happens with Fiorentina and Lyon. Then we will approach the last game.” Benitez has certainly fought his corner today after the galling last minute equaliser Liverpool conceded in the Stade Gerland last night. Of course, the nay sayers and doom merchants are already drafting Rafa’s last rites as the promise of last season seems already consigned to the dustbin by mid November.

Even Liverpool’s most feverish critics must be surprised how quickly the wheels have fallen off this season. 5 league defeats, knocked out of the League Cup and facing demotion to the Europa League have seen Benitez under the most pressure he’s ever faced during his tenure at Anfield. With the financial situation at Liverpool as tight as it can be, the key achievement for Liverpool to aim for this season is to finish in the top 4 in the Premier League.

Of course, Lyon may win in Florence in 3 weeks time and Liverpool could win the last two games, making sure they beat Fiorentina by 3 clear goals to finish second, but it’s a straw that is swaying away from Benitez. With Torres still carrying a groin injury, Gerrard injured for who knows how long and Carragher having his ropiest period in a Liverpool shirt, the Reds 3 key players are all suffering in one form or another.

During the summer, all the predictions pointed to that it would be Arsenal who would be the one side in the big four that would be the most nervous about retaining their place at the Premiership’s top table. With Manchester City, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton all waiting to pounce, no-one considered that Liverpool would be the one with the most to lose.

Without the stadium revenue that Manchester United and Arsenal can pull and without the billionaire sugar daddies that Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham can call on, the financial rewards that the Champions League has to offer is crucial to Liverpool’s continued success. They NEED to be in Champions League to continue progressing, regardless of reputation, Manchester City have already shown money can attract players above their current station.

Yet Liverpool will not find it any easier and by December 13th they could be staring up at the top four and hoping that they can find a vein of form that has so far eluded them this season. They’ve failed to beat every decent side they’ve played this season, with the exception of Manchester United two weeks ago and that in itself is a worrying trend. With massive matches against Manchester City, Everton, Fiorentina and Arsenal in the next five weeks, something needs to sorted and quickly.

Of course, Benitez has a position of strength in the fact that he signed a 5 year contract in March this year and Liverpool’s finances would tend to support the argument that the club can’t afford to sack him. Liverpool fans tend to support their manager through thick or thin, only Graeme Souness lost the fans in the last 30 years and at the moment the attention for the fans frustration is the owners.

Chelsea sacked Scolari when the club were fourth, 7 points behind Manchester United. Liverpool are currently 6th, 9 points behind and whilst we may assume what Hicks and Gillett do, would it surprised anyone if they pressed the panic button? Unfortunately not. Trouble is, they may call on Jurgen Klinsmann, which shows just how little about club football they actually know.

Could Liverpool Miss Out On A Top 4 Finish?

footballnewsblog — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:26:06 +0000

A lot has been made of Liverpool’s recent dip in form with the team looking a shadow of the side that we saw last year. Liverpool lost key personnel most notably in the form of Alonso with his replacement Aquilani yet to take the field in a Liverpool shirt.

Key players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have both missed games this season and the lack of suitable back up players for Liverpool seems to be evident at the moment. It is obviously not going to be easy to replace players of this quality like for like because the reality is that players of that quality are not that easy to find, not very cheap and wouldn’t sit on the sidelines as a back up. However the lack of depth in the squad does appear to be hurting them at the moment.

We are only in October and Liverpool have already lost more games that they did last season but the reality is that all of the top teams look like dropping points this season which will open the league up a bit more and means that the early defeats suffered by Liverpool may in fact not prove to be fatal.

This though obviously assumes that Liverpool can stop the slide, with a match against Manchester United not exactly being the game you would have wished for when your top players are potentially missing and the side is lacking confidence.

At the moment Liverpool are not completely out of the title race although it will certainly be an uphill struggle for them but with the rise of Spurs and Manchester City is it possible that Liverpool could miss out on finishing in the top 4?

Looking at the form of Liverpool last year it would have been unthinkable that this could be a consideration but at the moment they look vulnerable and if Man City and Spurs can maintain their momentum, which is must be said has not been proved yet, Liverpool could be fighting for a Europa league spot instead of a Champions League spot.

Personally I think that Liverpool will get their act together and will most likely get the 4^th spot as I don’t see Spurs having the staying power and if Man City lose any key players to injury they too could be short but what do you guys think?

Written by Danny Watson a Sports writer who also blogs about football kits.

Are The European Playoff Seeds Fair?

Jesse Chula — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:23:13 +0000

Supporters of various national teams across the globe are already packing their bags, updating their passports & booking flights to South Africa for next Summer’s World Cup Finals. With their beloved nation’s automatic qualification secure, they’ve only the stress-free decision of which player’s replica kit their going to wear during their teams opening match left to decide. Ahh’ the bliss of yet another major tournament qualification under your belt & the return of club football (thank God), what could be better?

But not every supporter of International football will share the same feelings as those of the supporters of England, U.S.A., Brazil, Italy, Germany & hey, even Argentina (to name a few). What becomes of the frowning countries set to compete in Europe’s 2nd place playoffs? – more specifically, FIFA’s recent controversial decision to seed all 8 of the remaining countries. Of course what this means for “smaller” nations is the likeliness they’ll face a historically “bigger” nation in their quest for glory in South Africa.

Recently, Ireland International & Manchester City shot-stopper-extraordinaire Shay Given lambasted FIFA for their convenient, late decision to” nudge” some of the struggling giants into the Finals.

“I think it’s pretty disgusting to be honest. Before a ball is kicked, these things should be made clear”.

“The smaller nations should maybe put up more of a fight because it is not fair”.

Does Given have a point?

As it stands, the remaining 8 countries are as follows:

Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Russia, Bosnia, Ukraine, France & Ireland.

In my estimation, the top seeds will probably be awarded to France, Portugal, Russia & Greece (Greece could get a seed in my opinion due to their success in Euro 2004), with maybe Ukraine sneaking in at the behest of either Russia or Greece.

Now that we know who’s involved, is this process remotely fair? Does Given have a point in his remarks? As an England supporter, I had to endure their abysmal failure during Euro 2008 qualification & the subsequent tournament without my beloved 3 Lions. Why? Because they weren’t good enough. All teams involved have the same amount of opportunities to gain points throughout the qualification process without favoritism coming into play. Euro 2008 ended up being an incredible display of attacking football & each match I watched was a footballing joy. England are now a better team for all their past failures. The point in this is that if you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough. Plain & simple.

Now I realize what you’re thinking, & yes you’re right. These teams were good enough (for 2nd place) & deserve their shot. I agree, but why not let all 2nd place teams be equal? Why separate them & show favor to bigger footballing nations? Given is right in my opinion. A World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo is a travesty, I get that. But a World Cup without an Ireland or Bosnia because other teams were shown favoritism is equally wrong. How epic would a 2-leg playoff affair between France & Portugal be for neutral football fans? Imagine that! All the marbles are on the line with 2 very successful footballing nations giving everything they’ve got to reach the Finals. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll probably never get to experience it.

What are your thoughts? Take a second to leave an answer below & we’ll see what the brilliant readers of EPL Talk think about it. Enjoy your football.

EPL Talk Meets Henry Winter

Paul Bestall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:23:49 +0000

Henry Winter is one of Britain’s most respected football journalists and currently works for the Daily Telegraph. His career started at the Independent and he moved to The Telegraph in 1994. A familiar face on Sky’s Sunday Supplement, Henry was been kind enough to have a quick chat with us about himself and football.

Henry has been at the top of British sports writing for over 20 years and alongside his work for both the Daily Telegraph and Telegraph online, he currently writes a column for Four Four Two and can often be heard on Radio Five Live discussing the beautiful game.

EPL Talk: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today Henry.

Henry Winter: No problem.

EPL Talk: First up, I believe you started your career with the Independent back in the 1980’s when it launched? ( The Independent launched in 1986) How was it starting on a major paper so young? Did you come to the Independent straight from University or did you cut your teeth on a local newspaper first?

Henry Winter: I managed to convince the Independent that they needed to include a sports and schools column when they launched. I’d spent the previous 12 months after graduating from Edinburgh University in 1985 producing a magazine on sport in London.

EPLTalk: You’ve been at the Telegraph since 1994, one of the things I really enjoy about your writing is that you don’t just concentrate on the Premiership. Is it refreshing to have such a variety of football to cover?

Henry Winter: Half of all football attendances in Britain are outside the Premiership, and Leeds United are a bigger club than all of the Premiership sides, with the exception of the top 6 or 7, so it’s very important to go and see them.

EPLTalk: When I was talking to Patrick Barclay, we discussed his appearances on the Sunday Supplement on Sky. Do you enjoy being on the programme as much?

Henry Winter: I love appearing on the programme because it’s a group of friends sitting around and talking football, which tends to be the way I live the rest of my life!

EPLTalk: I first came across you’re writing with the Kenny Dalglish biography which I received as a present when it was released in 1996. Did you know him well before writing it and how difficult was writing the chapter that covered the Hillsborough disaster?

Henry Winter: I didn’t know Dalglish very at all before writing the book, so I was very honoured to be asked to write it with him. The Hillsborough chapter was very difficult.

EPLTalk: I notice your last book was with David Davies, with F.A. Confidential. Was it eye opening to uncover some of the things that were going on?

Henry Winter: Yes it was but nothing surprises me with the English Football Association.

EPLTalk: Do you have any further plans to write anymore books?

Henry Winter: Yes I do, but I have been very spoiled with the subject matter so far, Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes and Steven Gerrard.

EPLTalk: Now, back to your football career. Did you play for Spartans in the East of Scotland League or have I imagined that?

Henry Winter: I played for Edinburgh University first team but as I didn’t stay on, so I unfortunately missed out on the opportunity to play for Spartans.

EPLTalk: Finally Henry, as Arsenal fan, what were your feelings on the move from Highbury and do think Arsene Wenger gets too much criticism?

Henry Winter: I have been accused of being a Manchester United fan by Manchester City fans, a Liverpool fan by Everton fans and a Tottenham fan by Arsenal fans, so I guess I’m pretty neutral. As for Highbury, the club had simply outgrown it and needed to move onwards. The Wenger criticism is ludicrous, do people want Stuart Houston back?

We’d like to thank Henry Winter for his time and you can keep up with his regular column online here: