Alex Ferguson will be singing the praises of Manchester City today after Liverpool stuttered, spluttered and failed to find the winning goal they needed to have any chance of winning the title. From a fantastic position before Christmas,
Liverpool have thrown point after point away to allow Manchester United to catch them up, draw level and now pull too far away to catch.
7 points with 12 games to go may not seem too far a distance for Liverpool, but honestly, can you see United losing 3 games whilst Liverpool keep winning. It’s never going to happen and Ferguson has been proved right when he questioned if Liverpool had the experience and stomach for a consistent title challenge in January. Benitez has seen his side falter and his stubborn insistence on playing two defensive midfielders, even in home games, has cost them any hope of the title. Why is he obsessed with playing Lucas? I cannot understand his inclusion in the Liverpool starting line up, especially with the attack minded Babel on the bench.
It’s a decision that confuses me when they need to win games. Lucas is never going to offer anything, his passing was its usual dreadful range of over hit passes, under hit balls, awful first touches and safe sideways passing. Why is he in there rather than a more attacking midfielder? For some reason, Benitez doesn’t seem to come under anywhere near the level of criticism for his transfer dealings that he should. How much money has he wasted in his 5 years, £100 million? £150 million? Liverpool’s two most consistent players, Gerrard and Carragher, in his tenure were already there, Torres has simply been injured too many times this season and the cover he has for him simply cannot cope with the pressure of a title challenge. Selling Robbie Keane after treating him like a diseased leper, becomes a worse decision every time Liverpool drop points or fetch on David N’gog to try and salvage something.Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant, Scott Carson, Craig Bellamy, Mark Rodriquez, Fernando Morientes, Gabriel Paletta, Jan Krompkamp and Mo Sissiko have all been bought and sold under Benitez. The side cry out for a decent left back, but he sold their best one to Blackburn Rovers, there is no quality cover for Gerrard and Torres. The reserve side is full of cheap South American imports that won’t push themselves in to the first team. Lucas cost £6 million. That alone is a travesty.
After 3 years of not winning anything after 2 of the luckiest cup final wins in the history of football ( The 2005 Champions League and the 2006 F.A. Cup) you have to question his future as manager of Liverpool. Why should he be offered a new contract? How many points will Liverpool finish behind Manchester United, if they even manage to hold on to second, which is no guarentee with Chelsea and Aston Villa still breathing down their necks. What excuses will we be given next? It’s always someone else’s fault that Liverpool don’t win games and his childish outbursts are frankly absurd. He picks the team, chooses the tactics, plays midfielders up front, centre halves at right back and strikers on the wing. Is Alex Ferguson brainwashing him to pick such unbalanced sides?
Does he honestly believe that his defensive strangulation of football can deliver another Champions League? Will he try to suffocate Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, a side transformed under Juande Ramos since he was parachuted in to save their season in January. 8 wins on the trot have seen Madrid eat in to Barcelona’s lead, cutting it from 12 points to 7 and perhaps the Champions League is more realistic proposition for Madrid than it is for Liverpool. A bad result on Wednesday night will be the end of Liverpools season that promised so much 6 weeks ago to be over before the end of February. They will be fortunate to finish 10 points behind Manchester United and lucky if they get anywhere near the Champions League final. Benitez has thrown the Premiership title away and if Liverpool want to win it, they need a new manager.
I’m a liverpool supporter and couldnt agree more with your article. I’ve been writing about Rafa since he first come and have always said, he will NEVER win the league in the manner he conducts himself.
Rafa is not world class in the slightest, he has just been lucky in his wins personally and I find it so so sad that so many Liverpool fans write each and every year that its Liverpools year lol. They cant grasp the fact we have no chance.
Rafa will not win nothing this year and i will bet any man £50 quid for that matter. The whole board needs to go, inc Rafa as they are a bunch of liars and cowards. They cant hold their hand up and say, sorry fans, i messed up.
Hopefully by the end of the season when RBS and the other yank bank want their money, Hicks and his little puppet lover will be forced to hand over the keys and they have nothing. Might as well have a kid owning the club seeing as not even a penny of their own money/business came from those 2.
I wonder how all the other players are reacting to keanes sale? They’re not going to be very happy considering Rafa said keane was in his plans. What is a huge joke is why buy a player then sell him at a considerable loss? People love doing business with Liverpool. They are by far the most useless out the lot and can always make a mint off the fans of Liverpool. I personally think thats down to mr joke Parry. Another liar and a disgrace to Liverpool.
Still come end of the season i will bag another load of money with Man U sweeping the awards. Least thats some consolation for me
You know what….its really sad but as a Liverpool supporter I agree with you. It amazes me that the Liverpool fans go on about ManU and about how Ferguson gets calls and has better players and more money, how this is the supporters fault for not singing, or Parry’s fault. All in all it comes down to the manager.
The truth of the whole thing is we need a new manager. We need a manager who will find good players for reasonable fees, and who can buy big money players who fit his system. We need a manager who “goes for it” and a manager who has the support of the board. Rafa is not that guy.
Your ridiculous comments about “lucky” cup wins aside (John Terry falling on his ass is luck, Gerrard drilling an injury time equalizer is not), LIverpool certainly has blown their best chance in some time of winning the League and will not get past the Madrid tie.
A season that began with such promise effectively will end in mid-March.
Honestly, The Champions League win was down to AC Milan imploding in a ten minute spell and Jerzy Dudek having an inspired performance in Extra time. Let’s not forget that Milan should have been 4-0 up at half time.
No-one really believes that Liverpool deserved to win the 2006 F.A Cup final either. They were second best for most of the game.
Fair play to Manchester City for an inspired defensive display today at Anfield. Earlier in the season their back four had looked absolutely awful. But Richards played well. Man of the match, in my opinion, was Nigel de Jong.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
As a Man United supporter, I agree that Liverpool are done.
Rafa will be gone at the end of the season, his conservative approach to football is holding back the talent the team has. Perhaps under a new manager Fernando Torres won’t be on the bench until late on. Maybe they’ll stop trying to play for a 1-0 win off a set piece and go attack.
Also, having watched many Liverpool games this season (thanks FSC), I have to think Lucas is the worst player to ever grace a Scouser shirt.
So please start him on March 14th!
Paul, you make some really good points, but the “should have’s” don’t really strengthen any argument. You could argue all day about what could have happened here or there, but when it’s down to it you only have what did happen. You could just as easily say that Konchesky’s cross was lucky, and I’m surprised you didn’t. If that mishit cross doesn’t float in past Reina, then Gerrard’s injury-time equalizer is an injury-time winner. Of course, if Konchesky’s cross doesn’t go in, who knows that Gerrard is even in that position. So good points about this season, you’re dead on, but arguing fortunes gone by is foolish.
And what’s the deal with “Operation Anfield Exercise”? Is it me or is Anfield the only Premier League ground that does this during a match? And how bloody annoying it is to hear it on the tannoy via my TV set.
I enjoyed the City fans response of “What the f***ing hell was that?”
Cheers,
The Gaffer
One thing I would like to note it that Liverpool’s reserve squad, which is supposedly “is full of cheap South American imports that won’t push themselves in to the first team” has all of two, yes, TWO South Americans in it. You’re entitled to whatever opinion you want, but please, please do research before making statements like that.
The article is spot on and its plain ridiculous that it took so long for some of the Liverpool fans to realize that Rafa is no good for the EPL. Mourinho or Ferguson would have won the title with this team more than once because they are not afraid of having the balls to field a team that is attacking and brave. The only masterstroke I have seen from Rafa is how he constructed a defense in European matches that stiffled the opponents to death – but then again, if you lose your chance for domestic title by February, playing against opponents fighting for the title, its not that hard to concentrate on only one competition.
The guy who has posted this post is exactly saying what i’m about to say! currently liverpool only’ve 5 best players(Jamie Carragher,Stevie G,Xabi Alonso,Dirk Kyut & Fernando Torres)!
Benetiz sold Jermaine Pennant,Peter Crouch,Craig Bellamy,Robbie kean n many off’em n bought some Extremely F****in players(Albert Riera & Yossi Benayoun are the worst)
Liverpool made a good start n kept on Drawing every match,which made Man Utd to easily overtake Liverpool! each time a match ended in Draw Bentiz used to say “We Could’ve Won”
my Elder brother used to say that benitez sucked a big time but now even i belive! luckily he dint sign the new contract may be LiverPool has a best future if it maneges to get new manager/players
Iam a very dissapointed Liverpool supporter. yes Lucas sucks like hell and rafa needs to spend on real players.Lucas,N’gog,el zah,mascherano,all need to GO!!! he needs another striker in David villa and another attacker like ROBINIHO.perhaps an over lapping player like Ramos would help change Liverpool’s game play. i also think barbel could be the next “thierry henry”if trained right!!!
Ithink Rafa is perfect for the job but need to think to get spanish and player more prefer to be international or good players like santa cruz, tim cahill, david villa, david silver, ramos, or more good player can make diffrence for the club.
As a kid i was in awe of the attacking flair and style Liverpool teams played with, ever since the club moved away from recruiting within this has been lost. Today i watch Liverpool play and am often left bored, disappointed and all too disillusioned at the predictability of our approach.
I have been trying to find the answer to two key questions; how much prize money has Rafa won? And, How much has his net spend on players been?
Excluding his wages he has probably cost the club a £100m!!!
He has to go and the board needs to ask Sammy Lee about the clubs culture of old and appoint a new manager carefully!
Secondly, we must beg for Steve Highways return to the youth set up as our conveyor belt of future talent looks like lost baggage!
As a bluenose and “bitter” all I can say is you’ve nailed your own coffin shut.
Benetiz was never the man for you, lucky cup wins against in all fairness old and crap teams where perhaps you should’ve been winning easily by half time.
Moyes buys players for next to nothing and makes them brilliant, jags, cahill, arteta and lescott. You buy players like torres for insane sums when they are burst players at best, torres isn’t a consistent scorer he’s like saha too easily injured but great when fit. You bought keane who likewise scores in bursts so you sell him off and leave yourself with 1 striker with injury problems and shit dutch wannabe james vaughn.
Benitez is a child, he doesn’t get his way he chucks the toy out the pram and threatens to quit or wont sign a new 101010100101 year contract. Face it liverpool, him leaving would be the BEST thing to happen to you since the istanbul final.