Javier Mascherano's sending-off against Man United was PATHETIC. He showed real leadership ability and all Reds should support him.

Idiotic Referees and ceaseless bureaucracy are ruining football and Javier Mascherano’s dismissal against Manchester United for so-called ‘dissent’ is another depressing example of this. The Argentinean did not deserve to be sent-off and I have nothing but support and admiration for him and his actions.

Admiration? Yes, because he was the only Liverpool player who had the balls to question the referee over the injustice of Fernando Torres’ yellow card.

Mascherano made a stand in adversity and displayed the true strength of his character. It should have been Steven Gerrard questioning Steve Bennett, but he was hiding away somewhere, nowhere to be seen. As per usual.

That Mascherano questioned the referee despite his earlier yellow card is further testament to his commitment to the cause. And I submit that he has every right to question the referee; he did so in a non-threatening manner and was not abusive or confrontational in any way.

And Mascherano’s ‘dissent’ was nothing of the sort - he merely asked the referee ‘what’s happening’ after Torres was booked. Replays clearly show that he did not impede or intimidate the referee; he just had the audacity to question a decision.

Why is this wrong?!

What is the game coming to when the simple questioning of a referee’s decision is deemed to be a yellow card offence? If the player launches an intimidating Roy Keane style tirade then I can understand the ref taking action, but Mascherano did nothing of the sort.

Mascherano was entitled to question the decision; indeed, civilised discussion between referees and players on the pitch has been a staple of football since the game first began. In such an important, passionate game, referees should expect to have their decisions questioned and act accordingly.

There are those who will argue that given his earlier booking, Mascherano should have stayed away. Why? I'm sure he had no idea that simply asking the referee a question would lead to him being sent off!

If Mascherano had said nothing, then he would have been as bad as Steven Gerrard, who is supposed to be looking out for the players on the pitch. If the so-called captain is not going take the responsibility, then someone has to step up to the plate.

As a result of this ludicrous, irredeemably pathetic decision, the game was ruined. Ten years ago, nary an eyelid would have been raised at such behaviour. Indeed, ten weeks ago, a referee would just have waved him away! Refereeing standards are in the gutter and football is being ruined as a result.

Football used to be a game of men - no more. It’s now a sanitized game where passion and competitiveness are slowly being eradicated.

And fair play to the much maligned Andy Gray, who slammed the decision during his half time comments. He was absolutely right in everything he said, whereas Jamie 'jellyfish' Redknapp (predictably) sided with the referee.

Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp perfectly illustrate the clash between old and new values: Gray is an old school, no-bullshit' type of guy, who like many, hates the way football is being turned into a passionless, sanitised non-contact sport.

Redknapp on the other hand is a typical 'modern' footballer - always following the crowd and jumping on the bandwagons, spouting whatever opinion is most popular at the time.

I've never had a problem with Andy Gray, and the accusation that he is biased against Liverpool is complete and utter drivel without any foundation in fact.

Anway - Liverpool lost the game, and Steven Gerrard was anonymous against Man United again.

And at the end of the game, what happened? Xabi Alonso and Jamie Carragher headed straight for the ref and expressed their frustration and discontent. Passionate as ever, Carra actually had to be pulled away.

Where was Steven Gerrard, Liverpool's so-called Captain?

Nowhere to be seen.

There is one positive thing that has come from this incident: Mascherano showed all the qualities necessary of a true captain and this bodes well for the future. As of now, he is officially my choice for next captain of Liverpool FC.

The sooner the better.

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Hollow Luton victory just papers over the cracks of Premiership failure.

Liverpool’s Pyrrhic victory against Luton will be greeted with rapturous joy by fans around the globe, but it merely papers over the cracks and provides brief respite from real problems both on and off the field.

I love the FA Cup – it’s a fantastic competition and I’m glad Liverpool are through to the next round. However, why does the team wait until an FA Cup tie against poor opposition to turn on the style? Where was the passion and pride against Wigan, Middlesborough and Man City?

Rafa’s stuttering team has limped to three draws in the last three league games, and this is not good enough. Indeed, I’d gladly trade progression in the FA Cup for wins against Wigan, Middlesborough, Manchester City and, earlier in the season, Portsmouth and Birmingham.

So – let’s recap: Against the desperately depleted minnows of Luton, Liverpool scored 5 goals and Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick. At Anfield.

BIG DEAL.

What’s to be excited about? Luton are in the RELEGATION ZONE two divisions below Liverpool. They are embroiled in major financial turmoil off the pitch and recently had to sell three of their best players to survive, which left them significantly under-strength for the game.

Liverpool on the other hand played arguably their strongest team.

The result was a foregone conclusion; not just on the night, but the minute the final whistle blew at Kenilworth Road two weeks ago.

The fact is, Liverpool SHOULD be beating Luton 5-0. Steven Gerrard SHOULD be scoring goals against inferior opposition.

Given the respective fortunes of both clubs, Liverpool should have dominated more and scored more. Instead, the team looked ordinary for the first 45 minutes and only woke up in the second half.

There is no glory in beating a down-and-out Luton side in such a manner, especially when Liverpool’s tight-fisted refusal to waive gate receipts in the first game arguably exacerbated Luton’s troubles.

Furthermore, it is possible that the extra money from the gate receipts might have enabled Luton to retain at least one (if not all three) of the players they sacrificed for an extra two weeks at least, allowing them to play in the Anfield replay.

This would have, at the very least, allowed Luton to field a full strength team. The result may still have gone against them, but at least it would have been a fairer battle.

So forgive me if I don’t jump on the ‘Steven Gerrard is god because he scored a hat-trick against Luton’ bandwagon. In the context of this season, the Luton result is irrelevant.

Nine draws in the league – almost half of Liverpool’s games this season, is the relevant factor here, and it’s this failure to capitalize and kill teams off that has seen Liverpool’s league season grind to a juddering halt.

Once the inevitable celebratory back-slapping is over, and the usual glut of players fawning over each other in cloying self-congratulation has passed, it’s back to what really matters: beating Aston Villa in the next league match.

It’s a must-win game, but which Liverpool side will turn up on the day? The team with a never say die attitude and an unstoppable will to win…or the creatively bereft, lumbering side that runs out of ideas after 20 minutes?

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After the Wigan debacle, can Liverpool summon up the spirit of 1989?

On New Year’s Day 1989, Liverpool lost 3-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford - a defeat that left the club languishing 17 points adrift of runaway leaders Arsenal. A cloud of pessimism descended over Anfield and the title seemed a million miles away. Sound familiar?

Surely overcoming a 17 point gap was an insurmountable task? Surely the league was completely out of reach?

Not for Liverpool FC.

After that game, the club went on an amazing 18 game unbeaten streak in the league, winning 15 of those games along the way. Through sheer skill, determination, mental strength and a complete unwillingness to accept defeat, Liverpool pulled their season out of the fire and went into their final game against Arsenal at Anfield full of confidence, knowing that avoiding defeat would seal the title.

Of course, every real Liverpool fan knows the horror of what happened next (!) but the point is that Liverpool overcame a 17 point deficit to put themselves back in the title driving seat. It was a monumental achievement, and one that has not been matched since.

After the calamitous 1-1 draw with Wigan, Liverpool find themselves trailing Arsenal once again in the new year of a season, but this time by only 12 points.

The question is, can the team show the spirit of ’89 and resurrect their chances of landing the title?

Unfortunately, the answer is resoundingly NO.

Kenny Dalglish’s team of ’89 had something that Rafa Benitez’s team just does not possess in the league: A bona fide winning mentality and unshakable never say die attitude. The team of 89 also had real flair and creativity, an essential element missing from the current Liverpool team.

The lack of creativity and inability to consistently kill teams off has been Liverpool’s principal failure this season. Eight draws in the league already is unacceptable and represents sixteen points lost because the team could not create or convert enough chances.

The players must take responsibility for yet another failure to mount a serious title challenge, but Benitez must take the lion’s share of the blame.

Four years into his reign and Liverpool are no closer to winning the league than they were under Gerard Houllier. This is not an opinion, it is a painful fact. Benitez simply has no idea how to win the title, and his maddening obsession with changing the team’s personnel/formation every game continues to be his downfall.

And it’s not even rotation that is the main issue here – it’s Benitez’s refusal to play a settled formation. One game it’s 4-4-2 then the next game it’s 4-5-1, with strikers playing as wingers or some other square peg in a round hole. There is no consistency of formation and no fluidity, and the team has suffered as a result.

Wigan was a must-win game, and Benitez blew it. Playing a defensive 4-5-1 formation at home against a team in the relegation zone?! It’s beyond belief! Peter Crouch was ignored yet again and insulted once more with a 7 minute cameo performance.

What is the point of playing 2 wingers and leaving Peter Crouch on the bench?! He should have been on from the start, and Liverpool should have played 4-4-2 with aces in their places.

Instead, we get three central midfielders in the starting line up *again*, and creative players like Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun left on the bench or not even in the squad.

What other team plays three central midfielders against a team like Wigan?! This tactic failed against Everton, Arsenal, Blackburn and Chelsea and yet Benitez persists with it due to his irrational stubbornness.

Benitez would probably argue that Gerrard was playing a more attacking role, and it was his job (along with Jermaine Pennant and Harry Kewell) to get forward and support Fernando Torres. However, Gerrard was so deep in the first half he might as well have been playing in goal!

Having said all that, it doesn’t really matter what formation or selection of players Benitez puts out – there is too much dead wood weighing down the team and the Spaniard's negative approach is becoming too much of a burden to overcome.

The team will go through spells of playing well, and will have the odd great performance, but the consistency is just not there, and never will be until Liverpool start playing a settled team and formation.

As I’ve argued countless times in the past, the club also needs to invest in three or four excellent creative players and another Striker on the level of Fernando Torres. Pursuing Javier Mascherano for 17m should not be the priority right now – buying players who can unlock defences *consistently* should be the focus.

The galling fact is this: if just three of Liverpool’s eight league draws this season had been turned into wins, then the club would be only 3 points behind Arsenal with a game in hand. As usual, the team is so near yet so far away from the title.

The only plus point from the Wigan debacle was Fernando Torres. He lead the line superbly and caused problems all night. Torres can’t do it on his own though. I shudder to think where Liverpool would be this season without Torres, having to rely on the leaden-footed Dirk Kuyt for goals. Actually, let’s not go there…!

The title dream is over for another season; that is not pessimism, it is realism. No Liverpool team since the Kenny Dalglish era has overcome a points gap at the top of the table. This is certainly the case under Rafa Benitez, where *every season*, the club is invariably chasing shadows halfway through the season.

It is painfully clear that Rafa still refuses to adapt his methods and philosophies to demands of the premiership, preferring instead to stubbornly persist with the same approach that won him two La Liga titles.

The Premiership is 100% DIFFERENT! Until Rafa understands this and alters his methods and philosophies to fit the demands of the English league, Liverpool will continue to be perennial losers in the title race.

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Liverpool's lack of guile exposed again as gloating stars fail to deliver

Liverpool’s dreary defeat against Manchester United once again exposed the team’s creative paucity and underlined something that has been apparent for years: Liverpool need players with genuine flair and skill and until the club invests in world class wingers/link men, the premiership title will remain an elusive dream.

The Man United defeat was utterly predictable, not only because of the depressing recent history of the fixture, but because of the crass display of cocky overconfidence that saw Liverpool’s players fawning over each others’ supposed brilliance after the midweek victory over Marseille.

The likes of Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Pepe Reina were bigging each other up as if they’d just won the premiership. Pepe Reina even had the gall to bait United, telling the world that Liverpool ‘expected to win’.

I suggested then that such behaviour was ill-advised and contrary to the great Liverpool tradition of humbleness in victory. And as is almost always the case with such gloating, the hype never lived up to the reality.

Against Man United, Liverpool were completely devoid of any real attacking threat, and did not create a single goal-scoring opportunity from open play. Read that sentence again and consider the ramifications: At Anfield, in a must win league game, Liverpool failed to create a real goal scoring chance.

There were two opportunities in the first half, with United’s keeper Edwin Van Der Sar almost gifting the team a goal, but these hardly amount to chances created by guile or skill.

The drudgery of Liverpool’s ‘attacking’ play was painful to behold, and the terminally ineffective Dirk Kuyt once again showed his lack of killer instinct by having no creative impact whatsoever.

But ‘he runs all day and works so hard for the team’ the apologists will whine. Big deal! He can run all day, but when is he going to score some GOALS? That is his job, is it not?! And how can he score goals when he spends 90% of his time in MIDFIELD?!

Why start an exciting player like Ryan Babel or a proven goal threat like Peter Crouch when you can have the leaden-footed Kuyt? It’s just maddening that Benitez persists with Kuyt, and the sooner he admits his mistake and gets rid, the better.

Fernando Torres fared no better than Kuyt; the in-form Spaniard was invisible for most of the game and was a non-entity in the second half. Once again, the hype of the preceding days came back to haunt Liverpool.

After Marseille, Liverpool players were falling over themselves to proclaim that Torres was ‘world class’. Indeed, Mascherano called him a ‘Monster of football’, whatever that is.

Against Man United, Torres struggled to be premiership class let alone world class, but with Liverpool’s disturbing lack of creativity, it is no surprise that 'El Nino' did nothing in the game.

And then we come to Liverpool’s central midfield pair: Mascherano – the man Benitez recently described as ‘World Class’, and Steven Gerrard, whom Jamie Carragher heralded as ‘world class’ and ‘on a par with Kenny Dalglish’ a few days previously.

Well...they were overrun by Owen Hargreaves and the 19 year old Anderson, and Gerrard offered nothing as an attacking threat. Furthermore, Gerrard continued his trend of failing to perform in big games against United.

Roy Keane used to regularly dominate Gerrard but that was understandable given Keane’s mastery of his role. But Anderson?! He had Gerrard and Masch running around in circles – not what you expect from players who are supposed to be the best in the world, but as I said above, the hype never lives up to the reality.

Of course, the blind faith brigade will be out in force calling anyone who criticizes the result ‘knee-jerkers’ and they will cite the club’s recent good form as some kind of evidence that things are moving in the right direction.

Others will be raving about how Rooney and Ronaldo didn't deliver and how Liverpool dominated possession. NONE OF THIS MATTERS. Who won the game? Who won the same fixture last season? Who usually wins when Liverpool play any of the top 3?

Exactly.

This is Benitez’s 4th year in charge and Liverpool look no closer to winning the league than they did under Gerard Houllier. Houllier’s reign was characterized by a distinct lack of creative guile in the team, and Benitez has not improved this one iota.

The plain and simple fact is this: Unless Liverpool invest in world class creative players, they will never win the premiership.

A cursory glance at the roll call of premiership champions reveals that, almost without exception, teams with genuine creativity win the league - Manchester United and Arsenal are testament to this, as are the championship winning teams of Liverpool’s illustrious past.

It is no coincidence that Anfield’s last championship winning team contained players full of trickery and guile; the wondrous like of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ray Houghton and Jan Molby were all supremely skilful operators with the ability to take players on and open up the tightest defences.

Fernando Torres aside, the current Liverpool team has no genuine creative flair, and this was as painfully obvious against Manchester United as it was against Arsenal in October. No doubt, that statement will be met with the usual hysterical cries of ‘but what about Steven Gerrard’?!

Gerrard is not a consistently creative player. Every once in a while (and usually against inferior opposition) he will go through a purple patch where everything he hits turns into a goal or an assist. However, when it comes to the crunch games against superior defences, he is often found wanting.

Against Man United, he was back to hoofing Hollywood passes and wasting possession; the same lack of intelligence displayed against Everton earlier in the season was on display again.

The same goes for all of Liverpool’s suppose ‘creative’ players. Harry Kewell and Yossi Benayoun are undoubtedly good players, and should be part of the squad, but they are not the long term creative solution Liverpool need.

The only player on the pitch who looked likely to create a genuine goal-scoring opportunity was Ryan Babel, who was positive and tried to take players on. It says a lot about Benitez’s priorities that an exciting, creative player like Babel can’t even get a regular start in the team.

Liverpool have been on a good run, and It’s great that the team has scored masses of goals against inferior opposition, but when it comes to top quality defences, it’s the same old underachieving story.

Instead of spending 17m on Mascherano - a midfielder Liverpool *do not need* - Benitez should spend whatever money he has available on the best creative wingers/link men money their budget will allow.

This won’t happen though; just like Houllier, the ultra cautious Spaniard prefers defensively minded workhorses who run all day to exciting, unpredictable flair players.

Until Benitez changes his philosophy (unlikely) or Liverpool hire a Manager who believes that attack is the best kind of defence (In my dreams) then the club will continue to be also-rans in the premiership.

Two defeats does not mean that the club's league chances are over, but with tough away games against the top 3 to come, and no one capable of consistently unlocking tight defences, the prognosis is the same as it has been for 17 years: failure.

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Super Sami shines as Liverpool massacre Marseille

After the formational faux pas against Reading, Rafael Benitez reverted back to the 4-4-2 system clearly preferred by the the team, and as a result, Liverpool smashed four goals past Marseille to secure Champions League progress and make it 26 goals scored in the last 8 games.

Benitez dumped Liverpool’s top Champions league goal-scorer Peter Crouch on the bench yet again in another brazen indicator that Crouchy’s time at Anfield is drawing to a close. It seems that 11 goals in 13 CL games is not enough for Benitez, and his latest snub of Crouch is the worst yet given the importance of the game.

In any event, the team performed admirably, with Steven Gerrard continuing his fantastic goal-scoring run and the sensational Fernando Torres again proving that he is Liverpool’s most exciting player for years.

The outstanding performer on the night for me though was Sami Hyypia. The team struggled defensively in his absence against Reading and it is no coincidence that Liverpool kept a clean sheet on his return to the team. Sami has started 20 games this season, and 14 of them have been clean sheets.

Against Marseille, all the outstanding aspects of Sami’s game were on display as he produced a master-class of defensive brilliance: Commanding in the air; ferocious in the tackle; elegant in his distribution and imperious in his organizational and positional prowess.


Jamie Carragher may be the team’s surrogate captain but it is Sami’s experience and organizational ability that brings stability and confidence to the Liverpool defence.

Sami is a bona fide world class defender and he embodies everything that makes Liverpool great. Quite apart from being one of the greatest defenders ever to grace the Anfield turf, the big Finn oozes real class and is completely unaffected by the egocentric excesses of the modern game.

Sami has arguably been Liverpool’s most consistent player over the last 10 years and an outstanding ambassador for the club, with his superb ability being an integral component in making Liverpool the most successful English club of the noughties.

This does not stop people jumping on his back at regular intervals complaining that he has ‘lost his pace’ and other such nonsense. This is simply not true – Sami never had any real pace to begin with!

His game is not based on pace - it was and is based on intelligence and unparalleled positional excellence. Sami continues to perform admirably when called upon, and a fair analysis of Liverpool’s performances so far this season will back this up.

Tragically, Sami is part of a dying breed – the true footballing gentlemen: affable, unassuming, approachable, friendly and the consummate professional. He is and has been my favourite Liverpool player for years and it will be a sad day indeed when Sami eventually retires.

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Rafa self-destructs against Reading

A month ago, I wrote about Rafa’s tragic flaw and why it would hinder Liverpool’s ability to win the premiership. I argued that Rafa’s tinkering with a winning formula was inevitable, and even if the club went on a winning run, Rafa’s ‘irrational stubbornness’ would rear its ugly head again at some point. Well, it did - against Reading.

The game was a tactical disaster of epic proportions and the blame lies solely with Rafa. And things were going so well...! With 21 goals in the last 5 games, the team was on a high and winning with ease. Confidence was booming and the players were settling into a familiar system and formation.

There was no need to change anything!

And I’d just like to clarify that rotation is not the issue here – players have been rotated during the last 7 games as usual. What has remained consistent is the system: 4-4-2. This is what the players are used to but, most importantly, this was a WINNING SYSTEM.

Part of Rafa’s tragic flaw is his pig-headed insistence on changing things when there’s no need. What reason was there to change to what basically amounted to a 4-3-2-1? On paper, it looked like 4-3-3 and may have *seemed* attacking, but in reality, the team played the 4-3-2-1 diamond formation.

Fans will inevitably blame the referee, but that is just the poor excuse of sore losers. Liverpool should have won the game irrespective of the Ref’s failure to award a penalty. Relying on refereeing decisions to win the league is the preserve of premiership no-hopers. Anyway, Over a season, these things balance out, and Liverpool have certainly had their fair share of luck this season. The free-kick that never was against Villa and Gerrard’s dive against Everton spring to mind.

Rafa’s refusal to stick with a winning formation is what lost Liverpool the game. There was absolutely NO logical reason to change things.

When Liverpool went a goal down, I posted something on this site lambasting Rafa’s changes, and imploring him to revert to a proven system. Of course, I knew he wouldn’t change things because of his - yes you guessed it - irrational stubbornness.

So, let’s take a closer look at Rafa’s mistakes:

Resting Sami Hyypia

This was the first major mistake. Sami has been in SUPERB form and has been integral to Liverpool’s run of clean sheets. It’s no coincidence that as soon as he is rested, Liverpool concede three goals.

What mystifies me is this: Jamie Carragher was recovering from injury AND was on a yellow card, which meant he would miss the Man United game if he got another one. Why not rest Carragher and play Hyppia alongside Jack Hobbs?!

Better yet, if you’re going to play Carragher, then why not just stick with the Hyypia/Carragher partnership that has been so successful?!

I’m glad Jack Hobbs got his debut, and overall, he played well. However, there was no need to change something that WORKED. And that is part of Rafa’s tragic flaw – making changes for no apparent reason, and changing things that work for no logical reason.

As it happened, both Carragher and Hobbs were at fault for goals in the game. Carra’s rash challenge led to the goal from a free kick, and Hobbs being out of position led to the breakaway third goal.

Changing a winning formation

Liverpool has been playing 4-4-2 during their winning run, so what does Rafa do? He changes a winning formation. Why? Who knows. What’s clear though is Rafa likes to change things for no apparent reason.

What is the point of playing TWO holding midfielders against Reading?! I could possibly understand it against the likes of Barcelona or AC Milan, but Reading?!

Sissoko and Mascherano should never play in the same team, as they offer next to nothing going forward. A threat that WOULD work is Alonso, Gerrard and Lucas, as all three offer attacking threat.

Such a selection could not be made though as Lucas did not even make the squad – another ridiculous decision. And as for Xabi, he is still recovering from injury – an injury which came from another of Rafa’s illogical decisions: rushing him back from his first injury against Arsenal.

Playing strikers as wingers

Even worse than playing three central midfielders was the use of Peter Crouch and Andrei Voronin on the wings. To date, this has to be the most amateur, illogical decision of Rafa’s reign. Peter Crouch on the left wing?! It really is incomprehensible and beyond belief.

What is the point of playing Strikers on the wings when you have NATURAL WINGERS on the bench like Harry Kewell?!

If Rafa was going to change the system, then the least he should have done was select the right players to FIT the system! Playing square pegs in round holes is always going to cause problems, and against Reading, it just caused confusion.

Playing with Zero width

Playing Crouch and Voronin on the wings was bad enough, but the team selection and formation meant there was no natural width to the team. Three central midfielders means the team will play narrow anyway as their natural instinct is to go through the middle.

Add onto that Voronin, who cuts inside every time he gets the ball anyway, and you have a recipe for congestion in the middle of the pitch.

Reading exploited this and attacked down the wings, where there was very little cover once Crouch and Voronin had been sucked into the center. I don’t blame them for that though – that is their natural instinct as strikers, and Rafa obviously gave them instructions to join the attack when they could.

What is even more laughable about playing Crouch on the wing is that he is supposed to get on the end of crosses! I guess his instructions were: 'Cross from the left and then rush into the box to attack your own cross'. Crouch thrives on meeting crosses, not making them.

Not playing Harry Kewell

So – Harry Kewell is injured for a year; fights back to full fitness; forces his way back into the team; gets a couple of games under his belt and is playing well, so what do you do? Keep playing him, right? Not if you are Rafael Benitez.

KEWELL NEEDS GAMES!

He is building momentum and getting back to his best form, and the only way to continue this is to play him in as many games as possible.

And it’s not as if he needs to be rested, is it?! Kewell must be the most rested player in the entire squad! Surely Kewell would have been a better option on the LEFT WING than Peter Crouch? Of course he would have been, and Rafa leaving him on the bench is a staggeringly poor decision.

Substituting Steven Gerrard

When Rafa took Gerrard off against Everton, it was the right decision and I applauded him for it. Removing him when Liverpool were 3-1 down was the wrong decision. Unlike his form up to and including the Everton game, Gerrard is and has been playing well and making an impact.

He scored against Reading and hit the crossbar, and was one of the few players who looked like he could do something positive for the team. Apart from that, Gerrard had already played 70 minutes. What difference would playing for another 20 minutes make?!

None whatsoever.

Yes, there is an argument for resting him and ensuring he doesn’t pick up an injury for the Marseille game, but surely winning or drawing a premiership game is important?! There was 20 minutes still to play, and games can be easily be won (or drawn) in that amount of time.

It's well known that Steven Gerrard is not one of my favourite players, but I always try to be fair, and if Gerrard plays well, I will give him credit. He has been playing well and *did* play well against Reading, therefore he should have stayed on the pitch.

Conceding defeat

Taking Gerrard and Carragher off basically symbolized that Rafa was accepting defeat. I don’t care what games are coming up or how important they area, this is unacceptable behaviour for a Liverpool Manager and is, in my opinion, a disgrace to everything that Liverpool stands for. The club does not give up and concede – it fights to the death with pride and passion.

It saddens me to see a Liverpool Manager with such a defeatist attitude. What makes it worse is the decision was clearly motivated by Rafa’s selfishness. Rafa knows that his own position will be in serious jeopardy if Liverpool don’t qualify for the next stage of the Champions league.

So, with this in mind, he gave up on the Reading game, took off the spine of the team so they would be fit to save *his* skin on Tuesday.

Overall

Rafa’s tinkering cost Liverpool the game as he presided over an easily avoidable tactical failure. Having said that, it is not the end of the world. It’s unrealistic to expect Liverpool to go the whole season unbeaten. Both Man United and Chelsea have lost in the league already, and the club’s unbeaten record had to come to an end at some point.

It’s not just that Liverpool lost that’s disappointing though - it is the defeatist philosophy and the needless meddling with a winning formula that really grates. It was a winnable game - Reading were there to be beaten, and could have been beaten if Rafa’s tragic flaw had not got in the way.

This week is massively important for Rafa, and he has put himself under immense pressure. With the Hicks/Gillette summit looming on the horizon, Rafa has created a situation where the next two games are must-win encounters.

If Liverpool lose to Marseille, CL qualification is a dead duck. If Liverpool lose to Man United, league chances are all but over. And Rafa will only have himself to blame.

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Rafa names an unchanged team and Liverpool win. Simple, isn't it?

In my last article, I argued that the Besiktas victory would be worthless if Rafa changed his team against Fulham. Since he had only named an unchanged team 3 times in the previous 199 games, I wasn’t optimistic...To his credit though, Rafa kept the same team and Liverpool deservedly beat Fulham 2-0.

It would have been madness to change a winning team after an 8-0 victory, especially when Liverpool have been struggling for a winning formula. Given Rafa’s reputation for tinkering though, it would not have been surprising if he had changed things around. Having said that, I'm sure Rafa must have known that he would be a laughing stock if he changed the team and Liverpool lost or drew.

Fulham put ten men behind the ball, and for 80 minutes, their tactics paid off; but Liverpool deserved the win long before substitute Fernando Torres made sure of it with a piece of sublime individual skill. Peter Crouch was once again a constant menace, and would have scored again but for the crossbar. In the last two games, Crouch has proved conclusively that he is far more of a goal threat than Dirk Kuyt.

Yossi Benayoun continued to impress with his skill, superb touch and ability to play the killer ball. It’s a real blow that Benayoun was injured, as he was just starting to get a well deserved run in the team. It would be great to see the Israeli play the Peter Beardsley role just behind Fernando Torres. This would be, in my view, a killer combination.

Will Benitez go one better and name an unchanged team for three consecutive games? I highly doubt it. Fernando Torres is fully fit again and will be an almost certain starter against Newcastle, possibly at the expense of Crouch, though Voronin should be the one to make way.

On the subject of Peter Crouch...he must continue to play! You can’t argue with the facts: Liverpool have won the two games started by Crouch and have looked infinitely more cohesive and creative with him in the team. Maybe I’m living in the past, but I subscribe to the philosophy that if you play well, you should stay in the team. Crouch is playing well and his confidence is building as a result, hence he should stay in the team.

The same goes for Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Aurelio; both have made a huge difference to the balance of the team, and both add extra creative options, whether it is Arbeloa rampaging down the right flank or Aurelio whipping in left-footed crosses.

The only negative to take out of the game is the fact it came just before yet another international break. I just hope and pray that Fernando Torres is not injured if he plays for Spain. In his 20 minute cameo, he showed exactly the kind of skill and guile Liverpool are crying out for.

Could the last two results herald the start of a long winning streak? I would love to think so, but I have a nagging feeling that Benitez’s obsession with rotation will put a customary spanner in the works.

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Rafa forced to eat humble pie as Crouch inspires Liverpool

Peter Crouch returned from unfairly imposed exile on Tuesday to inspire Liverpool to rampant victory over a staggeringly poor Besiktas side.

It was a great night for Crouch, whose treatment at the hands of Rafael Benitez has been nothing short of disgraceful...

In fact, Benitez's persistent failure to play Crouch has been an insult to the player and abuse of his position as Manager of Liverpool Football Club.

Every time Crouch has played this season, he has made a mockery of Benitez's perpetual snub by playing well. Against Besiktas, Crouch proved categorically that the decision to ignore him this season has been farcical.

Crouch scored twice and was a constant menace, but it is no surprise to me that the team gelled as well as it did. Indeed, I find it rather ironic that three of Benitez’s oft ignored players were fundamental to Liverpool’s deserved victory.

Crouch, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel are three of Liverpool’s most technically gifted players. Crouch in particular is rare amongst English players in that the technical side of his game is first class – something he is not given enough credit for.

So why did Benitez pick Crouch for this game? The media will have us believe that Crouch was part of some tactical plan to beat Besiktas, but I personally believe that the abject ineptitude of Dirk Kuyt forced Benitez's hand, as opposed to any considered tactical plan. If Kuyt had scored against Blackburn, would Crouch have started? I doubt it. Benitez had to drop Kuyt because he could finally see what the rest of the world has seen for months: Kuyt is just not good enough.

Whatever the reason, Crouch was worth his place and showed just what Liverpool have been missing up front. Unlike the pedestrian, one dimensional Kuyt, Crouch has skill and genuine guile with the ball at his feet and is infinitely more impressive goal threat.

Benayoun and Babel are bright hopes for Liverpool’s future, and they should be playing as often as possible because they are creative, skillful players who bring something exciting to the team: the ability to unlock a defence. As I have argued in the past though, Benitez will continue to keep these two as bit-part players because he prefers ‘huff and puff’ players like Kuyt and Momo Sissoko.

As a Liverpool fan, I am of course ecstatic that Liverpool won the game, but I will not be jumping on the ‘everything is perfect now!’ bandwagon. Fans across the net are falling into the overconfidence trap once again and lambasting the doubters for not sharing their ultra enthusiasm. I can enjoy the result but it doesn’t change the fact that LFC still have major problems to deal with.

The truth is, Besiktas were woeful on the night; the only surprise is that Liverpool didn’t score 10. It was hardly a great test, and the game was not truthfully representative of Liverpool’s season so far. I’d rather Liverpool beat Birmingham, Portsmouth or Blackburn 1-0 that score 8 in CL game that, quite honestly, is pretty worthless at this stage.

The win was great for confidence BUT it will be a worthless, Pyrrhic victory if Benitez does not stick with same team against Fulham. There is no logical reason to change the team for the next game; Benitez should take advantage of the confidence flowing through the likes of Crouch and Benayoun and unleash them at the weekend. Since Benitez has only named an unchanged team 5 times in over 195 matches, the chances that the same team will start against Fulham are slim.

And this is the problem: If Crouch and Benayoun are dropped for the next game their confidence will arguably take a massive hit. Yes, they are professionals and publicly they will proclaim their support for rotation, however, they are only human, and privately I am sure it affect them. If you play well and you're dropped for the next game anyway, where is the motivation to continue plugging away and achieving the highest standards?

As far as I am concerned, there is no reasonable argument for changing the team for the next game. Benitez has the chance to prove some of the doubters wrong, including myself, by not rotating for once and allowing a settled team to blossom.

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Liverpool sink into the 'creative abyss' at Blackburn

Another week, another turgid performance by Liverpool, once again characterized by a depressing lack of real creativity.

Whilst Liverpool may still be unbeaten in the premiership, a run of five draws from the last seven games represents an unacceptable loss of points – 15 up for grabs and only 5 taken. This is not league winning form, and to suggest Liverpool have a chance of winning the league is now bordering on the absurd...

After the Blackburn game, Benitez argued: “We deserved more because we created a lot, especially in the second-half. We had clear chances and their keeper made some excellent saves."

Liverpool deserved nothing from the game, and Benitez once again must take the blame. Starting with three central midfielders and one up front, Liverpool’s fear of the opposition took precedence over setting out to win the game.

There was no way Liverpool were going to win the game playing the increasingly ineffective Dirk Kuyt upfront. He is not a striker – he is a midfielder! Furthermore, playing Kuyt as a lone strike is ridiculous in the extreme. He plays too deep and always drops off to collect the ball, when he should be getting on the end of things.

Kuyt is the archetypal Benitez player: A super-fit, hardworking work-horse, who will run all day but offers nothing in the way of skill, guile or genuine creativity. Kuyt was cruelly exposed as the limited player he is against Blackburn, with his poor decision-making in promising situations particularly disappointing.

Steven Gerrard had a couple of good chances, but he is not and never will be an effective link man. He is not Kaka or Zidane. He doesn’t have the footballing intelligence to carry out that role. With Sissoko and Mascherano holding, Gerrard was basically given a free role and he created next to nothing.

Once again, it took the introduction of the disgracefully ignored Peter Crouch to liven things up. Crouch and the newly fit Harry Kewell were at the heart of two or three excellent chances that almost led to Liverpool (undeservedly) winning the game.

Benitez’s cautious ‘safety first’ approach is massively frustrating. Crouch and Kewell should have started, and Liverpool should have played with two up front from the beginning, but Benitez is more concerned with setting Liverpool up not to concede. It’s only near the end of games that he dares to change things change for the positive, but by then it’s often far too late.

Benitez’s dreary brand of anti-football is a real problem, and watching Liverpool is a painful experience these days. Four years into his reign, Liverpool fans have the right to expect more. He’s assembled his own team and there can be no more excuses.

Yes, Liverpool were missing Alonso and Torres…but why was that? Because Benitez rushed them back from injury against Arsenal and suffered the consequences. As I said in a previous article, that decision will cost Liverpool valuable points, and probably any chance at the title.

If Benitez had played it smart, perhaps Alonso and Torres would have been able to play some part against Blackburn, and if they had, chances are the result would have been different.

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Bungling Benitez costs Liverpool

Rafael Benitez’s increasing propensity for making ill-advised footballing decisions surfaced again during Sunday’s draw with Arsenal.

As a man of fixed footballing ideas, who regularly espouses the positive virtues of regular rotation, I find it puzzling that Benitez completely contradicted himself with his team selection against Arsenal...

...

What was the point in playing Alonso and Torres, both of whom were recovering from injuries and were nowhere near match fit? Why couldn't Peter Crouch play instead of Torres? Why not Lucas Leiva or Momo Sissoko instead of Alonso? Playing barely fit players surely this flies in the face of Benitez’s philosophy of rotating to keep the players fit?!

Benitez’s decisions proved to be disastrous, with Alonso suffering the same injury again and Torres aggravating his muscle injury.

People talk about the benefits of hindsight but what about the benefits of foresight? Surely Benitez should have foreseen that using those two players – especially Torres – was risky? If he didn’t see it, then that is a problem in itself. If he *did* see it but decided to risk them anyway, then once again, his judgment must be called into question.

At a crucial time for the club, when every game is of the utmost importance, Benitez’s bungling has cost Liverpool the services of two important players for another month or more. By the time they both return, Liverpool’s faltering title challenge could conceivably be over. I appreciate that the Arsenal game was important, but what does it matter if Alonso and Torres miss another 3-5 games each –games which could be equally as crucial?

The fact that Liverpool did not win the game just adds insult to injury. Torres was an ineffective passenger for the first half, and it was blatantly clear that Peter Crouch should have played from the start. Predictably though, Benitez’s personal agenda got in the way of objective decision making once again. To his credit, Xabi Alonso played well, displaying the calming, organisational influence the team has lacked in his absence. He will be sorely missed again, and the sooner he is fully fit and playing regularly, the better.

After the game, Benitez actually admitted that he knew Torres was unfit *before* the game:

"He just was not fit. We talked beforehand and he said he was fine. Now we must wait again, he had been out for some time and we have been pushing to get him back, but he has not been right and he still is not right”.

If Benitez knew he was not fit, why did he still play Torres?! It is this kind of misguided decision making that is costing Liverpool valuable points this season. And what a slap in the face for Peter Crouch – All of Liverpool’s senior strikers start the game, but he is ignored at the expense of a blatantly unfit Fernando Torres.

Crouch came on and did very well, but this will probably make no impression on the Manager. Benitez obviously wants him gone, despite his public assertions to the contrary.
Benitez also stated:

“We had a plan to use the strikers wide and for Stevie to attack through the middle with two holding players behind”.

So, with two established wide players on the bench, Benitez decides to ignore them and play two strikers out of position on the wings instead?!

Is the ghost of Gerard Houllier in charge at Liverpool?! Perhaps not, but Like Houllier, Benitez is well on the way to becoming a ghost at Liverpool.

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Arsenal expose LFC's 'pub team' creativity

Liverpool were given a footballing lesson by Arsenal on Sunday and were extremely lucky not to lose.

It pains me to say it, but Arsenal were superb, playing football the way it should be played - with sublime technique, imagination and exquisite pass and move. In contrast, Liverpool were afflicted by a dispiriting lack of invention and their usual inability to keep hold of the ball…

This is hardly surprising considering Rafael Benitez’s apparent aversion to genuine creative players, proven again with his preference for the creatively bankrupt pairing of Dirk Kuyt and Andrei Voronin.

These two players are typical Benitez players: Fit, hard-working ‘cover every blade of grass’ grafters who will always score top points for effort. However, they are not creative by any stretch of the imagination. Running ten miles a game does not win you the league – players who can consistently unlock defences are the key to success.

Liverpool have creative players, but due to Benitez’s stubbornness and cautious approach, they are under-utilised. Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel should have started in place of Kuyt and Voronin, and with the system Benitez played, this should have been a no-brainer. But no – Benitez deferred to his typically defensive mentality and went with players who spent most of their time defending in their own half.

What exactly is the point of playing two strikers as make-shift wide players when there are genuine wide players on the bench?! It’s ridiculous. Dirk Kuyt in particular did nothing all game except defend and run around like a headless chicken. And the fact that Liverpool had to rely on a free kick to score just makes this lack of creativity even more obvious.

It was only when Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun entered the fray that Liverpool began to retain possession and show a few signs of creativity. These two players are among the most technically proficient in the team and this showed in the way they played. Crouch had 3 or 4 excellent chances and held the ball up well, and Benayoun retained possession excellently and brought others into the game.

Steven Gerrard scored a brilliant free kick goal, but apart from that, his impact on the game was once again negligible. I lost count of the amount of times he gave the ball away or wasted possession in a good area. Gerrard seems incapable of slowing the play down, and always seems to be rushing at 100mph. This is why Benitez substituted him against Everton, though Gerrard shows no signs of improving this aspect of his game.

Of course, Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp will, as usual, try and convince the world that Gerrard was man of the match with an amazing performance, but this was simply not the case.

The lumbering drudgery of Liverpool’s attacking play is a serious problem that has plagued the club since Roy Evans was at the helm. Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benitez share a defensive mentality which is at odds with the great Liverpool style of the past.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Unless Liverpool invests in some world class creative talent, the league title will never return to Anfield. Liverpool teams of the past *always* had special creative players and it is no coincidence those teams won title after title. Benayoun, Babel and Torres apart, Liverpool are fatally lacking exciting attacking players. Furthermore, Benitez’s failing rotation policy ensures that the likes of Benayoun and Babel hardly play, thus robbing them of the chance to develop their attacking consistency.

Liverpool need a minimum of three genuine creative players: Two world class wingers and a Beardsley type link man. This will not happen whilst Rafael Benitez is Manager though, as playing expansive, entertaining football is contrary to his footballing philosophy.

One thing is for sure – if Ryan Babel was at Arsenal, under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, he would be playing week in week out, wowing the world with his attacking skill.

And that is the difference between Wenger and Benitez: Wenger wants to win and win well by playing attacking football and always taking the game to the opposition. Benitez just wants to win at any cost, sacrificing attacking football for a dreary ‘safety first’ approach.

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'Brainless' Gerrard 'hurt' by 'Rafa The Merciless'

So Steven Gerrard is feeling 'hurt' and 'disappointed' by his substitution in the 70th minute of the recent Merseyside Derby...?

Boo f**king hoo. He deserved to be 'hooked' as he called it. No player is bigger than the club, yet Sir Steven of Gerrard has the audacity and arrogance to question Rafa Benitez's decision in public:

'I'll be speaking to the manager about it just to find out why I was substituted', whined Gerrard.

And therein lies the problem: Gerrard actually believes he has the right to demand an answer. Instead of taking it like a man and accepting the decision, his rampaging ego rears its ugly head again...
Pandering to Gerrard's ego

But this is nothing new. The sad fact is, Steven Gerrard IS bigger than the club. David Moores and Rick Parry have made sure of that with their constant pandering to Gerrard's ego. Incredibly, despite Gerrard's traitorous flirtations with Chelsea, Parry still got down on his hands and knees and puckered up, subjugating the club and elevating Gerrard to status 'the untouchable'.

As a result of this, Rafa's first act as Liverpool boss was to make a humiliating trip to appease the golden boy during Euro 2004. Would Alex Ferguson have done this? More to the point, would Bill Shankly have stood for this? No - both would have told the board to get stuffed and Gerrard would have been put in his place.

Times have changed though, and Liverpool's enduring legacy, founded upon the Shankly ethos of hardwork and humility, is disappearing fast.

'We needed to play with our brains'

Rafa got it spot on with Gerrard's substitution; as he said after the game 'we needed to play with our brains' - something Gerrard singularly fails to do.

Lucas Leiva entered the fray and offered a 20 minute masterclass in how to play with footballing intelligence: keep the ball; pass and move; slow things down; stretch the play. It was a joy to watch and miles away from Gerrard's aimless brand of 100mph ‘I’m the man so I’ll do it all myself’ huffing and puffing.

Hordes of Liverpool ‘fans’ will scream about how regular whipping boy Momo Sissoko should have gone off instead. However, in their desperation to defend their idol, they have missed the point. Sissoko and Mascherano stayed on to take care of the defensive side of things. This allowed Lucas to play higher up the pitch, where he could influence the attacking side of the game in a calm. intelligent manner.

And it worked! Liverpool WON THE GAME as a *direct result* of Rafa's substitutions. Babel passed to Pennant, who crossed for Leiva to strike the ball home. Well almost, anyway. Three substitutes combined for the chance that led to the penalty. Yet the Gerrard apologists will ignore this fact and blather on about the injustice of it all.

All hail 'Rafa The Merciless'

Rafa should be applauded, no, knighted (!) for his strength of character in removing Gerrard from the game. Liverpool fans should be rejoicing that we now have a Manager who is not afraid to make the hard decisions; a man who is strong enough to deflect the misguided criticism of sheep-like fans and clichéd, agenda driven media and do things his way.

Every league winning Manager of the last 30 years has had this quality: Clough, Ferguson, Graham, Wenger, Dalglish, Paisley etc. That 'my way or the highway’ ruthlessness is what wins titles, not fawning over spoiled, egocentric primadonnas.

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