it``s time for us to get real the echo

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It's time for us to get realJan 10 2007

 

 

 

 

Exclusive By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

 

 

RAFA Benitez says Liverpool must learn the lessons of last night's Carling Cup humiliation, as he urged the club to match Arsenal's ambition in the recruitment of young talent.

 

Benitez, who apologised for the 6-3 defeat, is deeply frustrated his efforts to create an equally powerful reserve line-up has been thwarted by lack of funds.

 

But the boss insists he was right to stand by his team selection at Anfield, and argued the gulf in class was a result of Arsenal's ten years of careful planning and recruitment.

 

He says Liverpool's prospective new owners must take note if they want the club to match the Gunners.

 

"The first thing we must do is say sorry to our supporters. They were magnificent and deserved better," said Benitez.

 

 

 

 

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"Secondly, although we made mistakes in the game my players worked hard and I must recognise this.

 

 

"But when you analyse the situation, the conclusion which worries me is Arsenal could pick nine reserves and score six goals at Anfield. We had seven players of the first team and could not win.

 

 

"There is a lesson in this for the whole of our club. If you want to compete at the top level, you must be able to spend a lot of money not only on your first team, but on the young players and reserves.

 

 

"Arsenal spent £4m on Diaby, £4m on Denilson, £8m on Walcott and Baptista is a £22m player.

 

 

"They have been working for ten years to build a strong squad, and we have been working for two years. My scout department has done an excellent job, but sometimes we go too slow as a club to make signings we need, and when we do there is not a lot of money.

 

 

"Today, for example, we are signing a young Italian keeper on loan with an option for later. We've also been working for many weeks to sign the young Scottish player James McCarthy.

 

 

"These are the deals we are doing because we want to build a squad of similar quality in the future, but without spending big money it's difficult.

 

 

"The money we sign is for the first team, and when you look at the quality of Reina, Sissoko, Alonso, Bellamy and Crouch it's clear all are worth more now than when we bought them."

 

 

Benitez has come under fire for his team selection in the wake of the latest cup exit, but he's standing firm.

 

 

"I used Momo Sissoko in the Carling Cup against Birmingham and lost him for four months," he said.

 

 

"Last night we believe we've lost Luis for the rest of the season and Gonzalez and Warnock were injured. Steven Gerrard has a dead leg and Xabi Alonso a tight hamstring.

 

 

"What is more important? The Premiership, the Champions League or the Carling Cup?

 

 

"If Arsenal can play nine reserves and score six at Anfield, people should be asking why is this. It's not because of one game, it's because of many reasons. I picked a team with seven players from the first team last night.

 

 

Do people expect me to play Finnan every week? He has had to play in every fixture this season. The players I used were good players."

 

 

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[Sheida V]

I felt like Rafa was yelling at me then... serves me right

[Sion]

That's probably the most aggresive interview i've ever read Rafa give

 

Plus Rafa named James McCarthy as someone he's been working on. Wouldn't do this if it wasn't close would he?

[McBain]

Doesn't make the decisions he made or the result any easier to swallow

 

At least he's pissed off but is he pissed off at the the right things?

[Reggie]

Jesus. I hope Gerrard and Alonso are fit for Saturday or else we're screwed.

[Billy Dane]

so does this mean he didn't expect last night's team to beat Arsenal's wunderkinds?

[Mike]

more of a statement to the board i think...

and to those who believe we are closer to the top than we really are.

Edited January 10, 2007 by Mike

[Guest Cardie]

more of a statement to the board i think...

and to those who believe we are closer to the top than we really are.

 

What exactly is the statement to the board though?

 

It can't be it's your fault for not giving me as much money as Arsenal because we've had more.

[£440,000]

From what a friend told me I think the comment about the club being too slow to move for Rafa´s transfer targets is something that´s particularly bugging him at the moment. For him to criticise Parry (who is basically the person responisble) publicly, even if fairly gently, is a pretty good indication of how frustrated he is in this regard.

[Mike]

What exactly is the statement to the board though?

 

It can't be it's your fault for not giving me as much money as Arsenal because we've had more.

 

pretty obvious aint it?

...we've had more than arsenal?

Edited January 10, 2007 by Mike

[Gomez]

Gutted over Garcia.

 

I keep coming to terms with the defeat and trying to look at the positives, Guthrie did OK, less fixture congestion, only the CC etc, then I remember Garcia is probably out 'til the summer and I feel like sh*te again. I don't think people realize how important a player he is for us, specially in yerp. The focus really should be on the injury, with the result, freak as it was, in a minor competition an after thought.

[£440,000]

I agree. The worst thing about last night was losing Luis for the rest of the season. He´s the kind of player you´d have happily bet your house on getting a goal or two against Barca. Especially as it´s his old club.

[Bootle Buck]

Maybe it is time for us to either drop out of the League Cup or only field reserves regardless of how far we get. Let's face it look at Arsenal's reward, two heated games against their rivals Spurs and a tough Cup Final against Chelsea. All sandwiched between CL games and a busy League and Cup schedule. Maybe all CL and EUFA Cup qualifiers should have the oportunity to opt out. Let some of the other teams that win feck all battle for it.

Edited January 10, 2007 by Bootle Buck

[RP]

Maybe it is time for us to either drop out of the League Cup or only field reserves regardless of how far we get. Let's face it look at Arsenal's reward, two heated games against their rivals Spurs and a tough Cup Final against Chelsea. All sandwiched between CL games and a busy League and Cup schedule. Maybe all CL and EUFA Cup qualifiers should have the oportunity to opt out. Let some of the other teams that win feck all battle for it.

 

 

What was the score in the Semi against Spurs?

 

We could all make a few quid here.

[Guest Cardie]

pretty obvious aint it?

...we've had more than arsenal?

 

The article goes on about Arsenal being able to spend all this money on young players but doesn't expand on that and say these young players form most of Arsenals first team. He isn't paying 4 million for Diaby and then dumping him in the reserves never to be seen again except when the carling cup rolls round, all these players are getting games in the premiership.

[cymrococh]

The article goes on about Arsenal being able to spend all this money on young players but doesn't expand on that and say these young players form most of Arsenals first team. He isn't paying 4 million for Diaby and then dumping him in the reserves never to be seen again except when the carling cup rolls round, all these players are getting games in the premiership.

because they're good enough, because they're worth £4m.

[mrjunk]

we have been told.

[honourablegeorge]

What was the score in the Semi against Spurs?

 

We could all make a few quid here.

 

 

Spurs only get to cup finals if there are no numbers in the year.

[Guest Cardie]

because they're good enough, because they're worth £4m.

 

Exactly, so it's pointless moaning about it being unfair when Arsenal spend that much on a young player.

 

We decided to spend 7 million on Pennant, Wenger decided to spend it on two or three young players instead.

[yellow jumper]

wenger got to the point where he felt he could afford to spend his 20 or 30 million on two or three players a year, only. who he chose to buy is up for debate, since arsenal still look 2 or 3 years off really challenging for the league, and are yet to bag any silverware since viera left the club.

 

everyone's trying to find different ways to compete with the chelsea behemoth, wenger chose to invest heavily in youth, not sure benitez had that luxury or license this soon into his project.

 

who'd argue that our squad needed a massive overhaul, from top to bottom, when he arrived two years ago. hopefully with the addition of neill and mascherano and a boost in funds we've now reached the point where he can get on with adding top quality rather than middling quantity.

Edited January 10, 2007 by george lees

[Bootle Buck]

Exactly, so it's pointless moaning about it being unfair when Arsenal spend that much on a young player.

 

We decided to spend 7 million on Pennant, Wenger decided to spend it on two or three young players instead.

 

After he pocketed money for getting rid of Pennant

[Molby]

what this article shows once and for all is that Rafa is not happy with the backing he has had

 

I do hope that the simple, yet annoyingly insistent folk who consider it heresy to suggest that Rafa is unhappy, now shut up and listen for a change

 

This reaction by Rafa looks slightly knee jerk, I conceed that but the man is only human; time after time he has said the right things in order not to create a public debate and people assume that means all is well - well of course it isn't and it never has been. We are where we deserve to be given the NET spending on players, which is in the top 4 and looking like comfortably qualifying for the CL year on year. Plus a good chance in cup competitions

 

To move up a gear needs extra spending, MORE, not less than our rivals and in all areas, as Rafa has stated.

 

I don't know if Rafa is criticising Parry for the slow pace at which he moves, although I suspect he is

 

but clearly he is complaining about lack of funds and I would be raging myself, except for the fact that the investment looks imminent, and what Dubai want is to promote brand Dubai, not to be associated with humiliations such as were suffered yesterday; ergo I expect the problem to be solved very quickly, if not in Jan then in summer

 

but heaven help us if the deal falls through

[Kite]

The board fully backed Rafa's drive to get Crouch, even when the price went over everyone's valuation of Crouch. Yet Crouch remained on the bench last night.

 

I'm not sure what to make of Rafa's apparent comments really - he chose to put several young inexperienced players onto the team. He choose to play players out of position. He choose to stick with Dudek after a shocker on Saturday. He choose to play Paletta who we paid a relatively pricely sum for given his experience and age. And now, after losing badly, he's apparently choosing to complain about not getting sufficient backing? It doesn't sound right at all to me. Would buying Alves have meant Peltier didn't play and therefore we'd have won last night? Obviously no, it's not that simple.

[Molby]

The board fully backed Rafa's drive to get Crouch, even when the price went over everyone's valuation of Crouch. Yet Crouch remained on the bench last night.

 

I'm not sure what to make of Rafa's apparent comments really - he chose to put several young inexperienced players onto the team. He choose to play players out of position. He choose to stick with Dudek after a shocker on Saturday. He choose to play Paletta who we paid a relatively pricely sum for given his experience and age. And now, after losing badly, he's apparently choosing to complain about not getting sufficient backing? It doesn't sound right at all to me. Would buying Alves have meant Peltier didn't play and therefore we'd have won last night? Obviously no, it's not that simple.

 

 

don't confuse the two issues

 

he chose today, in a moment of deep frustration, to vent his spleen about something that has been troubling him since he arrived:

 

namely, that he needs more resources as soon as possible so that we compete at the top: that's obvious. Nobody is saying we have not spent any money but it's all relative; we remain in a position that virtually anyone would kill to be in: CL every year and a chance of winning it too! great..........but could do better, we are Liverpool

 

anyway, hopefully Dubai will put paid to all this

[Toni]

I agree with Rafa that we are too slow in the transfer market, our negotiations when it comes to signing players seem to drag for ages.

 

It is also true that Rafa has to work with limited resources and he may have lost the opportunity to buy a couple of his first-choice targets; re simao and alves.

 

Athough Rafa isnt entierly blameless in the tarnsfer market, morientes, nunez, josemi, pennant perhaps crouch.... i think that poor financial thrust of our board shares the most to blame