If you're pissed off....

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

horses****

 

Rafael Benítez looked and sounded like a man in deep shock, and it was hard not to turn away as he kept repeating the most meaningless explanation for defeat ever invented: what can you do, he said, when you go four goals down before half-time? But it is to his credit that he did not duck the obligation to appear before the television cameras late on Tuesday night, in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool's worst result at Anfield in living memory.

 

Only once since he arrived at the club have his players flirted with a humiliation of similar proportions. In May 2005 they went three goals down to AC Milan in the first 45 minutes in Istanbul, and never in the 50-year history of the European Cup final had a team looked so comprehensively outclassed. But from the depths of the club's history Steven Gerrard and his team-mates summoned a spirit that enabled them to break their opponents' will.

 

Benítez took a winner's medal, although the victory on the night had little to do with him. But if he could not claim much credit for that success, the manager was certainly responsible for this week's disaster. Over the course of 90 astonishing minutes, the principal flaws of his stewardship emerged with terrifying clarity.

 

First came his insistence, true to his policy of rotation, on making nine changes to the team who had lost to the same opponents three days earlier, retaining only Steven Gerrard, the captain, and the No2 goalkeeper, Jerzy Dudek, who had given an uncertain performance on Saturday. Even though that first defeat by Arsenal had removed them from one of the two domestic knockout competitions, Benítez evidently did not take the other tournament seriously enough to contest it with the best available players.

 

If the old League Cup has any purpose, it is to provide clubs with an extra chance of winning at least one trophy in a season - something that in the past has brought comfort to the staff and supporters of the mightiest teams in the land, including Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest and Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. Out of the FA Cup, out of contention once again in the Premiership and facing the formidable prospect of a meeting with Barcelona in the Champions League, Liverpool have now been made to pay an extra price for their manager's priorities.

 

When Arsène Wenger sent out a team packed with teenaged reserves on Tuesday, it was part of a long-term strategy with a twofold purpose. Wenger is using the Carling Cup to satisfy the desire of his talented youngsters for first-team action, and to temper their talents in the flame of real competition. As a result he could well become the first English club manager to win a senior knockout competition with what amounts to his 2nd XI.

 

Not everyone applauds Wenger's reluctance to put his trust in young English players. The success of his approach, however, ensures a prosperous future for the club. He saw a problem, and he fixed it with a radical solution requiring considerable faith. All one hears from Liverpool are complaints about products of the Melwood academy, and vague suggestions that it is all the fault of Gérard Houllier, who left the club 2½ years ago.

 

The second major accusation levelled against Benítez arises from his habit of bringing to the club players who lack the sort of quality that would restore Liverpool's eminence. Xabi Alonso and Luis García may have matched the contributions of Didier Hamann and Vladimir Smicer to the Houllier era, and the injury to Mohamed Sissoko came at an unfortunate time, but if Peter Crouch has a place in Liverpool's history then it is surely only as a modern equivalent of the hapless Tony Hateley, while Jermaine Pennant, Mark González, Fábio Aurélio and Craig Bellamy belong one rung down the Premiership ladder.

 

And then, on Tuesday night, came a display by Gabriel Paletta that made one wonder on what evidence Benítez based his decision to spend £2m to bring the 20-year-old centre back from the Argentinian club Banfield. Speed, strength, composure, positional sense, anticipation, technique - Paletta appeared to lack the lot as he allowed Jérémie Aliadière, who made little impression during loan spells with Celtic, West Ham and Wolves, to run rings around him. Benítez spends a lot of time explaining to the world that he does not enjoy the resources available to Ferguson or Jose Mourinho, but the same could be said of Wenger. The successor to Shankly and Paisley, however, shows few signs of being able to make the best use of what he has, and Tuesday night may come to be seen as the defeat that finally undermined his regime.

 

You could only feel sorry for Danny Guthrie, a 19-year-old academy graduate given his second start of the season on the right of Liverpool's midfield.

 

Toiling amid the rubble, he still managed to show flashes of deftness and invention. Had he been wearing an Arsenal shirt on Tuesday night, we might have been hailing the arrival of a world-beater.

[Crazy Horse]

Already did...

[_00_deathscar]

But if he could not claim much credit for that success, the manager was certainly responsible for this week's disaster.

 

How does that work?

 

I f***ing hate s*** stirrers.

[Foo]

I would not say Danny Guthrie deserves praise either.

[downunder]

I would not say Danny Guthrie deserves praise either.

 

I was about to start a thread on this and saw it had been started already!

 

This quote proves the article makes Kev's knee jerking seem mild

 

Benítez took a (CL)winner's medal, although the victory on the night had little to do with him.

[Igors Uncle Dave]

Read the first couple of Paragraphs

[Nerik]

So we won the Champs Lge and little of it had to do with Rafa. Great logic there.

[Guest]

If Rafa was English (British) that article would never have been written

 

As good as Wenger undoubtedly is - he has never won a European Cup nor come from behind in the final

Edited January 11, 2007 by Figaro

[Rex Ham]

Mostly gash, but cant argue wit this bit: -

 

And then, on Tuesday night, came a display by Gabriel Paletta that made one wonder on what evidence Benítez based his decision to spend £2m to bring the 20-year-old centre back from the Argentinian club Banfield. Speed, strength, composure, positional sense, anticipation, technique - Paletta appeared to lack the lot as he allowed Jérémie Aliadière, who made little impression during loan spells with Celtic, West Ham and Wolves, to run rings around him.

[_00_deathscar]

Mostly gash, but cant argue wit this bit: -

 

And then, on Tuesday night, came a display by Gabriel Paletta that made one wonder on what evidence Benítez based his decision to spend £2m to bring the 20-year-old centre back from the Argentinian club Banfield. Speed, strength, composure, positional sense, anticipation, technique - Paletta appeared to lack the lot as he allowed Jérémie Aliadière, who made little impression during loan spells with Celtic, West Ham and Wolves, to run rings around him.

 

 

Sure you can.

 

They're basing this all on one, albeit horrid, performance. What're they doing in studios and behind desks writing when they should be out scouting for players?

[JRC]

Mostly gash, but cant argue wit this bit: -

 

And then, on Tuesday night, came a display by Gabriel Paletta that made one wonder on what evidence Benítez based his decision to spend £2m to bring the 20-year-old centre back from the Argentinian club Banfield. Speed, strength, composure, positional sense, anticipation, technique - Paletta appeared to lack the lot as he allowed Jérémie Aliadière, who made little impression during loan spells with Celtic, West Ham and Wolves, to run rings around him.

 

More impeccable logic from the moron Williams - Paletta looked terrible, why did Benitez choose him.....yet implicitly acknowledging that the same question should have been asked of Wenger and Aliadiere - who has looked hopeless in the past.

 

Of course! It's because Wenger is a genius for persevering with youngsters to let them develop even when they struggle at first, whereas Benitez is a muppet, because he picks a youngster (who plays for the Argentinian U-21, I believe) who has a bad game.

[Knox_Harrington]

They're basing this all on one, albeit horrid, performance. What're they doing in studios and behind desks writing when they should be out scouting for players?

Why on earth should Richard Williams be out scouting for players?