It looks as if Rafa Benitez is going to stay at Liverpool for the foreseeable future. If I was a Liverpool fan I would not be happy about this one bit.
This week Eamonn Dunphy -- not a man given to wild, unfounded statements -- likened Benitez to Houllier. A touch harsh perhaps, but there is some truth in the comparison. The truth being that neither has any eye for talent. In Rafa's case I'd go even further and say that he doesn't actually want talent. He wants players who work hard, run around a lot, and do exactly what their told. He wants a team of Dirk Kuyt's.
Yes he has bought some good players -- Alonso, Skrtel, and Torres (though I don't think Torres is even that great) -- but there have been countless other players who have come and gone during Rafa's reign who should never have set foot on Anfield soil. Part of the struggle with the board seemed to be based on transfer power, and if this was so then I am fully behind Rick Parry's decision to stop Rafa from having the "control" that he appears to be so obsessed with in all facets of life. Benitez has proved himself incapable of building a good squad in his last 5 years at the club; there is little to suggest that the next 5 will produce better fruit.
In one-off games Liverpool are deadly, especially when playing against technically superior opponents. They are the kryptonite to your Superman, the fire extinguisher to your fire, the Mascherano to your Messi. They do not create good football; they destroy it, and emerge triumphant from the wreckage. They are one of the most boring teams to watch, and not one of their players gets me excited, with the possible exception of Xabi Alonso (his half-way line effort against Madrid was astounding).
Am I anti-Liverpool? Too right am I, because Liverpool are anti-football. It's a measure of my dislike for them that I'm actually not sure if I want them to pip United to the league. Actually you know what - I don't. I really don't. To quote General Francis Hummel, "damn you for forcing me into this position," Rafa.
This week Eamonn Dunphy -- not a man given to wild, unfounded statements -- likened Benitez to Houllier. A touch harsh perhaps, but there is some truth in the comparison. The truth being that neither has any eye for talent. In Rafa's case I'd go even further and say that he doesn't actually want talent. He wants players who work hard, run around a lot, and do exactly what their told. He wants a team of Dirk Kuyt's.
Yes he has bought some good players -- Alonso, Skrtel, and Torres (though I don't think Torres is even that great) -- but there have been countless other players who have come and gone during Rafa's reign who should never have set foot on Anfield soil. Part of the struggle with the board seemed to be based on transfer power, and if this was so then I am fully behind Rick Parry's decision to stop Rafa from having the "control" that he appears to be so obsessed with in all facets of life. Benitez has proved himself incapable of building a good squad in his last 5 years at the club; there is little to suggest that the next 5 will produce better fruit.
In one-off games Liverpool are deadly, especially when playing against technically superior opponents. They are the kryptonite to your Superman, the fire extinguisher to your fire, the Mascherano to your Messi. They do not create good football; they destroy it, and emerge triumphant from the wreckage. They are one of the most boring teams to watch, and not one of their players gets me excited, with the possible exception of Xabi Alonso (his half-way line effort against Madrid was astounding).
Am I anti-Liverpool? Too right am I, because Liverpool are anti-football. It's a measure of my dislike for them that I'm actually not sure if I want them to pip United to the league. Actually you know what - I don't. I really don't. To quote General Francis Hummel, "damn you for forcing me into this position," Rafa.
2 comments:
Just a few comments. Firstly to suggest Torres isn't a great player is an indictment of this whole blog. He's a fantastic striker and now that Drogba is too busy sulking to actually be any use Torres stands as by far the best striker in the Premiership. Secondly, I'd like to state that I hate Benitez and I'd be disgust if I was a Pool fan with the way he makes his teams play. In fact I'd love to see him fired despite the fact I know with him in charge Liverpool will never win the league. However, just to play devil's advocate perhaps Benitez would suggest he hasn't been able to put his team together in the last 5 year because he didn't have full control and therefore his purchases can only be judged now that Parry is gone. Saying that he did want to sell Alonso in the summer for significantly less than he was willing to pay for Barry and he wanted to get rid of Keane despite actually really needing Keane to compete for the league. Anyway he's a twat!
I'm afraid I can't agree with your opinions on Torres. In pretty much every game I've seen him in he has left me underwhelmed. He has scored goals in some of those games (for example the two against Chelsea recently) but his general play hasn't been all that great. He's not a particularly good dribbler, his passing can be wayward, and he just doesn't do it for me. I'm not suggesting he's bad of course. In fact I think he's a very good player. But if he's the best striker in the best league in the world (and he may well be) then that's more of a reflection on the paucity of top strikers than it is on the greatness of Torres.
One more discussion point. I know the Keane-Torres partnership only got a few games under its belt, but its failure shouldn't just fall on the shoulders if the Irishman. Any criticism of Torres seems unthinkable to people (demonstrated by the second sentence of your comment) but a portion of the blame must fall on the Spaniard. It is also significant that Torres isn't as highly rated in his home country (who have seen much more of him than we have) as he is over here.
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