Wrote by Henry winter yesterday.
Henry Winter: Rafael BenÃtez will blame everyone but himself for Liverpool's plight
"Virtually no one.'' So argued Jamie Carragher when asked whether Liverpool had anyone to replace Fernando Torres should the talismanic target-man miss Wednesday's Champions League tie at Lyons.
"Virtually no one.'' This was a short sentence that sounded like a death sentence.
Of all the millions of words screamed and scribbled about Liverpool's present plight, these three from the stand-in captain, a loyal servant of the club, carry the most significance.
A keen student of the game and genuine managerial prospect one day, Carragher believes his team are lightweight upfront without Torres.
His verdict is partly a compliment to Liverpool's exceptional No 9, but also an implicit indictment of the understudies assembled by Rafael BenÃtez.
Blaming such individuals for being too poor (Andrei Voronin) or too raw (Ryan Babel, David Ngog) is pointless; culpability rests with BenÃtez for recruiting them while ignoring prodigal sons such as Emile Heskey and Michael Owen.
Following defeat to a Fulham side expertly organised and motivated by Roy Hodgson, Liverpool are now besieged by headlines shrieking that their title dream is in tatters, but this is no sudden development.
In August, few people outside Anfield considered Liverpool to have a squad comparable to those at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge.
BenÃtez, as usual, will divert attention elsewhere. He will bemoan refereeing decisions, injuries, tardiness in the transfer market and the comic capers of the American co-owners.
He will even criticise "senior players'' such as Carragher and Steven Gerrard following the early-season loss to Aston Villa. One constant: BenÃtez never accepts responsibility himself.
That is why some people tire of the self-absorbed Spaniard. We've heard all the excuses before. We've seen the utter reliance on Gerrard, Torres and, for all his recent woes, Carragher.
Yet it is quite possible that BenÃtez, so good at the chess of the Champions League rather than the rollerball of the Premier League, can conjure up a victory over Lyons. But there will be another reverse, another storm. The occasional ray of sunshine piercing the gloom is not enough.
Liverpool can afford to sack BenÃtez. Compensation would be less than £5 million under the "mitigating the loss'' principle if he found employment, but no desire can be detected within the club for a regime change.
Besides, the two managers who would fit the Anfield bill, Fabio Capello and Jose Mourinho, are not available.
The impressive managing director, Christian Purslow, is not the type for knee-jerk reactions. But it is known around Anfield that Purslow has talked to BenÃtez about his style of management, notably his cold detachment from the players.
Sensible businesses plan for succession and any defenestration of BenÃtez should take place only in the close-season. Who knows? BenÃtez might win the FA Cup.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6480911/Henry-Winter-Rafael-Benitez-will-blame-everyone-but-himself-for-Liverpools-plight.html
Good read this.
Henry Winter: Rafael BenÃtez will blame everyone but himself for Liverpool's plight
"Virtually no one.'' So argued Jamie Carragher when asked whether Liverpool had anyone to replace Fernando Torres should the talismanic target-man miss Wednesday's Champions League tie at Lyons.
"Virtually no one.'' This was a short sentence that sounded like a death sentence.
Of all the millions of words screamed and scribbled about Liverpool's present plight, these three from the stand-in captain, a loyal servant of the club, carry the most significance.
A keen student of the game and genuine managerial prospect one day, Carragher believes his team are lightweight upfront without Torres.
His verdict is partly a compliment to Liverpool's exceptional No 9, but also an implicit indictment of the understudies assembled by Rafael BenÃtez.
Blaming such individuals for being too poor (Andrei Voronin) or too raw (Ryan Babel, David Ngog) is pointless; culpability rests with BenÃtez for recruiting them while ignoring prodigal sons such as Emile Heskey and Michael Owen.
Following defeat to a Fulham side expertly organised and motivated by Roy Hodgson, Liverpool are now besieged by headlines shrieking that their title dream is in tatters, but this is no sudden development.
In August, few people outside Anfield considered Liverpool to have a squad comparable to those at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge.
BenÃtez, as usual, will divert attention elsewhere. He will bemoan refereeing decisions, injuries, tardiness in the transfer market and the comic capers of the American co-owners.
He will even criticise "senior players'' such as Carragher and Steven Gerrard following the early-season loss to Aston Villa. One constant: BenÃtez never accepts responsibility himself.
That is why some people tire of the self-absorbed Spaniard. We've heard all the excuses before. We've seen the utter reliance on Gerrard, Torres and, for all his recent woes, Carragher.
Yet it is quite possible that BenÃtez, so good at the chess of the Champions League rather than the rollerball of the Premier League, can conjure up a victory over Lyons. But there will be another reverse, another storm. The occasional ray of sunshine piercing the gloom is not enough.
Liverpool can afford to sack BenÃtez. Compensation would be less than £5 million under the "mitigating the loss'' principle if he found employment, but no desire can be detected within the club for a regime change.
Besides, the two managers who would fit the Anfield bill, Fabio Capello and Jose Mourinho, are not available.
The impressive managing director, Christian Purslow, is not the type for knee-jerk reactions. But it is known around Anfield that Purslow has talked to BenÃtez about his style of management, notably his cold detachment from the players.
Sensible businesses plan for succession and any defenestration of BenÃtez should take place only in the close-season. Who knows? BenÃtez might win the FA Cup.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6480911/Henry-Winter-Rafael-Benitez-will-blame-everyone-but-himself-for-Liverpools-plight.html
Good read this.
