How it all went wrong for Liverpool

Well, the usual questions would be "What went wrong" and "Where it went wrong. Since I got bored of that, I decided to analyse how it went wrong.

To be fair to the American owners, it started long before they got there. The very first time Benitez walked into the club after "walking out" of Valencia should've got everyone thinking. Then, the sale of a certain Michael Owen. Now, I know Benitez is not solely responsible for that considering Owen wanted to leave but Benitez hardly did anything to persuade him to stay. Look at Sir Alex and Ronaldo for eg. Benitez could've done better there.

But for me, the real trouble started when Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005(and continued when they won the FA Cup next season). Lets be fair. No one expected them to win the UCL(luck perhaps?). They were not good enough in the league to qualify for next season's Champions League through their league position also. They only got in after the "special" dispensation by UEFA. I guess things would've been a lot different had the dispensation not been "special".

It's there for all to see that the Champions League has been Beniitez's saving grace from day 1(or rather year 1). 3 semifinal appearances, 1 final and 1 winner's medal is there for all to envy. But, the fact that he couldn't transform that into a Premier League's medal remains. The reason is simple. He employs almost the same tactics in both competitions. And that involves "NOT" to get beat. While it works like a charm in the Champions League, it only makes for too many draws in the Premier League as is evident in the last 4 or 5 seasons.

People may rant about Benitez's tactical genius in bringing on Hamann for the second half in the UCL final 2005. But what was it that made him not to make that decision after 20-25 min of the 1st half. The answer is simple. His negativity. Just for comparison, a Jose Mourinho would've made a substitution or two if he thought things are not going to plan. And he would do it in the 15th minute of a game. That's the difference.

Then along comes this season. I am not getting into the Keane-Barry saga as I've discussed it before. What I'm looking at here, is the attitude of the players and the manager himself. And I'm not talking about the second half comebacks. Players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have come out and said that "We want to win the title, and if not, then we want to be atleast competing for the title come April or May." For me, that just says it all. The ambition is there for all to see. Do you see any Arsenal, United or Chelsea player say "We want to be there and thereabouts come the end of the season"? No. They simply say they are going for the title. That's the mentality that Benitez has instilled in the players in my opinion.

Let's just say the Gods have been shining on Liverpool during their frequent comebacks this season. Had it not been for that, I guess Benitez would've been long gone and we wouldn't be talking about a 5th or 6th contract offer.

Players and managers, past and current, have been ranting at the American owners to get the new contract done with. If it was me, I would say goodbye to Benitez before he said goodbye to me. He did it at Valencia. What makes you think he can't do it again? And if and when that happens, Liverpool will be back to rebuilding just like Valencia was when he left.

Sir Alex can quit now and whoever comes in will have a fantastic squad to work with without having to overhaul. Can we say the same for Benitez? I don't think so.

Screamers!!!

Considering I've already written about Scolari and Benitez, I thought I'll look at something which makes football even more interesting. The people behind the camera. And of course, the voice behind it.

Needless to say, the commentators for a particular match and the studio along with the guests for a particular day goes a long way in getting the viewer glued to the TV. Well, sadly enough, the reverse is also true.

Here are some polls I've always wanted to have.

Martin Tyler's "Gerrard" and Andy Gray's "You beauty!!!!!" OR
Martin Tyler's "Riise........My goodness" and Andy Gray's "Goodness Gracious me!!!"

Martin Tyler and Andy Gray OR
Alan Parry and Brian Marwood OR
Ian Darke and Alan Brazil OR
Kevin Keetings/Rob Palmer and Gerry Armstrong

Steve Mcmahon OR Sam Allardyce OR Graeme Souness

And finally,

John Dykes OR Richard Keys OR David Basheer

PS : I go into a trance every time I even think about Alan Brazil's "I don't like Wiltord.."(Valencia vs Arsenal Champions League after Carew scored). Can someone please get me that audio/video?

Statement

Long before Robbie Keane's official return to Spurs, he was gone. You could even see the smile on his face when he was in the stands during the Chelsea game. He must've known he was getting rid of his boyhood dream/nightmare.

Keane was never at his best at Liverpool. His partnership with Torres hardly got going and he was not able to play in his prefered position. One might argue that he was not played enough. And that he got to play only because Torres was injured for most part of the first half of the season. People might compare the Keane situation to the Berbatov situation at United. Berba took sometime to settle in but Sir Alex continued to play him and now they are gelling as a team. Perhaps Rafa should've done the same thing.

But this one goes beyond Robbie Keane. Its all about the man-Rafael Benitez. According to his comments in the recent past, it was Rick Parry and not Rafa who got Keane to Anfield. This clearly frustrated Benitez since the purchase of Keane meant a certain Gareth Barry would not be heading to Anfield.

Benitez did not play Keane and was even dropped for many crucial matches, the latest being the Chelsea game.

The reason is simple-Keane was NOT Benitez's player.

Now that its looking more and more likely that the owners are giving Benitez complete control over transfers, I think, the sale of Keane was a test of character for the American owners. More like an audition before Benitez signs his new contract.

Keane out-Round 1 belongs to Benitez. Statement made.

I guess the real Rafa-lution starts now.

Disturbing

When I heard about the 175 mil pound move for Kaka, I started writing this post. I actually started writing this post 10 times and each time I kept coming back to a blank page. Finally, I came up with this.

I have no words.

Anyone who can describe their true feelings regarding this on pen and paper, be my guest. Cos I got nothing.

PS : I should probably start a "I have no words" series.

A Long Weekend

The EPL took a week long break to accommodate the oldest competition in football - The FA Cup. I didn't mind the FA Cup weekend as there was still football on TV unlike the international weekends, where you hardly get any football on TV.

If you notice, I had mentioned "didn't mind" the FA Cup weekends. Till last year, there were atleast 3 or 4 matches on a Saturday and 2 matches on a Sunday for all to see. So you hardly missed the lack of the EPL, since you still got to see some football. But this weekend, the first weekend of the FA Cup for the big teams(3rd round), there was ONE match shown on Friday, ONE on Saturday and ONE on Sunday.

What has the public done to deserve such a sparse weekend of football on TV? Has the importance of the FA Cup - "The oldest competition in football" - hit rock bottom that the media doesn't care about how many matches they are showing? Or has the credit crunch hit them too, that they cannot afford it?(I don't believe that)

Thank goodness for La Liga, I still got some football this weekend.

Dumbstruck

Aston Villa 0 - 1 Arsenal (HT)

I have no words.

Aston Villa 2 -2 Arsenal (FT)

I have no words.

The Scapegoat

Referees. They seem to be getting the spotlight ever so often these days. More so in the EPL because of the pace of the game.

A wrong decision here and there leaves a team a goal behind, or down to ten men. One team is definitely affected by a ref's decision or lack thereof. And it's always the team affected who seem to carry on the needless banter on the pitch and continue it once they are off it.

Many people don't seem to understand that all these decisions are instantaneous. Also, the referee gives the decision based on what he sees and not what has actually happened. I mean, he doesn't have the luxury of "technology". He sees it once and makes a decision.

Martin Tyler got it spot on at the weekend. "It's a game played by HUMANS and refereed by a HUMAN". Why don't people seem to get that in their heads?

From my experience, this is the reason. We want a scapegoat. We want to blame someone else for our "misfortune" whenever possible. I mean, you can miss 10 chances in a game but no one will be talking about those missed chances if a "big decision" doesn't go their way. All the talk will be about the "decision". Correct me if I'm wrong but that's the way it goes. For eg, take the Liverpool-Stoke game earlier in the season. Gerrard scored what seemed to be a very legitimate goal in the 2nd minute but was ruled out. And they failed to break down Stoke for the remaining 88 min. And guess what the newspapers said the next day.

"Referee denies Liverpool top spot".

What a load of trash. They had 90 min to break down Stoke and they couldn't. Simple as that.

Please feel free to add more examples.

I have one more question. When a decision seems to go in your favor, how come you don't breathe a word about it? Laryngitis?