[lfc-news] Midnight oil a slow burn for Benítez - Observer

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The Observer, 27 Nov 2004
Midnight oil a slow burn for Benítez
Being below Everton in the table is the least of Liverpool's problems, says
Paul Wilson

The Everton supporter who contacted a radio phone-in show last weekend and
cheekily referred to Liverpool's new manager as Rafael Beneath-us
accurately reflected the fact that disbelief this season extends right
across Merseyside.

Everton were the team expected to struggle and anyone in conversation with
David Moyes around August would have been left in no doubt of the
desperation surrounding the club. Liverpool were ushering in a new era,
confident in Rafael Benítez's ability to add some of Valencia's strength
and vitality to an already strong squad that had finished fourth the
previous season. No one imagined Everton would be going into December
eyeing the Champions League while Liverpool would be limping to defeats
away to Middlesbrough and Monaco and wishing the transfer window would open
a month early.

Today's visit of Arsenal gives Liverpool the chance to restore some pride
and convince their supporters that all is not lost, yet so pallid have been
the past two performances that a third defeat in a row is a distinct
possibility. That would increase the pressure on Benítez, who is not just
battling against cruel injury luck and plummeting confidence but facing
criticism over the insipid nature of some of the football produced this season.

Liverpudlians no longer expect to win everything in sight and have not done
for some years. Nor do they expect a foreign manager to be an instant
success or a magnet for the best young players in Europe. They will put up
with quite a lot at Anfield these days, and have done, but they will not
accept Liverpool being insipid. Especially at a time when Everton are
riding high simply by virtue - or so it seems - of rolling up their sleeves.

'Monaco had not won for eight games before Tuesday,' says Tommy Smith, who
watches both teams on Merseyside. 'They should have been the ones lacking
confidence. Liverpool did not have their strongest strikers playing, but
the injury plight has cast a cloud over the whole squad. They should look
at the position across the park. When Wayne Rooney left, the rest of the
Blues squad got together and showed everyone that one man doesn't make a team.'

For Rooney read Michael Owen. Liverpool have been unlucky to lose Djibril
Cissé, Milan Baros and Luis García at the same time, but it must also be
remembered that Owen, Emile Heskey and El Hadji Diouf were allowed to leave
in the summer. Many people commented over the previous couple of seasons
that Liverpool would be an ordinary team without Owen, and unconvincing
captures such as Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and Djimi Traoré seem to be
doing their best to prove it. At least Antonio Núñez, who arrived at
Anfield as part of the Owen deal, came through a midweek reserve match
unscathed to provide Benítez with another option.

With Steven Gerrard back and Xabi Alonso available after being rested in
Monaco, however, midfielder Núñez is likely to start on the bench today.
Liverpool are well off for midfielders; strikers are what they desperately
need, as Arsène Wenger wryly notes. 'It's amazing,' the Arsenal manager
says. 'They have been losing striker after striker, we have been losing one
midfielder after another.' Perhaps not as amazing as all that, given that
almost everyone at Arsenal plays in midfield. Thierry Henry, who is a
striker, however deeply he is deployed, remains Arsenal's biggest doubt.

Benitez admits that Liverpool's problems keep him awake at night. 'If I
have something on my mind, and I certainly have at the moment, I often get
up at three or four in the morning and do an hour's work,' he says. 'You
can think clearly and concentrate at that time and when I return to bed I
sleep. It's much better than tossing and turning in bed because that just
keeps my wife awake as well.'

Benítez claims that these small-hours brainstorming sessions are
productive; Liverpool's most recent performances suggest otherwise. 'If you
lose your two main strikers, all the other things change,' he says, not
unreasonably. 'Only time can sort that out, and hard work. If you are
working properly, nor mally you will win, but if you have problems it might
take time. I cannot promise we will win the next match, or the match after
that, but I can make sure we are properly prepared.

Wenger acknowledges that Arsenal have hit a dip in form, too, and believes
that the result could have great significance. 'These games tend to be key
and a win could have a big impact on the season for both clubs,' he says.
'We have had two or three really flat games, but sometimes people forget
nobody has beaten us, except Manchester United in special circumstances. I
don't think we will be flat at Anfield.'

Neither will Gerrard. The Liverpool captain is still returning to full
fitness, but there is nothing wrong with his competitive spirit. 'Things
are difficult for us now, so we've got to show some courage,' he argues.
'You either go hiding or you show a bit of character. The manager is the
same. He's been really unlucky with injuries, but he's told us not to think
about them. He's not looking for excuses.'

Liverpool: Kirkland; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Hamann, Gerrard,
Alonso, Kewell, Warnock; Mellor.

Arsenal: Lehmann; Lauren, Cole, Touré, Campbell; Fabregas, Vieira, Pires,
Ljungberg; Henry, Bergkamp.

Referee: A Wiley.


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