[lfc-news] Benitez believes in 'honest' Gerrard - Independent

The Independent on Sunday, 19 Dec 2004
Benitez believes in 'honest' Gerrard
Anfield manager hears comforting words from his talisman despite worst
fears of the fans
By James Corrigan

A miserable, rainy Friday lunchtime in Liverpool and Steven Gerrard
screeches out of Melwood training ground in one of those
four-wheel-drives that are the scourge of Ken Livingstone and
environmentalists everywhere. By the gates, a gaggle of sodden autograph
hunters spot their man and stretch out their pens full of hope. But
Gerrard isn't aware of them, his mobile phone is ringing and he presses
it against his ear. "The cheeky bastard," says one of the throng.
"Abramovich could have waited till Stevie had got out the chuffing car
park."

His mates giggle before turning their attentions to their next prey, but
their laughter is tinged with an air of resigned sadness. Because
everyone in Liverpool believes Gerrard is going, "a done deal", and that
it's only a question of time until yet another favourite son leaves
their haven that should really be a home for life and, for the
immortals, beyond. They just hope they will get the most out of him
while he's still around, starting with Newcastle at Anfield today.

Except, it's not quite true to say that everyone in Liverpool is so
convinced of the impending departure. Rafael Benitez certainly isn't and
as the manager who holds great stock in Gerrard's honesty, perhaps the
fans for whom cynicism has replaced absolute faith should listen. "I sat
with him at our Christmas lunch this week and I say to him I am sure you
want to stay here and win titles. And the question is that if you want
to win titles here, we need your help to do it. From what Steve said to
me I really believe he wants to stay."

But wasn't it something "Steve said" a few weeks ago that kicked off
this frenzy of Red paranoia, that the captain wasn't at all certain
about his immediate future and even less positive about Liverpool's?
"Listen, he's always positive. When you see a player training well you
know that he's positive and then afterwards when he says things... well,
I think he was just being honest and what it means is how he wants to
win with this club. And we will try. Because with him it will be easier."

Not that Benitez was hailing Mary for Gerrard's confessional, anything
but, as the last 10 days that have seen his side scrape through to the
knockout stages of the Champions' League as well as losing to neighbours
Everton and dropping more points to Portsmouth on Tuesday, have been
vexing enough. "He needs more experience with the media because it was
not necessary," said the Spaniard. "I think that all the players here
want to win titles with Liverpool, but the fact is it will be more
difficult if you say these things. It was not the right moment."

But it was probably the right sentiment as Benitez acknowledged when all
but admitting that Liverpool would not be collecting any meaningful
silverware until they "repair the squad". "If you want to win games you
need players. But if you want to win trophies you need a big squad," he
said. "My idea is to have that here, not in terms of the number of
players but the possibility of using them all.

"That is why Gerrard is so very, very important to us because he is the
difference for us in many, many games. You saw it [against Portsmouth]
when we had two or three opportunities but at the end we needed Gerrard
for the goal. That's what I meant before. If you want to win games you
need Gerrard. But if you want to win titles you need Gerrard and good
players surrounding him. We will still need him to score. He's got six
or seven goals this year, but I've told him he needs 12 to 15 if
possible because he has the potential." This might be a strange
"why-look-at-me" demand from a midfielder who is so often Liverpool's
sole cutting edge, but it is a request that Gerrard probably has not
taken personally, because Benitez has a way of dealing with players that
is more Sir Cliff than Sir Alex. There is no throwing tea-cups across
dressing rooms - indeed there is barely a clink of the chinaware - the
former Valencia coach preferring to apply a rational approach to what he
sees as a thoroughly rational game.

"My job is to analyse first and secondly to say something. I remember
against Fulham when we went in 2-0 down, I thought then 'OK, I can say a
lot of things, but it's more important that I actually do something'. So
I brought on Xabi Alonso. I was going to do a similar thing against
Portsmouth but then we scored. So now I needed to give the team a
different thing. All the time you have to ponder how to change things or
how to give your men confidence. Sometimes you do need to shout, but
normally I prefer to think.

"The vital thing is to give the players the opportunity to work out how
to do it themselves, not to have to explain it all the time. So you say
in training, 'What if an opponent went here and another went there? What
would you do?' It's better if they find the solutions because they're
the ones in the situation."

If only Benitez could be as easy on himself. "That's my big problem -
all the time thinking. After Tuesday I was driving my wife mad talking
about the game. Not about the mistake [the Jerzy Dudek fumble that
allowed Lomana LuaLua to equalise in stoppage time] but wondering if I'd
done something bad. I feel that before I can say to the players 'Can you
do more things?' I need to ask myself 'Can I do more things?' "

If that makes it sound like Benitez is feeling the heat then he swears
he isn't. "All managers are under pressure whether here, Spain, Italy or
Germany. It's a fantastic job but you must appreciate that supporters
want more, the board want more, journalists want more. You must stay
calm, because if you are afraid it will transmit to your players."

Nevertheless, the onus is on Benitez to produce, especially on days like
this when "we are playing Newcastle, a fine team with great strikers who
will be fighting it out with us to finish fourth". "Look, if we talk
about giving me a year here to get it right it would be easier," he
said. "But I don't want to wait one more year. I don't even want to wait
one more weekend." Time is of the essence then. For Gerrard and Benitez
both.


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
$4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/2_TolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Unsubscribe: lfc-news-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://www.lfc-list.org.uk/
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lfc-news/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lfc-news-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/