[lfc-news] Why Europe matters most - Echo

Liverpool Echo, 20 Jan 2005
Why Europe matters most
By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

IS THE FA Cup worth sacrificing for Champions League qualification?

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is in no doubt the answer is 'yes'. Until
the final whistle at Turf Moor on Tuesday, he thought the supporters agreed.

The Reds' embarrassing defeat exposed a fundamental division between the
priorities of the fans and those running the football club.

Benitez says the club's need to raise funds to rebuild the squad means
finishing in the top four is more important than success in the domestic
cups.

He insists taking this longer-term perspective is the only chance he has
of constructing a successful Liverpool in the seasons ahead.

Clearly, it wasn't his intention to surrender the FA Cup so meekly, but
if that's the price he has to pay during his formative years at Anfield,
so be it.

"I have to think of the bigger picture," insists Benitez.

"I'm working to build a new team for the future. If you want the team
rebuilt, you need money.

"You need to get into the Champions League and get as far as possible
because that means more finances.

"I never want to be a manager who says we can't win this or that
competition, but the reality is I know we don't havea squad which can
compete for four trophies.

"In the future, I want to make a team that will be able to do so. We are
not just working for one game. I want to builda squad which can fight in
four competitions, but at this moment that is too difficult for us.

"We need 20 top class players in our first team squad and good players
in the reserves. At the moment, we don't have this."

One criticism directed at the manager is he's put the Carling Cup ahead
of the FA Cup, selecting more experienced stars against Watford last
week when it might have been wiser to use the youngsters at Anfield.

"When we played against Watford in the Carling Cup, people said 'why
didn't you play the young players'. Now, they say why didn't you play
the senior players?" says Benitez.

"I understand the fans may value the FA Cup ahead of the Carling Cup,
but in between starting both competitions we've hada lot of problems and
things have changed.

"If we were starting both tournaments at the same time, I know the FA
Cup is more important. But we are in the semi-final of one competition
now and we had to decide which was more important at this stage of the
season.

"We have also had a lot players injured for a long time.

"If I had Xabi Alonso, Josemi and Finnan available, maybe they would
have played in the FA Cup. But because we don't have a big squad, we've
had to use young players."

The absence of Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard at Turf Moor caused
most protest, although the skipper wouldn't have been available anyway
due to a groin injury.

Benitez didn't reveal this before the game, despite the fact it could
have saved him from a lot of flak.

This also shows why he's been so cautious about overplaying his most
important players.

"How can I risk problems with those senior players I do have?" he added.

"Maybe we could have used more senior players, but we used virtually the
same team away to Tottenham in the Carling Cup and won, so why not
against Burnley?

"I'm very disappointed we are out of the FA Cup because I hada lot of
confidence in the team.

"If I'm going to use these players in the future, I need to see them.
You can't expect me to tell someone next year they have to leave unless
I have seen their potential.

"Okay, we are out of the FA Cup, but we have seen a lot of these players
now and know more about them. Potter, Whitbread and Raven have signed
new contracts and Welsh and David Mannix will too."

If the hostile reaction to Liverpool's defeat has taken Benitez by
surprise, he's hiding his feelings well.

The manager won't change his view he made the right decision to field
the youngsters, but he added that if mistakes have been made, they've
been done so for valid reasons.

"Sometimes people compare my first season here with last season. I hear
people say we are playing good football, but I say this is just my first
season at Liverpool," says Benitez.

"I know we will make mistakes.

"As a manager, I know I've made mistakes. A lot of them.

"The players have to learn from mistakes, and so do I.

"When we make a decision ora mistake, it's because we are working to a
principle and an idea, not because I just wake up one morning and tell
all my staff 'I've decided to do this'.

"We discuss our ideas and our intention is to prepare the club for the
future.

"We know we have to change things. That means we need time.

"If we win, it's better. But if we lose, we know we are working hard to
make things better and do things correctly.

"We need to use all the players we have, control what money we have to
spend and try to win all the trophies. That's not easy.

"The fans need to understand we can't play four competitions at the top
level with the same players. It's impossible."


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