[lfc-news] Gerrard rested for Liverpool's benefit not England - Post

Liverpool Daily Post, 15 July 2005
Gerrard rested for Liverpool's benefit not England
By David Prior, Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ has denied suggestions he will hold Steven Gerrard back
this season so as to keep the Liverpool captain fresh for next summer's
World Cup.

Having fired his first hat-trick for the club in Wednesday night's
Champions League win over TNS, Gerrard claimed he had brokered a special
agree-ment with Benitez that would ensure he was ready for England's
participation in the Germany-based tournament.

"I have already spoke to the manager and the coaching staff and they
have told me they are not going to use me all the time," Gerrard said.

"I will be playing the same amount as the other internationals, so I'll
be really fresh by the time the World Cup comes round."

But Benitez yesterday moved to clarify the arrangement, affirming that
his skipper was simply referring to the rotation system he intended to
use to cope with Liverpool's demanding fixture list.

"If we want to fight for titles we need to use the squad and not always
the same players," he said..

"Carra and Sami played 50 games last season - they cannot play 50 games
again. In my last season at Valencia I had the same situation. The
problem is to decide which players play which games.

"People maybe say before the game 'why are you playing those players?'
But if we win, they would say 'oh, fantastic system'. But if we lose,
it's seen as a big mistake. We need to know how fit the players are, and
whether they've played well or badly, and you have to manage them.

"But if you have Steven Gerrard playing well, and Xabi the same, and
maybe Didi and Momo, then why not use Didi and Gerrard, Momo and Xabi or
Momo and Gerrard? It depends on the moment."

Benitez added: "It is not easy, and sometimes I know we'll make some big
mistakes. But at the end of the season I hope we'll have made a lot more
good decisions than mistakes."

Gerrard and his colleagues have now embarked on their training camp in
Switzerland.

They will be away for 10 days - but a squad will make a flying visit
home for Tuesday's away leg against TNS, to be played at Wrexham's
Racecourse Ground, before making a return to Switzerland.

Their second qualifying round opponents are likely to be Lithuanian side
Kaunas, who won their first leg 4-2 at Faroe Islanders Torshavn.

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/