[lfc-news] Crystal Palace 2, Liverpool 1

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Crystal Palace 2, Liverpool 1 (Echo) Oct 26 2005
By Chris Bascombe

SO NOW you know. Champions League success didn't just paper over the cracks
at Anfield, it covered a quarry the size of the Grand Canyon.

A library of Liverpool-related books are currently overloading the market,
but the latest masterpiece was completed here.

"From Istanbul to Selhurst Park: How to transform euphoria to depression in
153 days."

This is a tale of rank inadequacy, where many of the leading characters
seem oblivious to the seriousness of events as they unfold.

The latest cup debacle wasn't due to lack of effort by the players. Nor was
it a consequence of poor tactics, mindboggling team selection, or
mismanagement from the dug-out.

Liverpool lost to Crystal Palace, in the same way they've lost to so many
other poor sides, because there is a chronic lack of quality in the first
team squad.

The cowards point the finger at the manager, of course, because after
results such as this it's always easier to look at what's on the surface
rather than what lies beneath.

Blinkered fans don't always like the truth, especially if everything they
believe is exposed as a myth.

Liverpool may be European champions, but for several years the club has
been stumbling from one farce to another. We think they've taken a step
forward, but usually we realise they've just tripped up again.

It wouldn't matter if it were Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Bob Paisley or
Bill Shankly in charge of Liverpool team affairs today, the landscape
wouldn't change.

The image of Liverpool Football Club can't match the substance. They may
have the appearance of a multi-million pound corporation with the same
clout, reputation and level of Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Below the surface, however, is a club fighting a losing battle with
economic realities, scrambling its way through each pre-season, making
title vows it knows it can't keep, and handing over a transfer budget based
on balancing the books and not increasing debt as much as building a side
capable of winning the game's top honours.

Liverpool brag about being the most well-supported English team in Europe,
but they're in the continent's relegation zone when it comes to making
money from their unique success.

Is it any wonder Liverpool are so inconsistent on the pitch when they're
such a contradiction off it?

And there are those who really want to blame this manager for the current
predicament? Go ahead, but don't expect the next man to do any better if
the club's accounts take another hammering after another series of
expensive pay-offs.

When Benitez was appointed he was given the role of miracle worker. Against
insurmountable odds, he lived up to the hype by winning the European Cup.

Despite this, 16 months into his reign, he's still no nearer creating the
balanced squad he'd dream about if he didn't have so many sleepless nights
worrying about the players he's got.

Yes, Benitez has spent plenty of money since he arrived, but class had to
leave to finance most of those deals.

Xabi Alonso wouldn't be here if Michael Owen hadn't left, Milan Baros was
sacrificed for players who never arrived, and a lingering suspicion remains
Benitez's original budget for rebuilding the current squad was earmarked
via the potentially catastrophic sale of the captain.

True, several signings haven't worked out, which is why the new boss is
suddenly vulnerable to circling vultures. But given the scale of the job
he's taken on, in football terms, he's still only been here 10

minutes, yet he's still delivered the greatest prize in European football.
Even in these hideously fickle times, surely that's cut the manager a few
miles of slack?

Those running to the phone lines condemning Benitez last night ought to
remember how they felt at Turf Moor last season - and then recall what
happened the following May. Without Benitez, the closest any Liverpool fan
would have got to Turkey was a night in a kebab house.

So what about this deflating defeat?

Benitez questioned the attitude of his players after the loss to Fulham,
but it was their finishing skill which was under scrutiny here.

Fernando Morientes' close control was sharper, but his poise in front of
goal wasn't.

Equally, Harry Kewell's performance was encouraging until the ball fell to
him in the box.

Palace keeper Julian Speroni had clearly been watching those Tony Warner
videos before kick-off.

Mr Sod enforced his law to punish the visitors' wastefulness when Michael
Hughes found the head of Dougie Freedman to hand Palace on undeserved lead.

No matter. Steven Gerrard's sweetly struck 50th Liverpool goal made things
look sensible.

The platform for a resounding second half performance was provided. Sadly,
it was Palace who took over, not the European champions.

Once Marco Reich restored Palace's lead, there wasn't even a threat of a
chance, never mind a save for Speroni to deal with.

When the lively Kewell departed the scene, Liverpool's attacking threat
seriously diminished. As usual, only the energy of Gerrard threatened to
wreck Iain Dowie's night.

Benitez seemed speechless in his post-match briefing, but managed to force
out some coded words.

"It wasn't the same as Fulham," he said. "This time they worked hard."

That provoked the most relevant question at all. If the team worked hard
enough, and still lost, what does that say about their quality?

Benitez wouldn't elaborate. Expecting a public admission his squad isn't up
to much is a tad optimistic, even if that's glaringly obvious.

Only three players who started last night were his signings, although one
must question if a rotation policy which considerably weakens the first
team is still worth pursuing.

When your first choice XI isn't up to scratch, it's a weekly gamble to put
your faith in those who've been found wanting too often in the past.

As the dejected players and fans escaped London for the second time in a
week, one of the more optimistic Reds followers wondered if this defeat
would be the ultimate, most significant wake-up call of all for those
running Liverpool Football Club.

Trouble is, when you've been sleepwalking for so long, do you actually hear
any alarm bells ring?

CRYSTAL PALACE: Speroni; Hudson, Borrowdale, Hall, Soares, Boyes, Reich
(Togwell 84), Hughes, Watson, Freedman (Black 76), Morrison (Andrews 73).
Not used: Kiraly, Ward.

LIVERPOOL: Carson, Raven, Whitbread, Hyypia, Warnock (Traore 75); Potter,
Hamann, Gerrard, Kewell (Garcia 64), Morientes (Sinama 63), Crouch. Not
used: Reina, Josemi.

REFEREE: Philip Dowd

BOOKINGS: Raven, Reich, Hudson

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