Head to Head - Mark Lee, The Realist aka Devil's Advocate

In Rafa We Trust, Or Do We?

It has been near two long decades since the city of Liverpool has turned up in the thousands to see the league title being paraded around the streets. Gerard Houllier ignited what must have been merely a flickering ray of hope in the hearts of all Liverpool fans when he won 5 trophies in just one season. He however failed to deliver what all Liverpool fans must be longing for, the Premiership title. Under his tenure we came close at one point, finishing 2^nd, just 7 points behind eventual Champions Arsenal. Expectations were high but we went on a free fall thereafter, finishing 19 and then 30 points behind the champions. It was the opinion of all involved with Liverpool Football Club and it’s fans that the gaffer had lost the plot. His negative brand of football became a bore to watch and, we became predictable.

Enter Rafa Benitez,

Progress in the Premier League

In his first season, we finished 5^th accumulating 58 points, a whopping 37 points behind eventual winners Chelsea, which was worse than we fared the season before under Houllier when we finished 4^th with 60 points, 30 behind winners, Arsenal. Fair play, it was only his first season in charge and he had to clear up the mess left behind by Houllier.

In his second season at the helm, we were much improved and finished 3^rd with 82 points. We had closed the gap to eventual winners Chelsea, to just 9 points and finally, we looked as though we were moving in the right direction. Surely we were going to mount a serious challenge next season?

In his third season however, the adverse happened and although we still finished 3^rd, we only managed to accumulate 68 points and finished 21 points behind Manchester United. This was masked of course by the fact that once again, The Mighty Reds had progressed to yet another European Final only to fall at the last hurdle to AC Milan, whom we had vanquished just 2 seasons prior. The irony is that although we played better this time round, we lost, after having been outplayed by AC Milan back in 2005 only to prevail after outstanding heroics from individuals such as Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Didi Hamann and Jerzy Dudek.

This season, we find ourselves currently lying 5^th with 50 points, 14 behind current leaders Manchester United albeit with 1 game in hand. We have 16 games left in the season and it is unlikely that we will see number 19 being paraded around Liverpool this season, given the kind of football we have been playing, and the situation regarding ownership. I will patiently wait until the end of the season to see where we finish but based on current form, we may again find ourselves finishing 20 points behind the eventual winners.

Statistically speaking anyway, we haven’t made any progress in the league.

Building a team

Though Rafa has had managerial experience prior to taking the helm at Valencia, he attained little success, notably in helping Segunda Divison side CF Extramadura gain promotion to the Primera Division only for them to be relegated after just 1 season at the top. Although he did win the Primera Division in his first attempt with the club, one has to note that he inherited a team brimming with potential from Hector Cuper. In the side were established internationals like Santiago Canizares, Roberto Ayala, Ruben Baraja, David Abelda and Pablo Aimar. He also made good use of Mista who went on to become top goalscorer for Valencia with 19 goals in the 2003 – 2004 campaign, and Curro Torres who became an established international. Rafa did also achieve European success when he guided Valencia to a 2-0 victory over Marseille in 2004, but this was a team that had in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons, reached not one but two Champions League finals. So the question is, do the runners-up in the Champions League have the caliber to take it “up a notch” and win Europe’s 2^nd tier competition, the UEFA Cup? I’ll let you be the judge.

After having signed for Liverpool, Benitez found himself in a very similar position, inheriting an underperforming team featuring the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann, Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypia. Rafa had barely arrived when Owen was sold to Madrid but Gerrard, Carragher, Finann and Hyypia are still very much a part of his setup. He however also inherited fringe players like Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou that were simply, not up to mark.

Since becoming manager, Rafa has made 36 signings and sold 56 players (not including loan deals), with only Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger, Momo Sissoko, Luis Garcia, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant, Pepe Reina, and Alvaro Arbeloa being regulars at some point. It is a sure thing that more will come and more will go with John Arne Riise, Dirk Kuyt and Momo Sissoko being likely casualties. Is the fact that so many players have come and gone a sign that Rafa doesn’t yet know what he’s looking for? Is it a sign that he isn’t good at spotting talent? Even I can spot a superstar like Fernando Torres and my managerial experience is limited only to the Championship Manager and Football Manager series. What makes us different is that he and his team should be able to spot talent and not just the end product after years of nurturing and development. Benitez was once famously quoted for saying, “I asked for a coffee table and they gave me a lampshade” at his time in Valencia, referring to the fact that the club was not signing the players he requested for. Is he now out buying coffee tables when we need lampshades? Just like how switching managers too often will be counterproductive as it takes time to build winning team, will switching players too often result in the same? It does affect a teams harmony and balance, does it not? Should players be given time, just like managers? If we are willing to give Rafa another few years at the helm, why not players like Momo Sissoko?

Tactical Genius?

If there is one thing that most Liverpool fans agree on Rafa, is that he is a tactical genius. I mean this was the man who arguably inspired the comeback in Istanbul, or was it the fans singing away at halftime? Recognising the threat from Kaka, Rafa called on the defensive minded Dietmar Hamann in place of Steve Finnan. It worked! Hamann neutralized the threat from the Brazilian, allowing Steven Gerrard to wreak havoc in the AC Milan half. It must be said though the Steve Finnan did sustain an injury, which is the main reason he was taken off. The decision was forced upon Rafa and he only had to decide whom to bring on in his place; the hapless Josemi, Antonio Nunez, Djibril Cisse, Vladimir Smicer, Scott Carson or Didi Hamann. Then there was the selection of Harry Kewell that baffled Liverpool fans. This was the first of two European Cup finals that Kewell coincidentally recovered in time to be a part off. Some may question his methods domestically but it would seem that he has what it takes to beat Europe’s finest.

In the Premiership, Rafa seems to be struggling to find the right formula. We have yet to beat Man Utd in the league over 7 games. Not only that, we are still struggling to beat mid-table sides. This is where I raise questions over some baffling decisions that he has made. While I have nothing against rotating players, why is it Rafa seems intent on rotating tactics every time? We may moan about being a player or two away from being able to compete (isn’t this what we have been saying for some time now?), but in the likes of Sami Hyypia, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Steve Finnan, John Arne Riise, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, Harry Kewell, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin, we have 14 internationals, not to mention Jamie Carragher or Pepe Reina which will walk into the first teams of many clubs. Should we not be expected to at least beat the likes of Wigan, Birmingham and Reading? Instead, we almost lost to Luton Town despite fielding 9 internationals? While fans may argue that some of these players may not be all that good, surely they aren’t as poor as a vast majority of the players from mid-table sides??? Why do we need to adapt our tactics to our opposition? Why can’t we develop a solid system of play and have smaller clubs adapt to ours? As it is, our players look like strangers on the pitch and every pass made seems to take a lot of effort. How many times have we seen passes go astray, long balls played up into now man’s land, and players passing the ball in front of the opposition defence, clueless as to how to break them down? How much variation in team tactics do you see the other big sides adopt especially when playing smaller clubs? We should impose our brand of football on them and not have it the other way.

It may just be me but from what I’ve seen, our players look restricted when they are on the pitch. Being the tactician that he is, I fear Rafa looks at his players as pieces on a chessboard. I sense that the players are playing to very specific instructions and have little opportunity to fully express themselves on the pitch and therefore, impose themselves on the game.

What now?

I have been a supporter of Liverpool Football Club for the last 20 years of my life and I will continue to be one till the day of my demise. I will not however in blind faith, hope for happy days when I know something is amiss. Is it something that time will solve? Does the manger need more time? If so, how much time? Some fans suggest he be given until the end of next year but I have to ask these same fans if they honestly believe that our fortunes will change over just one season? If the trend of bringing in new players one season only to shaft them the next continues, how are the players going to be able to familiarise themselves with one another? Is he really a tactical genius or do we keep repeating it out of hope alone?

If anything, we Liverpool fans are somewhat guilty of living in the past. Sure, our past is what enriches our mighty club but we have to live in the present to secure a bright future, do we not? When problems arise, we need to address them with urgency and not hope that just because things turned out positively in the past, it will do so again. Fans today utter the words, “In Rafa we trust”. Most I’ve encountered however actually mean, “ In Rafa we hope”. To trust somebody, we need to know that the person in question can be counted on. We have both logical and emotional reasons to do so. So far, it would seem to be that many Liverpool supporters have strong emotional reason to do so, but very few I’ve encountered have logical ones. When asked what makes them think Rafa will bring us forward, they refer to Istanbul, the 2006 FA Cup Final, Athens, his record at Valencia, his tactical approach to the game but nothing on the present and nothing to justify why they call him a tactical genius. Sure there was Istanbul but what about the other 38 league games?

I do hope I am proven wrong this season. I do hope Rafa will wave his magical wand to bring our team out of its slump. I do hope he will deliver but I simply cannot blindly accept that he will without any evidence or justification.

To the more optimistic supporter, I ask you this, "What about Rafa makes you think that he is the man to bring home the elusive number 19?" "what makes you think you can trust him?"

Mark Lee, Jan 2008 ©