In Rafa Do We Still Trust?

By Darren Phillips - 21/02/2008, Source from http://www.rivals.net/news/pgarticle.aspx?artid=2483_3175056
Shankly Gates

MyRAWK Admin: this is a piece for everyone concerning Rafael Benitez's current position. Some might say this article is a comparison between him and Gerrard Houllier. Enjoy the read.

Few would have expected to have been comparing the final months of Gerard Houllier's reign with that of his successor when Rafa Benitez was appointed - now or at any point of The Spaniard's tenure.

The Reds were going backwards under The Frenchman while Benitez had taken a side without much recent pedigree and who so often threatened to succeed but never quite managed it to domestic and European glory.

He seemed tailored made for the Anfield job. Manchester United were already cash laden courtesy of their status as a Plc while Chelsea had attracted the attentions of a Russian oligarch. Arsenal were happy to spend big money on exceptional talents - far more than many tend to remember now Arsene Wenger has a reputation for being frugal with his transfer kitty.

Just as it was in 2004 the fans seem split about the man in charge - though far from 50/50 - between those who support the manager and though they possibly blame the players for the malaise want to get behind each and every man in a red shirt even the ones who could at best be described as below par.

Typically those of that persuasion will lay blame away from the coaches and though they may point a finger towards the pitch there's no desire to rock the boat or even cause further problems by doing anything other than backing the team to the hilt.
There has been a tide against Rafa for longer than the past few months and those who had already turned against him prior to the past weekend may criticise the players for under-achieving but place most ills squarely at coach's door. This category also tend to not only shout louder but also ring the phone-ins and other fans forums - not all solely Liverpool Football Club related. Events in the FA Cup give them that extra oxygen as producers and editors scrabble to put them on air.

Those who are still behind the manager suffer but do so silently ignoring the various interactions available to them. So for some, the laziest in the media included, the dissenters appear to be the majority. However, even though their ranks have swelled in recent weeks anecdotal evidence suggests they are not.

While debate was focussed in the ownership, funding and future direction of the club events on the pitch often seemed secondary but once the club's financial situation was sorted in the short term, albeit via the equivalent of an elastoplast over a gaping wound in the form of another bridging loan, attention inevitably moved from Gillett and Hicks and on to a man who has featured in those off field dramas as well as the on field disappointments - Rafael Benitez.

For all the quotes offered by Robert Kraft, further rumours about Dubai International Capital and the formation of Share Liverpool the press believe the ownership story has lost its immediate impact. Negotiations about another takeover may continue until one party runs out of patience but reports cannot go beyond quotes from sources close to the proposed deal or understandings of one position or another until something concrete is about to happen but the prodigious generation of column inches about the club can continue as the team struggles to claim points or progress in any arena other than Europe.

On the surface these appraisals of the Houllier and Benitez periods are fair. Take the team's set up.

Despite attempts to introduce it there is no true width in the side and for some strange reason little movement plus less creativity despite a team brimming with ability in that department. There are similarities other than what is said to be a one dimensional style. Results and form are as poor as the final knockings under the Frenchman. Confidence is at rock bottom and players who are much better than they look can sometimes barely keep possession. Some signings who promised much have failed to blossom.

However, under Houllier the players drafted in got progressively worse and never looked like improving. There was so little coming through the reserve ranks who with the exception of finishing top in 2000 trundled along in the Premiership Reserves North. If that wasn't bleak enough the playing style was not so much careful as bubble wrapped in fear. When an advantage was found it would be nursed and the shop closed. There was an over-dependence on long balls to exploit Michael Owen's pace but not a lot else. The Reds simply could go no further under his guidance.
The team reflected the manager perfectly who suffered from something bordering on paranoia during his final years at the helm. Be that people linked with his job and all manner of opinion being submitted from an important constituent of the Liverpool family - ex-players. For Martin O'Neill now read Jurgen Klinsmann and if some reports are to be believed Martin O'Neill again. Unlike Benitez Houllier allowed it all to creep under his skin.

Does everything but reaction to those critiques from old boys ring true today?
A striking contrast its that Gerard Houllier's sides were roughly playing to their level. The current side is not as good as it could be and capable of so much better. It should certainly be looking towards a title challenge even if the efforts are to be in vain that chance of claiming the trophy has to be on well into the spring.
The worst factor of the current situation is that players who are far better than their current showings and world class performers are retreating within themselves because they seem too scared to make an error. It could even be ventured that they have no faith in the manager - but that is purely speculative as are claims that either the whole or certain portions of the dressing room have been lost. Reading between the lines suggestions revolve around the non-Spanish or those for whom Spanish is not the first language.

Rafa has a very different relationship with his players than most managers. In essence he may never have had the dressing room - just the respect rather than admiration of many members of his squad for his achievements. Steven Gerrard has openly spoke about the situation and that distance is purposeful. He is not a friend but a man in charge who may have to drop them or let them know that their time at Anfield has come to an end. He rarely singles any specific individual for praise preferring to talk about the team as a whole and pour over what could have gone better. Even when he should be basking in victory. It was just the same against Inter on Tuesday evening.

Some whose names need not be repeated now are living on borrowed time, past reputation or could simply do with a change of scene. While this includes one or two old hands not all remnants from the old structure and include those who have been acquired by Benitez for sizeable fees but there are buys Rafa has made who may not form the core of club but do show potential and have every chance of a successful career in L4. As for the quality of signings. They have certainly improved as time has gone on but regardless of the source of funds being borrowings the money available has increased.

The Barnsley result has seen many of those who considered themselves somewhere in the middle of the debate jump to one side but it's only the knee-jerk reaction to the result rather than the manager's tactics and decisions. The Inter result will do the same.

No blame can be heaped on Rafa for the players not putting Barnsley away.
The simple fact is that a strong team not one that could be considered in any way weakened below an unacceptable point took to the field. They were instructed to attack and setup correctly for the task. If they had not more time would have been spent within a narrow midfield corridor and the huge number of chances created would never have been seen.

Of course with one exception - goals scored - statistics do not decide games. Unfortunately Gerard Houllier based his after match press conferences around them when under pressure. They were straws he would clutch at but all too often they were the irrelevant ones.

Rafa has always tended to take a different tack analysing the play and whether his team held control of matters. The Opta sheets are rarely grasped but at the weekend possession was dominated by Liverpool and in advanced areas. If time had not been spent in areas which create most danger the following figures would be far less impressive. Of the 33 shots on goal 20 were on target only to be thwarted by a mixture of inspired keeping from a stopper once deemed good enough to be groomed at Old Trafford during his teens - even if his Manchester United first team career amounted to just 18 seconds as a substitute - and some good fortune.
These things happen to every club which has ever taken to a football field in a knock-out tournament at any level.

Barnsley will have their time in the sun after this clash. Considering their next opponents good luck wishes have to be extended to them in the last eight. They rode their luck and made a couple of their opportunities if not the best two count.
Liverpool are creating opportunities in most games played and evidence gathered from eyes alone demonstrates that Rafa's sides while often careful produce a better brand of football now than most sides have since he took charge.

Almost every analysis proves that the majority of opponents are heavily beaten in key areas but it's the inability to put the chances this creates away which is costing dear.

However, there is no escaping that at times some unconfident and lifeless football is being played and though a plan B is surely suggested like so many teams when the A game is frustrated Liverpool can play under a huge amount of fear and look to pick off chances where they can rather than rip at the jugular.
Rafa's style is essentially cautious but only in the respect that regardless of the phase of play he would prefer to have his team acting as one. If the opposition has the ball everyone in their own way will defend - from front to back. If the ball is forward the team should line up in support ready to win the second and third balls if the first is lost.

When confidence was high this produced the type of performances witnessed against Derby County at home and Newcastle United. All too often in recent times this had only led to the creation pretty patterns of play and slick movement until the vital point when someone is expected to pull the trigger. When that killer touch or cutting edge is missing. In the games against Manchester City and Aston Villa amongst others it all looks so fruitless.

For a number of weeks when a goal has been scored The Reds have done everything but add to it. At one stage that would have been enough to achieve the minimum required for a win but the normally solid backline has had its wobbles and that unusual vulnerability has cost dear.

At this stage only three league losses have been suffered. That's on a par with Chelsea and one less reverse than Manchester United. In fact only Arsenal have tasted defeat less in the Premiership but each of those teams and Everton have recorded less draws. In the vast majority of those tied games Liverpool have had more than enough chances to win handsomely but if somewhere around half of those 11 games which finished all square had finished in Liverpool's favour it would have yielded ten points.

With those in the bank The Reds would still not be muscling for pole position with Arsenal but certainly would be as handily placed as any of the other challengers. Most importantly there would still be a foot in the title race as the season enters its final furlong.

However, there are clearly problems at the club and within the dressing room. As previously stated the exact cause remains a matter of conjecture - often depending where you stand on the manager's future - but if players do not seem bothered and enjoy a joke immediately after the defeat at West Ham or no longer believe in the manager or his methods well that will only usually end one way - a new man taking the helm. That is part of the situation which did for Houllier

Claims that the current ownership situation and the fact that the fans have marshalled against the rule of Gillett and Hicks also has its comparison. The rows, emails and sidling up to Klinsmann were thought to have made Rafa fire proof. In the same way that Houllier's heart surgery in late 2001 and then subsequent return five months later on the night a 2-0 win over Roma secured progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time. But that highly charged evening along with the treble cup win the previous season proved to be the pinnacle of his six year stay as despite going a dozen games without defeat from the start of the following season that was followed by a sequence of 11 more league matches during which a win could not be bought. The situation went down hill from there on in.

A worry is that if Rafa is dismissed then Liverpool fall back and set the same standards which saw Manchester United spiral away for years until a decade or so down the line somebody suggested they should show a little patience in the man at the helm. Just as they did at Everton who despite dipping after the high of Champions League qualification showed a little restraint in keeping David Moyes even when league form faltered and their European adventure ended in humiliation.

Whether he wins the Champions League or not it's not the end for Rafa but even if his smiling in Moscow in late May these days could certainly mark its beginnings if things don't start of look up.

That was certainly the case for Houllier who didn't have the boardroom unrest or fans drawing battle lines over the club's soul to contend with only a focus that included on field matters.

Rafa quite rightly can point to his exploits in Europe which rivals every Liverpool manager but Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan who reached three and two European Cup finals respectively and in successive seasons. Two in three years and one win represents a better record than any current manager other than Carlo Ancelotti. Considering no side has ever defended the trophy in the Champions League era it's more than just the knock-out cup often portrayed and at the business end Europe's elite are usually waiting. Each trying to land a knock-out blow on their fellow behemoths.

Reaching the final two years out of three is not the same as guiding your charges to a similar number of League Cups in as many terms.

Has Rafa taken the club as far as he can? Probably not. Nor has he created the same type of side he had at Valencia. Though he has tried that job is still in hand. For one reason or another hasn't quite been achieved. At stages this term - particularly early on and just after the whole Hicks situation blew up it seemed he was progressing well but now the side is back-pedalling or at least seems to be doing.

It makes a review of his position inevitable regardless of who owns the club and whether the fans become as vocal in opposition as they are and have been in his defence. That will only happen come May rather than on Wednesday morning or even three weeks time when the Champions League tie with Inter is concluded.