Source: Telegraph
A win for Liverpool in FA Cup could set up their whole season
Liverpool would say, in all honesty, that the FA Cup ranks only third in their list of priorities behind the Premier League and Europe, but this fourth-round match happens to come at a crucial time. It maximises the intensity of what is in front of them: win and they start to smell Wembley. [LNB]The bigger issues lie elsewhere, in the league, but a good result could set them up for the rest of the season. They have two big games coming up, away to Wigan and at home to Chelsea, and with a bad result you do not know what could happen. Two points from their last six could become three from 12 and their charge would be effectively over. [LNB]This is the last thing Liverpool want. They have done so well for so long, it is unthinkable they would not still be challenging by March or April. But the way Manchester United are playing, they cannot be so sure, and that is why they have to put themselves back on course by winning again. It starts on Sunday, to prepare them for a hard game at Wigan on Wednesday. This is the same belief that has been expressed for years at Anfield: the next game is the most important. [LNB]The managers for whom I played were also almost always inclined, when the team were struggling, to go back to what their best formation was. It has been the tried and tested method for all subsequent Liverpool managers – what is the best XI you can put out? This season Liverpool have performed at their best when Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso have played alongside each other in the middle of the park, with Steven Gerrard left to play off the front man. [LNB]Consistency has guided Sir Alex Ferguson's approach at Manchester United. Whenever United have struggled a little, he has simply gone for his best team, because he knows this is the best way of getting out of trouble. To be fair to Rafael Benitez, he has not tinkered too much with his team recently. But there has still been a bit here and there, and I think he would be well-advised to start instead with his best XI for three or four games in succession. The realities have not changed: you go with the best you have and take your chance with it. [LNB]In their central-midfield partnership Liverpool have everything they could wish for. Mascherano and Xabi Alonso are not only great players in their own right, they also give protection in front of the back four. Alonso is great in possession while Mascherano protects – all of which allows Gerrard to play in his best position, in the free role just off the lone striker, where he is allowed to go wherever he wants. We saw against Newcastle last month that he could be absolutely outstanding in this role; he had pace, he had movement, his ability just shines through. [LNB]And as for the front man: if Torres is fit it should always be him. I know Liverpool have a £20 million striker in Robbie Keane, but this is a brutal game. It allows no room for sentiment. You go with what you think is your best because anything else won't be for the best in the long term, short term, or any term. [LNB]Fortunately there are no qualms about anything that Gerrard does on the pitch. Regardless of his court case, all he is interested in when he puts on the red jersey is driving Liverpool on to more and more success. In Gerrard Benitez has a great captain, a great leader, who is inspirational not only for his Liverpool team-mates but for the Liverpool crowd. If Liverpool are going to be successful then he is going to be a huge part of it – he is their best player. [LNB]In the long term there is no way Liverpool can genuinely compete unless they have a new stadium. It looks as if Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jnr are not going to provide one so it would be in the best interests of everybody if they find a buyer who will produce the finance for it. [LNB]Liverpool want the title and they want it badly, but they have to accommodate many more punters. Although the club's supporters, if it came to a straight choice between the title and the stadium, would take the title, the stadium is equally important. [LNB]
