Source: Daily_Mail
Curious and curiouser: What on earth is baffling Benitez up to at Liverpool?
When Jose Mourinho was branded an 'enemy of football' by UEFA and blamed for the sudden retirement of referee Anders Frisk, his Chelsea[LNB]side went on to win the League. [LNB]When he then called Arsene Wenger 'a voyeur' the following season, even daring to compare him to someone who spies on 'other families' with 'a big telescope', his Chelsea side went on to win the League. [LNB]When Sir Alex Ferguson reignited his long-running feud with Wenger 14 months ago by suggesting Arsenal's foreign policy was ruining English football, the Scot's Manchester United[LNB]side went on to win the League. [LNB] [LNB] Flawed genius: Benitez's baffling treatment of Robbie Keane, purchases of the likes of Phillip Degen and peculiar substitutions have caused consternation at Anfield[LNB]And don't bet against Ferguson celebrating an 11th Barclays Premier League title this season, having observed last summer that the same Chelsea team which had gone so close to beating United to their League and Champions League double might now be a bit past it.[LNB]Ferguson erupts with anger at the suggestion that he dismissed Chelsea as an 'old team' during that pre-season tour of South Africa, but you get the point. The top managers regularly engage in what strike most of us as totally unnecessary arguments and rarely do their outbursts undermine the efforts of their players. [LNB]This is why it would be wrong to blame Liverpool[LNB]'s recent difficulties on the rantings of Rafa Benitez.[LNB]Dropping six points in the three games they have contested with Wigan[LNB], Everton[LNB]and Stoke[LNB]has nothing to do with his rather bizarre attack on Ferguson. Just as it has nothing to do with his contract row with his employers, his apparent issues with his chief executive or the hesitancy of the Anfield board in resolving the future of defender Daniel Agger. It doesn't even have anything to do with Steven Gerrard's recent court appearance. [LNB]What some might regard as unwelcome off-the-field distractions should not even be blamed for certain decisions that have been made as he watches his team from the touchline. [LNB]Because this is a man who guided Valencia to two La Liga titles and a man who responded to three AC Milan goals in Istanbul by deploying Dietmar Hamann in a defensive role that gave Gerrard the freedom to inspire Liverpool to their remarkable comeback. [LNB] Architects of happier times: Gerrard and Benitez celebrate one of modern football's greatest comeback at the Ataturk Stadium[LNB] HAVE YOUR SAY... IS LIVERPOOL BOSS RAFA BENITEZ LOSING IT? Following the Anfield manager's bizarre press conference at Wigan, do you think Rafa is cracking up? What's causing his meltdown? Is Fergie getting to him? Can the Reds still mount a decent title challenge?[LNB][LNB]TELL US WHAT YOU THINK[LNB] Benitez is a brilliant manager, as the success he enjoyed in Spain and has since enjoyed at Anfield would suggest. But he is not flawless and the blindspot he appears to have with certain players is at the heart of the current problem. [LNB]Why, for instance, did he send on Lucas against Everton last week when Javier Mascherano would have been far more effective in helping his colleagues defend a one-goal lead? [LNB]And why did he replace Fernando Torres with Albert Riera at Wigan on Wednesday night, then follow that utterly baffling decision by sending on Robbie Keane at the expense of Gerrard? Gerrard had scored two goals in two encounters with Everton and would have been by far the best bet for a winner against Wigan after Mido's crushing equaliser. [LNB] Dejection: Pepe Reina (left), Jamie Carragher (fifth right) and Fabio Aurelio (third right) reflect on further dropped points against Wigan [LNB] [LNB]Benitez sees talent in players that most of us struggle to identify, not least when it comes to the full backs and wingers he has blown a small fortune on.[LNB]The spine of Liverpool's team is superb. They have the best striker in Europe in Torres, brilliant central midfielders in Gerrard, Mascherano and Xabi Alonso and first- class defenders in Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Agger and, of course, Pepe Reina in goal. [LNB]But on the flanks they lack the quality of their rivals and it is that gulf which could ultimately cost them a first League title in 19 years. [LNB]Liverpool's main rivals have recruited some excellent players. Full backs Patrice Evra, Rafael and Fabio da Silva now compete for places in the Manchester United defence while Cristiano Ronaldo, Ji-sung Park and Nani have joined Ryan Giggs on the flanks.[LNB]Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa have been devastatingly effective for Chelsea in the full-back role, while Gael Clichy has more than stepped into the void left by Cole's defection from Arsenal to Stamford Bridge. [LNB]At Liverpool, however, Benitez too often has to turn to Carragher as a makeshift full back and Dirk Kuyt as a reluctant, if impressively determined right winger. He has wasted time and money on Riera, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun, just as he appears to have chosen poorly when it comes to Fabio Aurelio, Alvaro Arbeloa, Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena. Not to mention Craig Bellamy and his baffling perseverance with Harry Kewell, Bolo Zenden and Jermaine Pennant in previous seasons. [LNB] Waste of money: Riera[LNB] Waste of time: Babel[LNB] Benitez wants more control of Liverpool's transfer policy but one can appreciate why that might make the Anfield hierarchy nervous when Keane cannot even secure a place on the bench six months after moving from Tottenham for £20million. It would have been the same had Benitez succeeded in signing Gareth Barry last summer. Aston Villa[LNB]'s captain is an excellent midfielder but not a player Liverpool needed when they already had two defensively brilliant operators in Mascherano and Alonso. [LNB]Benitez is interested in Spurs[LNB]' Aaron Lennon and has considered the idea of a swap deal, sending Keane back to White Hart Lane. That move makes some sense. But he should have been bidding for Wayne Bridge long before Manchester City[LNB]pounced — and there are others. Rafa is not cracking up and his side might yet respond by beating Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday before going on to lift the trophy the club so craves. [LNB]But it is looking increasingly unlikely when key deficiencies in the Liverpool side are starting to take their toll. [LNB] Rafa's latest rant 'The first half we had control of the game and didn't kill it. The second half was a crazy game and when it is a crazy game you can't control things. I am disappointed with a lot of things but not Wigan's approach. I won't talk about them. The last three [games], they have something in common I don't like. I know why, but I can't say anything. The players are all working hard and playing well in the first half but the second half changed because it was crazy. I was talking to my players about what to do on the pitch but there are things you can't control. I can't control these things, it depends on other people. What you can't control, you can't change and maybe you have to understand it has to be like this for years. I don't have any battles with Ferguson. He has been here for 22 years and you can see what it means. You can see what it means to stay here for 22 years. I will not say anything else.'[LNB] Three Anfield experts on what it means David Fairclough (1974-83): Liverpool striker and supersub (right) [LNB]'Was he talking about the ref's decisions? I must admit there were some strange ones. Things were going on off the ball and the referee let it go. But in this situation you want a manager to be positive, not ambiguous like this.'[LNB] [LNB] Ronnie Whelan (1979-94): former captain in the glory year (left)[LNB]'The pressure's come on since the Fergie thing. They haven't won a game since Rafa came out and said what he did. I was surprised at the time when he said it and now you worry about the effect it has had.'[LNB] [LNB] Ian St John (1961-71): 1965 FA Cup Final goalscoring hero (right)[LNB]'I hope this is not another go at Fergie. I said before that if he was so serious about any grievances, Rafa should have written a letter to the League for them to deal with. He shouldn't have put it in the public domain.'[LNB] RAFA'S CONSPIRACY FILES: Just what is driving Liverpool manager Benitez crazy?[LNB]JAMIE REDKNAPP: Liverpool are going backwards[LNB]HAVE YOUR SAY: Is Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez losing it?[LNB]WEB EXCLUSIVE: Subbed Stevie G wasn't injured - Rafa baffles Reds again[LNB]Crazy Rafa blames the world and admits: I don't know what is happening at Liverpool anymore[LNB]LIVERPOOL FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB][LNB] [LNB]
