Source: Liverpool_Echo
It's time for Liverpool FC boss Rafael Benitez to face facts
Rafa Benitez 300[LNB]IT was precisely 53 weeks ago that Rafa Benitez lit the blue touch-paper on the second half of the Premier League campaign when aiming an astonishing broadside at Alex Ferguson.[LNB]With Liverpool ticking along smoothly at the top of the table, Benitez - ahead of a televised game at Stoke City - walked into a crowded Press room at Melwood, calmly unfolded a piece of paper and proceeded to talk about 'facts'.[LNB]That carefully worded salvo was manna from heaven for an unsuspecting media and increased the tensions between those age-old arch enemies but, more than anything, it demanded Liverpool follow up with a compelling performance at the Britannia Stadium.[LNB]Unfortunately, however, the script Benitez envisaged did not go according to plan. The Reds were held 0-0, squandered two priceless points and drew their next three games in the Premier League and FA Cup - a run that effectively cost them the title.[LNB]Fast forward to the present and again a crowded Press room will hang on Benitez's every word today ahead of a televised game at Stoke City, but the 'facts' with which he will be presented this time make that spat with Ferguson seem a triviality.[LNB]Out of the Champions League and Carling Cup, 12 points off the top of the table, the latest ignominy of being jettisoned from the FA Cup by a side ranked 21st in the Championship was exacerbated yesterday by a bulletin from the club's medical room.[LNB]Benitez must prepare for a fixture tomorrow without his captain, his star striker and, to put the top hat on everything, the player who has emerged as one of Liverpool's brightest attacking hubs in the past 12 months.[LNB]No Steven Gerrard, no Fernando Torres and no Yossi Benayoun means most will make the short hop down the M6 tomorrow morning with little or no hope in the heart of seeing the Reds get a result which will suggest this utterly dispiriting season can be salvaged.[LNB]'It's not the best season,' Benitez said with unintentional irony after Shane Long's extra-time header condemned Liverpool to a 2-1 defeat.[LNB]'Sometimes you have bad moments, sometimes better moments. We have to carry on and be ready for the next game.'[LNB]Yet quite incredibly, given their interest in the title race ended months ago, the need for Liverpool to take three points tomorrow is probably far greater than if they were currently neck and neck with Chelsea and Manchester United.[LNB]Make no mistake about it, if Liverpool fluff their lines in the Potteries, and against Tottenham next Wednesday at Anfield, the prospects of them qualifying for the Champions League once again will have all but evaporated.[LNB]Since they occupied the loftiest position in the table in January 2009, the landscape of the Premier League has experienced a dramatic change and Liverpool, frankly, are struggling to keep their head above water.[LNB]In years gone by, they only had one foe to contend with when battling for a place in the top four but now the assault is three-pronged.[LNB]Aside from Spurs and Aston Villa, Manchester City have chillingly stated their intentions in recent weeks.[LNB]Roberto Mancini's arrival has been the catalyst for four consecutive wins and City are playing with real belief.
