John Aldridge: Blame injuries not manager Rafael Benitez for Liverpool FC’s plight

THE vast majority of Liverpool fans are still right behind Rafa Benitez and rightly so.There is enough instability at the club with the owners and the debts, and the last thing we need is to be looking for a new manager.One win in nine games isn't great but you don't turn into a bad manager overnight. Injuries have taken their toll and we all knew how light the squad was before the season started.Any team would struggle without Torres and Gerrard. The difference is United and Chelsea have players who can come in and do a job, we don't have that luxury.We have to call on the likes of Degen, Dossena, Voronin and Babel - hit and miss players who simply aren't good enough.When we got injuries it was always going to be a big problem. We can carry one or two, but when you are without four or five of your best 13 players it becomes very hard.I couldn't fault the effort against Birmingham but it was another disappointing night. We have leaked so many goals and that's the reason we're struggling.You can argue all you want about zonal marking but there seems to be a lack of belief when it comes to dealing with set-pieces.We don't attack the ball, there's no aggression and it is costing us dearly.It happened on the opening day at Spurs and it's still happening - we haven't learned our lesson.

Source: Liverpool_Echo