Liverpool

There's really only one place we can start this morning and that is with Liverpool, who crashed out of the FA Cup last night after getting beat 2-1 by Reading. As they did in the 1st game, Reading played some really good football and Liverpool were terrible, probably the worst Liverpool performance that I can remember. Some good counter attacking Reading played gave them 2 golden chances in the first half, and as they were missed you wondered if that might have been the break they needed to win the game - you don't normally get many chances at Anfield, not normally anyway. Liverpool got their 2nd jammy goal of the tie (don't care what anyone says, Kuyt tried to get on the end of the Gerrard cross in the first game) thanks to an unlucky Betrand own goal. They had a decent start to the second half but then the momentum when back Reading's way, more chances spurned, including a jinky run from McAnuff that he HAD to just clip into a half empty net, and a Church free header which he should have hit the target with. In stoppage time Reading got the break they deserved, a stone wall penalty thanks to Benayoun bizarrely hacking at Shane Long's ankle. The pen was coolly dispatched and Long won the game in extra time after some great Gunnarsson work, he got on the end of the big man's cross with a glancing header. Liverpool's response was non-existent. They played poorly all game, but what was astonishing was the lack of fight and desire on their part, I can't remember Federici even getting tested. And so the most decorated club in English football history are dumped out of the FA Cup at the earliest stage, and all that does is pile the pressure on Mersyside.

Let's look from the top down at Liverpool. Firstly these bloody owners. It's common knowledge now that Hicks and Gillet can't stand each other. I can't really be arsed to find out why, who started it etc but it can't be a good thing for Rafa that his bosses can't agree on anything and can't stand the sight of each other. You also hear that maybe one of them wants to sell and the other is happy staying in charge, probably to spite the other more than anything. Then there's money, apparently both men are struggling with it. We seem to hear every 6 months or so about 'refinancing loans' and other such boring financial terms, the long and short of means that there isn't much money available to invest in the squad. They would argue that Rafa has had a decent chunk of cash already, but the truth is that there is no money to even argue about at the moment. The prospective new stadium at Stanley Park has been in the pipe line for years, and been on hold for a while now due to lack of funds. Perhaps they thought that this job of being a 'soccer team' owner would be a walk in the park, maybe the sports teams they own in the States are so profitable that they don't need £30-£40million of reinvestment every season, who knows. There were for a while some (and excuse me for being so broad here) rich Arabs sniffing around at the club but apparently baulked at the asking price. I'm sure that the Arabs could have done a better job than the Yanks at handling the infamous Klinsman approach. The German was approached by the owners behind Rafa's back to see if he fancied taking over at Anfield. I don't think anyone would have begrudged Benitez if he'd just walked out of there right then. But to his credit he stuck around and had a very good season last year, coming 2nd in the league after leading it for so long. Throughout all of last season there was a running saga over his contract negotiations which was finally settled in March when he signed a lucrative 5-year contract. And that appears to be the main reason why Liverpool have not sacked him yet, it would cost them a bomb to pay him off so for now he's happy to keep going and picking up his wages. Boy do the Yanks wish they hadn't worked so hard to keep him on now...

The manager is a curious bloke, accused in the past of not respecting the FA Cup and the Premier League, too much rotation, a continental focus on the European Cup etc etc. I don't think however that these accusations are fair anymore, he seems to know the importance of winning the league now, it's his failings in other departments that are costing him. Firstly his transfer work. I don't have to name the long line of players he's let go from the club, only to mention how well Bellamy is playing at City and how well Crouch is doing at Spurs, he would cut his right bollock off to get them back at the club. The Robbie Keane debacle was quite amazing, signed for £15million or so, and then decided that he would play a system that Keane didn't have a place in - either that or for whatever reason just didn't fancy him. I'm sure Hicks and Gillet would have loved that call from him saying, 'Hi Bosses, just to let you know, I'm going to sell Keane back to his old club, after just 6 months, for half the fucking price. See you at the next Utd game!' Letting Alonso go was a massive mistake, I've said before that a contract is a 2 way deal, you're agreeing to pay a player for a certain amount of time, and he's also pledging himself to that club for a certain amount of time. A manager should never be under pressure to sell a player just because he likes the look of the Real Madrid revolution. Believe me, if Rafa had played hard ball and got through until the end of August, Alonso is a professional and he would have just got on with playing football for Liverpool and he'd probably be playing as well as he did last year. Managers aren't in the business of keeping unhappy players around, granted, but they are in the business of winning football matches, something that Alonso would have helped them to do. The Alonso issue goes back a long way, to a Champions League game a couple years ago. I can't remember who they were playing but it was an away game, and Alonso requested permission to stay in England for the birth of his first child. Not a problem, this is a common occurrence in the game, but for a petty man like Benitez he felt that Alonso let him down and apparently their relationship was damaged beyond repair. Then, Rafa does all he can to get rid of Alonso to get Gareth Barry in, and I understand that if they were willing to come down in price by a couple of million, he would be an Arsenal player right now. The whole Barry situation was very public and very ugly, but when the window shut Alonso got his head down and was probably Liverpool's best and most consistent player last season. And his replacement, the much talked about Aquilani. I remember very clearly the day that Alonso got sold, the same day they announced the bid for Aquilani had been accepted and that he was to become a Liverpool player. It seemed a desperate attempt to keep the fans onside, getting rid of one of their star players and bringing in one of the hottest talents in Europe. And so far? He's been injured for several months, but the little bits we have seen of him (why don't you just play him Rafa?!) have been at kindest, tidy, and harshest, a waste of money. Sure it'll take time for him to settle and get 100% fit but the early signs are not good. The other 'case study' if you like is that of Glen Johnson. Johnson is a fine player, unquestionably England's World Cup right back and has developed his game remarkably over the last 18 months, but £20million? They sold Arbeloa to Madrid for a paltry £1million, and shelled out £20million on another right back. Was Arbeloa really £19million worse than Glen Johnson? Not for me, in fact there are some serious frailties in Johnson's defensive game, great going forward but lets not forget he is a right BACK. That is silly money for a defender for me, some of that cash could have been better spent on other areas of the pitch. Benitez's tactical prowess has to be called into question as much as his transfer policy. He may be a 2-legged continental mastermind but in the league and most recently the FA Cup he is far too cautious and places the focus on not getting beat, something that probably translates to the players as being negative, which probably causes them to lose games - 10 of the last 20 FYI. You wish sometimes he'd chuck on that unknown Pacheco with 10 to go, instead of replacing Degen with Skrtel. He's always banging on about protecting Gerrard and Torres, maybe he should worry more about winning the game he's playing right now, than the game next week.

Finally, there really are some stinkers in the current Liverpool team, it's not all on the managers shoulders. He may have brought in some poor players and got rid of some good ones, but right now most of them aren't playing anywhere near their potential. In the end it's the 11 on the pitch that have to win the games, there is only so far a manager can go. From the back, Reina is an excellent goalkeeper, fine, Johnson (currently injured) is suspect at times defensively, Carragher has had a difficult year and maybe his legs are getting to him finally, Skrtel/Agger it's probably no coincidence that Rafa doesn't know which of these boys to pick, and Insua who to me looks just plain shit. I always thought Riise was a good player, gave everything, had that hammer of a left boot, and I'm sure he could be doing a more effective job at left back right now - was the last straw with Rafa that horrible own goal against Chelsea? In the middle Gerrard is obviously top class, and despite maybe things not going right his way at the moment, you can always count on him to give his all. Lucas is a very poor player, offers absolutely nothing going forward, his passing is so limited and simple, it's beggars belief why Rafa keeps playing him. Mascherano has been missing too often with those long haul international flights and his questionable disciplinary record, a good player on his day but looks like his head has been turned by Barca. Kuyt is a good hard working player but let's face it, he's playing wide right because Torres is a better striker so he's been forced out there to give him a place in the side. You used to be able to rely on him getting you a goal when you needed one but I can't remember many of late. Benayoun I rate as a talented lad, and Torres is a super player, but then you look at the fringes, N'Gog, Riera, Aurelio, Babel, jesus Babel, so much promise but probably more guilty than anyone of under performing. He would argue that he hasn't had the chances but at a club like Liverpool you have to make those 20 mins off the bench good enough to deserve a chance. I read some remarkable quotes from him following that great goal he got at Lyon, saying something like he doesn't get on with any of his teammates and doesn't want to pass the ball, that's why he just hit it and it flew in. A great goal but those are some shocking things to hear, there's no room for any of that shit in a team sport. The long and short of it is that there are some really shit players in that Liverpool squad and even the decent/good players are nowhere to be seen at the moment. Take her easy.