Hansen on Liverpool

[zigackly]

By Alan Hansen

Former Liverpool defender and Match of the Day pundit

 

Rafael Benitez's future as Liverpool manager is again the source of speculation - and while all that I am hearing from the Anfield hierarchy suggest he is in no danger of losing his job, results dictate everything.

 

I will never advocate the sacking of any manager because I was someone who never had the bottle to do the job, but Benitez is under pressure. This is not me saying it - the facts, in the shape of poor results, are saying it.

 

If you lose six games out of seven as Liverpool manager you are under pressure. You cannot hide from it. If Liverpool's season is finished at the start of November, FA Cup apart, do not try and tell me Benitez is not under pressure.

 

It makes the Champions League game against Lyon on Wednesday and home league games against Birmingham and, particularly, Manchester City of huge significance now.

 

I tipped Liverpool to win the Premier League before the start of the season. This was not a prediction based on old Anfield loyalties - it was based on the evidence of what I had seen from Liverpool in the last three months of last season.

 

Benitez, after the way Liverpool had taken Real Madrid apart in the Champions League at Anfield, looked to have discovered the way to play against teams at home - namely by going out, penning them in and battering them.

 

Liverpool had enjoyed good results against the other top four sides while Manchester United were inevitably weakened by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. People talk about Eric Cantona and Thierry Henry, but Ronaldo was the biggest player ever in the Premier League, so United were never going to replace what he gave them.

 

I really felt this was going to be Liverpool's season, but there is not just a difference in the level of performances from week to week, there is a chasm. In the space of six days, they performed magnificently against Manchester United and then more or less went down without a fight at Fulham.

 

Lots has been made of the departure of Xabi Alonso. I believe this has been a factor, but when I hear people suggest he was Liverpool's best player last season I almost laugh out loud. If Alonso was better than Gerrard last season, then I never kicked a ball in my life.

 

Liverpool missed a trick by not signing Gareth Barry. He was desperate to come to Liverpool at one point and would have been perfect for them. He is English, mature, professional and can play with equal efficiency in a variety of positions. The way he has performed for Manchester City has shown what Liverpool have missed out on.

 

At Fulham on Saturday, the much-maligned Lucas played 12 or 14 passes forward that were as good as anything he has produced, but Liverpool were still useless. And I didn't see Alonso on the pitch when Liverpool played so well the previous Sunday against Manchester United. So, yes, Alonso's departure has been a factor, but it must not be over-stated.

 

Benitez spent his big money in the summer on Roma's Alberto Aquilani, but we have only seen 15 minutes of him in the Carling Cup at Arsenal because of injury and illness. He played one ball over the top that was world-class, but we wait to see more.

 

At the end of last season, Liverpool had a wonderful spine running down the team. Pepe Reina is an excellent keeper, then you had Jamie Carragher in central defence, Alonso and Javier Mascherano in midfield, and then Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres further up the pitch.

 

If you took the two best players out of any top side, it would have an effect but would not be catastrophic... if you take Gerrard and Torres out of Liverpool's team, it is all over

 

Alonso's gone, Gerrard and Torres have been injured, and Carragher has not been at his best. This is the time when others need to step up to the plate, but they haven't done it.

 

The best Liverpool sides I played in had rotten days even when we were winning silverware with regularity at home and abroad. But then it was a case of thinking "we're all in this together", rallying around and coming out fighting. That was not the case at Fulham at the weekend. Then there was a lack of fight - and that can't happen at Liverpool Football Club.

 

After a superb end to last season, Liverpool rightly looked at areas they could improve, and the obvious one was out wide. Benitez addressed this by signing Glen Johnson.

 

He has done well, but Emiliano Insua has struggled on the other side. He is only a boy and we must bear that in mind, but at the moment I cannot understand why Benitez keeps playing him. To get the balance right out wide, maybe something has been sacrificed in other defensive areas, a problem made worse by Carragher and Martin Skrtel struggling more than Liverpool are used to.

 

Liverpool never really had to worry about central defence before, it just worked. There has been a lack of confidence this season and mistakes have been made that were not being made before.

 

Benitez has been unlucky in that Daniel Agger, one of the young players of real quality you can see coming through at Liverpool and becoming a real stalwart, has been injured so often.

 

Carragher was immense in the win against Manchester United at Anfield, but I thought Agger was magnificent. He has been a real loss. For him to come back in, show his quality, and then go out injured again is a real stroke of ill-fortune.

 

The big problem for Benitez has been his signings in what you might term the mid-range bracket - and this only highlights the over-reliance on the two players of unquestionable world-class talent in Gerrard and Torres.

 

If you took the two best players out of any top side, it would have an effect but would not be catastrophic. If you take Gerrard and Torres out of Liverpool's team, it is all over.

 

I looked at the Liverpool team at Craven Cottage and I can bet my bottom dollar that Fulham would have really fancied their chances. Never underestimate the impact a team-sheet can have on the opposing dressing room.

 

You might see Gerrard and Torres on the Liverpool team-sheet and still be confident you can beat them, but inside you will know you will be up against two players who can win matches against any team in the world. This has an effect.

 

Sooner or later, Liverpool have to find players who can take responsibility when they are not playing. You have Reina, Carragher and Mascherano, but where are the others?

 

This is where Benitez's buying has to be questioned. He made a wonderful signing in Torres at the top end of the market, but the percentage of success in the £3m-£10m category is not high enough. You're not asking for it to be unrealistically high, but you're asking for it to be higher than it has been under Benitez.

 

Agger can be counted as a success, while Reina is a top keeper, but there are not too many successes elsewhere.

 

You could argue that Liverpool should be in the market for £20m or £30m players on a regular basis to get around that problem, but that's another story involving other parts of the club.

 

Benitez's substitutions came under attack at Fulham, particularly the decision to take Torres off when it was 1-1, but I wouldn't criticise the manager too much for that. Torres was really struggling and Benitez had to weigh up whether to continue playing him and face the prospect of losing him for several weeks.

 

Other substitutions can be questioned, though, such as Yossi Benayoun's on Saturday and during the defeat against Lyon in the Champions League.

 

The results Liverpool have had mean Benitez is inevitably under pressure and some pivotal games are coming up.

 

The worry for me is that while pivotal games in April or May are fine, pivotal games in October, November, December and so on. The forthcoming matches vital for Liverpool and Benitez.

 

[sauce]

 

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Thought the above was quite a good article from Jockey. Not sure what happened to the last paragraph, but you can get the gist.

[Newport]

 

Liverpool missed a trick by not signing Gareth Barry. He was desperate to come to Liverpool at one point and would have been perfect for them. He is English, mature, professional and can play with equal efficiency in a variety of positions. The way he has performed for Manchester City has shown what Liverpool have missed out on.

 

---.

After a superb end to last season, Liverpool rightly looked at areas they could improve, and the obvious one was out wide. Benitez addressed this by signing Glen Johnson.

 

He has done well, but Emiliano Insua has struggled on the other side. He is only a boy and we must bear that in mind, but at the moment I cannot understand why Benitez keeps playing him.

 

Maybe he should ask Barry why he, who supposedly was desperate to play in the Champions League suddenly changed his mind about that and went to play for City.

 

As for Insua, who else should we play there? Dossena who is far worse than Insua, or Aurelio who gets injured as soon as he plays more than one game a week? He might not be good enough right now, but he needs experience and he's surely not getting it playing only for the reserves. Aurelio has only just returned from injury and don't have a fitness level high enough to play all games so it's a sacrifice we'll have to make now that we can't bring in any replacements at the moment anyway.

[zigackly]

Maybe he should ask Barry why he, who supposedly was desperate to play in the Champions League suddenly changed his mind about that and went to play for City.

 

Apparently we did not show any interest this season. Presumably because we had a sniff of Aquilani.

[torahboy]

At least the criticisms Hansen makes are fed by a genuine care and concern for the club, unlike Ronnie Whelan's bile induced attacks on Rafa. Jocky's second paragraph shows his understanding of the difficulties that managers face and he understands that merely shouting for their dismissal doesn't automatically solve problems.

 

His points about Rafa's substitutions are exactly what I heard from lots of our fans over the weekend. One point I didn't agree with was Fulham actually 'fancying' facing the team we fielded on Saturday. If that was Fulham, defending with everyone back, relishing the task in hand then fuck knows how defensive they'd be against a team they didn't 'fancy'.

 

The last paragraph looks like it might have been tacked on by a subbie. The sensationalist tone is at odds with the rest of a measured article.

[Newport]

Apparently we did not show any interest this season. Presumably because we had a sniff of Aquilani.

 

Yes, we've all heard his excuses, but there surely was no one who forced him out of Villa (qualified for Europe) and he chose to go to City all by himself.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

If he seriously fancied us to win the title after our summer transfers and losing Xabi, then he's a fucking idiot.

[zigackly]

If he seriously fancied us to win the title after our summer transfers and losing Xabi, then he's a fucking idiot.

 

He does say "before the start of the season", but not how long before.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

I tipped Liverpool to win the Premier League before the start of the season. This was not a prediction based on old Anfield loyalties - it was based on the evidence of what I had seen from Liverpool in the last three months of last season.

 

Benitez, after the way Liverpool had taken Real Madrid apart in the Champions League at Anfield, looked to have discovered the way to play against teams at home - namely by going out, penning them in and battering them.

 

Sorry Jock, this is utter fucking rubbish.

 

The only reason we played the way we did is because we threw away the advantage we had before Xmas. We were chasing the Manc cunts and had to go for it.

 

Benitez abandoned the negative shit, which accounted for most of our draws last season, especially at Anfield, which cost us the title last season.

 

If he would have gone for games in the same fashion all season long, we would have been Champions.

 

Lots has been made of the departure of Xabi Alonso. I believe this has been a factor, but when I hear people suggest he was Liverpool's best player last season I almost laugh out loud. If Alonso was better than Gerrard last season, then I never kicked a ball in my life.

 

More clueless shite.

[Torvald Utne]

not really, Gerrard was far and away the better player last season.

[ratcatcher]

Jocky always talks sense.

[Crazyhorse7778]

Decent article, that.

[Steve Holt]

Maybe he should ask Barry why he, who supposedly was desperate to play in the Champions League suddenly changed his mind about that and went to play for City.

 

As for Insua, who else should we play there? Dossena who is far worse than Insua, or Aurelio who gets injured as soon as he plays more than one game a week? He might not be good enough right now, but he needs experience and he's surely not getting it playing only for the reserves. Aurelio has only just returned from injury and don't have a fitness level high enough to play all games so it's a sacrifice we'll have to make now that we can't bring in any replacements at the moment anyway.

 

Maybe he has a friend from the future who warned him how utterly and terribly useless we would become and he thought he had better chance of CL football with Man City...

[Strontium]

Maybe he should ask Barry why he, who supposedly was desperate to play in the Champions League suddenly changed his mind about that and went to play for City.

 

 

The way it's looking at the moment, Barry will be playing in the Champions League next season, and we won't.

 

Not sure why he's being crucified for looking long-term.

[GRADY]

I think its a good article. I too, like listening to Hansen on Liverpool. He obviously has a love of the club but he isnt too biased in his comments to not point out our weaknesses.

 

I dont think his tipping of us prior to the season starting where as ridiculous as it would now seem. On face value we should still have a lot more points on the board than we currently have.

 

It cant just be blamed on injuries to torres/gerrard and alonso going. Its quite clear that the majority of our side is under-performing. Its almost unbelievable that come november we could be competing for the fa cup - a trophy we havent even started playing in yet.

[Manny]

Good article. It's critical, but constructively so and offers some mitigating circumstances without making too many excuses.

[The Dude Abides]

Good article. It's critical, but constructively so and offers some mitigating circumstances without making too many excuses.

 

It's fair. Which is all anyone can ask.

[Benitaur]

The only thing wrong with that is he thinks Rafa's £3m-£10m category has been poor. I disagree. They've been decent. Kuyt, Benayoun, Agger, Skrtel, Lucas (arguable) with the obvious flop being Dossena.

 

The real problem is we're being forced to depend on our free transfers Voronin, Degen and a £2m CB. N'gog too cost £2m while Aurolio is another free transfer.

 

A team hoping to win silverware shouldn't have that many free transfers in the first squad.

[Maldini]

Do people still consider Aurelio a failure? He's had injuries, but he's a fantastic player.

[BexBissel]

I'd have Hansen here as manager like a shot, if (god forbid) anything happened to Rafa. Along with Sammy Lee and Phil Thommo as his assistants.

[Dirty Parry]

best manager we never had is jocky.

[bossy]

eh?

[Guest Pistonbroke]

I'd have Hansen here as manager like a shot, if (god forbid) anything happened to Rafa. Along with Sammy Lee and Phil Thommo as his assistants.

 

Severe lack of experience don't you think ?

[Strontium]

Severe lack of experience don't you think ?

 

 

The last Liverpool managerial appointee who'd had no experience in management or coaching did okay...

[BexBissel]

Severe lack of experience don't you think ?

Obviously, that's the drawback. But Barcelona aren't doing to bad with an 'inexperienced' manager are they?

[Guest Pistonbroke]

The only thing wrong with that is he thinks Rafa's £3m-£10m category has been poor. I disagree. They've been decent. Kuyt, Benayoun, Agger, Skrtel, Lucas (arguable) with the obvious flop being Dossena.

 

The real problem is we're being forced to depend on our free transfers Voronin, Degen and a £2m CB. N'gog too cost £2m while Aurolio is another free transfer.

 

A team hoping to win silverware shouldn't have that many free transfers in the first squad.

 

Really. Kuyt is a donkey imo and was bought as a striker. Skyrtel is a liability and can't tackle without giving a free kick away. Lucas is limited and is nowhere near as good as people think he is. Dossena hasn't been given a fair crack imo, but he is shit at left back and that is why we bought him. Aurelio has paper legs but shows promise when fit. Agger is the same, but he shows a lot more potential than Aurelio and Skyrtel. Benayoun is a class act when used in the right role and one of his better buys.

 

You missed out Reina = Fucking bargain and World class to boot. For the bracket of money we are talking about probably Rafa's best buy.

 

Babel= Lazy bastard and wank to boot.

 

Riera = not impressive. Shows the odd touch but is far to inconsistent.

 

We've sold better players than some of these. We've also let some shite go Pennant being the most obvious wanker who fell into this bracket.

 

Rafa has made a couple of very good signings, but Hansen is right IMO, not enough.