A clarification of my last blog
So the response to my last blog was not what I expected but perhaps that was partially because I did not articulate myself well. Therefore I am taking another go at it. But before I do I want to make one thing clear. I DO NOT WANT RAFA TO GO. I think he has earned our patience. And if you read my previous articles I have always supported him and will continue to. But I also don't think that he is beyond criticism. Perhaps I did not do it in the right way but I stand by the fact that Rafa has made mistakes and that he does need to improve.
In my last blog I said there were 5 players in the current Liverpool squad who would command a place in the squads of Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal. The five I highlighted were Reina, Agger, Aquilani, Gerrard and Torres. It was my mistake, as has been pointed out by many of the responses to the last blog, that I should have included Johnson and Mascherano in this list.
Point taken. I do apologize for not including Johnson in that list. I think he would walk into any team in the world let alone the three I just mentioned. But as for Mascherano, well I think his case is a little more complex. I think as solely a defensive midfielder Mascherano is the best in the world. His closing of players and space is second to none, and if you see him going into a tackle nine times out of ten he will win the ball (still get called for a foul but thats the ref's fault and not his). However, when I said that he could not get into the other big fours' squad I mean that right now he would either be surplus to requirements or not the right fit.
Let's take Man U first. Right now as their defensive midfielder they have Darren Fletcher and he does do a very good job for them. He helps out in defense and we he helps to build their attacks and chips in with some handy goals as well. So Mascherano right now would not be needed. Arsenal next, and you have to understand the philosophy of football that the club has to understand that Mascherano would not be the right fit. Wenger likes even his defensive midfielder to be good on the ball and pick a pass (Viera, Song, etc). Now Mascherano has a lot of good qualities but being good not he ball is not one of them. Personally I think that defensive midfielders don't need to have that quality as long as they are good enough on the defensive side but more and more teams prefer to have that sort of player.
Of course that does not mean Mascherano is a bad player. After all Barca would not have wanted him is if he was. All I am saying is he is not the right player for any of the other big four teams. He is perfect for us though and I would loathe to loose him. I think he gives the freedom for Gerrard to play in that hole.
So now that we have taken care of those two let's move onto the other players. One of the comments basically listed the whole team as being good enough. I think here we get more into the realm of subjectivity than anything else. One of the comments said Kuyt would get into the other teams. Ok so who would you take out? Arshavin/Walcott? J. Cole/Essien? I would not. As much as I like Deadly Dirk I would pick Arshavin or J. Cole over him to play on the right and so would most of the other Liverpool fans.
As for the younger players you have to think how many have come up through the ranks to be regulars in the team. I can only think of Insua, N'gog and Lucas. The latter only became a regular in the first XI this year when Xabi Alonso departed. Again you have to ask if that is enough? Personally I don't think so. But obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
But in conclusion let me once again say that I don't want Rafa to leave but I also strongly disagree with those people who say that he is beyond reproach. I don't think any manager is. I heard Alen Hansen once say that it's really easy for managers to be criticized and that's why he didn't want to become a manager. Fair enough. But Benitez chose this career and he has to take the adulation with the criticism and so do his fans and critics.
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what pool need is a rerious re-think, like when juve sold zidane and spain ditched raul - with great sucess in both cases.
but such moves need balls, and neither rafa, the board or the supporters have that.
so who's is pool's zidane and raul?
;-)
I think that benayoun is one of the best attacking midfielders around and if rafa started him through the middle more he would show his true class. I think he deserves his place on that list. afterall, Aquilani hasn't even started yet.
@ crow96: I totally agree with you. at the back end of last season benayoun was totally inspirational. not only with important goals but with clever assists and getting other players into the game.
However this year a combination of injuries, not being selected and the team as a whole playing badly he has not been able to make as big an impact. Although i am confident he will soon enough.
I put aquilani there coz ive watched him play (when fit) for over four years now (Im one of those people who still follow Serie A quite regularly) and I think he has that class factor about him in the sense that he can change the rhythm and tempo of a game.