Rafa Running Out Of Time ?

First things first, congratulations to Rafa Benitez and Liverpool for securing an improbable but convincing victory over the aristocrats of Italian football, Internazionale who has swept all before them in the Serie A. Tactical genius or very, very lucky? Credit has to be given when its due to Benitez whose side came out of the blocks early to harass and put pressure on the Serie A side who unashamedly were playing for draw.

Liverpool on Tuesday looked nothing like the side who were knocked out by Barnsley, displaying attacking intent and vigor and finding spaces for the midfield and the front two to attack. Replacing Babel with J. Pennant when Benayoun probably looked like the better option when it was still deadlocked at 0-0 with Inter a man short, I thought surely this tactical blunder was going to bite Rafa in the ass but little did I know (with my couch and Championship Manager knowledge) that Rafa knows best when Pennant set up both goals.

Benitez is a good man with some impeccable, even brilliant qualities, but there are also flaws which make it increasingly improbable that even that convincing victory, will do much more than prolong what is becoming an agony. Kudos to fans for making a stand against the Americans Gillett and Hicks and the 5000 club (where by every member would commit GBP $10,000) but I feel its only a matter of time before Rafa would be another high-profile casualty in the cruel world managing top-flight Premier League teams.

Certainly, Benitez should know better than most the folly of believing his Champions League triumph in Istanbul still bestows the job security of a senior civil servant. Yet still he clings to a remarkable but ageing victory, all the time failing to grasp that football, no more than any other competitive business, has the notion 'you are only as good as your last match in charge'.

No, the game will always be concerned with today and tomorrow, a truth the Liverpool manager ignored when he declared, on the day he lost to Barnsley: "I don't know too many managers who have won the European Cup." As a fellow Spaniard, he among all people should remember Vincente Del Bosque who even after winning the UEFA Champions League not once but TWICE was still sacked the following season.

The harsh truth is that Benitez, with ever diminishing success, appears to have been attempting to impose his own increasingly bizarre version of reality. The more emphatic he becomes in his self-belief, the further his team seems to slip away. But then let's be honest. Rafa is not building a team. What he has been quietly organizing is an assortment, a series of options. An endless jigsaw puzzle if you will.
Benitez believes in the ever shifting jigsaw game. He has made rotation a personal creed, supported by nothing more substantial than a belief in his own powers to play the master puppeteer. The result was shocking against Barnsley. It ran far deeper than the unrest of the fans. The body language of the team announced dismay even before Jamie Carragher, a bulwark of central defence who was recently asked to play at right-back, went public with his belief that the team is just not good enough to win the title.

Hearing the comments of the zealous Carragher brought a specially biting sadness for anyone who was around on that Istanbul dawn when Benitez so impressively outlined his plans for Liverpool's future.

This constant rotation and 'tinkering' has done nothing of which has encouraged the fundamental ambition of every great manager – a sense of growth.

Benitez's predecessor Bill Shankly never won a European Cup but he did lay down the principles of an empire which, at one point, gathered it in as though it was not a challenge but a right.

Shankly signed players like St John and Yeats and Hughes and nurtured players like Tommy Smith and made them gods. Benitez doesn't make gods – he makes squad members and bench warmers to be deployed when the fancy takes him.

He has been trying to win while ignoring the most basic aspect of building a winning team. However many winners of Europe's top prize Benitez does know, he has clearly failed to see an instinct that links them all, from Sir Matt Busby and Jock Stein to Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho..

The problem is increasingly plain. There has been no development. Some tactical triumphs, no doubt. But no evolution. Benitez juggles his players without the merest acknowledgement of another school of thought, which points out that every great team has thrived on familiarity and mutual respect in the dressing room.

When Sir Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles became the only Englishmen to win both the World Cup and European Cup (in the space of two years), they did it while playing more than 60 games a season, most often on pitches which the modern player would dismiss as so many ploughed fields. Shankly made a change in his team as a last resort rather than a first instinct. He won a title with only 13 players.

Yes, we know times change, along with diets and scientific input and equipment, but some things are eternal.

One of them is the need of a professional footballer to feel secure in his role – and his ability. That can only be reinforced by seeing his name on the team sheet. Fighters fight and footballers play football, even if they are rich beyond most dreams.

Liverpool now have to count the consequences. Most discouragingly, they include the breaking voice of Jamie Carragher and his manager's desperate belief that a great club once familiar with serial success can be sustained by not much more than an old deposit made in the bank of Istanbul.

"A Gift from Heaven"

My goodness... this just has to be shared. They didn't show this game (along with all the other games this midweek) in Singapore. I read the match reports - all raving about that goal (direct link).

Truly. Amazed.

Link to a clearer version here.

McLaren destroys England

It may seem harsh to rest the blame squarely on McLaren's shoulders as the England players are largely to be blamed as well.

Leaving out David Beckham for a start was a very unwise move. With Wright-Phillips and Richards on the right, it was easy for Croatia to defend them as they both couldn't cross well and only relied on their pace.

Sure, Robinson should be dropped, but the experience of James would have been better suited for England's biggest game. Carson is a good keeper on his day but his inexperience showed by misjudging Kranjcar's shot. It could have happened to any keeper, but surely James' experience would have been better suited for this occasion. Plus, he has been keeping clean sheets for Portsmouth.

Having said that, England were missing Ashley Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Rooney, Owen and Neville. The experience of these players would have aided England's cause. Lescott looked uncertain the whole night. Croatia were always attacking Bridge. England resorted to long balls to Crouch due to the lack of attacking options.

McLaren has come out and said he would not resign. He would be sacked. Surely. Perhaps, hiring Wenger as a part-time manager would be a better option. Giving the reigns to Alan Shearer? At this point, anyone is better than McLaren.

England has to produce more flair players if they are to compete with the world's best as they lack the discipline of Italy and Germany. So far the only flair players they have are Joe Cole and the injury-prone Rooney. Brazil, Argentina and France have an abundance of flair talent. Ronaldinho, Kaka, Messi, Riquelme, Henry and Ribery to name a few. Even if they are injured, players like Diego, Robinho, Tevez, Aguero, Malouda and Nasri are capable of stepping up. For England, two Tottenham reserve strikers were their only option of the bench minus David Beckham. They needed another Beckham (England's 2-2 draw with Greece) to grab the game by the scruff of its neck but no one stepped up. England can't forever rely on Beckham and Rooney.

Lampard was anonymous throughout the game apart from the penalty. Gerrard has trying to force the situation too much. Often misplacing passes. Only Joe Cole looked like someone capable of creating something. He ran himself to the ground and had to be substituted. Campbell covered up for Lescott and Bridge's incompetence more then he should have.

England is a mess. They need a good manager to steer the ship. Hopefully, not qualifying would be an eye opener to the state of English football. Hopefully, the English would realise that the English Premierleague's high standard does not translate to a world class English team.

England player ratings:

Carson 5 Howler from first shot of the game.
Richards 5
Campbell 7 Played well.
Lescott 5
Bridge 3 Weak link. Constantly exploited.
Wright-Phillips 5
Gerrard 5
Barry 5
Lampard 4 Missing in Action.
Joe Cole 7 England's only lively player.
Crouch 6 Good goal.
Beckham 6 Assist.
Defoe 3 Only contribution was diving to win the penalty.
Bent 5 Too little too late.

French League Phenomenon!

Guess who the French League latest phenomenon is? No, it's not Nasri. No!!! It's not Benzema. Sheesh... how can you not know this. It is David Bellion. Huh?! No way! The Manchester United reject? You're absolutely spot on.

"Their points don't smell of sweat, but they smell of skill and technical superiority," wrote France Football. For that they can thank midfield trio Johan Micoud, Fernando and Alejandro Alonso, while up front David Bellion can't stop scoring. He netted twice and set up the third against Rennes. Cynics have suggested that Bellion's record this season of 10 goals in 14 appearances says more about Ligue 1 defences than anything else. While that may be a little harsh, Bellion shouldn't be awaiting the call from Raymond Domenech just yet.

His most recent "virtuoso" performance with 2 goals and 1 assist.

Platini is nuts

"I do not like the system of Arsène Wenger," the former France international said. "In France, Italy and Spain it is easy to buy with money the best players at 14, 15 or 16. I don't like that. If the best clubs buy the best 15 or 16 players, [then it] is finished for all the clubs in Europe. If my son is playing at Millwall and at 16 Manchester [United] come in for this player, then when will Millwall have a good team?" -Michel Platini-



When everyone has been praising Wenger for grooming a young Arsenal into potential champions, Platini has condemned Wenger's methods. Maybe he is just bitter that Henry broke his goal scoring record for France. Poor Platini wanting people to notice him.

Why shouldn't Wenger snap up young talent if he can groom them into Fabregases? Platini's argument is that teams like "Millwall" can not improve if they have their potential future star taken away. Put Wayne Rooney in Millwall and Millwall will be Premierleague champions? I think not.

If Millwall do have a potential Rooney or Fabregas, he has a better shot of realizing his full potential if he joins a youth programme and go up against talented youngsters on a daily basis. Or playing at a top level against top level opposition to improve. How often does a Fabregas comes along? If say Millwall have a potential Fabregas, who is going to support him? How long does Millwall have to wait for another potential Rooney or potential Terry to come along and improve the team? 50 years?

Point is, as good a player Platini was, he doesn't know what he is rambling about half the time. Wasn't he the guy who is proposing that FA Cup winners be let into the Champions League? Seriously.

Would Lampard be the player that he is if he stayed at West Ham? Would Joe Cole be the player that he is if he stayed at West Ham? They stayed at West Ham but didn't win a thing. Were regarded as players with unlimited potential but not realizing half of it. Enough said.