Walton Breck Road

Liverpool FC: Thank you Rafa Benitez for making me dream

By Michael Owen

On the 25th of May 2005 I was sat in the Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul. The players were walking out of the tunnel and my Dad turned and said to me “You’re not going to enjoy this”. He was right.

Support for Rafa worldwide (photo from JingMc)

Through 90 minutes of football, 30 minutes of extra-time and an agonising penalty shootout I went through more emotions than I’d been through in my entire life from excitement to despair, disappointment to utter euphoria and the lowest of the low to top of the world all over the course of one football match.

I remember after one particularly gloomy night of football at Anfield I asked my Dad if I’d ever see Liverpool in a Champions League final like Manchester United in 1999 – he told me he wouldn’t put money on it. 

Remembering that moment whilst sat in the ground in Istanbul made me not care about the result, win, lose or draw I’d seen Liverpool get to a European Cup final in what was a roller-coaster ride of a tournament which saw the Reds see off the likes of Juventus, Leverkusen and Chelsea. 

When I saw Steven Gerrard lifting the trophy that night it made me dream of past glories I wasn’t lucky enough to be around for, it made me believe Liverpool FC could go on to conquer the world.

That belief was created by Rafael Benitez. 

Despite what the pundits may say, he didn’t disappoint in his six years in charge at Anfield. Aside from the fantastic Newcastle games under Evans and the FA and UEFA Cup wins under Houlier Rafael Benitez and his side provided me with my best memories of being a Liverpool supporter. 

In the past six years I’ve seen Liverpool see off some of the best in Europe. Spanish giants Barcelona and Madrid have fell at the hands of the Rafalution, as have AC, Inter and Juventus. On the domestic front I’ve seen us thrash United, defy Romans Russian millions at Chelsea and, oh, yeah, beat Everton more times than I can remember. 

 I’ve been astonished by brilliant performances from players like Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso, whilst I’ve been utterly wowed by Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher who have both become world-class players thanks to Benitez.

For three years I thought Liverpool FC could do about anything. In 2005 we secured the European Cup and Super Cup. In 2006 we brought home the FA Cup and Charity Shield and in 2007 we reached the Champions League final again. 

But just months before our close defeat at the hands of AC Milan a lethal dose of poison was inject into the veins of the club I love, that poison was Tom Hicks and George Gillett. 

Now, three years later, I have grown to hate our happy-go-lucky American owners and what they’ve done to Liverpool Football Club and the manager I felt could take us to new heights. 

Where Benitez wanted Villa the board offered Voronin, when Silva was sought after all that could be afforded was Riera and there was certainly no sign of Snoggy Doggy. 

Despite the sometimes questionable tactics, often strange policies and a notably stubborn attitude I truly believe I’d be talking about Liverpool FC –English Champions if Benitez had signed who he wanted to over the past six years. Alves, Simao, Silva and Villa are just a few names the boss missed out on and that cost the club dearly.

The boardroom battles that he fought to try and get as much as he could to take the club forward eventually broke him and a disappointing season was the result, but for five years before that Rafael Benitez turned Liverpool FC from falling stars to European powerhouses and for that I commend him. 

But I’ll remember the good times, the mad nights and day’s home, away and abroad. But most importantly I’ll remember that Rafael Benitez made me dream again. 

Thanks Rafa – You’ll Never Walk Alone. 

Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea: Reds Champions League hopes ended as Blues inch closer to title

By Michael Owen

Chelsea received a major boost in their race for the Premier League title today as they saw off Liverpool at Anfield, beating the Reds by two goals.

Gerrard's mistake cost Liverpool in the first-half 

Dider Drogba and Frank Lampard were the scorers for the Blues, with Liverpool only managing to test Chelsea keeper Petr Cech once, when Dirk Kuyt took a shot from left of the target which the Czech shot-stopper collected awkwardly.

The home side had started the game well, playing at a good tempo and piling the pressure onto the Blues defence.

But Chelsea’s back-four were resilient throughout the first half-hour before their patience paid off as Steven Gerrard misjudged a back-pass towards the Liverpool goal, allowing Drogba to intercept and fire easily past Pepe Reina.

From then on the Stamford Bridge side grew in confidence, making some excellent moves going forward with Salomon Kalou orchestrating Chelsea’s play in the final-third of the pitch and troubling makeshift right-back Javier Mascherano, who stepped in to cover for the injured Glen Johnson.

Chelsea’s second came not long after the second 45 minutes had began, with the Blues front-line stringing together a number of clever passes before Frank Lampard slipped in to put it into the back of the net, with the Liverpool players appeals for handball  being waved away by referee Alan Wiley.

The Blues continued to dominate the game, with Liverpool looking low on confidence and tired following their extra-time exit from the Europa League at the hands of Atletico Madrid on Thursday night.

The win for Chelsea ensured their title challenge was still on track, taking them four points clear of rivals Manchester United. For Liverpool the defeat put an end to any hopes of finishing in fourth place and proved to be a disappointing ending to an equally disappointing season for Rafael Benitez’s side.

During the lap of honour Benitez, Torres and Gerrard looked far from being ready to quit Anfield, though recent board-room fallouts and interest from Italian giants Juventus may ensure that Rafael Benitez’s future is elsewhere. 

WBR Live: Liverpool v Atletico Madrid

Liverpool fan pressure harming youth development

By Michael Owen

It’s been a rough season for Liverpool Football Club, and it’s difficult to really pick out a solution for the current on the pitch problems. Some blame the owners, some blame the manager, and fingers have even been pointed at the players. 

 

One thing which people do tend to be critical of is Rafael Benitez’s reluctance to include some of the youngsters in his first team squad, especially considering some of the more well-known faces are having such a torrid time of it in the starting eleven. 

What many may not realise, however, is it’s the pressure from supporters that makes the Liverpool boss reluctant to include some of the less experienced players in his starting eleven – there’s simply too much weight to put on such inexperienced shoulders.

Recently we’ve had cries from the stands to give promising youngster Dani Pacheco a chance, with many saying the Spaniard will fare much better than French forward David N’gog, who many claim doesn’t have what it takes to play up front for the Reds. 

Yet these people don’t seem to realise that Pacheco, as good as he is, isn’t a striker. Pacheco is much more used to playing in an attacking midfield role similar to what Steven Gerrard now plays. Yet the same people who say the manager is wrong for playing people out of position are the same ones calling for young Dani to play up front. 

Let’s also not forget that David N’gog is only young himself. N’gog, who just celebrated his birthday on April 1st, is only 21-years old, nothing when you consider the life-span of a Premier League forward. Yet even though he has a strike rate better than Michael Owen this season the inexperienced forward is constantly harassed and ridiculed by much of our support. 

Thanks to this season the pressure on young players coming into the squad is incredible. It would be fair to say there’s not been much creativity in the first-team throughout this term and any new player who doesn’t set the world on fire after making their debut is consider a flop by many of our supporters, most of whom seem to have a want it yesterday attitude. 

N’gog has a lot of potential, but he is lacking in some departments. Firstly he’s lacking in the strength department, but that’s something that can be built up over time. Secondly he’s short on confidence, but there’s not many who aren’t in that Liverpool team, a good run of wins will soon sort that out. But our support isn’t willing to afford youngsters with time, and it will slowly but surely cripple are youth system. 

What people need to understand is that young players need time to gel and get used to playing in the starting eleven, especially those who have come from abroad who aren’t used to the rough and tumble lifestyle of the premier League. Arsene Wenger took years to build his now outstanding youth setup, as they say; Rome wasn’t built in a day. 

Hopefully next season will bring fresh investment and a renewed challenge for honours, that way there will be less pressure on those coming into the squad to perform, and the youngsters might actually have a chance. But if we see a repeat of this season fans must realise this isn’t a quick and easy process, patience is certainly a virtue when dealing with prospects for the future. 

Birmingham City 1-1 Liverpool: Ridgewell deals major blow to 4th Place hopes

By Michael Owen

Liverpool dropped further points in their race to finish fourth after drawing 1-1 with Birmingham City at St. Andrews on Sunday in a game which saw star-striker Fernando Torres controversially substituted. 

Unmarked: Ridgewell beats Reina to secure a point for Birmingham 

The first-half saw little action in front of goal for either side, with Liverpool looking the stronger of the two teams but ultimately lacking the cutting edge needed in order to break through the City back line and grab an early goal against Alex McLeish’s side. 

They say it’s a game of two halves and that was certainly true of the game at St. Andrews, with Steven Gerrard picking up on a mishit shot by Glen Johnson early on in the second-half and firing in from a tight angle to give the Reds the lead. 

But the lead was short-lived, with a cross from the right wing finding Liam Ridgewell open on the back post, leaving Pepe Reina helpless as the ball was tucked into the bottom corner to bring the home side back level. 

What happened after the goal may well have provided the final nail in the coffin of Liverpool’s hopes of getting the final Champions League spot, with the reds manager Rafael Benitez deciding to take off Fernando Torres, replacing him with youngster David N’gog. 

Torres looked slightly confused when his number was held up by the fourth official, a feeling seemingly shared by his teammate and Liverpool captain Gerrard, whose facial expression suggested that the England international was less than impressed with the change so early on in the second-half. 

The frustration at the change was further increased when replacement David N’gog failed to net an number of good chances during his time on the pitch, chances which could have well secured Liverpool a vital three-points and kept their hopes of finishing fourth place intact. 

It would be unfair to suggest that the change was the reason that we didn’t win, after all even when Torres was on the pitch the lack of ambition going forward meant we didn’t look like scoring. But as the second-half went on and the midfield further increased the pressure you have to feel that the Spanish front man would have netted a few of the chances that fell to young N’gog. 

Liverpool face Benfica at Anfield on Thursday in a game that will determine if any silverware will be coming to Anfield this season. Supporters across the country will be hoping that the side Rafael Benitez names will play considerably better than what they did at Birmingham. 

Liverpool 3-0 Sunderland: Torres Nets Twice As Reds Run Rampant

By Michael Owen

Two goals from Fernando Torres and an effort from distance by Glen Johnson ensured Liverpool gained a valuable three-points against Sunderland, further intensifying the race for fourth place in the Barclays Premier League. 

Fernando Torres scored a brace against Sunderland 

The reds got the scoring underway early on, with Fernando Torres curling the ball into the back of the net from tight angle with just three minutes on the clock. Liverpool continued to dominate the first-half but missed a number of good chances before Glen Johnson’s shot from outside of the box took a deflection before beating Craig Gordon. 

The home side took their foot off the pedal slightly in the second-half, but remained comfortable throughout and their confidence paid off on the hour mark when Fernando Torres found space inside the box and fired home from close range. 

It would be fair to say that the first 45 minutes were the best Liverpool had played all season, controlling the ball well, getting forward and dominating possession. Pepe Reina had little to do in the opening 45, though a number of good attempts in the second-half ensured there was no lapse in concentration from the Spanish keeper, with a Bolo Zenden shot forcing a particularly good save from the reds number 25. 

The change in formation to 4-4-2 worked to Liverpool’s advantage, with Steven Gerrard getting much more involved in the game from his deeper position in the centre of midfield. Dirk Kuyt, though quiet, looked a lot better in a forward role than he has in recent appearances on the wing and his performance, along with the display from his strike partner Torres, may make Rafael Benitez think twice before reverting back to having a lone striker.

Liverpool’s back-four stood firm, though little in the way of attacking moves by the Black Cats left Carragher and co with little to do, especially in the first 45 minutes. Daniel Agger’s trips forward for set pieces will have disappointed the Danish centre-half, who failed to convert a good number of chances in and around the box. Glen Johnson on the other hand will be pleased with his ventures into the final third, scoring one and featuring in a number of Liverpool’s attacking moves. 

Whilst the win bodes well for reds going into the game against Benfica consistency will be the key in Lisbon. Rafael Benitez will be hoping the Liverpool that played against Lille, Portsmouth and Sunderland turns up in the Portuguese capital, as opposed to the disappointing team that lost to Wigan and was held against Wolves and Stoke away from home. 

The win certainly improves our chances of getting fourth place, especially with Villa’s battering at the hands of title-contenders Chelsea on Saturday, but everyone in the dressing room will no it’s far from a given the Anfield faithful will be watching Champions League football next season, and in order to bridge the gap between us and Spurs the players will have to put in 110% in the remaining Premier  League fixtures. 

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Liverpool 3-0 Lille: Dynamic Duo On Target As Reds Progress To Next Round

Going into a second-leg one goal down is never going to be easy, especially when your form has been up and down like a yo-yo over recent weeks. However, Liverpool once again proved their quality in Europe by beating French side Lille 3-0 in front of a below-average crowd at Anfield.

Gerrard opens scoring for Liverpool 

The reds started the week well, with a win over Pompey and, most importantly, a performance reminiscent of the Liverpool side that battled it out in the Premier League title race last year. But in keeping with Liverpool’s poor season it was never going to be the perfect week, first Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani was ruled out of the game with a stomach bug closely followed by Albert Riera launching a scathing attack on Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, enough to secure the Spanish international a suspension from training.

Going into the game Rafael Benitez was forced in to making two changes from the side that faced Portsmoth on Monday night, bringing in Lucas Leiva to replace the unwell Aquilani and Dirk Kuyt for the ineligible Maxi Rodriguez.

It didn’t take the Reds long to get off the mark, with Steven Gerrard finding the back of the net from the spot after Lucas Leiva was brought down in the box with just eight minutes on the clock.

Liverpool added their second just after half-time, when Ryan Babel played it to Fernando Torres who managed to dink it in to give the home side the lead on aggregate.

Torres added the third and final goal of the evening with just two minutes of normal time to be played, calming the nerves of the restless Liverpool fans who’d turned out in force to support their side in Europe’s second-tier competition.

Despite the large margin, the game offered little in the way of free-flowing football from Liverpool. In fact, after the second goal the reds seemed to take their foot off the pedal and sit back slightly, a tactic which may be punished against stronger opposition in later rounds.

Supporters will no-doubt take comfort in the return to form of iconic striker Fernando Torres, who once again put in a blinding display and was rewarded with two well-placed goals. The reds will be given a much-needed confidence boost from the return of the Spanish striker, who’s hit the ground running with five goals in his last five appearances.

Dirk Kuyt’s inclusion on the right-hand side will have come to no surprise due to Rodriguez’s ineligibility but what is of concern is the Dutchman’s continued poor-form. Once again his first-touch let him down and his lack of pace ensured that he rarely troubled the Lille defence. Where last season’s Dirk Kuyt has gone I don’t know, but it would be nice to have him back.

Ryan Babel’s performance picked up mixed reviews from many of the national media outlets, though I’d have to say he was less-than-impressive, especially in the second-half. What he offers in pace he lacks in footballing ability. Once again he took far too much time to make up his mind when on the ball and his lack of effort before coming off was clear for all to see. The phrase consistently inconsistent was seemingly created for the winger.

It’s Benfica for the reds in the next round and it’s by no means going to be a walkover. Memoires of a disappointing exit at the hands of the Portuguese outfit in 2006 will no doubt be flooding back to the minds of Liverpool supporters around the world and the message from that second-round game is clear, don’t underestimate Benfica. 

M. Owen

Alberto Aquilani - All Hail The Little Prince

It’s always nice for a footballer when everything falls into place, just like it did for Alberto Aquilani in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield tonight.

 

Liverpool fans around the country jumped for joy when the Italian was named on the team sheet against the financially crippled Pompey, and that optimism was not wrongly placed by the Kop faithful, with the ‘little prince’ putting in his best performance so far in a Liverpool shirt.

Not only did Alberto contribute a goal, he added another dimension to the reds going forward, playing accurate long-balls in a manner that was reminiscent of Xabi Alonso during last seasons campaign. But Aquilani’s work in the final-third is what makes him different from the man he was brought to replace, the Italian breaks into the box as often as any other attacking midfielder and, more often than not, makes something happen.

Of course, we shouldn’t get too carried away. This is the first time Aquilani’s had impacted upon the final score, with most of his appearances before either being cameo appearances off the bench or  matches in which the Italian international looked to be settling in to his new role at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield.

However there’s no doubt in my mind that Alberto will continue to prove his worth to the Kop faithful as he’s featured in the reds squad more regularly. Tonight’s performance showed the class that the midfielder possesses and even if his injury problems have made his first season at Liverpool a disappointing one the signs suggest that Aquilani will only get better as time goes on.

Clearly Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez agrees, praising Aquilani after his goal and assists helped ensure an easy win for the reds.

"It was really good for him (Aquilani) and for the team and he will have more confidence.

"We have seen a lot of players playing well tonight and that is good for me because I will have more problems and more of a (selection) headache.

"I think his performance shows he has quality, and we knew this before. Again I will say, there were some players playing really well tonight, and Aquilani was one of them."

With the manager holding him in high regard and the fans feeling the same way there’s no doubt we’ll be seeing him much more often in the next four years, hopefully we’ll won’t be talking about the ‘little prince’ in  seasons to come, but rather Alberto Aquilani – the next king of Anfield.

M. Owen

LIverpool 4-1 Portsmouth: Aquilani On-Form As Reds Revive Race For Fourth

Liverpool sent a message to the teams around them with a 4-1 win against an unimpressive Portsmouth side at Anfield.

 

Rafael Benitez’s side came out and attacked from the first minute, with Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Maxi Rodriguez, Ryan Babel and Alberto Aquilani all named in the reds starting eleven.

A subdued Anfield had to wait just over 20 minutes for Liverpool’s pressure to pay off, but over the course of six minutes Torres, Babel and Aquilani all managed to find the back of the net in front of an ecstatic Kop.

Along with getting his debut goal, Aquilani also put in a great all round performance, moving well and making clever passes, the best of which found Fernando Torres to extend Liverpool’s lead to four goals midway through the second-half.

It wasn’t quite the perfect night for the Anfield side, with a redundant Liverpool defence caught napping in the dying minutes allowing Pompey to grab an consolation goal from Nabir Belhadj.

For the most part it was an impressive display from every Liverpool player on the pitch, though the defence were very rarely tested albeit by a few good moves by the impressive Piquionne playing as a lone striker for the visitors.

Fernando Torres’ two goals will do doubt give the Spanish front man some much-needed confidence going into two important games, but what may be more crucial for the reds is that the assists came from Maxi Rodriguez and Alberto Aquilani, both who are looking to prove their worth at Anfield.

Rafael Benitez will no doubt feel that Dutch-winger Ryan Babel paid him back from giving him a very rare start, contributing a goal and offering a lot going forward, increasing the overall speed of the game in the final-third. I’ve been one of Babel’s biggest critics in recent weeks, but there’s no doubt tonight’s performance deserves and extended run in the side.

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens over the next two games, against Lille and Manchester United, two games which could shape the rest of our season. If we come out and attack like we did today I’m fully-confident that we can win both, but with Liverpool this season you simply never know.

After most games this season I’ve commented on how more questions were made the answers found. However today I can safely say some questions have been answered. Yes, Alberto Aquilani does have the quality needed, or is at least showing signs of it. Yes, Ryan Babel does have something about him more than just ‘potential’ and, of course, no, Rafa has not lost the dressing room.

M. Owen

Liverpool v Portsmouth: Must Win For The Reds

By Phil Browne

This may be an unwelcome thought for you but I’ll share it anyway.

 

Have relegation-threatened, near-bankrupt Portsmouth got a better chance of winning silverware than Liverpool this season?

As the two sides meet at Anfield in the Monday night Premier League fixture Portsmouth, despite being in the deepest crisis a top flight team has seen since Leeds’ dramatic fall from glory, are only 180 Wembley minutes away from holding aloft the FA Cup.

Liverpool, on the other hand, will need a big performance and frankly, a major improvement in quality, if they are to progress to the last 8 of the Europa League after the 1-0 defeat against Lille midweek.

In some ways, Portsmouth and Liverpool have mirrored each other this season. Admittedly, Portsmouth are in far greater peril than the Reds but they also started the season with much lower expectations. Both teams have had miserable seasons, both teams have very uncertain financial futures and both teams have major ownership issues.

In fact, reports in some Sunday newspapers have suggested both clubs are close to securing new investment and both sets of fans would say they desperately need it.

On the pitch, Liverpool would look to be far too strong for the worst team in the division but they have already been handed one humiliating defeat by the team from the south coast and will be keen to avoid another one.

Strikes from Nadir Belhadj and Frederic Piquionne condemned Liverpool to one of their most humbling loses of a season that has been littered with bad results and poor performances.

A run of poor results and lack of goals (the Reds have only scored twice in their last 4 league games) would suggest this may be a closer game than the league table would have us believe.

But Portsmouth don’t have statistics on their side either. They have only won 1 of their last ten league games and haven’t tasted victory at Anfield since August 1951, last doing the double over Liverpool in the 1947/48 season.

The Reds could be without the creative talents of Yossi Benayoun who is suffering with an ankle injury but should welcome back Maxi Rodriguez who was ineligible for the trip to France.

Having seen Liverpool struggle to create any sort of meaningful chance against both Wigan and Lille some Liverpool fans will be desperate to see their side attack what they may consider to be an easy target. With this in mind, could a way be found to accommodate both Fernando Torres and David N’Gog up front? With Kuyt on the right and either Riera or Maxi on the left and a centre midfield partnership of Gerrard and Mascherano, their should be enough firepower in the Reds line-up to cause Portsmouth’s shaky defence some major headaches. 

Portsmouth’s strongest assets are their goalscorers. Piquionne has notched 10 while Aruna Dindane has scored 7 this season. With Martin Skrtel still injured, the responsibility of keeping the Portsmouth attack quiet will probably fall to Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger. Glen Johnson is expected to start at right-back against his old club and Emiliano Insua should continue on the other side.

Liverpool simply can’t afford anything less than 3 points against the league’s bottom side. With Tottenham Hotspur winning on Saturday and Manchester City and Aston Villa having 2 games in hand, defeat tomorrow would surely end the Reds hope of Champions League football next year.