Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard just made life worse for manager Rafa Benitez. The club captain and England midfielder recently aired his frustrations at the team’s inability to challenge for the Premier League and in doing so may just have burst Benitez’s bubble.  

Up until now the Liverpool manager might not think it, but he has been a lucky man. It’s true the Spaniard lives with endless media debates over his future, his team are 17 points behind league leaders Arsenal and his club faces uncertainty over its ownership but he has been able to count on unwavering support of the fans.

This may seem a simple statement, but in football it is quite the novelty. Clubs with far lesser ambitions consistently lack patience, often crumbling to supporter pressure. Anybody remember Paul Sturrock? You would be forgiven for having missed his 13-game stint as manager of Southampton back in 2004. More recently Lawrie Sanchez arrived at Fulham in April 2007 only to be sacked in December the same year. Sam Allardyce was shown the door after eight months in charge of Newcastle United.

So why has the former Valencia man enjoyed such a state of grace? Benitez joined the Reds in 2004 and yet almost four years on his expensively assembled squad are no closer to making an impact on the competition the club and fans wants most: the Premier League.

The simple answer is the night in 2005 when Liverpool became European champions for the fifth time but Gerrard expects more and the captain’s comments may test the fans’ resolve for sticking by Benitez.

Benitez is clever man — just look at the political skill of his comments saying he shared Gerrard’s frustration – but the trophy cabinet gathers dust nonetheless.

What do you think? Could Gerrard’s comments signal the end for Benitez? Or do you expect him to back at Anfield preparing for another shot at the title next season? Let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Gerrard stretches during training at Anfield. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

There are exactly 100 days to go before the start of Euro 2008 and if the people aren’t exactly dancing in the streets at the prospect, at least the organisers have done their bit.I’m three-quarters of the way through a tour of the eight stadiums hosting matches at the tournament and it looks like Switzerland is going to supply most of the atmosphere. The pick of the games in the first phase are there and from what I’ve seen so far, the stadiums look a lot better.

We started off at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, with its slightly faded grandeur, took a long bus ride down to Klagenfurt and then went on to Salzburg and Innsbruck.

Yesterday we crossed into Switzerland to see the plushly rebuilt Letzigrund stadium in Zurich and I’ve just come from a walk round the St Jakob Park in Basel, where six matches will be played.

Klagenfurt is a brand new ground, a little jewel of a stadium, with a temporary top tier to take it up to a capacity of 30,000 or so, and the people there are evidently proud of it. At least they have something to be happy about.

The home team, SK Kaernten, are bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga at the moment and relegation looks inevitable, which means next year it’s going to be one of the nicest little second division grounds around.

Innsbruck is using the same type of temporary stand to boost the numbers. The views are breathtaking from the top, but it felt a bit rickety even with just a handful of journalists wandering round. I don’t know what it’ll feel like when thousands of fans are crammed into it.

Salzburg is a steep-banked stadium which reminded me of the Boavista ground in Porto but that’s really where the comparison with Euro 2004 begins and ends. None of the grounds in Austria match up to the really spectacular venues from four years ago, places like Braga or the Luz stadium in Lisbon.

It was nice, then, to get a look at the beautifully reconstructed stadium in Zurich. It’s another ground with a running track, and I’m told one of the best places to watch athletics in Europe, but they’ve added their extra seats at the front rather than on top, meaning the fans will be pretty close to the pitch.

Basel is where the opening match between the Swiss and the Czech Republic takes place in a hundred days’ time. This is a boxy stadium, the most English of the grounds we’ve seen so far, and it comes complete with an old people’s home which looks out on to the pitch.

Later I’ll be in Berne before moving on to Geneva on Friday and all being well I should have more blogs/vlogs from there.

In the meantime, please feel free to comment on my vlogging debut, and let me know what you think about the Euro 2008 grounds. Predictions for the final anyone? My money’s on Portugal v Italy, but I’m always wrong.

Kevin Fylan

Wednesday’s 1-1 home draw with second-placed AS Roma maintained Inter Milan’s nine-point lead at the top of Serie A.

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti hinted before the game that the title race would effectively be over if his side didn’t win. But after a controversial red card for Roma’s Philippe Mexes and Javier Zanetti’s 88th minute equaliser for Inter, the Roma boss refused to concede.

“The championship isn’t finished, nine points can be overhauled,” he said.

Is he right or are Inter already assured of their third title in row? *

The champions, unbeaten in Serie A this term, are definitely having a wobble following last week’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in the Champions League.

Hernan Crespo salvaged a 1-1 draw at Sampdoria last weekend while Inter were without injured strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Cruz for the Roma clash, with left back Maxwell limping off in the second half when they’d used all their subs.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini is no fool and will make sure his players “stay focused”. The Italian media have decided it’s all over though. with Thursday’s Gazzetta dello Sport asking: “Have Inter killed the championship?”

Inter equalled the record last season for wrapping up the title in the quickest time. They were celebrating five games before the end last term and this year they could do it again despite Juventus being back in the top flight and AC Milan having no points deductions.

If Inter are not careful they’ll end up like Lyon, who must be bored of winning the French title by now.

Mark Meadows, Reuters Sports Correspondent in Milan   

* Inter were awarded the 2005/06 title in a courtroom after Juventus were demoted in a match-fixing scandal. Milan also received points deductions in the affair. Don’t ever tell a Juve fan that fierce rivals Inter won the league that year, I’ve been there and it isn’t pretty.

Many pubgoers get a bit overzealous on an evening and hands are sometimes raised, but it doesn’t force them out of the next four Friday nights on the town.

In contrast, Middlesbrough striker Jeremie Aliadiere earned a three-game suspension for his exchange of handbags with Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano, before the ban was extended to four matches after the FA rejected Boro’s “frivolous” appeal.

Boro chairman Steve Gibson has branded the FA “amateurs and silly little men” while chief executive Keith Lamb is “furious and astounded” at the lengthening of the ban.

Punishing a genuine appeal - Mascherano did in fact grab the Boro player’s face prior to Aliadiere’s petulant slap - gives the impression the FA simply doesn’t want the hassle of dealing with such pleas and sets a worrying precedent.

Their decision is also inconsistent. As Lamb pointed out, Chelsea appealed a similar decision against Michael Essien last November and although it was dismissed, he was not punished further.

The greater problem lies in the “you can’t raise your hands” line that means referees feel they have to show red cards for any little slap or poke.

Did Aliadiere’s transgression initially deserve the same punishment as Martin Taylor’s clumsy and far more damaging lunge on Eduardo? Certainly not.

If officials are allowed to give attackers the benefit of the doubt in a tight offside call then they should be permitted to use common sense when faced with a mere slap.

Like with most disciplinary procedures, the FA could do worse than speak to their counterparts in rugby or more particularly watch a re-run of Ireland’s Six Nations clash with Scotland at the weekend.

An hour after Aliadiere saw red, the more powerful flailing arm of Scotland’s Nathan Hines caught Denis Leamy while the Scots attempted to take a quick penalty on the Irish line. A reversal of the penalty was deemed sufficient with a letter of the law sin-binning not necessary.

Common sense, simple common sense….

Padraic Halpin, London

When Pierluigi Collina reached the Italian referee retirement age a few years back, there was talk of bringing him to England so he could officiate a bit longer and boost the standard.

The idea of the bald great going eyeball to eyeball with Wayne Rooney and John Terry appealed to many, but it never came close to happening, not least because the world’s best official became the Italian referees’ chief.

Now the boot is on the other foot, and it is the Italians who are crying out for foreign referees to come to Serie A. Several officials were either struck off or put off during the 2006 match-fixing scandal, which involved some teams procuring favourable referees.

AC Milan chief Adriano Galliani and Juventus chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli say Italy’s current crop of referees are therefore too inexperienced and make too many errors. They think the league should draft in foreign officials to reduce the number of controversial decisions seen this season. Some Italians, haunted by the match-fixing affair, would like to have foreign referees full stop so that any accusation of an official being a ‘homer’ could be dismissed.

Could this plan work in the whole of Europe? We have impartial referess for international and European club matches so why not in league games?

English fans complain it is nearly impossible for away teams to get a penalty at Old Trafford in the Premier League but several have been awarded against Manchester United in the Champions League. 

Collina has rejected the idea, saying Italian referees remain some of the best in the world. For once he is being ignored and Wednesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport listed Germany’s Herbert Fandel and England’s Howard Webb among a list of top officials it would like to see in Italy.

However, this begs the question: which poor country would take the Italian referees?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Pierluigi Collina glares at former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman as he books him during a Champions League match with Barcelona, March 8, 2005 REUTERS/Mike Finn-Kelcey

Karim Benzema looks certain to one day leave Olympique Lyon for more glamorous pastures. If Lyon have their way, he could end up being the most expensive player ever.

The 20-year-old France striker has burst into the limelight this season, scoring 26 goals in all competitions including one in the 1-1 Champions League draw with Manchester United last week which Alex Ferguson called a “marvellous strike”.

Sir Alex is not the only manager to have spotted the phenomenon, who is clearly good enough for any club. Real, AC Milan, Chelsea, you name it. A rare combination of power and skill, Benzema can do it all.

His gift for close control and unique game intelligence are reminiscent of another French prodigy of North African descent, Zinedine Zidane. But the young man is a true striker with a taste for blistering runs, who has that nack of being at the right place at the right time.

He is a matchwinner who can make a goal out of nothing, not unlike the player he admires the most, Brazil’s Ronaldo (not now obviously).

All this comes at a price, and that could be more than when Zidane left Juventus for Real Madrid in 2001 for a world record fee of 75 million euros.

Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, who knows what he has in Benzema, is working out a plan. The player is contracted to Lyon until 2012 and Aulas is negotiating a two-year extension with a pay rise that would make Benzema the highest-paid player in Ligue 1. The Lyon boss said he was also considering setting a buyout clause worth 100 million euros.

“If Karim could sign with us until 2045, it would be fantastic,” Aulas said last week.

Benzema himself said he saw his future at Lyon and wanted to stay there until they won the Champions League. That could be quite a long time.

There is little doubt, however, that he will eventually move on and become a Galactico, a Fantastico or something of that kind. There isn’t anybody money can’t buy. In Benzema’s case, however, it will have to be an awful lot of money.
 
Patrick Vignal, Paris

PHOTO: Benzema in action against Manchester United, Feb. 20 REUTERS/Toby Melville

A month ago Real Madrid looked invincible as they opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the Primera Liga on the back of an eight-match winning streak in the league.

But the wheels have come off the bandwagon recently, starting with an unexpected 2-0 defeat away to promoted Almeria on Feb.2.

Real looked to have recovered with a 7-0 demolition of Valladolid in front of their own fans but there followed a 2-1 defeat at Real Betis and then a 1-0 home reverse to Getafe on Sunday, which ended their 100 percent league record at the Bernabeu.

To make matters worse, Getafe’s goal was comical.

Winger Arjen Robben thought he had scored for Real midway through the second half. A large number of players ran to the corner to celebrate with him despite the fact that the linesman’s flag was up and the referee had not awarded a goal.

Seeing his chance, visiting defender David Belenguer took a quick free kick to launch a four-against-two counter-attack that ended with Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche beating Iker Casillas.

Taking into account Real’s exit from the King’s Cup in January, when they lost home and away to Real Mallorca, and their 2-1 defeat at AS Roma in the Champions League last week, that adds up to six defeats from their last 10 matches in all competitions.

A string of injuries in defence have not helped but it is upfront where they have lost their spark. Compared to earlier games they now create more chances, but are failing to put them away.

“We are only having problems with our results, not with our play or fitness,” Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro said on Monday. “It is difficult to repeat what we did in the first half of the season (when they only dropped eight points). Our lead is now only two points and maybe the pressure will serve us well.”

Second-placed Barcelona have kept plugging away during this time are now within touching distance of the champions. Their last two performances in particular, when they twice came from behind to beat Celtic 3-2 away in the Champions League and the 5-1 home win over Levante on Sunday, suggest the Catalans are hitting top gear.

They are unbeaten in 14 matches in all competitions, and with Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o and Argentina livewire Lionel Messi firing on all cylinders again, Barca look to have regained the hunger that appeared to be missing earlier in the campaign.

Are Barca set to take a leaf out of Real Madrid’s book from last season and overhaul their arch-rivals in the title run-in? Or is Bernd Schuster capable of tightening up Real’s performances again?

The meeting between the sides at the Bernabeu in May promises to be a true title-decider, with two games left to play after that.

Mark Elkington, Madrid

Today we are launching a new feature on the blog - a regular Monday look back at one of the highlights of the weekend from our vlogger-in-chief Owen Wyatt.

Click play on the video to see Owen and Jon Bramley of the Reuters Sports Desk discussing the latest triumph for cup king Juande Ramos.

If you have anything to say then please leave comments in the usual way. In the future we want you to send in your video reaction to matches you’ve seen or your opinions on talking points and broader themes in the game. So watch this space.

Kevin Fylan, Berlin

Since that astonishing day in September when Chelsea ruthlessly showed Jose Mourinho the door at Stamford Bridge, Avram Grant has performed a pretty good impersonation of the special one, at least with results on the pitch.

Until Sunday’s 2-1 League Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues were going for silverware on four fronts and even the most pro-Mourinho fans were willing to concede that Grant was doing a decent job.

Now, however, Chelsea supporters may just be starting to question whether they got the wrong man. Round about the same time Mourinho was rewarded for two league titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups with the sack, Tottenham finally landed Sevilla coach Juande Ramos after shamefully undermining former boss Martin Jol.

Ramos, like Mourinho it seems, is a serial winner. He arrived at Spurs having won consecutive UEFA Cups with Sevilla, the European Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. He also took Sevilla to third in the Primera Liga and into the Champions League.

Grant’s time in Israeli football, though impressive, featured four defeats in showpiece cup finals. Now Ramos has given Spurs their first silverware since 1999 and their league form has improved beyond recognition.

Head to head with Grant at Wembley on Sunday, the Spaniard won hands down in all departments.

Grant’s 4-3-3 formation misfired so spectacularly that Chelsea’s only shot on target in the 90 minutes before extra time was the free kick scored by Didier Drogba. Nicolas Anelka was invisible, as was Shaun Wright Phillips, while Joe Cole, Chelsea’s most creative player, sat on the bench until deep into extra time.

Grant’s weekly mantra has been that Chelsea are much better to watch under his leadership. The evidence does not really stack up, however, and it is hard to imagine Chelsea playing such passive football under Mourinho as they did on Sunday. As Blue Champions note, they were lacklustre until a late bout of frenzied pressure.

As for Grant’s motivational qualities, before the start of extra time he stood around like a spare part while John Terry rallied his team mates.

Grant may yet mark his first season with an FA Cup triumph and maybe even land the Champions League. But should they end the season empty-handed, Chelsea fans’ pent-up anger at the treatment of Mourinho could come boiling to the surface, especially if Ramos goes on to clinch a hat-trick of UEFA Cup titles with Tottenham.

Martyn Herman, London

PHOTO: Tottenham’s Juande Ramos celebrates during the semi-final win over Arsenal, Jan. 22 REUTERS/Toby Melville

Arsenal and Croatia fans - think Larsson and Cisse not Busst and Nilis.

The sight of Eduardo da Silva’s foot dangling at right angles to his leg was the overshadowing image of a weekend of English football where Tottenham Hotspur won the League Cup and Manchester United crushed Newcastle 5-1 away.

The injury will rule the Croatian out of the remainder of the English season and Euro 2008 while there are doubts about whether the striker, who will attempt to celebrate his 25^th birthday on Monday, will ever playing again.

A heated Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger demanded after the game that Birmingham City defender Martin Taylor be banned for life for his mistimed tackle:

“The guy should never play again. People will always use the excuse that the guy is not a dirty player and that he did not mean it. It is like a guy who kills one time in his life. You still have a dead person.”

However, Wenger later issued a statement saying his initial comments about Taylor had been “excessive” as he tried to defuse the situation.

The English press compared the injury to previous gruesome leg-breaks which ended the careers of Coventry City defender David Busst, Belgian striker Luc Nilis and Chelsea’s Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo.

As Croatia and Arsenal fans pray the Brazilian-born striker does not become another name on that unfortunate list, they should take heart from two other strikers who overcame similar injuries to compete in Champions League finals.

Henrik Larsson suffered a double fracture of his left leg whilst playing for Celtic in their UEFA Cup clash with Olympique Lyon in October 1999. However Larsson returned to action and went on to play for European giants Barcelona and Manchester United.

The Swede came on as a second-half substitute with the Spanish side losing 1-0 in the Champions League final against Arsenal in 2006 and two assists inspired a 2-1 victory.

When playing for Liverpool in October 2004, French striker Djibril Cisse fractured his left tibia and fibula.

The prognosis was that he would miss the rest of the season, but incredibly he battled back to fitness, making his return in the Champions League quarter-final against Juventus six months later. He went on to score a penalty in the dramatic shootout victory in the final against AC Milan.

Let’s all hope that Eduardo can replicate them and not Busst, Di Matteo and Nilis.

Patrick Johnston, London

As an aside, we decided not to display the most gruesome picture (even though it is not very gruesome). Sky also opted not to show the replay after the incident but other news organisations have analysed the pictures in detail. Who is right? PHOTO: REUTERS/Darren Staples