Reuters Soccer Blog

Hodgson calls for fan support as decisions loom for Henry

When New England Sports Ventures finally bought Liverpool in October new owner John W Henry did not have to wait long to understand the enormity of the challenge he faces to turn around the fortunes of England’s most successful club.

Just days after the deal was clinched and a wave of optimism swept through Anfield, Liverpool’s inadequacies on the pitch were laid bare in a 2-0 defeat at Merseyside rivals Everton.

More than two months later manager Roy Hodgson, recruited by the former regime, has managed no semblance of an improvement on the pitch and his call for the Anfield faithful to show his team their “famous support” is likely to be seen as a backhanded compliment at best. 

So as the transfer window starts to creak open, the so far quiet Henry will find himself in the spotlight with some important decisions to make.

The Boston Red Sox owner was careful not to raise expectations too high when he took charge of the Anfield club, stating that there was much hard work to be done and no quick fixes, but he must be alarmed at quite how far Liverpool have slid.

Manager Roy Hodgson’s verdict after losing 1-0 at home to bottom club Wolves on Wednesday was damning in its honesty. “We probably didn’t deserve to lose,” Hodgson told the BBC with no hint of irony. “Probably 0-0 would have been fair.”

Goalless draws at home to clubs like Wolves are not what fans of Liverpool have come to expect and there are clear indications that the Kop has run out of patience with the experienced Englishman who appears bereft of ideas at present.

What will Inter Milan do with rebel Rafa Benitez?

World, European and Italian champions Inter Milan have been stunned by coach Rafael Benitez’s attack on their lack of ambition.

The Spaniard, after just six months in charge, has called for signings in the January transfer window or else he will speak to his agent about his future.

Here we look at the options Inter president Massimo Moratti has including the possible successors to Benitez if the former Liverpool and Valencia boss is axed as media reports suspect.

KEEP BENITEZ Benitez did what Moratti asked and triumphed in the Club World Cup and although the president has labelled the coach’s outburst “inappropriate”, the passion he has shown may convince Moratti that Benitez has what it takes for more silverware. Changing coach so soon after Jose Mourinho left for Real Madrid in May would cause fresh upheaval in the middle of the season just when Benitez was beginning to turn the corner and get injured players back.

SACK BENITEZ Moratti had hinted he would have considered the coach’s position anyway had Inter not won the Club World Cup given they lie seventh in Serie A after an uninspiring if injury-hit start to the campaign. The club owner has not appreciated his authority being questioned with Benitez saying he was promised signings in the close season which did not materialise. The president has demonstrated a decisive streak many times before, sacking Roberto Mancini for dithering in 2008 despite winning the league title. If the Spaniard was to leave, at least 10 names are in the frame to replace him.

LUCIANO SPALLETTI The former AS Roma coach has just won the Russian league with Zenit St Petersburg and would be popular choice for fans given he has no links to AC Milan and is a straight talker. Did well to make Roma a title-chasing side and had several good battles with Inter. A lucrative contact with Zenit would probably not deter him from the challenge of reviving the European champions.

WALTER ZENGA Former Inter goalkeeping great has said his dream is to coach his old side but after inconsistent spells in Romania and in charge of Catania and Palermo, the current coach of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr lacks managerial pedigree. A six-month caretaker role might suit, however, and bookmakers give him surprisingly short odds to replace Benitez.

Is Benitez at fault for Inter implosion?

A lack of fit players, lack of effective training, lack of buys, lack of hunger, lack of Jose Mourinho.

The possible reasons for Inter Milan’s troubles, which leave coach Rafael Benitez clinging to his job, are widespread and not all his fault but the treble winners have to do something to reverse their steady decline.

Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Chievo, which put Inter nine points off top spot, followed the derby defeat by AC Milan and media reports reckon Benitez could be axed if the holders slip up at home to Twente Enschede in Wednesday’s Champions League clash. Samuel Eto’o's crazy Zidane-like headbutt against Chievo, which is set to lead to a lengthy Serie A ban, comes at the worst possible time for the Spaniard.

A glance at the factors behind their poor form shows Benitez is only half to blame.

1. Lack of fit players. Benitez says it’s just bad luck that top players Diego Milito, Maicon, Julio Cesar, Walter Samuel,  Esteban Cambiasso, Cristian Chivu and Coutinho have all been injured at the same time. Losing so many players has disrupted the team and led to disjointed performances because of  enforced formation changes. But….

2. Lack of effective training. Critics say the catalogue of injuries are happening because of Benitez’s training regime which compared to last season’s exercises under Jose Mourinho is stretching muscles to breaking point. The former Liverpool coach has denied that his training methods are at fault and says it is just misfortune.

3. Lack of buys. Benitez cannot be blamed for this one. As soon as he was appointed he called for some fresh investment but club president Massimo Moratti reckoned that the European champions had ample options thank you very much. He was wrong.  The injuries have exposed the weaknesses in the squad and with Wesley Sneijder struggling slightly for form. there is no obvious alternative to the Dutchman as playmaker.

Benitez leaves Liverpool, next stop Inter?

After months of speculation, Liverpool have confirmed that coach Rafael Benitez has left the club.

Disagreements with the owners and a poor season for the Reds have led to the decision to part company by mutual consent. Do you think it was inevitable?

Inter Milan, without a coach after Jose Mourinho joined Real Madrid despite Champions League glory and an unprecedented Italian treble, are looking for a another high-profile boss and Italian speaker Benitez fits the bill.

First target Fabio Capello has committed to England while Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola and Fulham’s Roy Hodgson, both highly-rated by Inter president Massimo Moratti, look tied to their clubs.

Guus Hiddink has only just linked up with Turkey so it leaves Benitez as the clearest candidate for Inter, especially after praise from Moratti.

But what about the Liverpool job? Martin O’Neill? Mark Hughes? You could argue it is not a great time to be taking the Anfield hotseat if there is limited cash to spend.

20 long years for Liverpool faithful

Madrid-based correspondent Martin Roberts writes:

One anniversary Liverpool fans will not be celebrating this summer will be the 20 years since their side last won a league title, a long wait that not only frustrates supporters but must dent any team’s claim to be more than also-rans.

It must be humiliating for those supporters who can remember when Liverpool had the League trophy ready and waiting if a home win sealed the title – all they had to do was fetch it down from the trophy room and give it a quick polish.

Until last season, Liverpool fans could always proudly remind rivals that they still held the record of 18 league titles, but as the years passed without success, it was only a matter of time before that would be matched or even overhauled by Manchester United.

Rafael Benitez’s line has been that Liverpool are simply having an off season, that they are nearly there, that the last step is always the hardest and it just need perseverance.

But the fact remains that a whole generation of supporters have now grown up on Merseyside without knowing what it is like to join in the chant of “champions!” at the end of a season.

For the formidable team led by Alan Hansen in the 1980s, a trophyless season was a brief aberration. If success somehow eluded Liverpool, with Ian Rush, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ronnie Whelan and Bruce Grobelaar in the side, to name only a few, supporters could always put down taunts by replying: “Wait till next season!”

Liverpool have been here before, and a sacking may not be the answer

“For 25 years Liverpool were Britain’s most successful and consistent football club. For four of those years we were also the most successful club in Europe. No one has an automatic right to success but you can be sure we will all be doing everything in our power to achieve those levels again. We owe that both to our own supporters and our own history.”

The above quotation* is from the statement released by then Liverpool chairman David Moores following the resignation of Graeme Souness in January, 1994 after an embarrassing defeat to a second division club in a third round FA Cup replay.

Plus ça change, eh?

Liverpool have tried everything over the past 16 years to regain their status as England’s top club. They tried reviving the spirit of the Boot Room by appointing Roy Evans, looked outwards to the more technical and pragmatic Gerard Houllier and when that didn’t work out chose the coach with the best club track record they could find in Rafa Benitez, the man whose Valencia team had impressed management and senior players so much.

There have been successes along the way … the Houllier treble, Istanbul and a handful of other trophies but no league title since the days of Kenny Dalglish. Put simply, Liverpool are no closer to regaining their status as “Britain’s most successful and consistent football club” than when Souness waved farewell to Ray Houghton, Steve McMahon and Peter Beardsley and failed to bring in players with anything like the same quality.

So what next? Speculation is growing that the club may turn to Dalglish as an emergency short-term replacement for Benitez but Mssrs Hicks and Gillett would do well to consider whether a costly change would really help the club or just give the media another twist to a story they are telling with some relish.

10 good reasons to love Rafa Benitez

After our (rather unsuccessful) attempts to convince you of Raymond Domenech’s appealing qualities, our thoughts turn to that much-maligned manager from Madrid, Rafa Benitez.

Liverpool went out of the Champions League on Tuesday night despite a 1-0 win over Debrecen, as Lyon failed to bite in Fiorentina.  

Benitez is taking a lot of stick from fans and non-fans alike but here are 10 (OK, nine) good reasons to love the man:

1. His detractors still put it down to as much to luck as judgment, but the achievement in taking that ragtag bunch of players to Champions League glory in 2005 just can’t be underestimated. The shake-up at half-time, bringing on Dietmar Hamann and switching to a three-man defence, changed a game that no one in the world believed could be salvaged and gave Benitez the defining moment of his coaching career.

2. David Ngog. You can pore over the transfer record all you like, and many, many fans, bloggers and journalists have, but the signing of French striker Ngog for just 1.5 million pounds from PSG will surely go down as a terrific piece of business. Ngog has a great career ahead of him, if used wisely. If…

3. Montse. Kenny Dalglish once claimed that he couldn’t give a TV reporter any clues about who would be playing the Cup final as it was his wife, Marina who always picked the team. Rafa doesn’t go that far but his wife Montse did have a role in keeping him at the club in 2007. “Benitez is not going anywhere. He’s under contract and he told me that his wife has said that if he ever did go, he’d have to go without her because she’s staying in Liverpool!” co-owner Tom Hicks was quoted as saying.

4. Doctor Who? Rafa was made a Doctor ‘Honoris Causa’ of the University Miguel Hernandez of Elche in 2008. So if love is out of the question you should at least look up to him unless you have a higher degree, too.

No Great Escape for Liverpool

Liverpool hopes of one more great Champions League escape were dashed on Tuesday night, as Fiorentina sealed their place alongside Olympique Lyon with a 1-0 win over the French side, leaving the English team’s 1-0 success against Debrecen irrelevant.

Liverpool, of course, only have themselves to blame for leaving their fate in the hands of a team that had already secured their own qualification.

There will doubtless be a lot more criticism of Rafa Benitez, his transfer dealings and the perceived failures of man management, but the analysis of exactly why Liverpool failed to progress can wait for another post.

For now, consider one question: Might this result actually work in Liverpool’s long-term favour?

The club could certainly have done with the revenue from a run to the semi-finals or beyond but, with the best will in the world, did this season’s team ever really look capable of making it as far as Madrid?

With a squad that (everyone has said) is inferior to last year’s, maybe it will prove in their interests that they no longer have to juggle Champions League and Premier League campaigns. They can now have a leisurely tilt at the Europa League — if they make it to the final it will be an enjoyable run, if they don’t … well, who really cares? — and concentrate on doing something about that dreadful domestic form.

The priority, as always, must be to secure qualification for the group stage of next year’s Champions League. That 19th league title looks as elusive as ever but a top-four finish may have just become a more realistic possibility.

Thinking the unthinkable: should Liverpool sell Torres?

It is a little glib to suggest that Liverpool have a one-man strike force in Fernando Torres.

It seems almost beyond dispute, though, that whenever the Spaniard is unavailable Liverpool look ill equipped to challenge for the title, a situation hardly helped by the sales of Xabi Alonso, Robbie Keane and Alvaro Arbeloa in the past year.

I realise this could come across as heresy to Liverpool fans, but might the answer be to sell Torres too?

Torres is, without question, an exceptional player but he is not irreplaceable. Liverpool have won nothing with the Spaniard in attack because they simply do not have the same in-depth quality that Chelsea and Manchester United can boast.

If Cristiano Ronaldo was worth 80 million when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid, Torres should command a similar figure.

With that money Liverpool could buy three, maybe four, top drawer players who would give their squad more balance. Valencia striker David Villa would cost around 30 million and would be a handy replacement for Torres, as would Atletico Madrid’s Argentine frontman Sergio Aguero. Either, or both of them, would leave manager Rafael Benitez enough left over to strengthen in other areas.

Villa’s team mate David Silva would add some creativity in Liverpool’s midfield as would Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield spark Luca Modric or his team mate Aaron Lennon, if they could be prised away.

Benitez hands Ferguson another lesson

A game between Liverpool and Manchester United is one of football’s great fixtures and it has recently been given additional spice by a number of clashes between the managers.

Much has been said and written about the verbal jousting between Rafael Benitez and Alex Ferguson and at the moment the Scot is losing both on and off the field.

Ferguson is by far the most successful manager in the Premier League but Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool suggests he is now helpless and out of ideas when he crosses swords with his Spanish opponent, who was calm and collected before the game.

Ferguson said after the match there was a “wounded animal aspect to the game” given Liverpool’s recent poor run but their victory may also have been the result of a growing confidence among Benitez’s side when it comes to meeting United. 

After losing 4-1 at home to Liverpool last season, United needed a different approach when visiting Anfield on Sunday but their display was a case of déjà vu.

The game was won by Liverpool’s team effort, by the passionate Anfield crowd but also by Benitez’s ability to rediscover United’s weaknesses (Rio Ferdinand?).

PHOTO: Liverpool’s manager Rafa Benitez (L) and his Manchester United counterpart Alex Ferguson gesture during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield in Liverpool, northern England, October 25, 2009. REUTERS/Phil Noble