Matthew Cain's blog » Liverpool FC

Why sacking Rafa Benitez opens a wound that won’t heel

Matthew — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:36:49 +0000

There are many sound reasons for the sacking of Rafael Benitez:

the breakdown of his relationship with Xabi Alonso
some poor mid-market signings
Charlie Nicholas could never work him out (although Arrigo Sacchi did)
last season

I’m past caring. Like Paul Tomkins I’m ambivalent – this last season has been tough. And after defending Gerard Houllier’s bunker to the end (in a fashion that would have made Peter Mandelson proud), reluctant to make the same mistake.

But Rafa’s departure has cut a wound in me that will not heel. Because the club, from top to bottom, has not behaved as it should – as it promised. It has treated a dedicated, hard-working, loyal servant in a shabby, underhand manner. In doing so, it has ripped at the bonds of affection I have for the club.

Supporting LFC isn’t a leisure activity for me. I’m not sure I even like football. I’m not from Liverpool. I may never live there. For most of the life I remember it’s been a top 8 side rather than title-challengers. I’ve been the glory hunter with the worst sense of timing ever!

Instead, supporting Liverpool Football Club for me has always been an ideological endeavour. I support it for its values:

Respecting the past but creating new traditions
Maintaining principles based around Shankly’s ‘football socialism’
Remaining loyal and discreet.
Respecting each other, and servants of the club for more than winning silverware

These principles are no longer alive at LFC. Even though many of the fans still hold them dear there are too many in positions of influence and power who do not. For all his failings, David Moores ensured a respectful send-off to Evans and Houllier. Both were dispatched with succession in mind. This board apparently leaked discussions with Benitez whilst he was on holiday. Statements given to fans are now apparently untrue. And he was deprived a dignified send-off. Senior executives, having been brought in to achieve one task and failed at that, have moved on to more sexy tasks: negotiating with prospective staff, briefing journalists, opening up direct lines of communication with players.

This is not the first time the current leadership of LFC has disgraced itself. It is not the first time it has made a mockery of that ephemeral concept, the Liverpool Way. But for me, and perhaps for them too, Benitez’s departure is a new low. And if we can’t treat our own with respect, who are we?

I’ve seen in the Labour Party what happens to people when their levels of pragmatism and compromise are pushed to breaking-point; it’s painful. I make no grand statements for what I will or will not do next season. And I hope to be careful not to act out of spite less it cheapen the memories and be disrespectful to those who remain, loyal to the Liverpool Way. But win or lose, it won’t mean the same. And you can’t place a value on that.

Why Rafa Benitez will never be a media darling

Matthew — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:36:39 +0000

Rafa Benitez will never be a darling in the eyes of the media. He could win the double twice on consecutive seasons and pundits would find reasons to criticise. Why? Because he works hard not to be human.

My Benitez revelation came stood at a bar, feeling smug about a recent up-turn in the fortunes of my own business. I was reflecting on Sir Clive Woodward’s maxim that when things go badly you should go and get piased and when things go well you should organise an early morning autopsy to discover why. The scientific approach (and the large number of Scousers in the pub) helped me draw the parallel.

I was then that I realised both how hard it was to follow success with self-criticism but also how it ran counter-intuitive with the grain of human emotion.

And that’s why Liverpool fans can never expect Rafa to be loved – or even admired – by the media. Like Sir Clive the best he can hope for is a ‘lucky professor’ tag.

Watching lots of historic games of football – and the characteristics of current Valencia manager Unai Emery -I had been wondering: does Benitez’s lack of obvious passion during a match matter? Most definitely – but only as far as gaining media approval. And if that’ a clincher for Liverpool fans, it’s also a litmus test for whether or not you are a proper Liverpool fan.

It’s the lack of hope that’s getting me down

Matthew — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:07:20 +0000

Football moves on so quickly that it’s extremely rare not to have anything to look forward to. But this season has been so grim, so lacking in hope that the only thing to look forward to is it having ended. And it’s been so bad that even after that, pre-season won’t provide anything to get excited about.

I can stand losing games. Even nine of them. It’s the good goals, the sharp tackles, the strength in adversity that I remember. Being robbed by bad referees, luck opponents, even beach balls has it’s own romanticism.

I can stand having bad years – we all do – and progress isn’t ever linear. As long as there’s some chink of light. Back in the early 1990s it was the emergence of Robbie Fowler. Pre Rafa it was Steven Gerrard carrying the team – a super-human effort that yielded more than we deserved.

Any even in bad years there’s always the cup competitions. You don’t need to win the cup necessarily, just win some high profile games in auspicious circumstances and have a memorable trip as a fan or a buzzing Anfield night under lights.

This year there’s been nothing. The good wins (Manchester United and Spurs at home) have only ever felt like a comma in a harrowing read. Great players haven’t performed and squad players have been diminished to mice. Recoveries from injury have only been accompanied by more injuries. The end of a tough run of games has been met only by slip-ups in 3 point bankers (eg. Wigan away).

And at the end of this 10 month torture of pulling nails against a blackboard, pre-season will see other sides spend lots of money as we struggle to not get weaker. And all the time supposed Liverpool ’supporters’ will churn out the views of media pundits who support other teams an enjoy the ratings uplift from any article that criticises LFC.

All around me I see Arsenal fans who know that they are not good enough ad likely to fall short at the end of the season. But even after five barren years they get close enough to still have hope. How I envy them now.

It doesn’t take much to give me hope. I’d rather believe in the tiny glimmers than require a mountain of hard fact for the scales of cynicism to fall from my eyes. But we’re dangling off a cliff with nothing to hold on to. At least if we’re knocked out of the cup this week, we won’t have to endure another couple of games.

So thanks for asking how I feel this morning. You didn’t really want to know, did you?

The Christopher Buchtmann Conspiracy

Matthew — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:46:33 +0000

Christopher Buchtmann, a young fullback, transferred from Liverpool to Fulham on transfer deadline day in a move which revealed much about the confidence (or lack thereof) that Liverpool supporters have in their club’s administration. So why did the transfer of an under-18 German defender spark controversy?

The price was a matter of concern to many Liverpool fans. Apparently £100,000 is chicken-feed for such a promising youngster. He did only have 18 months left on his contract and he was picked up on a free transfer. But supporters on forums did not believe that it was value for money, a meaningful contribution to the player budget (even at the Academy) or have confidence that the administrators (still with a small a) would have the expertise to demand performance bonuses if he went on to be a successful adult.

Others saw it as further evidence that Rafa Benitez was wrong to conduct the extensive overhaul of academy staff last summer. They examined the role of Malcolm Elias who was the scout of young talent we had poached from Southampton but has now moved to Fulham. This view was reinforced by rumours (which just won’t go away in Sky Sports parlance) linking striking hotshot Lauri Dalla Valle with a move in the same direction – a transfer for David Amoo was later added in the mix.

For an even more select few it was evidence that Liverpool is failing to nurture promising young players. For them, Dani Pacheco should have been in the first team squad ahead of players like Voronin and Buchtmann should have had more of a chance at reserve team level, after his promotion to Melwood on the summer. Some point to him playing on the right side of midfield for much of this year and conclude that he must have been mis-treated.

Thankfully in this case it could not be used as evidence of the managers blind faith in foreign talent over local lads. The player keeping him out of the reserve team was scouser Robbie Threlfall.

For another group it was proof that there are disciplinary problems at the Academy. They point to the early departure of fellow German Marvin Pourie – who appears to have fallen put with subsequent coaches – and presume Buchtmann must have been on the ale or just showing a lack of determination.

Rumours will always spread around a football community and Liverpool is a fertile city for gossip. But the presumption that there was an intriguing story behind the move reveals much about supporters confidence in the running of the club and the unchallenged rumours of yester year.

These are the same supporters who’ve read (unchallenged) reports that Nathan Eccleston was going to move to Blackburn after being promoted to Melwood only to be sent back to the Academy because the first team base was ‘full’. Rumours also suggested we lost centreback Robert Huth last year because no-one remembered to renew his contract. And we heard of splits in the dressing room and amongst the coaches which demoralised young players.

Appointing Kenny Dalglish to oversee the Academy and taking personal responsibility for the operation may have been a smart move by Rafa but it’s not enough to give fans confidence.

Football, particularly at this level is still an opaque world, where fans see a few YouTube clips, four of five youth cup games and suddenly know the quality of a player. Where the myriad of associates (family members of the 100+ players associated with the young sides) mean that many more people might be ‘in the know’ and where simple explanations are discarded in favour of incompetece and scandal.

What if Christopher Buchtmann just fancied a bit of extra money? Perhaps that’s what brought him here in the first place. Maybe managemet has more confidence in Threlfall and Mavinga and knew his opportunities would be limited. Maybe, as a short-ish full back who’s not much younger than Insua, he didn’t fancy the challenge. And maybe he wasn’t best pleased at having to develop his right peg. Or maybe it’s all the agent / girlfriend / national team’s fault.

But the story reveals important parts of modern football: that £100,000 profit on a teenager is assumed to be bad business; there’s that much interest in an under-18 player who has never played 2 full games at reserve team level. That a little transparency is not enough; if fans don’t know the facts they fill in the gaps.

Liverpool v Manchester City reserves: post match analysis

Matthew — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:19:36 +0000

Liverpool drew 3-3 in a fast and exciting game between two accomplished sides. The reds probably deserved the point although Man City cut through them with ease for much of the second half.

The game
The game was played at a quicker tempo than most reserve team games and the persistent fine rain helped quicken the surface. Liverpool scored with their first shot after a nice move which wasn’t getting behind City. Eccleston was guilty of a bad miss which would have given the reds an undeserved two goal advantage, after Pacheco’s harrying of the defender regained possesion.

The City goal came after a point blank save from Gulacsi but the reds failed to clear the resulting ball.

Liverpool’s second came after neat and skillful interchange between Eccleston and Spearing and the latter picked his spot well from 12-odd yards out.

The reds didn’t start the second half well and particularly after Irwin replaced Plessis ran through the heart of Liverpool twice in a couple of minutes.

Pacheco had a great chance to level in the 89th – after a ball over the top from Gulacsi but the reds didn’t create much and the rain was slowing down the pitch.

The equaliser came after a food cross-field pass from Threlfall and Ayala showed superb presence of mind to chest the ball to Saric who squeezed it in the corner in what was about his only contribution.

The performances
Going to the game gave me a much better insight than I’ve had from the TV – as good as the coverage is.

I was really impressed by the way Pacheco led the line and in the first half particularly he was tenacious at closing down defenders and winning back possession. He does try to play too many tricky balls when simple ones would be better and sometimes I felt his desire to drop deep to get involved in the second half meant that the reds didn’t have an attacking outlet.

It wasn’t a game where any of the wingers prospered but David Amoo caught my eye. He’s previously been dismissed by some as an athlete rather than a footballer. However, on sevaral occasions tonight his close control was exceptional.

Jay Spearing is particularly impressive to see live. His late runs into the box, vocal coordination of midfield and hard work in defence can go unnoticed but is hugely impressive.

Ayala is so uncompromising and committed that he deserves a mention, although his distribution is as poor from viewing it in the stands as it is watching it on tele. Threlfall played well at centreback and Darby should be applauded for his effort given the cold shock of going from playing at a buzzing Anfield to a quiet Prenton Park – all inside 24 hours.

The gossip at the game was that Plessis is looking to get out at the end of the season and nothing about his performance suggested otherwise. He did provide good cover to the defence but was tentative in the tackle and hesitant on the ball.

Liverpool remain top of the table and the next game, against Man United, will go a long way to determining whether they win the league.