Test of character: Liverpool manager
Rafael Benitez faces a raft of early-season challenges after a poor
start to the campaign
Three games, two defeats and six points
adrift of the Premier League's pace-setters are hardly the criteria
Liverpool would have wished for at the start of the season they
were supposed to end their 20-year wait for the
title.
Yossi Benayoun has insisted that Rafael Benítez's
players still think they "can win the title", the Israeli adamant
that "we believe we are strong enough, even if maybe we cannot lose
any more games".
Glen Johnson, equally defiant, remains convinced their
rivals "will drop points, because the likes of Aston Villa and
Tottenham can beat anybody".
Yet that should not detract from the scale of the
problems facing Benitez and his squad.
Outplayed at White Hart Lane and out-thought at Anfield
for the first time in 18 months, Liverpool must find an answer to
their mounting problems if they are to live up to their pre-season
billing as champions in waiting.
1 The numbers game
The problem lies in the outlying areas. Liverpool's
bench is populated by promising youngsters and substandard squad
men. As he cast his eye over his substitutes on Wednesday, it is
hard to believe that Benítez would feel he had the firepower to
turn the game around.
Benítez, it has been noted, is alone among managers in
that he only ever wins. If Liverpool lose, the blame inexorably
shifts to the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, for not
providing their manager with the requisite financial support.
Culpability, though, must be shared. Benítez has only
been able to spend what he has raised, but his decision not to cash
in on the likes of Andriy Voronin and Andrea Dossena has deprived
his side of the infusion of quality it needed.
2 The missing midfield
One player who was sold this summer, Alonso, has
achieved by leaving what he failed to do during his five years on
Merseyside: demolishing the myth of Liverpool as a two-man
team.
For half a decade, Alonso was Liverpool's secret
heartbeat, dictating the pace and tempo of their play. Few noticed,
preferring instead to highlight the contributions of Steven Gerrard
and Fernando Torres, perpetuating the idea that without their
strike duo, Liverpool would struggle. As soon as Alonso left,
though, the obituaries poured in, stating that Benítez's two-man
team would be bereft without the Basque.
The Liverpool manager is right to suggest that how
keenly Alonso's departure will be felt can only be judged when
Aquilani is fit. There remains the possibility that by the time he
is, though, too much ground may have been lost in the title
race.
3 The missing midfielder
Before Aquilani appears, Liverpool must learn to live
within their means. Benítez's side have yet to adapt their style to
deal with life after Alonso.
Lucas Leiva, much-maligned and much-improved, has borne
the brunt of the criticism, but in truth the Brazilian
international has been among Liverpool's best players in the
nascent campaign. The problem is more one of structure than
personnel.
Like his midfield partner, Javier Mascherano, Lucas is
used to playing deep, coming short for his defenders to pick up the
ball and begin attacks. Lacking the passing range of Alonso,
though, he has found himself playing sideways more often than
forward, a situation exacerbated by Gerrard seemingly fitting in
against Aston Villa as an auxiliary striker.
Feeling the heat: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
experienced a tough summer and it could be an explanation for his
slow start to the new season
4 Steven Gerrard
The Liverpool captain is usually immune to criticism,
but his performance against Aston Villa was among the worst he has
produced under Benítez. All players are entitled to off nights and
it is testament to Gerrard's consistency that his lows are so
noticeable.
His display, though, brought back memories of Basle in
2002, when the midfielder was substituted at half-time after a
listless showing which he has since admitted was due to personal
problems. The parallels with a sluggish start to this season are
obvious.
Gerrard has had a difficult summer, and it would be
understandable if the stress of his trial has affected his
performances. That there is nobody available to take the weight of
expectation from him is an indictment of Liverpool's strength in
depth.
5 Set-pieces & Zonal
marking
