The illusion of squad
depth
Rafael Benitez has quantity at his disposal but quality, as the
manager himself has admitted, is limited. Given the funds they
granted their manager, the Liverpool board were presumably
surprised to find themselves held accountable for the failure of
the fringe players against Arsenal.
If they were unable to provide the extra resources required to add
Daniel Alves, Simao Sabrosa and David Villa, the Spaniard's
preferred signings, they still supplied a budget that would be the
envy of many, and the hapless Gabriel Paletta was not their
choice.
But much as the FA Cup defeat at Burnley two years ago revealed
mediocrity in depth, so did Liverpool's stylish demolition at
Arsenal's hands. January 2005's humiliation featured David Raven,
Zak Whitbread and John Welsh, who have been offloaded to
lower-division clubs, and Darren Potter, who soon will be. The
homegrown pair of Lee Peltier and Danny Guthrie must fear the
precedents. And while Liverpool's Academy has not made a
significant discovery since Steven Gerrard, Leighton Baines, Joey
Barton, Kevin Nolan and David Nugent, Scousers all, prospering
elsewhere; it helps explain why Benitez is so jealous of
Arsenal.
There are no shortage of full-backs at Anfield; too few, however,
are of the required standard. Lucas Neill, after interminable
wranglings with Blackburn, is expected to finally provide an
alternative to Steve Finnan but John Arne Riise, despite falling
below his best this season, is almost unchallenged on the left.
Stephen Warnock, whose career has stagnated, and Fabio Aurelio, who
has been exposed defensively, are following in the undistinguished
trail blazed by Djimi Traore.
Amid myriad midfield permutations, the only players to present
unanswerable cases for selection all favour the centre: Steven
Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Momo Sissoko. If Benitez's resident
wildcard Luis Garcia's enigmatic brilliance should guarantee his
presence at Anfield next season, the same cannot be said for
Liverpool's band of wingers. Consistency has eluded all and it is
pertinent that, while Benitez embarked on a lengthy pursuit of Mark
Gonzalez, Jermaine Pennant was far from his first choice.
Presumably Harry Kewell would not meet Benitez's definition of an
ideal winger either, despite a rapprochement last season that
resulted in the Australian's finest form since he left Leeds. But
as it stands, his lamentable showing in the FA Cup final looks like
his Liverpool farewell. Only the unlikelihood of selling an injured
player, despite his depreciating value, could keep Kewell at
Anfield.
And in attack, Peter Crouch continues to baffle Benitez. Often at
his most ineffective in the most significant games, yet capable of
scoring whenever he appears on the brink of demotion, he polarises
opinion. A lack of pace is impossible to rectify, however, and
while Craig Bellamy has been linked with Aston Villa, the taller
striker may be the man more likely to leave.
Of Jose Reina, Jerzy Dudek, Gabriel Paletta, Fabio Aurelio, Stephen
Warnock, Boudewijn Zenden, Harry Kewell, Jermaine Pennant and Peter
Crouch, a question can be asked: how many, if any, would Manchester
United, Chelsea or Arsenal really want? That is the crux of the
matter. Because, while Benitez's fondness for squad rotation
remains, it is impossible if strength in depth is just an
illusion.
