Football Food For Thought / Robert Hughes / 10 March 2009 /

As Liverpool once again look stronger in Europe than they do in the Premier League, Robert Hughes considers the part that the failed bid of Gareth Barry and Benitez's choice of tactics have played in this.

No manager this season has been analysed and criticised more than Rafael Benitez. Even though this is the first time his Liverpool team have mounted anything like a title challenge, he has attracted more criticism than ever, even before Liverpool surrendered first place in the Premier League.

Much was made of Benitez's comments about Alex Ferguson back in January, and the effect it had on Liverpool's season. However, that incident did not cause Liverpool's slide from the top spot, it merely coincided with Man Utd hitting form and starting to play their games in hand. The fact is that Liverpool had been dropping unnecessary points all season, but getting away with it because their title rivals were doing the same. In truth, many of their performances have been pretty mediocre, but unlike previous years they have had the strength of character to fight back when they went behind.

Benitez has a reputation for rapidly offloading his failed signings, but even by his standards, the departure of Robbie Keane was unusually fast. One explanation for Keane's failure to settle at Anfield is that he was bought with the expectation that Xabi Alonso would be sold, meaning that Steven Gerrard would move back to central midfield, while Keane performed his favoured role as support striker. When Alonso ended up staying, Keane was left without a definite role, because Gerrard would always be preferred to play behind Torres. Had Alonso been sold, Benitez would have been able to fit Keane into the team more easily, and would also have had the funds to buy Gareth Barry.

Many questioned why Benitez was so determined to sign Barry. Although the team may be more in need of a top-class winger, Barry would have given the midfield an extra dimension, and his passing may have helped to unlock some of the stubborn defences they have struggled with this season. As Benitez has no doubt reflected since, if Liverpool had spent their money on Barry rather than Keane, their season could have been very different.

One of the most puzzling things about Benitez's Liverpool is the contrast between their domestic and European performances. It's rarely argued that although the overall standard of the Champions League is higher, it's actually easier to win than the Premier League, as it requires consistency over fewer games.

Benitez is a very tactical, technical manager, whose style lends itself perfectly to organising and preparing for a series of one-off games. Once again the Champions League is Liverpool's best hope of silverware - they can be backed at [2.42] to beat Real Madrid tonight in the match odds, and are fourth favourites, at [10.5], to win the competition.

Having won two La Liga titles at Valencia, Benitez should know a thing or two about sustaining a title challenge, but he has yet to do so at Liverpool. He has pointed out that in order to compete for the title in England, you have to be able to match the extravagant spending of United and Chelsea. There is some truth in this, but it is also true that at Valencia, he was not able to compete financially with Barcelona and Real Madrid, yet he beat them to the title twice in three years.

Benitez is a perfectionist, obsessed with detail, determined to cover every angle and possible scenario. He expects his players to be intelligent, flexible, and able to play several different systems, often in the same game. Perhaps his methods and tactics are just too complex to be effective in England, where the football culture is different, and the game faster and more physical, and therefore harder to control.

His team do not seem able to fully implement his ideas as they still produce too many disjointed performances. Perhaps Benitez's style of football just doesn't work in England - or at least not well enough to win the League.

So what does the future hold? The media seem obsessed with the idea of Benitez leaving Liverpool (and he is currently [5.9] on Betfair to be the next manager to leave his job), but having come this far it would make little sense for the club to sack him now, or for him to leave of his own accord. This summer's signings will be crucial, but while Benitez has argued that United's greater spending power has prevented Liverpool from seriously challenging them, spending more might not be the only answer. He may also need to change his own approach, because there is still a nagging feeling that he is not getting the best out of the players that he does have at his disposal.

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