There was some Light for Liverpool in Benfica, but the problems remain

By Richard Buxton in Liverpool Fans Blog

Published 12:38 04/04/10

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Leaving the explosive Estadio da Luz with a narrow defeat against a formidable Benfica side is no disgrace for Liverpool, especially with an away goal to their name.

The performance was never going to be up there with the footballing master class Sunderland were subjected to four days previously but it was still a solid showing from Rafael Benitez’s side.

On the back of these two spirited performances, a number of questions are being asked of the Spaniard and his team.

Becoming riled by roughhouse tactics was not an issue for Fernando Torres, as he went about his business with little fuss. Clearly not wanting to talk himself into the referee’s notebook, out of next week’s return leg or undoing Sunday’s display of all-round brilliance was top of the striker’s agenda.

Unfortunately, Ryan Babel’s passionate defence of his team-mate, prompted by Jonas Eriksson’s failure to reprimand Luisao for a heavy-handed challenge on Torres, saw him incensed to the point of fisticuffs and given his marching orders after shoving the defender in the face twice; a self-confessed moment of idiocy.

But why did Torres choose to leave his runaway mouth at the ‘This Is Anfield’ sign before he stepped out against Sunderland, and remain composed when being kicked from pillar to post by Benfica defenders last night?

Why did it take facing Sunderland for Steven Gerrard to return to something close to his full glory after being a mere shadow at Old Trafford seven days earlier?

More importantly, why haven’t Liverpool shown this type of football and what they truly are capable of for the best part of this campaign?

This is not the first time that they have given performances that evoke memories of those halcyon days when they swept aside virtually everyone before them. Last season's 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa was another demonstration straight from that old school of attacking football.

It is simply a classic case of Liverpool failing to realise their true potential until the eleventh hour. It cost them in the race for the title last year and it could cost them fourth place if they are not careful.

Everyone other than Jamie Redknapp knows that Xabi Alonso, although integral in forming the team’s solid spine last year, is not the sole reason for the club’s poor displays and was not as influential in last season’s title push as, say, Wayne Rooney has been for Manchester United this term.

Admittedly, injuries and a defensive confidence crisis early in the campaign have had their part to play but, as the Spaniard keeps reminding us, there is enough quality within the squad to battle for honours.

Benitez, however, also concedes that a lack of strength in depth, due to the club’s currently precarious financial position, has been an integral factor with very few options when the likes of Torres and Alberto Aquilani have been sidelined.

If Liverpool are to make further on-field progress, Tom Hicks’ pledge of a ‘big’ summer of transfer activity at Anfield will have to be fully adhered to because, as club legend Phil Thompson predicts, without strengthening, the club will continue to go backwards.

Many Liverpool supporters were buoyed by Thompson’s recent comments about the current disarray in which the club finds itself.

Everything the ex-Reds defender said is accurate. Promises have not been kept, the manager has not been fully backed in the transfer market and the club are no nearer to moving into a new stadium a stone’s throw from their current home, despite a 60-day target being set at a worldwide press conference.

In short, George Gillett and Hicks’ Anfield tenure has been a disaster from day one. During the three years since they took control the pair have never held a board meeting but elected their eldest sons to act as part of the puppet government that is the current board of directors.

But try telling that to those wearing rose-tinted spectacles who will continue to trot out the dreary mantra that Benitez has spent in excess of £40million, whilst they fail to look beyond the outgoings rather than the financial balancing act he has performed over the previous two summers.

Thompson’s passionate speech should deliver a massive wake-up call to the minority of deluded Kopites who still harbour dreams of a ludicrously wealthy Sheikh pulling up on Walton Breck Road with Jose Mourinho and David Villa in the back of his red limousine.

More than 1,000 supporters stayed behind and demonstrated against the Americans after last Sunday’s win over Sunderland, whilst a few thousand more decided to shun the fight and instead held court in the pubs surrounding the stadium, no doubt whingeing about the lack of progress Benitez has made since 2006.

Match-going supporters need to stop venting their spleens from the comfort of pubs and behind keyboards and join the cause, instead of looking with resentment at the media coverage Manchester United’s ‘green and gold’ campaign is currently receiving.

The scenes currently inside Old Trafford suggest that momentum against the Glazers is building, but a brief glance across the stadium will tell you all you need to know. Thousands of Red Devils’ fans are proudly sporting the scarves over replica shirts, underlining the hypocrisy of the visual impact the initiative enjoys.

Regardless of the amount of column inches and broadcast time the wearing of Norwich City colours and self-proclaimed Red Knights are given, United are no nearer to ousting their current regime than Liverpool.

Both clubs are struggling in their battle to overhaul their non-speculative custodians, who are steeped in hardcore capitalism but also woolly thinking. What Gillett, Hicks and the Glazers fail to realise is that football, unlike the American sports where they gained notoriety, requires a commitment to ongoing development.

A marquee signing every few years will not guarantee success, nor will selling four squad players to reduce debts that were incurred by the club because of loans placed against it by the owners. There needs to be accountability, rather than the ability to balance accounts.

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