Rafa Benitez's transfer flops are frightening but Liverpool will still not sack him

By Mark Lawrenson

Published 06:09 24/10/09

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When Sir Alex Ferguson first came to Manchester United, his job was to curtail Liverpool’s domination of the English game.

But Fergie now has a glorious chance to pull well clear of Liverpool’s titles and trophies and write even more history into the record books.

Rarely have United been such a dominant force over Liverpool going into a game at Anfield which makes this even more of a vital game for Rafa Benitez.

Fernando Torres may be fit for Sunday, Steven Gerrard is struggling and Glen Johnson, too. And once you have Torres and Gerrard out then Liverpool are simply not good enough.

It was hard to understand why Benitez took off Yossi Benayoun against Lyon in midweek in the Champions League.

But it seems that there is a real worry for Liverpool. You can see the fear in the Liverpool players’ eyes. There is a real crisis of confidence.

The fact that Torres and Gerrard could both be missing, will affect the belief and the confidence even more.

I still don’t think Benitez is under a deal of great pressure from the supporters. I think what, more than anything, the Liverpool fans want is a big performance. A performance full of commitment and courage. They will forgive other things for that.

From being at the Lyon game, there was a sense of great disappointment among the supporters but still not a will to sack the manager.

And don’t be fooled by people saying the club cannot afford to sack Benitez. No club ever pays the full compensation package. They are sticking with him.

The biggest excuse and get-out for Benitez is the mess behind the scenes with the Americans. If anything, it’s taking the pressure off Benitez.

For example, who would ever want to buy 50 per cent of a stake? George Gillett’s ideas and outlook is madness.

But, it has to be said, Benitez’s record with players signed for around £10m is not good. My goodness, Benitez should get a revolving door for all the full backs he’s signed and have flopped. It’s frightening.

Benitez has signed good players in the past. Top players. But too many haven’t worked out.

Just look at Albert Rieira. A case in point. Had a storming start. Then succumbed to Benitez’s rotation policy. He is a confidence player who needs to be playing every week and now he’s dropped away badly.

If you look at Liverpool now, then said to Chelsea, United and Arsenal: Which players would you take? You would take Gerrard and Torres. Maybe Arsenal would take Reina. But, honestly, who else?

That’s why Benitez should realise at times - like against Lyon - that he hasn’t always got the players to use the 4-2-3-1 system. Go back to the 4-4-2 to simplify things, even if you have to push Kuyt up alongside Ngog.

But despite all the problems and fall-out, Liverpool will still finish in the top four and, in fact, the status quo will remain the same. I’m not convinced by Manchester City.

I backed Chelsea to win the title at the start of the season, simply because United are in so many competitions and will have so many commitments. It’s a long season.

It will also be a big test in the next few weeks for Rio Ferdinand. But it won’t be a problem for United with Jonny Evans and Wes Brown in reserve and also to push Ferdinand on.

On his day, Ferdinand is the best English defender in the Premier League. But the very fact that Ferguson admitted that Ferdinand won’t play for England unless he’s playing well for United means that he accepts that Rio’s having a nightmare.

But these days in the days of intense media coverage, every mistake is highlighted and Ferdinand will have to come through that. It’s very tough.

It will be a tense game with so much at stake and that’s why I’m absolutely convinced it will end in a draw.

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