Welcome Break for Rafa's Men

By Gareth Freeman

Getting beat by Everton in the FA Cup could even be seen as a blessing in disguise come May. I know what you’re thinking, losing to the blue half of Merseyside is never a good thing but with the mid-week international fixtures and then the FA Cup at the weekend Rafa’s side don’t play again until February 22 when they face Man City.

With a relatively small squad and a shortage of strikers this break could be a vital boost for Benitez’s tiring side. The win at Portsmouth came at just the right time and kept the pressure on Manchester United, who didn’t look that convincing in their narrow 1-0 victory over West Ham.

Surprisingly there are no Liverpool players in the England squad that take on Spain on February 11, there are however, five Reds in the Spanish squad. Reina, Arbeloa, Alonso, Riera and of course Fernando Torres are all included in the line-up but as it is a friendly I don’t expect them all to play a full 90 minutes. Torres in particular has been struggling with fatigue and I expect him to play a part for Spain but I doubt whether Spain’s coach Vicente del Bosque will risk injuring his star-striker.

Added to that the Spanish coach has chosen an in-form team rather than stuck with familiar names and he may wish to use Daniel Guiza and Fernando Llorente in attack at some point. Guiza plays for Fenerbache in Turkey so I imagine del Bosque will want to see how he links up with a squad who are in the vast majority based in Spain (or all play together at Liverpool). Llorente is a target man kind of striker and has only been capped once by Spain, the Athletic Bilbao forward has been in fine form this season and I expect del Bosque to utilize him at some point, which should allow Torres a rest.

The fact that Liverpool will enjoy the weekend off after the international fixtures should help Rafa rest his tired squad. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa will all have players involved in internationals and then face tricky FA Cup ties. Chelsea travel to Watford, Manchester United face Derby at Pride Park, Arsenal take on Cardiff at home and Aston Villa take on Everton. None of these ties will be easy and with the size of Liverpool’s squad a break from a hectic fixture list could not have come at a better time.

I’m going to end with a few football betting picks. I tend to avoid friendly matches when betting as, in my opinion, it becomes very hard to predict and you never know what side the managers will put out. There are a few World Cup Qualifiers though and I expect the Republic of Ireland - who have still not lost under Giovanni Trapattoni - to beat Georgia, while Northern Ireland should easily see of San Marino away. My final football betting tip for you would be to back the draw in the Arsenal Vs Cardiff FA Cup tie on Monday 16 February. Arsene Wenger’s side have faltered lately and I expect him to field a fairly weakened team in light of the fact they have fallen quite a way off the Champions League places in the Premier League and Wenger knows how important qualification to the prestigious tournament is.

The Case Of 'Asking For Too Much'

Case 1: Rafa Wants Reserve To Be In The Professional League

Rafa: Let's take our reserves, name them Liverpool B and take over the Nationwide League One!

Alex Miller: HELL YEAH!


It's a ludicrous ask from Rafa Benitez as he suggested that reserve teams of the major clubs in the Premiership should have the privilege to be in the lower leagues but for once (okay, maybe not once), I'll beg to differ.

I'm not a fan of any of the lower league teams and I don't watch them due to the lack of media exposure but one thing I do know is those teams might not be playing at the highest level but they do have history and are still hugely followed. Putting a Liverpool B (or Castilla, whatever) is going to cause an uproar.

Shows that how ignorant the big clubs are, actually.

No doubt the reserves needs to play more games and that the current reserve league doesn't provide the necessary competition for the players. There are up and coming stars that struggle to break into first team while the reserve team provided little challenges for the young lad.

There's a gap between the reserves and the first team and that's the aim of the suggestion by Rafa. Bridging this gap is going to be tough but I don't think throwing them into lower league side will be beneficial.

What I mean is that there will be clubs that MIGHT lose their position at the league due to the emergence of a certain big club's reserves and getting relegated IS big problem now. Survival in the league ensures constant flow of coffers into the club while relegation usually means 'you go down there for a few years and rebuild'.

As I was making my rounds, I noticed this certain article from SquareFootball.net that was on this topic and the writer and I had the same thoughts. Since there's Champions League, why not create a Champions League for the U-21 team?

Let's say the first team set off for their Champions League game while the U-21 will also get to play against other youth teams. This will not only give the youngsters more regular football, it also gives them the chance to compete against youths of other countries and that'll definitely strengthen ties between clubs (maybe only, if massive brawls don't happen that is).

It's going to take a radical change before anything can be done about the gap between the reserves and the first team. If the FA and UEFA are prepared to, then they must take the route where it benefits everyone and makes no one upset.


Case 2: Asking Too Much From The Over-rated XI

In case you're asking what over-rated XI I'm talking about, it's none other than our favourite, England.

Stigmatised by the media as a mediocre bunch of overpaid players who couldn't give a toss about the pride of the nation, now the task they're given by the press is as if they need to win 3 consecutive World Cups. "Better win Israel or... *sharpens knife*" are their thoughts now, we all know it.

Come on, face it. This England team isn't very good. There are half arsed players, jealousy and schemes within the dressing room, politics in Soho Square and a very average manager at helm. Perhaps, the expectation of the press is putting a little too much pressure on them.

But what do you expect? These are players who can do a decent job, week in week out, for any team but their national team.

Yet at the same time, you got to ask where's their pride of wearing the national colours. An honour and privilege has been abused and now it looked like a social club where you can only get into if the people within it are happy with you. (See Joey Barton)

Many England fans are torn by the current circumstance. They want England to win because frankly, which fan doesn't. But they want they to lose ugly so that they can get rid of McClaren fast.

But whatever the outcome, I think McClaren is here to stay. Afterall, the FA is ran by some half wits (apologies, but it's true) from the start and the appointment is just farcical. Losing this game will only put more pressure on him, no less.

But the outcome of a win at Tel Aviv is going to have more impact on the team that getting trounced. It'll give fans false hope once again and then everyone will go through a roller coaster ride once again and at the end of it, feeling empty.

And let me reiterate once again, that the current England squad isn't as good as what people make of them. Over-hyped, that's what the press likes to do. And their current plight might be due to the players believing in their own hype.

Don't expect anything too much from this bunch. They'll do decent, nothing more, nothing less.