I PLAYED 88 times for Ireland but I always knew that I was not technically good enough to be a Liverpool player. As a teenager I’d go to watch them play in London a few times every year, marvelling at the skill and technique on show. They were special. You could tell their players were a breed apart.
I saw Liverpool against Portsmouth last October and I was shocked. They lost 1-0 and I think it was the worst Liverpool display I’ve ever seen. Patrik Berger scored the only goal and he looked more gifted than his former team-mates, even though he’d been given a free transfer by Gérard Houllier that summer.
Under Houllier, the traditional high quality of Liverpool’s players became diluted. He signed good athletes but technically some were not able enough. Rafael Benítez is putting this right: two of his buys, Luis García and Xabi Alonso, would not have looked out of place in those great teams of the 1980s.
No wonder supporters are buoyant — they haven’t seen such lively performances for many years. Watching Liverpool beat AS Monaco last week reminded me of how Arsenal play. Movement, pace, power, technique. The night before, I watched Ludovic Giuly and Deco, of Barcelona, rip Celtic to shreds. Against Monaco I saw Alonso and García do something similar. They’re entertainers but they are also willing to compete — to tackle — and they understand how their individual roles fit into Benítez’s gameplan.
Benítez was shrewd enough to realise that Michael Owen would be no great loss and that his presence was even a source of Liverpool’s problems. Previously, the team was focused on trying to play the perfect ball to split the opposition back four and give Owen a clear run on goal. There wasn’t enough thought about team play, build-up, movement and attacking as a unit.
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Benítez is decisive: he looked at Milan Baros and Djibril Cissé and decided they would not work as a partnership and had no hesitation in dropping Baros to the bench. Yes, Liverpool are often deploying a lone striker, which superficially might seem negative, but you can play any system you like — it’s players’ movement and willingness to join the forwards that matters. Cissé played up front on his own for Auxerre but was always surrounded by team-mates in the box because Auxerre had a pacy, attack-minded midfield.
Benítez reminds me of Arsène Wenger. Top managers make big decisions. Wenger let Nicolas Anelka, Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit go and was proved right; so far, allowing Owen and Danny Murphy to go looks justified.
We now have four managers in the Premership who are proven winners: Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho and Benítez. Mourinho has overshadowed Benitez by winning the Champions League and he’s grabbed more media attention, but let’s not forget that Benitez outwitted Real Madrid by winning the Spanish League in 2002 and 2004. Real, with all their money, talent and glamour, were beaten by Valencia, a far smaller club.
Houllier achieved good results against Manchester United but that was often because of defensive tactics and stubborn performances that compensated for his side’s inferiority. Now, look at the respective midfields and you have to say that Liverpool’s is better.
Benítez certainly seems to have coaxed extra effort from Harry Kewell. He also persuaded Steven Gerrard to stay, which was vital; more than that, Gerrard is clearly deeply committed to the club and willing to learn.
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I can’t see Liverpool toppling Chelsea or Arsenal this season but even to finish 15 points behind Arsenal, rather than the 30 of 2003-04, would be an achievement. A good performance tonight will be a strong indication of how much they have already progressed under Benítez.
Even if Liverpool lose, I anticipate a long-term power shift in the North West from Manchester back to Merseyside, as it was in the 1980s. Liverpool are moving forward.
HOW THEY LINE UP
Manchester United (4-4-2): T Howard — J O’Shea, R Ferdinand, M Silvestre, G Heinze — C Ronaldo, R Keane, P Scholes, R Giggs — R van Nistelrooy, A Smith
Liverpool (4-4-1-1): J Dudek — Josemi, J Carragher, S Hyypia, J A Riise — S Finnan, X Alonso, S Gerrard, H Kewell — L García — D Cissé
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Referee: G Poll
Television: Sky Sports 1, 8pm