Benitez needs breathing space to build a new empire
With all respect to the legitimate aspirations of Watford, it is not hard admitting to the hope that Liverpool survive the Carling Cup semi-final tonight.
It is a flimsy trinket, no doubt, but reaching the final will give Rafael Benitez a little breathing space. It is, after a run of sickening misfortune, the least he deserves.
Yes, it is true most of his Spanish legion of signings have failed to light up Anfield. No doubt he miscalculated the level of difficulty presented by the catastrophic FA Cup tie at Burnley. Unquestionably, Liverpool were wretched at Southampton on Saturday, but that was one week in the life of a brilliantly successful football coach - a week that started with a narrow defeat by Manchester United. Gérard Houllier had five years and more than a £100m to work a revolution. Benitez has had barely five months.
Until the injury to his best signing, the playmaker Xabi Alonso, Liverpool were showing some of the quality that had been absent for so long. They beat Arsenal, thrillingly, and had some rough luck, and a refereeing error, in the close-run duel with Chelsea. Benitez, for the moment at least, deserves more than a wolf pack at his throat.
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