Liverpool Review & Outlook: That Elusive Holy GrailThe third in a series looking at every Premiership club....
Liverpool again struggled to make the sort of impact in the Premiership that they are able to make in Europe. So defeat in the Champions League final in Athens left manager Rafael Benitez frustrated, and Reds fans still awaiting that domestic breakthrough.
Yes, Liverpool finished third in the League; but along with Arsenal they were again, unarguably, in the second division of the Premiership's Big Four. And it was another uncomfortable fact that the Gunners beat them three times in the season - twice, convincingly, at Anfield.
Indeed, it was an undistinguished domestic campaign for Benitez's side. Bundled unceremoniously out of the FA and Carling Cups, they were unable to take solace in a strong title challenge because it never materialised. Victory over Chelsea at Cardiff in the Community Shield was an encouraging but ultimately deceptive August pointer. Woeful away form began to sabotage their championship ambitions almost from the off, a fortuitous point at newly-promoted Sheffield United being followed by an emphatic 3-0 defeat by Everton in the Merseyside derby. While results at Anfield were mainly beyond reproach, successive away defeats at Chelsea, Bolton, Manchester United and Arsenal continued to expose the team's Achilles heel.
It was December before the Reds won away from home in the Premiership, by which time Manchester United and Chelsea were out of sight at the top of the table. For a club as steeped in title-winning tradition as Liverpool, to be out of the race before Christmas was simply not good enough - but not unfamiliar.
Having won the English League championship ten times in 15 seasons between 1976 and 1990, the best Liverpool managed in the next 17 seasons was two second-placed finishes (1991 and 2002), on both occasions a distant seven points behind champions Arsenal.
True, they won various cups on eight occasions during those 17 years; but winning the title - for the first time in the Premiership era - has become Liverpool's quest for the holy grail. Many fans believe Rafael Benitez is the manager who can lead them to it. Others are not so convinced, seeing his undoubted tactical acumen as better suited to the demands of two-legged European ties than a full English League season.
Yet Benitez steered Valencia to the championship in the scarcely less-demanding Spanish Liga, so perhaps it is simply a question of time...and money.
Benitez was surprisingly vehement in the wake of Liverpool's Champions League final defeat at the hands of a Milan side who, on the night, were there for the taking. In a clear message to the Reds' new American owners (George Gillett and Tom Hicks), the manager vented his frustration, insisting there was not enough quality in the team to perform at the top level throughout the season, and criticising Liverpool's inability to act quickly enough in signing players.
It was both a demand for the sort of transfer kitty that would enable the club to shop at the very top end of the market, and a ticking off for the fact that last summer, when his shopping list consisted of strikers Dimitar Berbatov, Obafemi Martins and Dirk Kuyt, in that order, Liverpool's slowness off the mark saw Spurs and Newcastle beat them to Rafa's first and second choices, respectively.
Critics would say that Benitez has had plenty to spend since joining the club, but not always spent it wisely (Josemi, Kromkamp, Zenden, Gonzalez, Nunez, Bellamy?). They might also suggest that his penchant for rotation has produced a "tinkerman" approach.
In Steven Gerrard he has one of the genuine jewels in the crown of English football - but sometimes (as in the final against Milan) seems not to deploy his prized asset to maximum effect.
However, Benitez gives the impression of a man with a vision, and the single-mindedness to achieve it. The question is when - next season or the one after it? Liverpool have become something of a thorn in the side of Mourinho's Chelsea, but are not consistently convincing against Manchester United or Arsenal. And while they are sound defensively, they need a sharper cutting edge in attack - the Reds failed to score 14 times in the Premiership, compared with only four blanks by both Chelsea and Manchester United. Greater resilience on their Premiership travels is essential. And there are sure to be more additions to the Anfield squad over the summer....
Season 2006-07 In A Nutshell:Outstanding Player(s): Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher.
Outstanding Performance: The 2-0 home win against Chelsea in late January.
Pivotal Performance: Coming from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 at Camp Nou in the Champions League.
Biggest Disappointments: Failing to beat Milan in the Champions League final; conceding an injury-time goal against Manchester United in the March Anfield; being blown away twice in four days by Arsenal at Anfield at the start of the year.
2006/2007 Performance: (P W D L GF-GA)
All competitions 58 32 10 16 90-52
All competitions - Home 29 21 4 4 59-23
All competitions - Away 29 11 6 12 31-29
Top Scorers(Lge FA LC EU Oth Tot)
Crouch 9 0 1 7 1 18
Kuyt 12 1 0 1 0 14
Gerrard 7 0 1 3 0 11
Bellamy 7 0 0 2 0 9
Biggest Winning Margin (4 goals)
Wigan 0-4 Liverpool PL 2 Dec
Liverpool 4-0 Fulham PL 9 Dec
Liverpool 4-0 Sheff Utd PL 24 Feb
Heaviest Defeat (3 goals)
Everton 3-0 Liverpool PL 9 Sep
Arsenal 3-0 Liverpool PL 12 Nov
Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal CC QF 9 Jan
Highest-Scoring Match (9 goals)
Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal CC QF 9 Jan
Clean Sheets: 28 (Premiership: 20)
Failed To Score: 16 (Premiership: 14)
Doubles Achieved: 5
Tottenham, Watford, West Ham, Reading, Wigan
Doubles Suffered: 1
Manchester United
Red Cards: 0
Players Used:In All Competitions: 33
Premiership: 29
Attendances: Overall League & Cup Total: 1,251,299
Premiership: 827,660
Average: 43,561
Highest: 44,403 Liverpool 0-1 Man Utd 3 Mar
Lowest: 41,370 Liverpool 3-0 Bolton 1 Jan
MANAGER: RAFAEL BENITEZAppointed 16 June 2004
P W D L Pts / Max
All comps*++ P180 W104 D30 L46
Premiership P114 W62 D22 L30 Pts208 / Max 342 ( 60.82% )
* includes all games from the Premiership, Football League, FA Cup, League Cup and major European competitions
++ The result of a drawn Cup tie decided on a penalty shoot-out, is recorded as either a win or defeat
FORECAST FOR NEXT SEASONBenitez will have access to serious funds, if the American owners back their words with deeds, so that excuse will not be valid next season. Liverpool should mount their most sustained challenge yet under the Spaniard as he embarks on his fourth campaign at Anfield. But will it be enough to dislodge United and Chelsea, and keep Arsenal at bay?
Graham Lister
Source:
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=327407 
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