BenÃtez cuts across Liverpool gloom with upbeat assessment
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Rafael Benítez says Liverpool's failure in the Champions League this season owed more to bad luck than his team's weaknesses. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
Some good news for Liverpool at last. Fernando Torres is not going anywhere and, far from being in meltdown as Graeme Souness has unkindly suggested, the club do not have to worry about failing to qualify for the Champions League next season because Liverpool and today's opponents Arsenal are both going to finish in the top four.
The only bad news, as Liverpool fans have probably guessed, is that Rafa Benítez is taking a turn as newsreader. The same Benítez who freely admits he has little choice but to stay positive when the club find themselves in such a bad position, and the same one who is clinging to the belief that Liverpool were really unlucky to be caught three times by late goals in the Champions League.
"Late goals at the end of games changed everything, but only one was down to lack of concentration," the Liverpool manager says. "The other two were just mistakes. It's all part of football, but for the same thing to happen three times in the same competition is really unlucky. If that had not happened the atmosphere at the club would be totally different, your questions would be totally different and we would all be looking forward instead of looking back."
While that is a big if, Benítez is looking forward in any case. As he says, a man in his position does not have a lot of choice. Were he to dwell on what has gone wrong to the extent that most fans have been doing, or be as harshly self-critical as Steven Gerrard repeating his now perennial disappointment routine, even the Liver Birds might be tempted to give up the ghost and relocate their roost to Manchester City. Instead, Benítez is fortifying himself with what he knows to be true. "Liverpool had a very good season last year, and losing only twice in the league to finish with 86 points was a real achievement, even if it did not come with a trophy. People expected more of the same this season but mistakes have already cost us. We need to start winning games to reduce the gap at the top, but we have some good players coming back and I think we can do it. Can we improve with [Fernando] Torres back in the attack and Gerrard back to fitness? I think so. Can we concentrate on the league for the next couple of months, before the Europa League starts again in February? I don't see why not. I am sure the club is still going forward, the value of the squad is higher now than it was when I came. I have to be positive and say we can finish in the top four, but I know the quality we have here and I don't think I am being unrealistic."
Maybe not, and no one would be all that surprised if Liverpool beat Arsenal this afternoon or put together a sequence of results to take them back into the top four. A Champions League finish is still achievable, it is just that what used to be a minimum requirement has now become the grand objective. Benítez knows his fighting talk will not really fool anyone, especially players such as Torres and Javier Mascherano, coveted by other Champions League clubs and not exactly thrilled at the possibility of missing out. Or even Manchester City, who may not yet have the Champions League status to lure top players but have enough money to make Liverpool's cash-strapped owners listen.
"No chance," was Benítez's immediate response to a suggestion that Liverpool may find a large cash offer for Torres difficult to refuse. He snorted his reply in much the same way David Moyes reacted when he first heard City were interested in Joleon Lescott. The two situations are not miles apart, despite Liverpool's reluctance to view themselves as a selling club. They are not in the big money league any more, like Arsenal have been pushed aside by the Premier League's big two, and are now seeking to do what Arsène Wenger was doing years ago and compete by producing top-quality players of their own.
There is nothing wrong with that, except it could be argued that Manchester United and Chelsea are already doing it better and even Wenger is now finding it difficult to match his early success with home-grown players, but in a market dominated by financial muscle it is hard to stay self-sufficient without selling. Liverpool were miles behind their immediate rivals in youth development until a couple of years ago, when Benítez revamped the academy. Now Liverpool are starting to see players coming through the ranks again, even if there is not enough evidence yet to suggest the academy output can make a difference.
"Producing our own players is one thing we can do to save some money and bring some of the passion back," Benítez says, possibly revealing more than he intended. "Our aim is to do something similar to what Arsenal have done. Our academy is top class now and can be even better, but young players are no different to anything else in life: the more money you put in, the more quality you get out. Arsenal have been spending big money on young players, making sure the quality is there in the first place, and that's a great advantage."
The inference is clear. Even at academy level Liverpool will be stymied as long as money remains tight. Manchester United do not appear to be flush at the moment and Wenger has always been reluctant to spend big, though at least Arsenal have a budget. Benítez is alone in being asked to win the league while at the same time cutting back on expenditure.
"Sometimes you have to think of the big picture and the future of the club, and that's why we are working to reduce the debt," he explains.
"I have been here for six years, and I have just signed a five-year contract because I believe the club can make progress. I hope I can do 15 years here, like Arsène has done at Arsenal. I know we need a few wins to improve the atmosphere and make things more positive, but I think the majority of the fans realise the situation I am working under. They know I signed for five more years to fight for the club."
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all this he is saying are created by him.
beside the club's debt.