Liverpool can stretch lead, says BenÃtez
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Liverpool can stretch lead, says Benítez
Rafael Benitez believes there is still more to come from table-topping Liverpool.
Rafael Benítez has warned Manchester United and Chelsea that Liverpool will improve in the second half of the season, although he admits that even one mistake "can be massive" in his club's quest for a first league title in 19 years.
The Premier League leaders' nerve and inexperience at the summit were questioned by United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, this week and the Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said both Liverpool and United had failed to capitalise on the Blues' run of two wins from seven league games. Benítez, however, believes that his team, who have lost only one game this season, are yet to realise their full potential.
"I believe we can still improve," said the Liverpool manager, who is expected to return to the dugout at Stoke on Saturday after a recent kidney-stones operation. "Martin Skrtel has not been playing, [Javier] Mascherano has been playing much better in the last few games, [Steven] Gerrard is improving now; we have [Fernando] Torres coming back now too. I think we will have more options in the second half of the season and more competition for each position. That can be important."
The return of Torres and Skrtel, who have recovered from a hamstring and cruciate injury respectively, presents Benítez with the dilemma of integrating them into an already functioning unit. It is a welcome problem for the Spaniard, admittedly, but he accepts that pursuing the title rather than merely Champions League qualification means he no longer has any margin for error with his selections.
"Clearly we are in a much better position than in past seasons. We are doing what we did before and analysing all the same details," he said. "The difference now is that you know if you make a mistake it can be massive, so you have to consider everything.
"Torres needs minutes on the pitch. It is a problem because the team is doing well. Some players you have to keep their momentum, but [Fabio] Aurelio, Skrtel and Torres need to play too. So to keep the balance will be difficult."
That strength in depth underlies Benítez's view that Liverpool will be quiet in this transfer window, with the exception of offloading Jermaine Pennant, who is considering an offer to join Milan at the end of the season, and encouraging Daniel Agger to sign a new contract. "It is difficult to buy in January. If you bring in new players then they need time to settle and if you sell players then maybe you will lose something," the manager said. "We don't have any clubs asking for our players. It is important to keep the squad together, although you cannot guarantee that you won't sell anyone or sign anyone."
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talk cock
i your fan also don believe you arh -
limpper - put some faith on him leh...at least there are progress from previous seasons mah...to win the league is still very premature talk lah but got higher chance now than previous ones loh...
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wa siao liao everytime he say something confirm drop points liao
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Originally posted by sg_forum:
limpper - put some faith on him leh...at least there are progress from previous seasons mah...to win the league is still very premature talk lah but got higher chance now than previous ones loh...
lol.
but seriously, i got no faith with the KOP.
somehow, i don like how they play these days...
dull looking.
but at least, one thing to be happy at, is that they are winning. -
they gonna be like gunners last yer..fall at last hurdle
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i still see either man utd or chelsea at the top
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i prefer to stay away and see how the other teams fare until the end of the season
i don't see liverpool faltering any sooner
they hardly suffer from any injuries, and they're blessed with consistent and
strong performances during the 2nd part of the season for the past 2 years
Possessing an in-depth squad capable of beating Man U at Home, Chelsea away,
and drawing Arsenal away.
It's still a debatable question of whether Liverpool possess a squad capable enough
of winning the league. Though some of its performances are discouraging, the strong
belief gained from its results to the rest of the top 4 has spurred the Merseyside on.
Man U and Chelsea have to worry about catching up and keeping surprise package
Aston Villa off their backs.
My heart goes with Liverpool, while my head tells me to just sit back and watch
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still, i believe, if liverpool wants the title, we need man utd to lose points.
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i still see somewhere in the midst there is an evertonian losing its way meandering.....lol
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limperr, their play really dull mehs? I thought their game play improved quite a lot and nowadays not bad lehs their football..
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Originally posted by dinky1409:
limperr, their play really dull mehs? I thought their game play improved quite a lot and nowadays not bad lehs their football..
Ya loh...these days the style quite interesting liao...maybe after Rafa sell Crouch..with Crouch in the team...Rafa always use him as target man...playing those boring long ball...but now there are more passing liao leh...more entertaining but not as entertaining as Arsenal though. Now ManU and Chelsea also very boring to watch leh...For Liverpool to win, no need ManU to drop point lah...even if they win their 2 games in hand, Liverpool still 1 point ahead...
Injury to 2 or 3 players also no problem lah...cos most players have been trained to play in different positions.
- Kuyt can play as striker & RM
- Gerrard can play anywhere really...but so far has been played in the position just right behind striker, CM, RM
- Babel as striker, RM, LF
- Carragher CB, RB
- El Zhar...striker, RM & LM
- Yossi, RM, LM, CM
And if needed, I think Rafa will convert Keane to be a LM soon...lol
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Originally posted by [J]erry:
wa siao liao everytime he say something confirm drop points liao
congrats. how much you won?