When Rafael Benitez came to Anfield Liverpool supporters were hopeful that he would bring back the glory that Liverpool once enjoyed. At the very least they hoped he would be able to raise the standards a notch upwards to the days when Micheal Owen, Robbie Fowler and Emile Heskey used to play upfront. In those days they were considered to be the most lethal strike force in England
Indeed Benitez has done a good job if you consider he won the champions league in a dramatic final in Amsterdam against AC Milan where Liverpool were three goals down at half time and by the end of the night had scored thrice to get back on level terms and surprisingly beat AC Milan in a penalty shootout. They also lifted the coveted FA Cup last season after beating West Ham in a penalty shootout in the final.
So, what seems to be the problem this year? Liverpool has already been knocked out of both the Carling Cup and the FA Cup by Arsenal at Anfield, what is considered to be a fortress. In the first game, the FA Cup 3rd round they were beaten 3-1 and in the second they were beaten 6-3 by an Arsenal team that was mainly composed of teenagers. Yet Rafael has so much talent at his fingertips. For instance there is the former Blackburn Rovers striker Craig Bellamy. The Welshman scored an impressive array of goals when he was at Blackburn. Another gifted footballer is Steven Gerrard who has scored memorable goals both for his country and his team. In both the FA Cup and the Champions League, Gerrard has played a key role in the lifting of both cups by utilizing both his ball and leadership skills.
Peter Crouch, another rising star has used his height to his advantage and scored goals that seemed impossible for a man his height to score. With all this talent and much more Rafael seems not to have used it to his and the club’s advantage.
Many have blamed the rotation style that he uses whereby he never has a certain or more familiar starting lineup like most teams have. He always keeps changing players so that every one will get a chance to play. This complicates matters since players don’t get used to playing games with one person who they will click with over time, instead he keeps on changing his combinations.
I would advice him to get a consistent starting line up and stick with it and if one of the players is injured or out of form, bring in another player from the substitutes. Just the way everybody else does it. With time they would click and he would stop this bad spell that he is experiencing at the moment
