Liverpool FC Forum

by **kazza** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:11 pm

ARCHIVE MEDIAWATCH STORY
RAFA BUILDS FROM THE BOTTOM
Liverpool Echo. 14th October 2004
IT’S often said turning a football club around resembles a marathon rather than a sprint.

For Rafael Benitez, transforming Liverpool into title contenders will be more of a steeplechase.

The Spanish coach has several hurdles to overcome before his vision for the club is realised.

The squad isn’t as strong as the top three’s and it’s still unclear how much the manager will have to spend on recruitment in January.

'It will take time,' may be a familiar observation, but it’s the most honest one.

What changes have been made so far are subtle. Walk into the manager’s office at Melwood today and the different approach is already evident.

The pictures with which Gerard Houllier once adorned the walls have been replaced by hundreds of videos of Liverpool’s future opponents.

The Spanish coach has made no promises for this year, only that his preparation will be meticulous and the squad will improve tactically and technically during the course of the season.

And, just as significantly, Benitez says he’s already put plans in place to ensure the scouting network, which failed to produce recruits of the necessary standard in recent years, won’t fail again.

Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent - as well as a more cordial relationship between the Liverpool manager and The Academy.

'I’ve been talking to Steve Heighway this week about how we will move forward in the future,' said Benitez. 'We know we need to change things. One of those areas is in the scouting department and we will be talking more with Steve and The Academy.

'We want to connect The Academy with Melwood far more. We’re preparing to watch every player in The Academy very closely. We want to see if they have the high level for the first team.

'My assistant Paco Herrera is working alongside our scouting co-ordinator Frank McParland and the Academy’s head of recruitment, Barry Whitbread. They will be scouting players for and from The Academy and for the first team.

'In the reserve team which played on Tuesday, there were five youngsters from The Academy. It’s important for us to know what we have. After that, we can decide which direction to go.

'If we have three Owens or Gerrards coming through, okay, we can wait for them. If we don’t, we’ll need to work harder with the scouts to prepare the future.

'We will be meeting all of our scouts over the next month. After that, we will start deciding which players we want to think about.'

It’s inevitable Benitez will be linked with numerous players before now and January, but the manager is understandably cautious about making statements about potential arrivals. He wants to motivate the players he’s got, not deflate their confidence by publicly demanding replacements.

'At this moment, we don’t want to think about new players,' insists Benitez.

'The players I have are training very well. I’m very happy with their attitude.

'You also have to understand my view that if I ever want to look at a player, I don’t want to say it to a journalist.

'If you say to the Press you want to sign a player, he immediately becomes more expensive. You usually find it’s the agents who want to talk more about the players.'

That said, the manager is well aware of the limitations of his squad and will begin an ongoing search for fresh blood until his side is well equipped to challenge the top three.

Exactly how long that takes will depend on how much is available and how soon,

'Arsenal and Manchester United have had time to put their squad together,' observed Benitez.

'People have said to me ’You’re in the same position as Chelsea, because they have a new manager and new players’. But I say ’no’ to this. They have put together an expensive team with some players the manager knew very well from Portugal.

'Carvalho and Ferreira played for the manager at Porto and when I spoke to him he told me how important they will be because they understand the way he works.

'We lost our last two away games in the league, but we know Manchester United and Chelsea are very good teams with top players. They are at a high level. I’m sure we will get better results against other teams. Now, we need to get the confidence which comes from results.

'In the ten weeks since the start of the season we’ve had a lot of international breaks which haven’t helped us.

'I don’t know if we have suffered more than all the other teams because of the international break, but this week, on one day I trained with just five first team players.

'When you have a new manager there are a lot of new things to learn but we haven’t had a lot of time to train.

'Now is a time for my players to under-stand what I want and practice. I can’t just tell them to do things the way I want without giving them time to train.

'We’ve also lost players like Smicer and Nunez who would have helped the balance of the squad, then we lost Steven Gerrard. When you arrive with a new team and you need time, it doesn’t help to have these problems.'

The mood at Melwood, where there is a noticeable change in atmosphere, is far from downbeat, however.

Benitez is merely in the warm-up when it comes to preparing his Liverpool. His first task is to make Liverpool the equal of the top three, and then he can think more realistically about approaching the starting line with a view to outright victory.

'I’m sure this team will improve and we will win many games this season,' he insists.

'If we can put together a few wins, we’ll go up the table. We also have a game more to play than the rest. If we had three points more, you’d see where we are in the table and I know the supporters would feel happier.'

by **kazza** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:17 pm

kazza wrote:
And, just as significantly, Benitez says he’s already put plans in place to ensure the scouting network, which failed to produce recruits of the necessary standard in recent years, won’t fail again.

Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent - as well as a more cordial relationship between the Liverpool manager and The Academy.

"Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent"

Clearly he is not happy wth the signings GH made. I wander who he means.

by **Leonmc0708** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:20 pm

kazza wrote:
kazza wrote:
And, just as significantly, Benitez says he’s already put plans in place to ensure the scouting network, which failed to produce recruits of the necessary standard in recent years, won’t fail again.

Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent - as well as a more cordial relationship between the Liverpool manager and The Academy.

"Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent"

Clearly he is not happy wth the signings GH made. I wander who he means.

I have it on good authority, that Cisse is to be shipped out ASAP. Apparently Rafa is less than impressed by his skill level work ethic and attitude.

by **spud** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:29 pm

Leonmc0708 wrote:I have it on good authority, that Cisse is to be shipped out ASAP. Apparently Rafa is less than impressed by his skill level work ethic and attitude.

I've heard the same which is a worry.

I know for sure, Rafa wouldn't have spent £14M on him given the choice.

Let's hope for all our sakes that Cisse delivers.

I'm remaining optomistic (but slightly concerned)

by **Redrider** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:35 pm

I am heartened to hear that Cisse is under inspection, been worried about him for a while.
I also suspect that Rafa is less than impressed with the talent in the Academy and the Reserves.
Hopefully, he is switched on to moving out some of the good old boys like Heighway, and Yates who have not delivered when it comes to unearthing the top talent.

by **Redtribe** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:36 pm

yes concearned is the right word but i hope he can be great for us in the not too distant future or i'm afraid he will be outed!

by **Woollyback** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:17 pm

Leonmc0708 wrote:
kazza wrote:
kazza wrote:
And, just as significantly, Benitez says he’s already put plans in place to ensure the scouting network, which failed to produce recruits of the necessary standard in recent years, won’t fail again.

Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent - as well as a more cordial relationship between the Liverpool manager and The Academy.

"Expect more thorough scrutiny of potential signings in future - attitude as much as talent"

Clearly he is not happy wth the signings GH made. I wander who he means.

I have it on good authority, that Cisse is to be shipped out ASAP. Apparently Rafa is less than impressed by his skill level work ethic and attitude.

What's your source on this one Leon? It's still early days but the lad's attitude doesn't look too LFC from what we've seen so far

by **Woollyback** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:28 pm

Redrider wrote:I am heartened to hear that Cisse is under inspection, been worried about him for a while.
I also suspect that Rafa is less than impressed with the talent in the Academy and the Reserves.
Hopefully, he is switched on to moving out some of the good old boys like Heighway, and Yates who have not delivered when it comes to unearthing the top talent.

I had a conversation about the academy with Ron Yeats on the night of England v Croatia in Euro2004, not long after GH had been fired. Tongues loosened by a drink or two, he admitted many of the academy & scouting staff (himself included) were glad to see the back of GH as he wasn't interested in local talent - far too interested in showing how clever he was by trying to bring in "the next Zidane" from some unheard-of French side.

Think about this - the academy must see potential talent by the bucket-load. Merseyside is home to nearly 2 million people and much of it could be described as working-class football heartland. Virtually all the best English footballers have come from the big former industrial areas of the UK - NW England, the North East, Glasgow, inner London etc etc. Surely it's only a matter of time until the academy (if properly managed and supported) will be nurturing the next generation of Gerrards and Fowlers.

Give it time gentlemen... The kids coming through the academy would sweat blood to wear the Liverpool shirt. No worries with them about whether they're here for the club or here for the paycheck.

by **supersub** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:51 pm

Woollyback wrote:Think about this - the academy must see potential talent by the bucket-load. Merseyside is home to nearly 2 million people and much of it could be described as working-class football heartland. Virtually all the best English footballers have come from the big former industrial areas of the UK - NW England, the North East, Glasgow, inner London etc etc. Surely it's only a matter of time until the academy (if properly managed and supported) will be nurturing the next generation of Gerrards and Fowlers.

Give it time gentlemen... The kids coming through the academy would sweat blood to wear the Liverpool shirt. No worries with them about whether they're here for the club or here for the paycheck.

I agree..give the academy time to produce the goods,because we will reap the rewards in the long run.

by **Paul C** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 8:51 am

I posted this article (from icliverpool.com) the other day and no one replied

http://www.liverpoolfc-newkit.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6402

by **kindaconfused** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:19 am

Woollyback

I read the first post and thought the article didn't go far enough into picking the talent before they get to the academy but you beat me too it.

What needs to be done, developing your point, is that they need to integrate it with developing the local talent. The FA needs to step in here cos schools now don't have football teams anymore and its reliant on amateur clubs who need financial backing.

I remember there used to be lots of games going on on a Saturday at the grounds in Long Lane (Aintree) but not sure if that still happens anymore?

If Liverpool is about to become the European city of culture can money not be obtained from this source to help develop the natural talent that undoubtably is there waiting to be explored?

by **Redrider** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:50 am

Woolyback, I have been concerned about the lack of talent at the academy and the results of the all the junior sides including the reserves, but I had never considered the possibility that the management had in effect been strangling the supply line, in favour of French imports.
There is certainly no lack of evidence concerning the arrival of French players.
My only worry with the comments from Big Ron, is that he would say that to protect his own position and cover up the lack of good prospects coming through.

by **stmichael** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:55 am

kindaconfused wrote:The FA needs to step in here cos schools now don't have football teams anymore .

yeah and even when they do play at a young age it's all about "taking part". it sends out all the wrong messages to the kids at a young age. i hate losing at any sport. schools in general are just too obsessed with numeracy and literacy, that there aren't the opportunities for the kids to play football on a regular basis and improve.

by **kindaconfused** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 12:33 pm

stmichael

There has been a cultural shift whereby schools are no longer seen as responsible for sport development but rather now left to independant establishments which I think is detrimental.

The government need to step in and sort it out as it can't be left to the "paper tiger" called the FA (which stands for fu*k all in my book).

The only thing the FA is capable of is going for soft targets like Beckham which is what they are currently doing. Those guys are guilty of being too comfortable and are leaches on the game!

by **The Canadian Red Army** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 7:56 pm

does liverpool have any scouts in canada
i know we arent normally called a football country but it seems to me that no clubs or not many look at this part of the world which again has the same problem as england, with schools that give ****** all about sports because its the kids that goto university to become judges and priministers that brings in the real money to the schools and the of the school. I for one have only really had 1 or 2 good coaches in my 13 year career and one was from italy. Im sure if a coach from liverpool came over here and worked with some teenagers like me could produce some class players maybe not the next rooney but i mean solid players that every club needs the work horse who will get the job done everyday and score goals as well as defend someone with some real coaching can be a class player like rooney. Myself i would die to get a real good coach to be able to learn from and be taught how to perfom just as well has the kids from europe where all they think about is soccer, here its hockey this or hockey that. Football is the best sport in the world and only now we are just beginning to see this, i believe if we got someone to come over here we could start pumping them out for liverpool to snatch up for cheap because over here a pound is like 2.5 dollars canadian. 500 000 pounds would be alot of money to a canadian footballer over here to sign with an EPL club and also an amazing thing.
SORRY FOR THE LONG POST!!!

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