by account deleted by request » Mon Oct 09, 2006 6:36 pm
An interesting and balanced view of "chopping and changing"
Change for change's sake?Norman Hubbard
With a typical blend of eccentricity and intelligence, Claudio Ranieri coined his own nickname, the 'tinkerman'.
Benitez is approaching a century of unchanged teams from his large squad.It may be time for him to develop a new moniker, however, for he is in danger of losing his current tag to Rafael Benitez. If the excitable Italian made a more obvious tinkerman than the seemingly rational Spaniard, a reluctance to name the same 11 in the last 94 matches suggests the stolid Castilian's appearance belies a similarly changeable manager.
And as one of English football's most enduring clichés is 'never change a winning team', any subsequent setback can be attributed to Benitez's inability to present the same teamsheet. The realities of defeat are often more complex, but the school of lazy punditry finds fault with the Liverpool manager; that his tinkering contributed to eventual victory in Istanbul is currently being ignored.
But as Benitez approaches an unlikely century, there are five facets to his ever-changing team selection. The first is a methodology that is the polar opposite of, say, Arsene Wenger's: a concession to the opposition in his thought process.
Hence Sami Hyypia's height led to his inclusion against Bolton while Luis Garcia's European pedigree resulted in his starting place against Galatasaray. They were selections based on scientific assessment rather than blind faith, a belief the best available 11 is dictated by situation and opposition rather than merely fitness and suspension.
Then there are the merits of squad rotation. Benitez's thesis - that it is impossible for a club with aspirations to succeed to play 65 games a season while fielding the same 11 players throughout - is gaining widespread acceptance. Indeed, it is substantiated by Fabio Capello's Juventus, who steamrollered their way towards the Italian title in successive seasons, but tired together and limped out of the Champions League. Liverpool, in contrast, ended the campaign in blistering form.
Then a summer recruitment drive left Benitez with a squad size commensurate with Liverpool's status among the biggest clubs. The dynamics of the modern transfer market and the absence of a billionaire backer, however, are contributing factors in the Spaniard's decision to split his transfer budget several ways. Lacking any galacticos means there are few automatic choices.
Squad rotation, therefore, becomes a method of placating the majority of his charges, albeit while elating few of them.
Fourthly, there are the options at Benitez's disposal which, given the adaptability of many of his players, are more than Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho or Wenger have to ponder.
Benitez has utilised Gerrard in a series of positions. Though greatest success has come from the right of midfield.Versatility is an asset Benitez values; the addition of Fabio Aurelio and Boudewijn Zenden, providing an alternative in three and four positions respectively, shows at much. At Anfield, however, accusations of being a jack of all trades, but a master of none could dog either player. Steven Gerrard, Luis Garcia, John Arne Riise and Craig Bellamy are all flexible enough to complicate selection similarly.
Meanwhile, summer acquisitions give Benitez more players to perm from, especially in the final third. Mark Gonzalez and Jermaine Pennant provide pace on either flank, but are rarely selected together. One change, in other words, necessitates two to provide balance on the other wing and a third midfielder with defensive awareness.
That frequently involves Gerrard. If Benitez is yet to grant his captain a permanent position, that should not necessarily be regarded as a fault.
His preference for centre midfield is well known and his capacity to dominate is established yet, when Gerrard was granted his favourite role against Galatasaray, Liverpool missed Momo Sissoko's physicality; pair him with Gerrard and they may have cause to lament the absence of Xabi Alonso's inventive passing. That the majority of Gerrard's 23 goals came from the right flank last season should not be ignored, nor that he was arguably the outstanding Premiership player in that position.
If Gerrard and Luis Garcia, each deployed just behind the main striker, are included, Benitez has six options in attack and 15 possible partnerships.
Yet, where the squad system was abandoned, the result was despondency for Robbie Fowler; even the substitutes' bench has been beyond his grasp for the last five games. For five of them, Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt were united, providing an indication that they may be regarded as a long-term partnership. For Benitez, the consequence was criticism because of the omission of Peter Crouch.
Other players lend themselves to rotation. The enigmatic Luis Garcia, capable of outstanding goals and inexplicable misses, is one such. A matchwinner who can be mediocre, he lacks the consistency to be regarded as an automatic starter.
But who is? Benitez's propensity to rest Gerrard, particularly in European away games, means Jamie Carragher and Jose Reina are the closest, and even the latter is on probation.
Empics
Jamie Carragher: Sole undroppable member?Even the central defensive partnership, largely untouched last season, has been altered, the result of a rare injury to Carragher and evidence of the admirable Hyypia's decline which, coupled with Daniel Agger's precocious performances, means another significant decision every match for the Spaniard.
In contrast, at Chelsea, Petr Cech, John Terry, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko are assured of their places, especially for the bigger games. Arsenal and Manchester United can each boast half a dozen players similarly certain to start.
Whether a lack of consistency in team selection at Anfield equates to a lack of consistency in results is another matter. Certainly, it is the frequency of Benitez's changes that can be questioned; four or five alterations in the starting 11 are not unusual.
The suggestion is that he does not know his best team - and this interpretation is that it depends upon the circumstances anyway - but that lends an opportunity, especially for newcomers like Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzales, to prove they belong in it.
And in the meantime, whenever Liverpool next win because of a substitution or surprise selection from Benitez, it could be seen as a reason to carry on tinkering.
. This is the lead story on SOCCERNET at the moment:
) is how lazy it is to rattle off the "94th successive game" mantra as though that explains everything. It pays no attention to context (injuries, suspension, loss of form, tactics...), number of changes made (1? 2? 7?), or--most importantly--the results achieved during that run.
