Tom Lappin: Benitez's stubborn view may prove to be his undoing in Premier League title race

Published on Friday 30 January 2009 21:13

WHEN it comes to finding suitable adjectives for Rafael Benitez, English and Castilian dictionaries may not be enough. Recent events suggest that we may have to borrow that delicious old Scots word 'thrawn' to encapsulate the Liverpool manager's mood.

It implies the kind of twisted stubbornness that is ultimately self-defeating, such a deep-rooted streak of intractability that proves to be a flaw rather than an admirable strength.

Or maybe it's just the kidney stones that have put him in a bad mood. Certainly Liverpool's league position seems to have followed the graph of their manager's renal functions. Anyone with any experience of such a condition should be wholly sympathetic to Benitez's dark moods over the last couple of months.

Back in December, looking forward through the fixture calendar, tomorrow's match against Chelsea at Anfield had the aspect of a key title tie. After a dismal January for both clubs, though, the fixture has the aspect of two bald men squabbling over a comb. The loser will face a serious deficit in the title chase, while a draw is likely to allow Manchester United a little more daylight at the top, given that today's visitors Everton have not won at Old Trafford for 17 years. The points differential is not even the key anymore. It's all in the body language. Chelsea and Liverpool look like tentative and timid challengers; United are beginning to parade their warranted assumptions of superiority.

A great deal was made of Benitez's substitutions on Wednesday, withdrawing Fernando Torres when Liverpool held a 1-0 lead against Wigan, and, more surprisingly, Steven Gerrard when the score was 1-1. If anybody was going to come up with a late winner it was surely the captain?

Benitez, though, has a history of being suspicious of the irrational energy and force of will that Gerrard embodies. He has, arguably, made Gerrard a more effective player by freeing him from the tactical discipline of a central midfield role (discipline which Gerrard tended to ignore anyway) and allowing him a looser attacking role, but has been reticent about accepting the local legend that Gerrard is superhuman. Given eight minutes to score a winner, Benitez will always trust considered application rather than individual will-power.

That's a symptom of a different kind of stubbornness. In his fifth year in England, Benitez still appears in some respects to be an aloof Castilian unwilling to adjust to the English style. He is either slow or bloody-minded in acknowledging the kind of challenges that clubs like Stoke City, Everton and Wigan can present, which may be why Liverpool dropped points against all three in January.

Because it brought him great success and the attention of Europe's biggest clubs, Benitez has never shrugged off the Valencia mindset. At the Mestalla, Benitez honed a siege mentality, brooding constantly and publicly about the advantages bestowed by the league and the referees on the all-powerful Real Madrid and Barcelona. It proved effective, at least in motivating his players, and creating a belligerent cohesion that was sufficient to win the title. He also taught the fans to tolerate the occasional employment of cravenly defensive tactics in pursuit of a vital result.

He has had a modicum of success applying the blueprint at Anfield, even if Liverpool are one of the world's most powerful clubs rather than a provincial hopeful. The fans will accept his caution if it brings them a win against Manchester United, but are less patient when it characterises insipid draws with smaller clubs.

The Valencia mindset also fuelled his attack on Sir Alex Ferguson, an articulate attempt to express a sense of justice, and air grievances that had been accumulating for years.

Much of what Benitez said about Ferguson was delivered evenly and sensibly, and echoed the complaints and suspicions of several other Premier League managers. In England, though, such a deliberate and scripted complaint is regarded as bad form.

Liverpool haven't won since, while United have been irresistible. Benitez, with his control fetish, is losing his grip on performances. Perhaps all that can rescue Liverpool's season now is a drift away from the technical obsessions, and a little more trust in the organic and inspirational qualities of Gerrard, Torres, Jamie Carragher, Alonso. Benitez needs to bend a little. If February is to save Liverpool, they have to start by beating Chelsea tomorrow.