Bleacher Report - Articles by Martin Hunt

Liverpool Missed Opportunity to Become Champions

Martin Hunt — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:49:34 -0500

Last weekend, when Liverpool faced Fulham at home, a game that, on paper, they should have won, they missed the opportunity of becoming Champions of England...

Not the Premier League Champions—it's far too early for that, but the Unofficial English Domestic Championship.

Fulham are the current holders—and if Liverpool had beaten them, then the title would have been heading back to Anfield.

For the people who have no idea of what I'm talking about, let me explain a little more.

In 1967, Scottish football fans claimed that, in beating World Cup holders England 3-2 at Wembley in 1967, Scotland had become unofficial world champions.

In 2002, a caller to a football phone-in radio show echoed that claim, and threw down a tantalising statistical gauntlet. Who, the caller wondered, were the current holders of the unofficial title? Identifying the current unofficial champions required tracing the lineage of title matches from 1872 right up to date.

This mammoth task was undertaken by various dedicated football stattos. Unfortunately as no clear rules were set out, no clear definitive answer was found.

A group of individuals decided to set the rules for future traces, and such the Unofficial Football World Championships were born.

The first ever international match took place on 30/11/1872, between England and Scotland. This match was a 0-0 draw. The following year England beat Scotland 4-2 making them the first ever World Champions. Now, if you go through every international match, taking the winner to be the World Champions (with a draw the champions keep the title) you end up with Holland as the current World Champions.

The Unofficial Football World Championships remains very much, unofficial, but it has received a thumbs-up of sorts from FIFA.

'As long as people have fun with football and that it is played in the spirit of respect for all involved, the non-violation of the Laws of the Game and the ethics of sport, FIFA is more than happy!' exclaimed a statement from the FIFA Media Department. 'We wish UFWC fans a lot of fun!'

Since the tracing of the "World Champions" was achieved, it was decided to set the rules, and track down other "Unofficial Champions." Who were the English Domestic Champions? Who were the Club European Champions? Who were the Champions of various regions?

Well, all these "Unofficial Champions" have been traced.

At the beginning of this season, Manchester United were the champions (they beat Chelsea in the European Cup Final in Moscow, who had subsequently beaten Newcastle on May 11).

As Liverpool were the first English team to beat United since their win in Moscow, Liverpool became the Unofficial Domestic Champions, but it was short-lived. On Nov. 1, they were defeated by Spurs, who subsequently lost the title to Fulham on Nov. 15.

If Liverpool had beaten Fulham last week, they would have taken the title back...

List of current "Unofficial Champions" as of Nov. 28, 2008

- Current Unofficial European Club Champions - Manchester United

- Current Unofficial English Domestic Champions - Fulham FC

- Current Unofficial World Champions - Holland

- Current Unofficial African Nations Champions - Chad

- Current Unofficial European Champions - Finland

- Current Unofficial South American champions - Brazil

Source of Data

Is There a Need for All the Rotation?

Martin Hunt — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:37:12 -0400

It is very well publicised that Rafael Benitez is a big believer in rotating his squad, and it is largely looked at by the press as being detrimental to Liverpool’s title credentials. But is it?

On Wednesday night Liverpool faced Portsmouth at Anfield, yes we walked away with the maximum points, but it was not a convincing win. Many pundits stated that we did not look as convincing as we did against Chelsea, and the main reason was the amount of players the Benitez changed from a winning side (note the word amount, not which players were changed).

Against Portsmouth, Benitez made four changes from the starting line up that faced Chelsea three days prior. Now this should be looked at, the reasons behind them tell you that Benitez should be complimented on the changes, and not made out to be ruining our title chance.

First player to be changed was Daniel Agger—a player who has only very recently come back from a long term injury, and is no where near 100% match fit. Playing two games in short succession, would have definitely taken its toll. And don’t forget that we have a game against Spurs on Saturday—making it three matches in less than a week.

The next player to face rotation was Javier Mascherano. Why would Benitez leave out one of our best players and replace him with a young Brazilian? Masch has just returned to the club from international duty with Argentina (17th October) and has not had time to fully rest from a vigorous trip and game.

If the opportunity arose to give him a few extra days grace, and we had suitable cover—remember Lucas is a member of the Brazilian first team for a reason, then why not.

Next, why was Riera rested on the wing? Well, he is still not fully adjusted to the English game, and the three games in less than a week is tough on any player, especially one that does as much running as Riera does.

Babel was played in his place, giving more backup to the lone striker Kuyt, so tactically this swap made sense too.

Lastly Jermaine Pennant was played ahead of Robbie Keane; well Kuyt was played as a lone striker due to Keane not being 100%, which left the right side empty. Pennant has a lot to prove at Liverpool—the epitome of inconsistency, but when given a rare opportunity, he can sometimes shine (and after his display against Portsmouth, he deserves another shout against Spurs).

So, as far as I am concerned, the rotation of these four players was just. If we have a squad strong enough, then it is only going to benefit the team in the long run. The season is very long, especially for a team that is also competing in Europe, we don’t only need fresh players now, but more importantly, we need them at the end of the season when things start to get extremely tough.

Let’s look at Liverpool recent and upcoming fixtures:

Saturday 18th October – Wigan
Wednesday 22nd October - Atletico Madrid
Sunday 26th October – Chelsea
Wednesday 29th October – Portsmouth
Saturday 1st November – Tottenham
Tuesday 4th November - Atletico Madrid
Saturday 8th November – West Brom
Wednesday 12th November – Tottenham

That’s eight matches in less than a month—if you compare that to other teams in the league that have not/do not rotate, that’s almost double.

Why is Benitez singled out by the media about rotating? If you look at another game that was played on Wednesday—Manchester United v. West Ham—you would see that Man Utd made five changes to the team the played Everton on Saturday. United have been doing the same thing for many a season.

Alex Ferguson does this for a reason, and that reason is the same as why Benitez rotates, the same reason Scholari rotates at Chelsea and Wenger at Arsenal—because they need to.

As I have said, the season is very long, the top teams are now playing more matches than ever, so a bigger and stronger squad is need, and rotation is essential.

To summarise, Rafa Benitez does rotate, but no more than any other top team manager. The reason they do it is because they have to. The more successful you are, the more football you have to play, the larger the squad you need to compete on all playing fields, the more you have to rotate to keep your players fresh.

The reason we have failed to mount a serious challenge in the past is not down to the amount of rotation Rafa carries out, but it’s down to the quality of the backup players we had. We can now turn to players with quality, with international big game experience, players such as Lucas, Agger, Hyypia, Babel etc. We are not quiet on the same level in squad quality as Chelsea and United, but we are getting there.

Originally Published at The Monkeys Office

Breaking News From the Anfield Boardroom

Martin Hunt — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:41:08 -0400

The Liverpool board have informed Rafa Benitez that he will not get a penny for player purchases during the off season unless it will have a positive effect on the balance of the team.

Messrs Hicks and Gillett have held talks with both Benitez and Parry and insisted that the team must be both tactically balanced and also ethnically balanced. With the departure of John Arne Riise to Roma, the Liverpool board feel that the team will lack the "Ginger Factor" that they feel was the main reason for Manchester United's double winning side last season.

Players like Paul Scholes and Wes Brown having huge amounts of the "Ginger Factor," the Liverpool board feel that Manchester United already have an upper hand next season and want this problem sorted at Anfield as quick as possible. They have even been heard talking about Liverpools glorious '70s when they had a Supersub by the name of David Fairclough who is thought to be the Original "Ginger Factor" player.

A wish list has been drawn up that contains players such as Dave Kitson, John Hartson, and want cheeky bids to be made for Wes Brown and Scholes from United. If the latter bids fail they have instructed Benitez to try and convince David Fairclough and Alexi Lalas to come out of retirement to help our cause.

Benitez is thought to be furious with the American owners and has been quoted as saying "These Yanks know nothing about football or fashion, it is obvious to even my seven year old daughter that Orange and Red seriously clash." Benitez, desperate for cash to strengthen his squad for a push for the League Title, has begrudgingly obliged his employers wishes and will reveal the signings of Fairclough along with the surprise signing of Gordan Strachen later this week.

This has enabled him to receive a larger transfer kitty, and has also, due to scouting reports from around the world, converted Benitez to the way of thinking of Hicks and Gillett, with more "Ginger Factor" players due to arrive at Anfield in the coming months. When Rick Parry was asked for his feelings on the new tactics for signing players to Liverpool he responded "Well everything was looking bad for awhile, no money available to strengthen, we were looking at players we simply couldn't afford—but now the future looks bright, the future looks orange."

Originally Posted at The Monkey's Office

Liverpool: The Difference Between 2007-08 and 2008-09

Martin Hunt — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:08:20 -0400

I have been scratching my head trying to think about what has changed at Liverpool this season to turn us into true title contenders. Nine games in and we are sitting pretty, three points clear at the top of the table—but what has actually changed since last season?

Rafa has brought in several new players in the summer, three of them have walked straight into the first team. Now this usually has an adverse effect as they need time to settle in. But the two most notable buys, Riera and Keane, are apparently players that have the right mentality to win, according to the Liverpool manager.

Robbie Keane, a boyhood fan of the club and a proven goalscorer at every level, has quite possibly not reached his full potential. The passion and desire is definitely there, which counts for a lot in today’s game, but at the age of 28, this could be his last real chance to win a major trophy.

The second new addition, Albert Riera, was never given the full credit he has now proved he deserves. Many supporters had written him off before he had even played his first game for his new club. He may not have the flashy style of play a lot of fans craved, but he has the ability to take players on, and a handy knack at delivering decent crosses on a regular basis—something we have definitely missed.

Benitez has also added Degen, Dossena, N’Gog, and Cavalieri to his squad—all brought in mainly as cover and competition for places, but all with the same mentality and desire to win. Some of these players have not broken into the first team on a regular basis as yet, some because of injuries, others due to the step up in quality of other players; which has made it harder for Benitez to fit them in—all part of the “Master Plan”, so to speak.

Certain players from last season have looked like new signings—Dirk Kuyt still has the work horse ethics we all came to love, but he has also improved in front of goal. Benitez still seems to prefer him on the right—cutting in and supporting Torres and Keane, but he has also scored some important goals for us already this season.

Ryan Babel has been used mainly as a super sub due to his recovery from an injury over the summer, but he seems to have grown in confidence the longer he plays for Liverpool. He appears more settled and is taking players on with a lot more ease.

Alonso—who nearly left the club in the summer—has come back in to the form that he has possibly lacked for the last couple of seasons. Even good old Mr. Reliable, Jamie Carragher, seems to have found a new level to his game.

All this is good news for the club, but I still don’t think this is what has turned Liverpool in to the title contenders some people are claiming them to be.

So what else has changed that has seen Liverpool to their best ever start to a Premier League season? Is it the manager’s attitude and his tactics?

I don't think it is, as we are still playing with some caution, but I think the players now know when to drop the cautious approach and play more attacking football.

Could it be the American owners keeping much more tight lipped than they was last season?

Definitely not, as there is still noise about them selling up to another buyer and the issue surrounding the funding of Gareth Barry over the summer.

The players have the belief they can win, this has come by beating the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea as well as the come backs against Manchester City and Wigan. But what, or possibly who, has installed the initial belief and what is now at the club that was missing last season?

As we look back to last season at some of our failings, the team started well with a good win over Aston Villa and a point from Chelsea, which many can argue should have been three. But something happened at the Chelsea game that would shape the rest of the season.

Everyone knows of the recent Chelsea and Liverpool rivalry, and the competition between Benitez and Mourinho, so it did not go down well with Rafa that his assistant manager, Pako Ayestaran, was seen to be friendly with the then Chelsea boss after a match that Liverpool should of won.

Fireworks erupted between the two, and the long term working relationship came to an end as Ayestaran left Liverpool for another job on 14 October 2007—very early into the season.

The Mourinho incident was not the only problem between Rafa and Pako, but it was the final straw that left us without an assistant manager for the remainder of the campaign, resulting in a massive amount of extra work for Rafa Benitez.

Rafa is greatly considered a tactical genius and a great manager, but he can’t do everything by himself. The analysing of the opposition, the implementation of tactics in training, the compilation of training schedules—the list goes on. I believe this is what contributed a great deal in hampering the title charge last season. We had the players, we had the manager—but we just needed that little something extra.

We can fast-forward to the preseason of 2008—the most important signing for Liverpool had been made. That little something extra walked though the doors of Melwood, and we got more than we could bargain for. Two former players—both with different experiences and success at the club, but both with the same “Winning Mentality” that Benitez craved.

On 16th May 2008, Sammy Lee returned to his spiritual home. The former three-time league and two-time European cup winner and most importantly, ex-Liverpool great, had returned as Rafa’s No. 2.

Previously he had been the first team coach under Houllier at Liverpool and also the assistant manager to Sam Allardyce at Bolton; he has now returned to stamp his style of coaching back onto Liverpool.

Forever the optimist, his coaching style is all about team unity and spirit, embedding the belief in to the team that they can beat anyone. Sammy Lee is also a big believer in player fitness, which has already been seen this season with the late wins. He knows what winning the league means to Liverpool and to the fans—he knows the history of the club and he knows all about the “Liverpool Way” of old.

The other significant backroom member to join Sammy at Liverpool was Mauricio Pellegrino, a player that Benitez knew very well. A three time La Liga winner—two of which were with Benitez at Valencia—Pellegrino also knows what it takes to succeed.

Liverpool Football Club is now fully equipped to challenge for the league title. We have the right manager and tactical genius of Rafa Benitez, the right players with their mix of raw talent and experience; all of which have the desire to win.

We have the greatest fans in the world to cheer the team along, and now we possibly have the missing piece of the jigsaw that could get them and the team the long awaited Premier League title—the difference between thinking we can win, and actually believing we will win.

So what has turned us into true contenders this season?

The simple answer for me appears to be Sammy Lee and Mauricio Pellegrino.

Originally Posted at The Monkey Office