SPOTLIGHT: What Rafa Benitez Will Never Say.

It strucked me like a Gilardino Rocket as I slowly digested what was going on within Rafa Benitez’s (RB) head whenever he spewed consolatory remarks at the end of every game.

You see there’s is something that RB doesn’t want us to know and I sort of figured it out.

It’s got to do with the players at his disposal and you will see it too when I explain about it.

But first, something about Gerrard’s average run of form in this season and how his average performances is related to what I’m about to reveal.

Indeed, it has been a frustrating season for us Reds as we kept conceding goals after goals after goals after goals.

I mean who wants to see their team lose week in and week out, but that was just what we witnessed as our failure to create or convert chances, coupled with the leaky defence, proposed a Liverpool side that was on the freefall.

With key players like Gerrard and Torres out of the team, it was harrowingly difficult to watch our approach play in the hands of the subdued Lucas, while Mascherano’s potential passing range wasn’t helped by the lack of flair within the flanks.

And when games ended with a loss or a draw, the familiar words of RB are spewed at journalists and cameraman as his heartfelt consolatory comments carved more enthusiasm and hope than there really was.

“It was a really good performance.” He would say.

“We created plenty of chances so it’s not too bad.”

“It’s unfortunate that we have key players out and there’s lack of cover.”

And then there are occasions when he will single out the captain like, “Gerrard’s performance was a let down. The team deserves more.”

RB will pick on Gerrard and only Gerrard because he knows that the only one capable of facing the music, taking the criticism and shouldering the burden is our dear Steven Gerrard himself.

RB knows that there’s only 1 player in his squad who is capable of taking criticism and improve, because the rest of the team’s self-esteem can be paper thin.

He cannot criticise the team too much, or else the players will lose confidence and add that to the gravy of disappointment from the fans, there really isn’t anything else for RB to say.

The truth is that he knows that his current crop of players are simply not good enough, apart from Reina, Carragher, Gerrard and Torres.

There’s a hunch that he understands the lack of flair and quality with his players that he feels compelled to stroke their ego instead of going the ‘reverse psychology’ method that he often utilises onto the Captain.

And it’s quite a sad sight to see a manager of RB’s quality, a captain of Gerrard’s quality, a complete striker of Torres’ quality, and a keeper of Reina’s quality, to all be playing alongside sub-world class standard footballers.

Week in, week out we see Gerrard struggle to form a deadly partnership with anyone in the team, other than Torres. It seems that there is a dearth of world class understanding between the Captain and his team.

Even Stan Collymore echoed that Gerrard needs to leave Liverpool and find a team that’s on par with his standards, as a player of his immense abilities aren’t winning enough trophies with the current squad.

No matter what, I have a feeling that RB knows this, and he’s trynig as hard as he can to resist moaning about the situation, and not say anything about it.

Anyway, like he said, he just signed for 5 more years — it’s an ongoing project he says.

Well I hope that RB receives the proper backing ($$$) as much as Steven Gerrard will come to appreciate the strengths of Aquilani’s game, and hopefully more World Class players to come.

‘Cos it’ll be the begining of a funeral march if Gerrard leaves. Heh.

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AUTHOR BIO: Mar is a passionate, understanding and tolerable Reds fan through and through. His views on the current situation at Anfield does not reflect his subject’s opinions, but strangely it seems close enough. Catch him at his personal blog.mar.sg and say hi.