Benitez - Most popular for February 2012
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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish recently launched an impassioned defence of 20m winger Stewart
Downing, arguing that he was a 'better player than he thought he was' when he signed for the club.
Kenny's former team-mate Mark Lawrenson has a different view.Speaking on Today FM recently, Lawro
was more truthful than Dalglish about Downing's impact at Liverpool so far:"The last few times I
have seen
Dietman Hamann will forever be remembered and revered by Liverpool fans for his impact in the
Champions League final in 2005, but as the former German International revealed recently, he went
into that match thinking it was his last game for the club, and he was even more disappointed to
discover that he wasn't even in the starting line-up.
To put it as simply as possible, Liverpool need 2.2 points per game over the remainder of the
season to finish fourth. They have 39 points and stand in seventh place, while over the past ten
seasons it has taken 68 points to qualify for the Champions League. That leaves thirteen games to
make up the 29 point gap between where the club is now and where the club felt it needed to be by
the end of the season.
Briefly, I thought I'd revisit a graphic from almost exactly a year ago.
At this point last season, Liverpool had used 22 different starting defenses through 40 matches. No
back-line had started more than five matches together. Six weeks into his reign, in the wake of
Hodgson's havoc, Dalglish was experimenting with every possible defensive combination, hands tied
by injuries and a lack of fullbacks, including notable three-at-the-back wins over Chelsea and
Stoke.
Just when it seems that we have reached our lowest point it seems to get worse doesn't it. As
Chelsea fans all we want to see is our side give a good performance week in, week out just like any
other set of supporters in the country. We want to see everyone pulling together as one unit and in
the same direction but this is
clearly not happening.
Though Rayo Vallecano are enjoying a bit of success, currently sitting 8th in La Liga after
winning promotion last season, many of their fans are not. With Spain's unemployment rate the
highest in Europe at almost 23 percent, Rayo have decided to offer tickets to Saturday's big match
against Real Madrid (a match that wasn't included in season ticket packages) at a discount to fans
without a job.
