Gaffer’s Banter

Draws and dirty tactics

With Liverpool having squandered another golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table last night, I can’t help but start worrying that this, our 7^th draw of the season, might just be one too many… Yes, as Benitez pointed out in the post match press conference, we’re still leading the way, but how long can we expect that to last.

As pointed out during his attack on Fergie, the Red Devils appear to have an advantageous run in this season and will be in the front seat to retain the title, especially if we continue slipping up with these easy fixtures.

Whilst I admire Benitez for standing up to Fergie and the FA, I just wonder whether we’d be better off with him sticking to his typical low profile approach and focusing on getting tactics right and winning games. The fact that he chose Kuyt to start as a lone striker last night in my opinion is a questionable tactical choice. Don’t get me wrong, Kuyt is a great player and one that you can rely upon to give 110% to everything, but he’s been off form of late and would not have been my choice to start alone against a team who dug in their heels and held us to goalless stalemate at Anfield.

I’m sure Fergie will be pretty happy with the events of the past couple of days. Not only has he seen his main competitor fall into his trap and join the world of dirty mind games, something that most would consider him to be a master of, but he has subsequently seen Liverpool go on and slip up against lowly Stoke. Whether or not Benitez’s comments served as a distraction to the players ahead of the Stoke game, no one will ever know. Either way, I can only feel that Benitez should stick to what he’s best at, keeping his head low, focusing on winning games and avoiding public outbursts against his opponents.

What did you think of last night’s performance? What do you make of Benitez’s remarks? Post your comments below: