Let?s concentrate on that win first. What a win. While there have been bigger comebacks in history, I don?t know that there has been one that was as unlikely as this one. Normally 1-0 or 2-0 down at half time against Milan in any game and you are writing your eulogies. 3-0 down and you are looking for where you?re going to have a pint or two to drown your sorrows after the game. How the boys scored 3 goals in 6 minutes is still beyond me and I?m sure Milan are still shaking their heads. Remember, this was on the biggest stage in European club football. This sort of comeback is unlikely in a regular club game, let alone against what some people rate as the best defensive side in Europe, and in the cup final. Dudek was at times fantastic, at others frustrating. He made some incredible saves but he was also saved on two occasions by saves off the line by Garcia and Traore. It was great for his confidence though to make that spectacular double save at the end of extra time and then his pushing of the limits of the laws in the penalty shootout (you have to admit, if Dida had of done the same thing, we would have been crying foul and would have wanted the penalty kick retaken). Who will forget ol? rubber legs Dudek now? The rest of the team really seemed to lift after the first goal and I thought our structure was much better when Didi Hamaan made his entrance. Stevie was immense for us in the second half. No more needs to be said.
Now that I have mentioned Stevie, let?s talk a bit about the saga that surrounded him. Despite being on the other side of the world, we were bombarded by the saga of the on again off again transfer dealings of Steven Gerrard and the management of the club. I?m still unsure as to how such a misunderstanding can occur between a club and their captain. There were times last season that Stevie looked disinterested and like Anfield was the last place he wanted to be. Hopefully Benetiz has been able to spell out his vision to all now and I think Gerrard will be happy here in the future. We don?t want this saga being played out every year when Liverpool might not be doing as well as we might expect. All I can say is that I think Stevie has some very ruthless advisers in his camp. This is how it appeared to us over here in Australia trying to read between the lines.
-Stevie professes his desire to stay at LFC after the Euro Cup win but wants a substantial increase in pay.
-Chel$ki and Real Madrid are still in the market for Gerrard with big money.
-Rafa would love Gerrard to stay but also needs money to rebuild his squad and the 35 odd million pound being offered is tempting.
-Liverpool have an offer in mind for Stevie but open negotiations by innocently asking what he wants (just in case it was lower than what they are prepared to pay)
-Stevie, after talking to his advisers, releases a statement that the club don?t want him to stay and that the talks have broken down and are unlikely to resume.
-LFC, gob smacked, offer their top offer in an attempt to keep him.
-Stevie says thank you very much and gets what he wanted all along, a large pay increase and to stay with Liverpool.
Now what about the signings this season. There are a few that I know very little about. Mohammed Sissoko, Antonio Barragan and Mark Gonzalez are unknowns to most of us here in Australia. We have seen a little of Jose Reina and he looks to be a very good keeper.
Bolo Zenden is a very good signing in my opinion. Middlesbrough?s best player last season is creative, works hard and is solid in defence as well. He also brings a versatility to the side that allows the player rotation that Benetiz likes. It will be very interesting to see how Benetiz uses him in conjunction with Luis Garcia, Mark Gonzalez and Harry Kewell when they are all fit.
I must admit I am still to be convinced about the purchase of Peter Crouch. Rafa is looking to be able to play different formations against specific teams to improve the league form and this is where I see Crouch being used to his potential. I hope for Crouch?s sake (and LFC for that matter) that he does succeed as a target man gives you smooth transition through the midfield to the strikers, allowing your midfield to attack more. Remember though that this is a position that we played Emile Heskey in and it just seemed to result in long balls from defence in the hope that Heskey could do something with it. Didn?t work real well and resulted in Liverpool becoming a very one-dimensional team. I don?t think this will happen on a season long basis with Rafa in charge but we could be prone to dropping back into these habits on a game-by-game basis if we are not careful. We now have some exciting, creative wingers in the side and I think we want to be using the width that they can provide. This lack of width was one of the major faults of the Houllier team, and we became easy to defend against because all of our attack was either long ball to Heskey or through the middle to Owen. I can?t see that happening this season though with the attacking and creative flair out wide that we now seem to have.
Just a quick note on Harry Kewell. I know his dedication and effort has been questioned on numerous occasions by the fans. As an Aussie I have a soft spot for Harry and when he signed with Liverpool FC I was over the moon. I really do hope that this season he can remain injury free and get back to something like the form that he showed when still at Leeds. Get into it Harry, show us what you?ve got mate.
I?m looking forward to an injury free season that will see Carra, Xabi and Stevie continue their superb form. I am really looking forward to seeing Xabi and Stevie?s partnership grow after injury decimated both of them last year.
So, ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses to Rafa and the class of 05/06. All in all it promises to be a stellar year.
By Adrian Smith