Liverpool want to get back to business

There are certain ways to prepare for an FA Cup fourth-round tie against your local rivals. As the captain spent the morning in court answering an assault charge while the manager pondered how his unedifying contract dispute might be affected if a family of Kuwaiti billionaires succeeds in buying the club from their warring American owners, it was tempting to wonder yesterday whether there could be anything worse than the Liverpool way.
By tomorrow evening, Liverpool could be celebrating an FA Cup victory over Everton, looking forward to an encounter with Real Madrid in the Champions League first knockout round and gearing up for a memorable tussle with Manchester United as they look to bring the league title back to Anfield for the first time since 1990.
However, the club are not defined at the moment by exciting prospects on the pitch but by serious issues off it. Whether it is the takeover saga, the dispute over Rafael Benítez’s contract or Steven Gerrard’s court case, a club who were once synonymous with quiet achievement find themselves with more on their plate than is palatable. Benítez has at times been only too eager to thrust himself into the political minefield that is the Anfield boardroom but, as the Al-Kharafi family continue their negotiations to buy the club from Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, with rival interest being shown by an American investor, the manager was playing it all low key yesterday. “I was surprised by what I read this morning,” he said. “I have just been focusing on getting my team prepared.”
In particular, he was concentrating on Gerrard. Benítez is not a touchy-feely kind of manager, more tactical than tactile, but he went out of his way to speak to his captain when the latter arrived at the club’s Melwood training ground yesterday morning. Gerrard had come straight from North Sefton Magistrates’ Court, where he denied charges of assault and affray in relation to an incident in a bar in Southport in the early hours of December 29. The case has been adjourned until March 20, but Benítez was eager yesterday to check that there were no signs that Gerrard, a more introspective individual than many may imagine, was feeling the strain of the case.
“Steven is training really well,” Benítez said shortly after yesterday’s lunchtime training session. “I was watching him play in the five-a-sides today and he scored two or three very good goals. I don’t think he has been affected by other things at all. I asked him about it and I asked how he was and he said he was OK. Steven has shown that he is a very good professional. He showed that the other night [in the 1-1 draw against Everton in the Barclays Premier League], when he scored a fantastic goal and he was playing really well. I think he will do the same again on Sunday.”
The concern for Benítez is that Gerrard’s state of mind might become a regular subject of discussion in the coming weeks, with his next court date coming on the back of an intense four-week period that will include the two legs of the Champions League tie with Real and a series of important Premier League matches, including the trip to Old Trafford to face United on March 14. Benítez, though, said that he was unconcerned. “It won’t be a problem if he stays focused on football,” the manager said. “We just have to help him by keeping him fit and by playing well.”
Gerrard will be entrusted tomorrow to lead out a Liverpool team who are likely to include Diego Cavalieri, the reserve goalkeeper, as Benítez looks to rest José Manuel Reina. Other fringe players, such as Lucas Leiva and Ryan Babel, hope to be involved.
But, even with a Premier League trip to Wigan Athletic on Wednesday, Benítez cannot contemplate wholesale changes at a time when his regime is under scrutiny, after he went public on his decision to reject the club’s offer of a new contract because he wants more control over transfer policy.
While he hopes that a solution can be found, with Hicks travelling to Merseyside next week to meet him, Benítez is known to be increasingly fearful of his prospects of staying at Anfield beyond his existing contract, which expires at the end of next season, so he may find himself welcoming the prospect of a change of ownership.
Hicks and, in particular, Gillett appear to be encouraging offers and, while it has emerged that interest is being shown by other American investors, the strongest interest is coming from the Al-Kharafi family.
They are likely to be watching from afar tomorrow as Gerrard and his team-mates look to register a victory that would offer the perfect antidote to the off-the-field issues.
They peaked before the beak
Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate stood trial in 2001 for an attack on a student. While the case hung over them, Bowyer produced the best performances of his career but Woodgate’s form suffered. Woodgate was found guilty of affray and given community service and Bowyer cleared of all charges.
John Terry was charged with assault after a brawl in a nightclub in January 2002. He was cleared that August. He scored the winning goal in an FA Cup semi-final while facing court proceedings, but they cost him a place in the World Cup finals.
Robin van Persie was arrested on suspicion of rape and spent two weeks in prison in the Netherlands in June 2005. It was not until late February 2006 that charges were dropped. In between, he found impressive goalscoring form.
Words by Tom Dart
David Moyes, the Everton manager, expects a very different encounter with Liverpool from Monday’s 1-1 draw in the Barclays Premier League. Tim Cahill’s late equaliser dented Liverpool’s title hopes, but Moyes expects that to be forgotten tomorrow. “I don’t think it [Monday's result] gives us any advantage,” he said. “It is a different game for both of us. We think we can play better than we did in midweek. We are concentrating on getting through in the Cup. We are going to go there to see if we can try to make it happen.”
source: the london times