The Carling Cup, according to Rafael Benítez, is “a special competition”. But it is a competition that has often demonstrated the paucity of Liverpool’s resources beneath first-team level in recent years, whether that means home-grown youngsters, imported teenagers or disenchanted senior professionals who are stagnating and in desperate need of a run-out.
As well as the debut of Alberto Aquilani, almost certainly as a substitute, Liverpool’s squad that faces Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this evening will include Jay Spearing and Nathan Eccleston, two bona fide home-grown players, and David Ngog.
But there will also be Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena and Andriy Voronin, whose services Benítez has retained only to keep up the numbers in a squad that is alarmingly short of strength in depth, and Ryan Babel, the former Ajax protégé, whose career has stalled.
Diego Cavalieri, the Brazilian goalkeeper, and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the 30-year-old Greece defender, will also be on duty in the knowledge that they will not be troubling Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher any time soon.
For all the uninformed criticisms of Benítez in recent weeks, his approach to the Carling Cup is curious, particularly when set against the dozens of young players he has signed.
He has spoken of his desire to replicate Arsenal’s successful model when it comes to developing youngsters. But, whereas Arsène Wenger views this as the arena in which to test his youngsters, the Liverpool starting line-up away to Leeds United in the previous round had an average age of 27.
Benítez, of course, seems to be damned whichever course of action he takes; in January 2005, four months before winning the Champions League in his first season at Anfield, he was widely criticised for fielding a reserve team that lost to Burnley in the FA Cup.
One of the players likely to be rested this evening is Emiliano Insúa, the 20-year-old left back, who was signed from Boca Juniors for a pittance and recently made his debut for Argentina.
Insúa apart, though, there are not many young players challenging for first-team places and it will be interesting to see how many on duty tonight are still at Anfield next season. A run in the competition may be their best hope of persuading Benítez that they are worth persevering with.
As well as the debut of Alberto Aquilani, almost certainly as a substitute, Liverpool’s squad that faces Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this evening will include Jay Spearing and Nathan Eccleston, two bona fide home-grown players, and David Ngog.
But there will also be Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena and Andriy Voronin, whose services Benítez has retained only to keep up the numbers in a squad that is alarmingly short of strength in depth, and Ryan Babel, the former Ajax protégé, whose career has stalled.
Diego Cavalieri, the Brazilian goalkeeper, and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the 30-year-old Greece defender, will also be on duty in the knowledge that they will not be troubling Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher any time soon.
For all the uninformed criticisms of Benítez in recent weeks, his approach to the Carling Cup is curious, particularly when set against the dozens of young players he has signed.
He has spoken of his desire to replicate Arsenal’s successful model when it comes to developing youngsters. But, whereas Arsène Wenger views this as the arena in which to test his youngsters, the Liverpool starting line-up away to Leeds United in the previous round had an average age of 27.
Benítez, of course, seems to be damned whichever course of action he takes; in January 2005, four months before winning the Champions League in his first season at Anfield, he was widely criticised for fielding a reserve team that lost to Burnley in the FA Cup.
One of the players likely to be rested this evening is Emiliano Insúa, the 20-year-old left back, who was signed from Boca Juniors for a pittance and recently made his debut for Argentina.
Insúa apart, though, there are not many young players challenging for first-team places and it will be interesting to see how many on duty tonight are still at Anfield next season. A run in the competition may be their best hope of persuading Benítez that they are worth persevering with.
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