It is rare that a trip to Aston Villa should represent such a momentous occasion in the Liverpool Football Club calendar, but Tuesday night’s visit to Villa Park could well be a pivotal moment in a season that already has had more twists and turns than Rafael Benitez can stomach.
Benitez’s Reds have been derided this season as being “a ‘must-win’ game waiting to happen”, due to their propensity for penning themselves in to awkward scenarios on a regular basis.
And whilst the game with Aston Villa is probably not in that ‘must-win’ category – seeing as it is in December, with 18 further games to follow – it is probably approaching the ‘must not lose’ mark.
Defeat at Villa Park would not only lengthen the gap to Martin O’Neill’s effervescent side to eight points – as well as offering Tottenham and Manchester City a chance to enhance their own advantages over Liverpool – but would also represent a damaging psychological blow for a side who have struggled for consistency since the wheels fell off their season back in early October.
The Boxing Day triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield may not have been enough to restore the confidence so palpably missing in recent weeks but, coupled with Villa’s defeat to Arsenal a day later (and a draw for Spurs at Fulham), it did allow the Reds to close to within a couple of wins of that coveted fourth place finish. A victory at Villa Park would have O’Neill’s men on the run.
The manner of that Wolves victory, coming as it did after the visitors were reduced (correctly) to 10 men, may not have offered much inspiration, but Benitez and his side are in no position to look gift horses in the mouth, and the Spaniard will be hoping to retain some momentum when they travel to the Midlands.
Villa perhaps represent the blueprint for footballing stability at this moment in time. Like Liverpool, they are owned by a foreign investor, but Randy Lerner’s standing with the Villa Park faithful contrasts greatly with the relationship “enjoyed” by Tom Hicks and George Gillett with the Liverpool supporters.
Lerner has backed his manager with plenty of capital, as well as low-key public support, affording O’Neill the funds to break Villa’s transfer record twice in recent years.
He has also earned plenty of support from the Villa supporters with his decision to forgo a lucrative kit sponsorship deal in favour of advertising the Acorns Children’s Hospice. A stark contrast to the PR-unfriendly decisions made by Messrs Hicks and Gillett.
Benitez has had his money too, though it must be said his transfer dealings have been under a far more complex set of circumstances, and under a far more critical glare. He too has broken his club’s transfer record – in signing Fernando Torres – but increasingly his dealings have been of a book-balancing nature. O’Neill, on the other hand, seems to have a far greater level of autocracy in the transfer market, and has made some shrewd acquisitions.
Liverpool are known to have coveted two of Villa’s more recent signings – James Milner and Stewart Downing – and the likes of Ashley Young, Stephen Warnock, Brad Friedel and Richard Dunne have all proven to be inspired pieces of business by O’Neill.
Benitez though, must wish he was afforded the leniency given to his Villa counterpart for some of his poorer buys. Andrea Dossena, Ryan Babel and Andriy Voronin get far more pelters than the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell and Marlon Harewood for example.
There has been talk in some quarters of O’Neill being lined up to replace Benitez in the Anfield hot-seat, though such rumours seem rather fanciful. The Ulsterman is enjoying a fruitful working relationship with an ambitious club, and will be quietly confident that his current side can usurp the beleaguered Reds and secure a place amongst the Premier League’s elite cartel.
Benitez, of course, will have other ideas. His side will be well aware of the ramifications a win at Villa Park could have, and with only Javier Mascherano and Albert Riera currently on the missing list at Anfield, the Spaniard has every right to be confident his team has what it takes to put their winter misery behind them and start to ascend the table.
Benitez’s Reds have been derided this season as being “a ‘must-win’ game waiting to happen”, due to their propensity for penning themselves in to awkward scenarios on a regular basis.
And whilst the game with Aston Villa is probably not in that ‘must-win’ category – seeing as it is in December, with 18 further games to follow – it is probably approaching the ‘must not lose’ mark.
Defeat at Villa Park would not only lengthen the gap to Martin O’Neill’s effervescent side to eight points – as well as offering Tottenham and Manchester City a chance to enhance their own advantages over Liverpool – but would also represent a damaging psychological blow for a side who have struggled for consistency since the wheels fell off their season back in early October.
The Boxing Day triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield may not have been enough to restore the confidence so palpably missing in recent weeks but, coupled with Villa’s defeat to Arsenal a day later (and a draw for Spurs at Fulham), it did allow the Reds to close to within a couple of wins of that coveted fourth place finish. A victory at Villa Park would have O’Neill’s men on the run.
The manner of that Wolves victory, coming as it did after the visitors were reduced (correctly) to 10 men, may not have offered much inspiration, but Benitez and his side are in no position to look gift horses in the mouth, and the Spaniard will be hoping to retain some momentum when they travel to the Midlands.
Villa perhaps represent the blueprint for footballing stability at this moment in time. Like Liverpool, they are owned by a foreign investor, but Randy Lerner’s standing with the Villa Park faithful contrasts greatly with the relationship “enjoyed” by Tom Hicks and George Gillett with the Liverpool supporters.
Lerner has backed his manager with plenty of capital, as well as low-key public support, affording O’Neill the funds to break Villa’s transfer record twice in recent years.
He has also earned plenty of support from the Villa supporters with his decision to forgo a lucrative kit sponsorship deal in favour of advertising the Acorns Children’s Hospice. A stark contrast to the PR-unfriendly decisions made by Messrs Hicks and Gillett.
Benitez has had his money too, though it must be said his transfer dealings have been under a far more complex set of circumstances, and under a far more critical glare. He too has broken his club’s transfer record – in signing Fernando Torres – but increasingly his dealings have been of a book-balancing nature. O’Neill, on the other hand, seems to have a far greater level of autocracy in the transfer market, and has made some shrewd acquisitions.
Liverpool are known to have coveted two of Villa’s more recent signings – James Milner and Stewart Downing – and the likes of Ashley Young, Stephen Warnock, Brad Friedel and Richard Dunne have all proven to be inspired pieces of business by O’Neill.
Benitez though, must wish he was afforded the leniency given to his Villa counterpart for some of his poorer buys. Andrea Dossena, Ryan Babel and Andriy Voronin get far more pelters than the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell and Marlon Harewood for example.
There has been talk in some quarters of O’Neill being lined up to replace Benitez in the Anfield hot-seat, though such rumours seem rather fanciful. The Ulsterman is enjoying a fruitful working relationship with an ambitious club, and will be quietly confident that his current side can usurp the beleaguered Reds and secure a place amongst the Premier League’s elite cartel.
Benitez, of course, will have other ideas. His side will be well aware of the ramifications a win at Villa Park could have, and with only Javier Mascherano and Albert Riera currently on the missing list at Anfield, the Spaniard has every right to be confident his team has what it takes to put their winter misery behind them and start to ascend the table.
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