Rafael Benítez Says He Is Not Worried About His Position At Liverpool

Rafael Benítez today shrugged off the growing pressure on his position at Liverpool ahead of Sunday's game against Manchester United at Anfield. Liverpool desperately need a win after four consecutive defeats, and Benítez will give Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson - all groin injury victims - as long as he possibly can to prove their fitness.

The match, though, will be overshadowed by fans' unrest over the team's poor performances and the continued ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. A protest march is being planned and Hicks and Gillett will be the subject of increased security but Benítez said he was not worried about losing his job should the team fail to win on Sunday.

"I am relaxed in terms of my position," he insisted. "I know how we are working every day, the players know, too. In the past we have been very good and the situation and players has not changed too much.

"It is about confidence and winning that first game. If we want to change things we must focus on football and not what is going on off the pitch here."

Benítez has kept his team in for extra training sessions this week, but insisted the players' attitude had been good. "They know the situation. They know what they must do and they will try to do everything we are asking of them.

"I have had great support from Steven [Gerrard]. He is a leader, he wanted to prove something in the week against Lyon, he wanted to play despite the injury problem. That shows the right mentality and what we expect from any player at Liverpool.

"The team is not as bad as people think. We have beaten United without Gerrard and Torres and we know that we can beat anyone. We have total confidence in that.

"When you are not winning, you cannot be too negative with players. When I push the players it is when I know that we can improve and they are already doing well. When we are not doing well we have to analyse carefully and not to push too hard."

Benítez has had support from the former Liverpool player Kenny Dalglish, now the club's ambassador and academy figurehead.

"I have talked with Kenny. We both have experience, but he knows this club and what happens here. He knows that if we work hard then everything will be fine," said Benítez. "Every week everything changes. The pressures from the critics is to be expected. It is part of the game and you have to adapt to the situation.

"But it is results that matter. I understand that, the only way to respond is to do the right things on the pitch.

"Actions change things. It is time for everyone to be positive and it is up to the players to make the difference."

If Liverpool lose on Sunday it will be their worst run since the club was relegated from the old First Division in 1953.

But Benítez maintains a change of fortune is only a win away. "As a manager you know that sometimes there will be good moments and bad moments, and at this time we know that we have to improve. But it is only a matter of time. If we win a game then everything changes.

"This game against Manchester United is just the right opportunity. It is a massive game, the fans will be right behind us from the first minute to the last.

"When people talk about our squad not being strong enough, I maintain that we are better than people think. If we have half a dozen players who are injured, then things will be difficult.

"If you take five players out of United, Chelsea or Arsenal, it will be very difficult for them to win games. The best way to regain confidence and to improve our situation is to beat Manchester United."

Rafa Benitez: Liverpool Are Better Than People Think

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez thinks his side are still well capable of beating Manchester United on Sunday and ending their catastrophic run of four consecutive defeats.

The Reds can reduce the gap between themselves and United to four points should they win on Sunday, and Benitez was focusing firmly on the positives ahead of Sunday's game.

"I am sure our squad is much better than people think. If you have three, four or five players who normally start out injured, then you can't talk about the squad not being strong enough," the Spaniard told his pre-match press conference.

"I am sure if you take four or five players from United, Chelsea or Arsenal, it would be very difficult for them to win some games.

"Beating United last season is something positive we can use. Without Gerrard and Torres, the team was really good and the fans enjoyed the day - especially because we were without two very important players.

"So, if we have to do the same in this situation now, we can do it.

"It's the best way - but it's not the only one. We think we can win and we'll talk about four points at the next press conference."

Benitez also claimed to be coping well with the intense pressure and scrutiny under which his own situation has come in recent days.

He added: "I am really relaxed in terms of my position because I know how we are working on the pitch every day. In the past we were doing really good things and we haven't changed too much.

"It's a question of confidence. We know we have to improve but it's about winning the first game now.

"As a manager you know you will have good moments and bad moments. At this moment we know we have to improve, we have to win and it's a question of time - I'm sure once we win the first game everything will change.

"This game against United could be the right opportunity for us because it's a massive game against our rivals and the fans will be behind the team from the first minute until the last. We can change everything.

"We just need to keep working hard and perhaps need a bit of luck on the pitch. The other day against Lyon we were winning 1-0 and then had two or three chances but couldn't score the second goal. Then we lost in the last minute.

"Sometimes you need to play a little bit better, that's clear - but you also need to keep working hard and [get] that little bit of luck."

Acquiring Liverpool Still Interests Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft has acknowledged that he still harbours an interest in buying Liverpool.

The American businessman owns gridiron franchise New England Patriots, but admits that the global dominance of the round ball game makes the Premier League appealing.

"Yeah, in the right situation. I love the game," he said, according to Sporting Life, though he has reservations about the absence of a salary cap in the Premier League.

"I've said this before - I love competing with fair management - how well I can manage against you. [But] I don't like losing and at some point it's not economic, people just throwing money at it.

"I wanted to do the deal up there but in the end we only go into business ventures where we think we can compete at a high level. Because we like winning, and we like to win consistently."

Kraft, 68, tried to buy Liverpool in 2005 but lost out to compatriots Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The duo's subsequent tenure at the club has been marked by dissension and a certain amount of off-field turmoil.

Kraft is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. His best-known holdings are the NFL's New England Patriots, Major League Soccer side New England Revolution, and the Gillette Stadium, where they play their home games.

He will be in London this weekend for the Patriots' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley, the third time the NFL has staged a regular season fixture in the United Kingdom.

Liverpool Still Tracking Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross

Stoke City centre-back Ryan Shawcross is still on the transfer radar of Liverpool, according to a report from Sporting Life.

The Reds are set to make a January move for the £8 million-rated defender, who has consistently impressed since moving to the Potteries from Manchester United in 2007.

Liverpool reportedly made summer enquiries about the England Under-21 international but were dissuaded from making an offer by City's price tag.

Reds manager Rafa Benitez is believed to want to increase the number of English-born players in his squad as well as bolster his defensive options.

Stoke are understood to be in negotiations with the player about a new contract, though no agreement has yet been reached.

Manchester United, Everton, Fulham and Arsenal are also believed to be keeping tabs on the young defender.

Ed Smith: Liverpool Must Hold Their Nerve And Trust In Rafael Benitez

Do not be misled. Liverpool are not just sliding down the table. They are deep in the relegation zone. They do not face relegation from the Premier League – no one cares about that. We are talking about relegation from the Big Four's mini-league.

That is the way we now talk about sport, especially football. At any moment in every Premier League season, one of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool will suffer a string of disappointing results. This shocking development is greeted by speculation about the sacking of their manager.

It is a recurrent theme – you just change the name of the manager under pressure at any given moment. Arsenal's poor start to last season led to a national inquiry about Arsène Wenger. Now it is Rafael Benitez's turn. So why do clubs consider sacking successful managers?

Expectation is the illness, impatience the symptom, disappointment the wound. For the first time since 1987 Liverpool have lost four games in a row, and they haven't won the English title for 19 years. Those statistics are being held up as the reasons why Benítez finds himself under such pressure.

But the real reason goes back further. It isn't just losing that causes problems for Benítez. It's the past – the triumphs of previous Liverpool teams. When I was growing up in the early Eighties, Liverpool were the game's aristocrats. They now cannot face the prospect of joining the minor gentry.

Liverpool today is a great footballing dynasty that finds itself outside the corridors of power. Three possibilities await them. They might regain power and pre-eminence, as Manchester United did under Sir Alex Ferguson. They could learn to live with revised expectations, as Everton have done. Or they could end up a basket-case of frustrated nostalgics living in the past.

Liverpool should consider the fate of the West Indies. They once dominated world cricket. In the 1980s, across the whole decade, the West Indies won 17 Tests against England. England won none. How the wheel has turned: in the 2000s England won 15 Tests to the West Indies' two. The West Indies sit eighth in the ICC world Test rankings.

The response of the West Indies cricket board to this long-term decline has been to sack coaches increasingly frequently. John Dyson, who enjoyed a measure of success, was given his marching orders this summer. But the revolving door policy has not arrested the West Indies' decline, it has exacerbated it.

When the West Indies dominated international cricket, Middlesex ruled the county scene. Between 1976 and 1993, Middlesex won seven County Championships and seven one-day titles.

Recent decades have not gone so well. To put it kindly, there has been a certain amount of chopping and changing of coaches and captains – this columnist included. But does trying all the possible permutations for a short period of time ever work?

While all successful teams are different, perhaps the only constant is that when lesser organisations panic, winning teams hold their nerve.

That is what Liverpool must do now. The best way to create sustained excellence is not demanding success immediately but ensuring stability at the top.

Patience is the best policy. Two of England's three best clubs (Arsenal and Manchester United) have the longest-standing managers in the Premier League.

So the best advice for Liverpool fans would be swallow their disappointment, temper their expectation, and trust the man who made them champions of Europe. Rationality demands no less. But when has football ever been rational?

Liverpool FC Fans To March Against George Gillett And Tom Hicks

Security will be heightened at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool FC fans plan a march to protest against George Gillett and Tom Hicks’ ownership of the club.

The American pair, who have come under pressure from fans’ groups angry at the debt and direction of Liverpool FC, are expected to attend the Premier League clash with Manchester United.

The club are not prepared to discuss their plans to protect Hicks and Gillett, but last season a similar march ahead of the same fixture saw extra police and security staff around the stadium.

The Spirit of Shankly fans group hope for a 10,000-strong march to the stadium.

Gillett attended Tuesday’s Champions League defeat by Lyon, where a large banner on the Kop claimed that fans had been lied to by the owners. Gillett also watched Alberto Aquilani make his club debut in the reserves at Tranmere the following night.

It is believed there are plans for thousands of placards to be waved at the Americans if they sit in their usual front-row seats of the directors’ box.

Les Lawson, spokesman for the Liverpool Supporters Club, a member of the Spirit of Shankly grouping, said: "There have been protests before, but the Americans do have elephant-thick skin.

"But there is no point in sitting back and doing nothing. This will be a direct action to keep the campaign in the public eye.

"There are plenty of other things going on behind the scenes to keep the campaign going, though. The fans have to do something to show their anger at the way Liverpool is being run."

Spirit of Shankly spokesman Paul Gardner said: "There are two culprits (for the way the club is being run) - Gillett and Hicks.

"They are the ones who put us into £245million of debt, promised us a new stadium that has not been built, took money out of the club to pay for their own expenses. We want the owners out now."

Liverpool FC Legend Kenny Dalglish Backs Rafa Benitez

Kenny Dalglish has given his full backing to Liverpool FC manager Rafa Benitez following the club’s worst run of form for 22 years.

Dalglish is currently employed by the club as a roving ambassador as well as the director of Liverpool FC’s academy. He was appointed in the summer at Benitez’s instigation.

Now the Liverpool FC legend is being talked off in some quarters as a potential safe pair of hands to replace Benitez, should the American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks decide to axe the Spaniard.

Such a move is highly unlikely now that Gillett has openly supported Benitez, with the knowledge that the coach has a new four-year contract and it would cost more that £20million to get rid of him.

But Dalglish has chosen this moment to calm the speculation, saying: "I’m only here because Rafa wants me here.

"Everyone within the upper echelons of this club has no doubt whatsoever about Rafa - I know that for a fact.

"Everybody at Liverpool knows Rafa is the right man to get the club through this.

"No-one is pumped up and panicking in any way, shape or form. Everyone is being as helpful and supportive as they possibly can be to the manager.

"Obviously, whether you’re a manager or a player, you have to retain your confidence and belief in what you are doing.

"You have also got to retain your belief in each other. The manager has to retain belief in his players and the players must retain their confidence in the manager.

"It’s very important that everybody sticks together to get themselves through this."

Dalglish, who spent 14 years at Anfield as player and manager, added: "Of course it’s not good for Liverpool - or any club - to lose four games in a row. It is a bad run and the supporters feel it equally as badly as everyone at the club does.

"Everybody’s accountable. When you have success everybody takes their fair share of the credit - and rightly so. So when it goes badly the same thing must apply in reverse.

"People have made mistakes but it’s how you react to them that’s the most important thing.

"The other vitally important thing is that you must never allow other people to drive wedges between you and through various parts of the football club.

"Of course everyone must stand up and be counted - and then at least we’ll be going in the right direction."

Dalglish added: "If you lose four games on the spin you’re not going to be getting praise.

"Yes, there’s criticism. Some will be constructive and Rafa will look at this and take it under his wing and say maybe that’s right. Other parts he will totally dismiss.

"But there’s no way Liverpool and the majority of people would want Rafa to go anywhere.

"Remember last year we beat Manchester United with Steven Gerrard only playing 20 minutes and Fernando Torres not playing at all. So if we did it last year, why can’t we do it this year?"

Dalglish was manager the last time Liverpool FC experienced such a dismal run, and he knows what it takes to emerge from a slump.

He added: "The players will need to stand up and be counted. But then everybody needs to do that.

"For anyone who has any affiliation to Liverpool, then it’s time for them to rally round and channel all their efforts in the one direction.

"That is to help the manager and the players to get the one result everybody wants. That’s the only way to do it."

Rafa Benitez Criticism Is Unfair, Says Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger believes the criticism levelled at under-fire Liverpool FC boss Rafa Benitez is undeserved and "excessive".

Liverpool FC are in their worst run of form for 22 years, with four defeats in the Premier League already, and face a crunch clash at leaders Manchester United on Sunday lunchtime.

Arsenal manager Wenger, though, feels the Spaniard - who won the Champions League against AC Milan in 2005, and reached the final again two years later - should be given more respect for what he has achieved.

"It is always excessive," said Wenger, who himself received plenty of flak when the Gunners struggled for consistency this time last season.

"We are, with a big club, in a job where you know that the moment the team goes through a difficult period, you get more stick than you should.

"But we know in our job as well that it is all part of it.

"I feel sorry that he gets that because he does not deserve it.

"But we all basically understand within this job, that it is part of the rules."

Wenger last secured a trophy with the FA Cup in 2005.

The Gunners boss, though, believes managers of big clubs must be capable of dealing with unfavourable questioning.

"In a big club, you need to be extremely strong because you get a lot of negative vibes," he added.

"When you do not start well in the race for the Premier League, it’s all negative around you.

"What is happening to Liverpool today happened to us last year.

"Every single question is negative for the whole season.

"You need to be extremely strong inside the club to deal with that."

Fergie Backs Beach Ball Decision

Sir Alex Ferguson has stoked the fire ahead of Manchester United's trip to Liverpool by saying he can understand why Sunderland's goal stood last week.

The Reds' dismal run of results continued when they succumbed 1-0 to the Black Cats thanks to a Darren Bent goal that deflected of a beach ball that was thrown onto the pitch by one of Liverpool's own supporters.

According to the laws of the game any goal that is aided by an 'outside agent' should be disallowed but referee Mike Jones allowed the strike to stand.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez credibly did not use the freak goal as an excuse for the defeat but Ferguson can see why the goal stood.

"It was an unusual incident. Obviously the goal shouldn't have been allowed but in the spur of the moment I think the referee was caught off guard with that one," he said.

"I must admit I thought it was a goal but I read the laws of the game saying if there was an outside agent it should be disallowed.

"I thought it was a goal like the wind, the wind can take the ball. You can say that is an outside agent. When you see that it is unusual."

Mourinho Laughs Off Reds Link

Jose Mourinho has rubbished speculation suggesting he could replace Rafa Benitez at Liverpool.

Benitez has come under pressure following a dismal run of four straight defeats in all competitions that has hit their hopes of domestic and European success.

The Reds boss has insisted he feels safe in his job despite the poor results after receiving words of support from co-owner George Gillett.

There has still been plenty of conjecture about Benitez's future and several names have been mentioned in the media in connection with the club.

Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho was quizzed on the subject during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Serie A clash with Catania.

But he closed the door on a possible return to the Premier League at the current time, saying simply: "It is impossible."

Mourinho preferred to focus on Inter but opted against heaping too much praise on young forward Mario Balotelli.

The 19-year-old produced a sensational performance in the 5-0 victory over Genoa last Saturday, scoring one of the goals, but Mourinho has not been too impressed with his attitude in recent days.

"This doesn't mean he's already a phenomenon only because he played a really good match with Genoa," said Mourinho.

"To tell the truth he played a really great game and then he had a really bad working week.

"I value a player for what he does on the pitch but also for the job he does during the week."

Rafael Benítez Hopes Kop Do Not Kick Sand In His Face As He Hunts For Beach-Ball Boy

Rafael Benítez has been unable to get beach-ball boy off his mind over the past few days. That’s the kid who kicked off Liverpool’s latest crisis by throwing an inflatable on to the pitch at the Stadium of Light.

Six days later, Benítez’s side are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after Tuesday’s defeat by Lyons, their title aspirations are in ruins and Michael Owen and Manchester United are due in town on Sunday. The fitness of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard has added to the manager’s worries.

Yet he is still thinking about the kid. Privately, Benítez has tried to track down beach-ball boy. He wanted to tell him that flicking the ball from the stands five minutes before kick-off was not the reason Liverpool lost to Sunderland and not the reason the season is threatening to spin out of control.

He would like to tell the young lad that he is not responsible for the ills of the team. The boy has gone to ground but Benítez’s critics have broken cover in numbers this week. The Kop will give its verdict on Sunday.

Nowhere in football is the relationship between manager and crowd such an important issue as at Anfield. The umbilical cord between dugout and terraces is the work of one man, Bill Shankly.

When he arrived in Liverpool 50 years ago, he found a run-down stadium and team. Shankly built the English game’s most successful club. Yet that is less important than the bond he created with the fans.

“He made the people happy,” it says on Shankly’s statue outside the Kop. But more than that, he made the people feel they were part of something important, part of a philosophy, a culture. According to the great man, the Kop “sucked the ball into the net”.

Every one of those 26,000 people on the terrace heard that and felt that they had as much to do with victory as the players.

Even when he retired, Shankly embellished the legend he created by standing on the Kop. Ever since, Liverpool supporters have expected their managers to be part Kopite.

Trying to track down the kid is something Shankly would have done.

The bond between manager and fans was reinforced by Kenny Dalglish after Hillsborough. His support for the bereaved families, the injured and traumatised will never be forgotten on Merseyside.

So Kopites want their manager to be someone who understands their dreams and aspirations.

Sometimes they try too hard to project that identity on to the man in the hot seat. In 2001, they sang “Are you Shankly in disguise?” to Gérard Houllier.

The other side-effect of this is an eagerness to support the manager even when it has become clear that he is the wrong man for the job. Roy Evans and Houllier passed their sell-by dates with the sound of adoration ringing in their ears.

Even Graeme Souness was not hounded out by the Kop. Souness was the anti-Shankly; the evil twin with a knack for bringing chaos and a gift for alienating fans.

Benítez is no Shankly, but he has connected with the fans. In 2005, he turned up at a bar in Cologne the night before the Champions League tie with Bayer Leverkusen and drank with supporters. This sort of thing has not made him immune from criticism, however.

A substantial proportion of the crowd at Anfield are irritated by his transfer policy and his perceived innate caution. They are irked by his inability to deliver the title. However, all but his most irrational critics will concede it is impossible to judge his performance against a background of dreadful ownership and political chaos at the club.

Boos rang around Anfield when Benítez replaced Yossi Benayoun with Andriy Voronin against Lyons but this does not mean that Benítez has lost the Kop. Even Bob Paisley was booed for taking off Craig Johnston in the early 1980s.

Paisley reacted by criticising the crowd, saying they were layabouts who’d never done a day’s work in their lives. He soon retracted his attack, saying it was aimed at particular individuals in the main stand. Paisley made the right move. Do not alienate the Kop. They moan in private but, when public backing is needed, they will recall the managers who stood beside them and recognise the real enemy.

So win, lose or draw, Benítez’s name will be sung on Sunday. Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. will not be so lucky.

Hansen: I Have A Feeling That With The Anfield Crowd's Backing We Could Be In For An Upset

Alan Hansen believes Liverpool will surprise the rest of the Premier League by beating Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

The former Anfield stalwart concedes his old club have been in terrible form but suggests it is almost unthinkable Rafa Benitez’s side will lose their fifth straight game.

Hansen told footballpools.com: “Rafa Benitez enters his 200th Premier League match in charge of Liverpool facing a mini-crisis after four successive defeats in all competitions for the first time in 22 years.”

“Next up is a visit from the champions Manchester United with a possible ten-point gap looming between the teams if Sir Alex Ferguson’s side win.”

“Despite a lack of confidence and injury doubts to key players, I think Liverpool may well shock the rest of the Premier League with a performance few would expect.”

“The Reds have not become a bad side overnight although it’s fair to stay the team is not playing well.”

“Key members of the side have not performing to the high levels expected of them but it’s unthinkable to anyone at Anfield that the team will suffer a 5th consecutive defeat.”

“In fact, if Liverpool were to lose then this would be the first time under Rafa that the Reds had lost three league games on the bounce.”

“My old club have also failed to score in their last two league matches, if they were to do so again, it would be for the first time since March 2005.”

“It all makes miserable reading for anyone associated with the club.”

“There are serious injury doubts over key players in both camps with Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher all struggling.”

“However, with so much riding on this match even this early in the season, I expect to see most of them on the pitch.”

“I do feel Liverpool have relied too heavily on both Gerrard and Torres in recent seasons but with a lack of depth in the Reds squad, there has been little choice.”

“If both are available then Liverpool will be a totally different proposition for United but before writing off the Reds chances without them, it’s worth remembering that neither started last season’s 2-1 home league win.”

“That remains United’s only defeat in their last seven trips to Anfield (five wins) but after being beaten home and away by Liverpool last season, Sir Alex will be more than aware his side are in for a tough game whether the home side has been in form or not.”

“Manchester United may be top but they are not firing on all cylinders themselves having struggled to pick up a win and a draw at home to Bolton and Sunderland respectively.”

“Sir Alex’s team may have been picking up the points but they have been far from convincing in terms of the performances we have come to expect from them over the years. However, they remain unbeaten in 11 matches in all competitions (ten wins) so won’t be short on confidence.”

“The pressure is on Liverpool and in particular Rafa Benitez but I have a feeling that with the Anfield crowd’s backing we could be in for an upset.”

“I don’t expect my old club to lose.”

Liverpool Can Recover Strongly - Andrea Dossena

Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena believes that his side can bounce back from their recent poor run when they welcome Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds have lost four consecutive games in all competitions and manager Rafa Benitez's position has come under scrutiny after the Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday night.

Dossena though is optimistic that the players can turn things round.

"I believe we can play catch-up," Dossena told Tuttonapoli.it.

"We have not won in the last four games and we face difficult games against Manchester United and at Lyon. But we hope to recover [injured players] Fernando Torres, Albert Riera and Steven Gerrard, key players in this team."

Dossena takes a similarly sanguine view of the groin injury he sustained in last month's League Cup tie with Leeds United.

He added: "Initially I was supposed to be out of action for a week. But then the injury reappeared.

"I have now been sidelined for a month and the recovery is going well. I expect to be available in the coming weeks."

Dossena also reiterated that he is happy at Anfield, despite the rumours that continue to link him with a return to Italian football with Napoli.

"I am happy to be a Liverpool player. I have a lot of will to prove that I can have a say in England. I accept that there is a lot of competition in my role and I will wait for my turn to play," he explained.

"I have the advantage of playing in an important club that has several players available for each role. Benítez appreciates my professionalism and knows my potential and I respect his decisions. If in the future I do not enter in the plans of the coach, only then would I evaluate other destinations, including that of Napoli."

Liverpool Supporters Union Label 'Liars' Hicks & Gillett As Sole Culprits For Reds' Rut

It happens quite a lot nowadays in Liverpool. A man (or woman) walks into a room, bearing a small pin-badge on their clothing, and instantly gets the thumbs-up. The badge may be understated, but its emblem, and what it stands for, is most definitely not.

Arms outstretched, with a red scarf around his neck, Bill Shankly is captured forever in his most famous pose. It could not be a more apt symbol for the supporters' union which is keeping his name alive at Liverpool Football Club.

The Spirit of Shankly was formed in January 2008 in the Sandon pub, a stone's throw away from Anfield. Over 350 supporters crammed into the venue - the birthplace of Liverpool FC - that night, disillusioned at the direction in which their beloved club was heading. The UK had its first football supporters union.

Today, the Spirit of Shankly boasts 3,500 paid members, a figure that is increasing by the week. The group holds quarterly meetings to update members of progress and is coordinating numerous campaigns aimed at ousting the club's controversial co-owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

Paul Gardner, the group's Community Liaison and Regeneration Officer, is one voice that aims to be heard in this current mini-crisis at Anfield, which came to a head with a fourth consecutive loss at home to Lyon. Not only did this throw Champions League qualification up in the air, but it also gave Rafa's current crop the unenviable distinction of having equalled a 22-and-a-half-year-old losing streak.

Speaking exclusively to Goal.com UK, Gardner is in no doubt of who is to blame for the current plight at Anfield.

"There are two culprits - Gillett and Hicks," he says. "They are the ones who put us into £245 million worth of debt, promised us a stadium which has not been built, took money out of the club to pay for their own expenses, and lied to us constantly."

Gardner and his group plan a demonstration march to Anfield from the supporters' club this Sunday, ahead of the Reds' mammoth encounter with Manchester United. It is a fixture that Hicks is scheduled to attend, and Gardner expects the demonstration to attract significant support from the Liverpool fans.

"We are asking fans to email Gillett and Hicks," he explains, "to let them know how we feel and how we went them out of the club. There will be a march from the supporters club (on Breck Road) at 12 noon ahead of the Manchester United game on Sunday.

"We are calling all Liverpool fans - whether you have a ticket or not - to come down and support us. This is another chance to make our voices heard and help put more pressure on the owners to sell up."

The Spirit of Shankly is eager to stress, however, that their efforts to rid the club of its American co-owners is not simply down to a personal distaste for the duo. They have the club's wider interests at heart, and Gardner speaks of much longer-term aims for Liverpool.

"The club's identity, community links and fan interaction is what Liverpool is all about," he says. "Without those, we are just another club. We are special and unique for those reasons, and all we want is suitable owners who will not load our club with debt, or treat us as a plaything with a business model which is unsustainable.

"Obviously, the ultimate aim of the Spirit of Shankly is a fan-ownership situation. This is something that we, and the people at ShareLiverpool (a scheme which encourages Liverpool fans to pledge £500 in a bid to buy the club as part of a fan's trust) are striving for."

Some may have derided the efforts of groups such as Spirit of Shankly or indeed ShareLiverpool as pie-in-the-sky, but there is a steely determination about the way in which Gardner and his team are going about their business, and they hope for a breakthrough sooner rather than later.

"We want the owners out now," says Gardner, "We cannot afford to just sit back and wait until they get bored, or into too much trouble. That is why we are arranging our banners and our marches and all the other things. If we sit back and wait, we could be another Leeds or Newcastle, in administration and falling down the leagues. That is not an option we even wish to think about."

The Manchester United fixture on Sunday already feels like the most important in Rafa Benitez's five years on Merseyside. For the Spirit of Shankly group, and their American nemesis, it is just the latest round in an ongoing battle, one which the supporters' union expects to win.

Christian Purslow: No Better Club To Support Than Liverpool

As I sit and wait my turn to speak to the man appointed to replace Rick Parry at Anfield, two fellow journalists look at each other and say: “He’s good, he’s bloody good,” before looking at me with crumpled smiles insinuating I’d have a job on my hands getting Liverpool's managing director to say something dramatic.

I, however, was looking at the situation pragmatically.

When I eventually get round to speaking to him, Christian Purslow maintains he is in the job because of his business credentials. He is, after all, the man who founded the successful Mid Ocean Partners group, an international private equity firm.

The Harvard Business School graduate insists he is determined to drive the club he has supported since boyhood into a new era of success despite the off-field problems.

“I’m enjoying my work immensely,” Purslow tells Goal.com UK.

“I am incredibly proud and honoured to be the custodian of the football club that my grandparents and my dad and I have been fans of. My children are also Liverpool fans.”

It comes as no surprise when Purslow suggests Rafael Benitez’s side must improve on the pitch in order to sustain the club’s global appeal, with particular emphasis on the Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

He says: “I’d like to think I’ve got the credentials to move the club forward. The stronger we are off the park the more resources we can invest in the success of the club on the pitch. The two are completely interlinked and success on the pitch is absolutely vital.

“What I found when I started work here was a tremendous team of people in terms of the business side of Liverpool Football Club, and Ian Ayre’s excellent commercial team will continue to work hard and attract the right partners to move the club forward.”
Purslow explains how everyone associated with the club was astonished with the loyalty displayed by overseas fans during Liverpool’s recent tour of Asia.

The Londoner was particularly impressed with the manner in which the players were received by supporters during official club events and at packed stadiums.

“We are very well represented in Asia, more so than any other club. Our fans in Asia showed they are a fantastic group of people, incredibly positive, incredibly motivated with a sense of purpose, and most of all a sense of pride," he says.

When asked if Liverpool have more Asian fans than the likes of Manchester United, who have also aggressively targeted the Asian market over the years, Purslow retorts: “What better club is there in the world to support than Liverpool Football Club?

“Fans throughout the world have been supporting us for many years. Our history and tradition speaks for itself. Our fans make Anfield a very special place week in, week out, and that is part of the reason why we have so many Asian visitors every year.”

Purslow cites Liverpool’s recent four-year sponsorship deal with Standard Charter Bank as a significant milestone in the club’s history. However, he expects a number of lucrative deals to be signed off in the future.

“Defying conventional wisdom about where the economy is generally, we have one of the most successful shirt sponsorship deals done anywhere in the world," he continues.

"Standard Chartered has a great history, a really good fit culturally and they are a fantastically well run company. They have done very well during well the financial crisis. We feel nothing other than a sense of pride.

“Rest assured my commercial team will continue to work hard and grind out results. Liverpool Football Club is a fantastic club with great tradition and history. I can assure the fans we are all working very hard.”

Looking back at the journalists who were sat in front of me saying “He’s good, he’s bloody good,” I’m inclined to agree.

Alberto Aquilani Desperate To Make Liverpool Debut Following First Reserves Outing

Alberto Aquilani is itching to make his first-team debut after making his Liverpool bow for the reserves.

The £20million summer signing came on for the final 15 minutes of the second string's 2-0 win over Sunderland at Tranmere's Prenton Park last night and was delighted to pull on finally a Liverpool shirt.

Aquilani has been out since last season with an ankle injury and is targeting his first appearance for Rafa Benitez's senior side.

"It was a good day for me because I have not played for six or seven months," said the Italian international.

"I have to do more good work with the medical staff. I'm happy with 15 minutes and it's important for my confidence.

"I can't wait to make my debut for the first team now.

"Like every other player, I want to be playing, but the important thing for me now is to keep improving my fitness."

Rafa - Aquilani Needs Time

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has urged Reds fans to give fit-again Alberto Aquilani time to adapt to English football.

Aquilani, who joined the Reds in the summer from Roma, made his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt on Wednesday night for the reserves as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery.

Pressure is on Aquilani's shoulders to help fill the void in Liverpool's side left by Xabi Alonso's departure to Real Madrid.

But Benitez has called on the club's followers to be patient with the Italian as he tries to find his feet after a long spell out of action

"Alberto is intelligent, he likes football and he has been watching our games," said Benitez.

"He can see the pace is different here and the physical approach.

"There is a difference between what you see and how you play but when he gets out and feels the atmosphere here, it will be something special for him.

"When will he play? It depends on how he is physically.

"He has got very good levels of stamina but now he has to improve his sharpness. To get match fitness he needs to play games and what we have to do is analyse carefully which game is the best and how long he will play for.

"Always with a new player we talk about the problems they have settling down because the Premier League is very quick and it is more physical.

"So for a new player who has been injured, like Alberto, it will be even more difficult. It is a question of keeping him training and when he is fit, we have to support him.

"We will have to choose the right moments to put him on the pitch. But he is learning all the time and we are looking forward to playing him."

Red For Danger: Liverpool Empire Could Be One Defeat From Crumbling

Four consecutive losses have left Liverpool seemingly at the risk of implosion. After defeat by Lyons in the Champions League on Tuesday, their next opponents are Manchester United and Rafael Benítez’s side will take to the pitch at Anfield on Sunday in the knowledge that another loss would all but end their Barclays Premier League title hopes with seven months of the campaign remaining.

Despite having signed a new five-year contract seven months ago, he is not immune from dismissal, but could the club afford to sack him even if they wished to? A salary in the region of £4 million a season would entitle him to a payoff of about £18 million.

However, Liverpool’s annual profits are being swallowed up by interest payments on the £250 million debt built up by Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr., the co-owners, and the club could not afford to make the four signings their manager sought in the summer, so it is questionable if they would have the means to remove him.

Equally, one of the main reasons that Benítez was awarded such a long-term deal was the owners’ desire to present a picture of stability to potential investors. Sacking him now would not only expose that charade, it would also present Hicks and Gillett with the problem of finding a new manager.

Benítez, though, needs results — and he needs them badly. In recent weeks it has appeared as if the numerous internal battles have taken their toll. Real Madrid are often touted as the most likely providers of an exit strategy for the Spaniard, but should Liverpool’s form continue to decline, then their manager’s stock would suffer commensurately.

Team spirit has been lacking since pre-season. It is almost as if the established stars recognised that the squad was not equipped to challenge for the biggest prizes and that their belief in the Benítez project has diminished.

Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Javier Mascherano are top-class performers, but none has been at his best. All, apart from Mascherano, appear committed to the club, but their patience would surely be tested if Liverpool fell out of the title race with so much of the season to be played.

Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano have next year’s World Cup finals in the back of their minds and the concern for Benítez would be how to get the best out of his big names without the motivation of a title challenge or a good run in the Champions League.

The biggest worry, though, would be how the owners would respond to the doomsday scenario of failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Lose on Sunday and the gap between Liverpool and the top five could increase to five points. If Liverpool were to fall out of the “big four” picture altogether, then Hicks and Gillett could feasibly make up for the loss of prize money by using player sales to finance their debt repayments. The most saleable assets would be those the club could least afford to lose.

The booing that greeted Benítez’s decision to replace Yossi Benayoun with Andriy Voronin on Tuesday may not have been new to Anfield regulars, but the ferocity of their disapproval was. This was the moment when frustration about Liverpool’s inability to arrest their decline bubbled over, although a little more than half an hour earlier Benítez’s name had been sung by the Kop after his team took the lead through Benayoun.

The fans stood shoulder to shoulder with Benítez when his job was under threat two years ago. They even marched to the stadium in protest at plans by Hicks and Gillett to replace him with Jürgen Klinsmann. There are few clubs where the relationship between manager and supporters is as strong as at Anfield, a legacy of the legendary Bill Shankly’s incredible bond with the Anfield crowd. Benítez will know, however, that even such powerful devotion is conditional and a failure to get results will inevitably lead to even his most committed fans questioning his ability to win the league title they crave.

A defeat by United would further damage his lustre in the eyes of those who have backed him so resolutely. However, it should also be noted that the more political supporters lay the blame for the problems on the pitch at the owners’ door rather than Benítez’s.

The situation at Liverpool has become so desperate in recent weeks that there are some fans who have argued that they might be able to stomach defeat on Sunday if it pushed the owners they revile closer to the exit.

Hicks and Gillett are expected to attend the match and are likely to be in for a rough ride as disenchantment with their regime reaches new heights. A march in protest against the Americans has been organised and the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union are hopeful that thousands of people will join their campaign.

The owners have refused to budge despite their lack of popularity and the overwhelming feeling is that they will quit Anfield willingly only if an investor makes it financially worthwhile. Both are involved in an as yet unsuccessful search for investment, with the Middle East the centre of their attentions.

Their problem is that potential investors would argue that Liverpool’s value will be reduced should the club fail to make it through to the lucrative stages of this season’s Champions League and increasingly likely failure to qualify for next season’s competition.

How they would react to another damaging defeat is open to question, given the public support that Gillett offered to Benítez this week and the backing that has been afforded to the manager by Hicks in the past.

Should they see his presence at the helm as being potentially damaging to their chances of securing investment, or a total sale of the club, they could begin to see Benítez as expendable.

Liverpool Need Takeover To Compete With Rivals

Keith Harris is regarded as the No.1 mover and shaker on football club takeovers, coming close last year to pulling off a Middle East deal to buy Liverpool, so there can be few greater authorities on the current crisis gripping Anfield.

The boss of high flying City firm Seymour Pierce spoke to ESPN Soccernet about the situation gripping the giant Premier League club on the eve of their critical clash with Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

Investment bank Seymour Pierce's Harris told ESPN Soccernet: "Liverpool is one of the best football brands in the world - but it is currently suffering.

"Liverpool finds it hard to come near to its main rivals in the Premier League because it doesn't have the matchday attendance to compete at the highest level. Anfield is limited to 45,362 and without the stadium source of revenue it is not able to fund investment in the team that is required by all top clubs in this highly competitive climate.

"Liverpool requires further investment in the team to compete, and for that reason it would benefit from new owners who could invest and give the club the backing to build the new stadium that it needs."

No one knows better the degree of difficulty in pulling off a takeover at Anfield. Harris brokered a bid from a Kuwaiti investor, which had an excellent opportunity to take Liverpool a stage further with big investment from the Middle East. The Kuwaiti offer followed closely on the heels of an approach from Dubai's DIC which ultimately was topped by the bid which saw Hicks and Gillett assume joint control.

Harris, the former Football League chairman, says: "We came very close in July last year when the Kuwaitis pulled out at the last minute.

"The problem at Liverpool is actually straightforward - a short-term debt level which restricts its capacity to build a new stadium and invest further to enhance the playing squad. It is hampered like many other clubs by the continuing difficulty of raising money in the world's capital markets.

"Liverpool has not had a sustained period of success for many, many years. Yes, they won the Champions League a few years ago, but the club needs a sustained period of success, and that is not happening."

The fans turned on Rafa Benitez in the Champions League defeat by Lyon, but George Gillett has issued a statement backing the manager, although that has not yet been endorsed by Tom Hicks.

Earlier this week, ESPN Soccernet revealed the financial importance of qualifying each season for the Champions League, suggesting that without the competition's £30m bounty underpinning the clubs interest repayments, there would instantly be a crisis situation.

No one at Anfield would have envisaged that the team that nearly won the title last season would now be languishing in eighth place, with little prospect of winning the title, and more significantly from a financial point of view, threatened with the prospect of not finishing in the top four.

Such factors appear to make the clash with Manchester United a make-or-break encounter of enormous importance.

Liverpool FC Must Go Back To Basics To Solve Crisis

Whoever mischievously booked Jurgen Klinsmann as a television pundit on Tuesday night must have known what was coming.

Short of donning a cowl and carrying a sickle, the German seemingly embodies the grim reaper threatening Rafael Benitez’s reign at Liverpool, appearing only at the darkest of times for the Spaniard.

And the storm clouds are once again gathering around the Anfield manager after a demoralising, damaging defeat to Lyon.

A fourth successive setback, Liverpool’s worst losing run in more than 22 years, has cast serious doubt over Champions League progress as an underwhelming campaign plumbed new depths.

When Liverpool’s European future was threatened in similar fashion two years ago, the heads of American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks were turned towards Klinsmann.

The German’s subsequent unadulterated failure in charge of Bayern Munich last season while Liverpool challenged strongly for the Premier League title indicated it was one particular bullet dodged.

But Benitez now finds himself back in the firing line, although with Gillett and Hicks struggling to see eye-to-eye on pretty much anything, it’s unlikely any triggers will be pulled in the foreseeable future.

Certain sections of the Liverpool support, though, are beginning to have their patience and faith in the manager sorely tested.

Witness the jeers that met the final whistle on Tuesday and, more tellingly, the decision to replace goalscorer Yossi Benayoun, a rare attacking threat for Liverpool on the evening, in the closing moments.

So, barely five months after their thrilling yet futile attempt to chase down Manchester United, what has gone wrong?

Of course, Tuesday wasn’t the first time a Benitez substitution has met with disapproval from the Anfield faithful. Almost 12 months has passed since the Spaniard was berated for hauling off Javier Mascherano and not Lucas Leiva during a goalless home draw with Fulham.

Some things don’t change. And while Lucas is conveniently made the fall guy by fans apparently unable to point the finger at the shortcomings of more experienced players, the fact remains the central midfield pairing of the Brazilian and Mascherano lacks the required guile at this level.

Worries over preparation in pre-season have been compounded by a lengthening injury list, and there is a very real prospect of entering Sunday’s crucial Anfield showdown against United without Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

The manager often cites last season’s home win over their bitter North West rivals as evidence of how the team can cope without their talismanic duo.

But the line-up that September afternoon included Robbie Keane and Xabi Alonso, players who, for varying reasons, are now at pastures new.

And there’s the problem. Since the start of the year, Liverpool have lost a main frontline striker in Keane, their most experienced centre-back in Sami Hyypia, and their most influential midfielder in Alonso.

None have so far been sufficiently replaced. Whether that has been through lack of available funds, lack of foresight or Benitez’s transfer policy is open to debate.

What’s not is that the failure to recruit comparable strength to the squad has contributed to six defeats in 13 games this season, more than in the whole of the previous campaign.

Benitez’s admission after last weekend’s surrender at Sunderland that Liverpool cannot withstand the absence of five first-team regulars was in tacit agreement with this view.

Few would have expected Danny Ayala, Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly to have started games in anything other than the Carling Cup during the opening weeks.

And Benitez hasn’t helped himself with some curious team selections and a stubborn refusal to change either tactics or personnel in the face of overwhelming evidence they aren’t working.

Admittedly, the Spaniard could have done without the unwelcome surprise of Alberto Aquilani’s recovery from his ankle injury taking twice as long as first expected.

The Italian could make his belated bow in next Wednesday’s Carling Cup clash at Arsenal, and will have to cope with the anticipated pressure to instantly deliver on his £20m price tag and provide the creativity Liverpool’s midfield is so sorely missing.

But it’s not only the supporting cast that have been found wanting, too many first-team regulars falling way short of the high standards they have set during the past 18 months.

Mascherano, preoccupied by summer interest from Barcelona and the malaise that threatened Argentina’s World Cup finals place, has underwhelmed, Jamie Carragher by his own admission below par, and Gerrard unable to consistently stamp his influence on games.

Even Torres, despite his eight-goal haul, has produced intermittently. Indeed, only Pepe Reina and new signing Glen Johnson can largely be absolved of any genuine blame.

The resilience and unity for which Liverpool became noted last season just isn’t there, meaning they are more likely to concede last-minute goals, as on Tuesday, than score one. Simply, they are too easy to beat, falling whenever any half-decent opposition has been put before them.

It could be argued Liverpool are suffering a curious kind of hangover from their exhilarating run-in last season.

Since the defeat at Middlesbrough in February, Benitez’s side, previously founded on watertight defence and gaining a vice-like grip on proceedings, had no option but to change tack and go for broke in an attempt to close the gap in terms of both points and goal difference on United.

That cavalier attitude transformed Liverpool into the great entertainers but exposed their renowned backline, precisely the criticism they have attracted this campaign.

Maybe a return, if only temporary, to the previous obdurate, composed and efficient machine can help rebuild a confidence clearly shattered by recent events.

Otherwise, Klinsmann may find more television work coming his way sooner rather than later.