Some Singaporeans are going to be left crying into their Tiger beer tomorrow. There is clamour here for Rafa Benitez to throw all his star names into action from the start when they take on the national team (noon kick-off UK time).
Liverpool’s visit has even managed to knock swine flu off the front pages with The New Paper dedicating seven pages of coverage to the Reds’ stay in the former British colony.
Their front page headline yesterday issued the plea: “Dear Rafa, Please play your best 11”.
Inside they urged fans desperate to see their heroes to sign an online petition, saying: “How would you feel if the likes of Glen Johnson, Javier Mascherano and Pepe Reina only play a half, Fernando Torres plays just 10 minutes and Xabi Alonso doesn’t play at all?
“That was exactly what happened on Wednesday when the Reds played against Thailand.
“With captain Steven Gerrard already missing the tour and Martin Skrtel out injured, don’t you think you deserve the biggest bang for your buck?”
However, they aren’t going to get their way.
Benitez used 26 players against Thailand in Bangkok and it’s likely to be a similar story tomorrow.
With 30 degree heat and intense humidity, few are likely to feature for more than a half.
To fans here this might be the biggest match of their life but for Benitez it is just another step on the road to ensuring the Reds are ready for the start of the Premier League in three weeks.
Reds legend Kenny Dalglish, who is on the tour in his role as club ambassador, believes any criticism of the manager’s selection policy is unfair.
“The most important match coming up is the one against Tottenham,” he said.
“That is the one the players are being prepared for.
“It’s been difficult for Rafa to manage the situation with players coming back to start pre-season at different times with different levels of fitness.
“The Spanish lads and Andrea Dossena only rejoined the squad last weekend.
“You could never expect any player to come back and after two days training start a game, let alone play the full 90 minutes.
“The fact those players played any part at all in Thailand was a real bonus for everyone.
“I’m sure it will be much the same on Sunday. The players will have another couple of days training and 15 or 20 minutes game time behind them.
“They might be better prepared to play for a bit longer but the best person to make that judgement is Rafa.
“I don’t think the people in Thailand or Singapore should take it any other way.
“It’s certainly not Rafa trying to be ungrateful or disrespectful in any shape or form. It’s just a fact of life.
“Wherever these games had been played it would have been exactly the same.
“Rafa knows the players best and the last thing he wants is for anyone to not be fit for the first game against Tottenham.
“We’ve already lost Martin Skrtel with a hamstring injury and we have to protect against losing anyone else.
“I know Rafa will manage the situation well with his knowledge and intelligence. The best team for a particular game might not be the biggest names.”
Dalglish was speaking alongside Xabi Alonso at an Adidas coaching clinic held at Victoria Junior College yesterday.
They were joined by Liverpool academy coaches Mike Garrity and Carl Macauley who put the youngsters through their paces.
One of the many banners welcoming the stars read ‘Don’t go Alonso, don’t be like Owen’.
Uncertainty over the future of both Alonso and Javier Mascherano is dragging on but Dalglish insists it’s had no impact on the Reds’ preparations.
“I don’t think it has any affect at all,” he added. “The players are used to speculation. It’s a fact of life and you have just got to get on with it.
“From what I’ve seen the players are doing superbly well. They have trained well and look in good shape. I just think it’s fantastic for Liverpool to come here and get closer to the people who support this football club.
“It’s a great thrill for the children to see the likes of Xabi Alonso and spend a bit of time with him.”
Tomorrow’s opponents Singapore are ranked 127th in the world – 10 places below Thailand – but they have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes since former Notts County keeper Raddy Avramovic took over in 2003.
The Lions held Australia to a goalless draw here last year and for the first time they reached the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
Having knocked out Palestine and Tajikistan their hopes were dashed as they finished third in the group stage behind Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
Their squad includes English-born duo John Wilkinson and Daniel Bennett.
Wilkinson is a 29-year-old former Exeter City midfielder who opted for Singaporean citizenship after marrying a local girl, while Bennett changed his nationality in 2002 and the defender has had two spells with Wrexham.
Liverpool’s visit has even managed to knock swine flu off the front pages with The New Paper dedicating seven pages of coverage to the Reds’ stay in the former British colony.
Their front page headline yesterday issued the plea: “Dear Rafa, Please play your best 11”.
Inside they urged fans desperate to see their heroes to sign an online petition, saying: “How would you feel if the likes of Glen Johnson, Javier Mascherano and Pepe Reina only play a half, Fernando Torres plays just 10 minutes and Xabi Alonso doesn’t play at all?
“That was exactly what happened on Wednesday when the Reds played against Thailand.
“With captain Steven Gerrard already missing the tour and Martin Skrtel out injured, don’t you think you deserve the biggest bang for your buck?”
However, they aren’t going to get their way.
Benitez used 26 players against Thailand in Bangkok and it’s likely to be a similar story tomorrow.
With 30 degree heat and intense humidity, few are likely to feature for more than a half.
To fans here this might be the biggest match of their life but for Benitez it is just another step on the road to ensuring the Reds are ready for the start of the Premier League in three weeks.
Reds legend Kenny Dalglish, who is on the tour in his role as club ambassador, believes any criticism of the manager’s selection policy is unfair.
“The most important match coming up is the one against Tottenham,” he said.
“That is the one the players are being prepared for.
“It’s been difficult for Rafa to manage the situation with players coming back to start pre-season at different times with different levels of fitness.
“The Spanish lads and Andrea Dossena only rejoined the squad last weekend.
“You could never expect any player to come back and after two days training start a game, let alone play the full 90 minutes.
“The fact those players played any part at all in Thailand was a real bonus for everyone.
“I’m sure it will be much the same on Sunday. The players will have another couple of days training and 15 or 20 minutes game time behind them.
“They might be better prepared to play for a bit longer but the best person to make that judgement is Rafa.
“I don’t think the people in Thailand or Singapore should take it any other way.
“It’s certainly not Rafa trying to be ungrateful or disrespectful in any shape or form. It’s just a fact of life.
“Wherever these games had been played it would have been exactly the same.
“Rafa knows the players best and the last thing he wants is for anyone to not be fit for the first game against Tottenham.
“We’ve already lost Martin Skrtel with a hamstring injury and we have to protect against losing anyone else.
“I know Rafa will manage the situation well with his knowledge and intelligence. The best team for a particular game might not be the biggest names.”
Dalglish was speaking alongside Xabi Alonso at an Adidas coaching clinic held at Victoria Junior College yesterday.
They were joined by Liverpool academy coaches Mike Garrity and Carl Macauley who put the youngsters through their paces.
One of the many banners welcoming the stars read ‘Don’t go Alonso, don’t be like Owen’.
Uncertainty over the future of both Alonso and Javier Mascherano is dragging on but Dalglish insists it’s had no impact on the Reds’ preparations.
“I don’t think it has any affect at all,” he added. “The players are used to speculation. It’s a fact of life and you have just got to get on with it.
“From what I’ve seen the players are doing superbly well. They have trained well and look in good shape. I just think it’s fantastic for Liverpool to come here and get closer to the people who support this football club.
“It’s a great thrill for the children to see the likes of Xabi Alonso and spend a bit of time with him.”
Tomorrow’s opponents Singapore are ranked 127th in the world – 10 places below Thailand – but they have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes since former Notts County keeper Raddy Avramovic took over in 2003.
The Lions held Australia to a goalless draw here last year and for the first time they reached the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
Having knocked out Palestine and Tajikistan their hopes were dashed as they finished third in the group stage behind Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
Their squad includes English-born duo John Wilkinson and Daniel Bennett.
Wilkinson is a 29-year-old former Exeter City midfielder who opted for Singaporean citizenship after marrying a local girl, while Bennett changed his nationality in 2002 and the defender has had two spells with Wrexham.
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