photo credit: Jonathan Gill
Things are look “up” in Red Country…
Rafa Benitez says that Liverpool can’t really take any more slip-ups if they want to finish in 4th place in the EPL and vault themselves into the Champion’s League next season. He makes a good point, but perhaps now I think he has realized the error of his ways and decided to make this as positive as possible.
He knows–I think–that all the griping earlier in the season just made things harder and Torres talking about needing more playmakers was completely worthless.
Because it looks like a 4-team race for 4th place things should get interesting. Aston Villa, Man City, and tottenham have all attempted to climb higher on the table this year only to be stepped on by Arsenal on their way to 3rd Place. Because none of these teams are catching Arsenal–who is 9 points up on 4th place right now–they have to fight each other for one spot.
However, because Rafa is taking the “We have to stop sucking” approach then things might go well. This could be a wonderful motivational tool for Liverpool and they see Aston Villa and Tottenham slide while Man City continues to struggle.
Liverpool knows that with their competitors out of action this weekend they can take another major step in securing 4th place, but that isn’t all.
They don’t get to play Man City, Aston Villa or Tottenham again before the end of the season so they hold their own fate in their hands AND they can’t do anything about Tottenham, Aston Villa, or Man City because they don’t play them. Hence the “No more slip-ups” comment.
Finally, I think Rafa has decided to coach this team in-full and I LOVE it! He’s taking the tough route and saying “We sucked, but now we can’t”. Essentially, he’s taking responsibility for lackluster coaching early in the season.
Good for you Rafa…I bet Liverpool can pull this off!
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