A much-needed victory in Marseille, again

With Gerard Houllier, I found his hand had slipped mine when he spent the half time break watching an action replay of Igor Biscan pulling down Steve Marlet in a vital European game. I knew his head had gone when he preferred to look for his excuses rather than give his team an 'Any Given Sunday' style team-talk to his troops. It was a game we desperately needed to win having thrown away a good advantage in the home leg.

That game was in March 2004 and it was against Marseille on their own turf.

For me, the similarities with our current plight are marked. I was moving from "he's just a bit confused but he's good in the long term" to "what would we be like with a different manager" practically by the hour. I didn't want Houllier out by then but the cracks from his all-conquering season had long since began to show. I don't really want any Liverpool player to leave, never mind the manager, as I always feel disappointed. I even want Riise to stay to some extent. Someone's got to keep Alex Miller in cocoa on the bench. Nah, I want him to be the player he can be but that's a tale for a longer, darker night.

I'm pro-Rafa about 70% of the time and can't thank him enough for three finals in three years. The word "Istanbul" still turns my spine to mercury and the sight of him chubbing the cheek of Ancelotti says a lot about his dignity but there's only so much patience a man has.

It all started with the statements and choice of attire for the Newcastle game. No Liverpool manager should run to the press and point the finger at the board, even if they're to blame. There was once something called "The Liverpool Way" which was about closing ranks and maintaining dignity. Bill and Ted aren't blameless either. For the only time in my life I agree with Brian Clough when he said that they should be seen and not heard. The great thing about Sir John Smith in days of lore is the fact that no sod had the first clue who he was. Now these two are issuing statements about the manager from the other side of the world. Well, no. Whatever the synonym of "The Liverpool Way" is, they've found it. The truth is all three of them should have shut up and Rafa lost a lot of respect there. I wasn't at the march for Rafa and wouldn't have joined in as all three of them are to blame. Pointedly, a mate of mine asked me when the March for Bill and Ted starts.

Then came Reading. "The League is the priority" we were told at the start of the season. Someone, somewhere forgot to add the "unless we've got a big European game coming up." As much as he can hide behind a Torres knock and Jamie's phantom yellow card, his substitutions and initial line up reeked of "if this doesn't do it, it's not the end of the world." He later confirmed as much. No manager should budget for zero points and definitely not against Reading. No offence to them (although a lot of offence to their God awful cheerleading microphone man) but we should have turned them over as we did Bolton and Newcastle. The fact of the matter is that we didn't mind losing and Rafa didn't care. Not the act of a "the League is our bread and butter" manager.

As I type this we're about to take on Marseille. I can only hope the boss doesn't sprint down to the TV room at half time. If we win Reading might be forgotten but not by all.

I still want Rafael Benitez to be our manager. I just don't want him to believe that some games are losable.