Mr Men at the Reebok

Raffa Benitez has a track record which suggests that, both in Spain and in England, he is an outstanding manager, yet there are one or two things which must concern Liverpool fans – especially with the prospect of a credible challenge for the Premiership receding even at this early stage of the season.

To begin with, his ‘rotation policy’ puts even the activities of Claudio Ranieri, the definitive ‘tinkerman’, in the shade, puzzling players and supporters alike and in many ways acting as a barrier to consistency of performance, and in the light of this it is hardly surprising that Liverpool’s play should be perceived as patchy and uneven.

Secondly, and more ominously, he sometimes seems to hand the initiative to the opposition, which is ill-advised and unprofessional – especially if the opposition happens to be Bolton Wanderers. Sam Allardyce needed no greater spur than Benitez’s pre-match comments on his side’s aggressive, ‘in your face’ style to motivate his players for the confrontation at the Reebok and during the game the Liverpool manager exacerbated the situation by the extent to which he insisted upon being Mr Angry and Mr Grumpy as he prowled the technical area.

The truth is that it was physical out there because that is one aspect of Bolton’s game, especially against the top teams, since they know it unsettles them. But it is by no means all that Allardyce’s team can do – as the presence of players of the calibre of Campo, Speed, Anelka and Nolan demonstrates.

And it should not be forgotten that Liverpool are not averse to the direct approach, or to ‘putting themselves about’. Ask Gerrard, Riise, Carragher, Sissoko or Hyypia for instance.