Chapter 305 Liverpool's Bench Problem

At this difficult time, Gerrard simply came back.

Gerrard's foot injury was not serious, but the time of the truce was so coincidental that Liverpool fell into difficulties for a while. After losing to Aston Villa, the head coach Benitez was in a very bad mood, and the whole club fell into gloom. At this time, Gerrard's comeback gave the team a dose of strength.

Then, after a precise diagnosis, the doctor finally allowed Pangler to appear.

This is a happy situation. On the morning of December 6, a smile finally appeared on the face of head coach Benitez. The expression of relief can be seen by anyone.

Gerrard's comeback also seems to indicate that Liverpool's difficult period has finally passed.

However, under the guarantee of Don Jack's goal, this difficult period is only a league loss. The situation is not too far behind other teams. It is only because of a loss, it is five league points behind Chelsea. Now Liverpool is still the second in the league, three more than the subsequent Arsenal. League points.

The league ranking is guaranteed. Liverpool's performance is much better than other seasons.

After Gerrard's comeback, the whole club was filled with a sense of relaxation. At least before Christmas, they didn't have to worry too much. Now Liverpool fans are proud of their results, but compared with the powerful Chelsea, Liverpool's results are still a little worse. The main reason is that Chelsea's results are really good. Up to now, they have only lost one game, and the small club are all big wins, among which Several players, such as Drogba, Icelander Good Janssen and Lampard, whose feet were hot, were hot.

Unfortunately, Chelsea does not have a player like Don Jack. The above people are ranked third in the scorer list.

But looking at the top ten scorers in the Premier League, a Chelsea club occupies four positions, while Liverpool has only Don Jack on the list. Perhaps this is also Don Jack's relationship with the club. His personal scoring ability is too strong, which also causes other strikers to lose a lot of opportunities, such as Baroche, who is in He could play many times last season. After Don Jack came, even if Cise was injured and could not play, he was still the first substitute, and he could only be regarded as half - unless the team won a big victory, Don Jack would basically not play.

Everything seems to be developing in a good direction.

However, for Liverpool, the game before Christmas is really not easy, because they have a derby in the same city, which is not as easy as the game against Arsenal.

Before that, they will participate in a new event - the English League Cup.

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England League Cup.

The full name of this event is the English Football League Cup, which is the Football League Cup. As the name implies, it is a match between all 92 clubs in England without level.

In England, this is the most chicken-chicken match.

The League Cup was established by the Football League in 1962. The purpose is to allow clubs to have a game based on the knockout system outside the league to challenge the FA Cup, which is managed by the Football Association of England: At that time, the world's oldest football event was in the hearts of fans. The status is much higher than that of the English League.

It sounds like the purpose of the establishment is not bad. At the beginning of the establishment, the influence of the event was indeed very good.

However, in 1992, after the 20 teams of the English First Division broke away from the football league and established the parallel English Super League, there were only 72 small clubs left under the Football League. The level of the club in charge is not the highest, and the weight of speech is naturally not as good as before. If you want the top clubs in the Premier League to participate in the League Cup, you naturally have to look at other people's faces.

As a result, this tournament established by the Football League is very useless.

In England, the status of the English League Cup is originally after the Premier League (the League One before 1992) and the FA Cup. For Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and other top clubs in the Premier League, the League Cup is just a game to train substitutes.

For these clubs, ignoring the League Cup is also a helpless move. Which club doesn't want to win more championships? However, in addition to participating in the league, FA Cup and League Cup, they also have to participate in the lucrative European Champions League or the UEFA Cup. If the results are good, they can go all the way, like Manchester United, which won three championships in 1999, it can reach nearly 70 games in a season and nearly two games a week.

This terrible schedule will make a club collapse. After all, players are not iron.

Because this competition is against the rich club, the club that wins the championship is not necessarily a strong team. In the last season, the winner was Middlesbrough, who just completed the promotion last year. As the promoted horse last season, they directly won the league championship. It can be seen that this event is not cared about by the giants at all. In the later stage of the league, many tight clubs will directly give up the League Cup and focus on the United. In competitions and European competitions.

However, there are still many clubs that have a supportive attitude towards the League Cup, such as Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and other mid-middle Premier League clubs. They have not been able to win the league championship for a long time. They can win the League Cup without paying attention to Manchester United and other clubs to boost morale. At the same time, it is also used as the second way to qualify for the UEFA Cup (the League Cup champion can qualify for the UEFA Cup next season).

Similarly, some small clubs are for money.

In this event, the small club is likely to play against the rich club, taking the opportunity to increase a large amount of revenue. For example, when Crystal Palace played against Liverpool in 2002, the mainstream media, which usually ignored Crystal Palace, fired the team, and Sky TV also played the game. Live broadcast, the Crystal Palace team can not only obtain TV broadcasting revenue, but also expand its influence.

However, for Liverpool, this competition is a little useless.

Although Liverpool's results have been poor in previous years, they are still in the top four of the league. They can participate in the Champions League every year, so they have never paid attention to this event. This year, Liverpool has achieved good results in both Europe and the league, so they do not pay more attention to the game.

But I don't pay attention to it. I still have to participate.

Liverpool's opponent in the top 32 knockout round of the League Cup is Millwall, an English Champions League team. They smoothly survived the first and second round selection and got the opportunity to play against the Premier League team.

This time, Liverpool is an away game.

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Before 1903, Millwall's full name was Millwall-Athletic. The club is located in the Millwall area at the western end of Dog Island in southeast London, England. Historically, the club was founded in 1885 by a group of Scottish dock workers.

In a hundred years of history, Millwall has been lingering in England's second and third leagues.

However, the development route of this club is still very clear. As a small regional club, their development funds are limited, so they can only evaluate the accumulation of funds to participate in the Champions League and various cups in exchange for better players and ensure the stable improvement of their team's performance.

Such a small club development model has been reflected in the Millwall Club.

After entering two thousand years, Millwall's performance has been rising steadily. Although it seems that the club's Premier League is still far away, their focus is on the Cup - the FA Cup and the League Cup.

In these two cups, Millwall did well every year. Last season, they reached the final of the FA Cup and only lost to Manchester United in the final. Although it was a pity to lose in the end, a final brought Millwall nearly two million pounds in revenue.

This is a huge amount of money for Millwall.

This season, Millwall's cup results are still very good. In the front, they passed the first and second rounds smoothly, and in the third round, they can play against the Premier League team.

Before the draw, Mr. Sanchez, the president of the club, said, "We really hope to meet a strong team, which will make us excited." So they met Liverpool.

This time, Millwall is worried about gains and losses.

When they meet the strong Liverpool, it is not really good news for them, because their road to the League Cup this season may be over, but at the same time, this is also good news. It is certain that playing with Liverpool will bring a lot of income.

In English football, there is an agreement of a big club, that is, when you meet a small club in the cup, all the broadcasts and ticket fees of the whole game are handed over to the small club, which is also to support the development of the small club. This private agreement has always been the enforcer, and no opponent is issued. Now. For big-name clubs, the income of a game is really not much. Compared with the value of withdrawing millions of pounds from the Champions League, the domestic cup is not worth mentioning.

So, Millwall will definitely make a lot of money in the game against Liverpool.

But at the same time, they are also likely to be disqualified in the League Cup.

This kind of trouble of gains and losses makes Millwall Club feel strange. On the one hand, the club's managers hope that the team can work hard to win. On the other hand, as players, they are very excited, especially those young players, who are all very excited. For them, Liverpool star distance It's too far away from me, but now it's a great surprise to be able to fight with these stars in a game.

"I'm very excited. I can finally see Gerard on the spot."

"I like Jack. His shot is really exciting!"

"I hope they can show mercy under their feet..."

......

In an interview with reporters before the game, Millwall players showed an excited look, but it is likely that they were all disappointed when they got Liverpool's starting list.

Don Jack and Gerrard, none of these names are on the starting list.

In fact, it is impossible for Benitez to let Gerard, Don Jack and others start. Don Jack is not even on the big list. Gerard sits on the bench. The Spaniard hopes that he can play as a substitute in the second half. As a chicken rib cup, he can't be better.

As for winning or losing, the Spaniards never pay attention to it.

This is also to prepare for the Liverpool derby in a few days. The Liverpool derby is the really important game. Relatively speaking, it doesn't matter whether you participate in this kind of league cup knockout match or not.

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Compared with Liverpool's attitude, Millwall pays more attention to it.

The players are not very satisfied with Liverpool's start list, but the club management and the head coach are very satisfied. The main reason is that they also hope to go further in the League Cup. Liverpool does not send the main force to play, which is really what they mean.

The different attitudes of the two teams also determine that the game is not one-sided.

Liverpool's substitute strength is good, but this mentality makes their performance not very good, while Millwall's players are all working hard. Their fight is very active, which makes Liverpool players a little unprepared.

In the 31st minute of the first half, Millwall scored, and it was their No. 10 midfielder John. Brooke, in front of the goal, he succeeded in offside and got a single shot. Brooke shot the ball into the right foot of the goal steadily.

After that, Liverpool's players still seem to be out of shape.

The team is not in any state as a whole, and the competition on the court is not active. The ball possession rate is dominant, but the attack on the court is not lively, and the formation position is also a little disconnected. It is difficult to support the whole team with one Alonso alone. The veteran Harman's control over the team is also very loose. This shows that Benitez is wrinkled off the court. The eyebrows.

As a result, at the end of the first half, Millwall took advantage of another tactical free kick opportunity, and defender Rice headed the ball into the gate guarded by Kirkland.

No one could think of this score before the game.

However, at halftime, Liverpool coach Benitez still did not make any adjustments to the team and had no instructions for the players, which made everyone feel that the coach had given up the game, and they all felt very relaxed.

As a result, Liverpool played worse in the second half.

At the New Neil Stadium, there was a very funny scene, that is, the Premier League's Liverpool was overwhelmed by a Championship team, and the game on the field was still bis-to-zero, and Liverpool was still behind.

Finally, Benitez couldn't stand it and sent Gerrard to play.

This is the first time that Gerrard appeared on the court after recovering from his injury. Although he was dissatisfied with the team's performance, when Gerrard played, the Liverpool fans who came with the team still applauded him, which was a respect for the Liverpool general.

Gerard is also uncomfortable.

He didn't expect that he could beat Arsenal's team with a substitute lineup. He would play so passively when he met Millwall. Although many of the main players did not play, his performance was too bad. It seemed that this was not Liverpool, but an English Champions League or even lower team.

You know, even Liverpool's substitutes are much more valuable than Millwall's players.

How could it be like this?

Gerrard was not satisfied, so he began to shout when he got to the court, so that his teammates could regain their form and confidence. This seemed to be a little useful. At least Liverpool did not lose the ball easily next.

However, it's too difficult to recover two balls.

Although Gerrard opened Millwall's door with a strong long-range shot five minutes before the end of the game, Liverpool lost in the end. The team lost to Millwall in the top 32 knockout of the League Cup and missed the next league match.

This season, Liverpool's League Cup is just over from the beginning.

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After the game, Benitez took Gerrard to the press conference.

At the press conference, many media reporters began to question Liverpool, because Liverpool lost to Aston Villa in the last game, and now the League Cup is directly lost to a Championship team. This should not be Liverpool's performance, even in previous years.

Benitez avoided the important thing. He only talked about Gerrard's comeback, but as for the game, he didn't mention it. Such a face makes reporters feel that there is no way to start.

However, Gerrard's comeback is also big news.

At least this is a big blow to Everton. Liverpool's next game is the same city derby with Everton. At this tense moment, the news of Gerrard's comeback will have a great impact on Everton's preparation.

And Don Jack can't figure out Benitez's idea at this time. He didn't know that the Spaniard gave up the League Cup so obviously. Don Jack can understand that he failed to be on the list. After all, he was also a little tired after consecutive games. When he met a team like Millwall, he took a rest. I also feel very relaxed.

But it's too cowardly to lose the game!

This is what Jack Don can't tolerate. It's okay to lose, but it's uncomfortable to lose so much. Fortunately, he did not participate in the competition. However, Don Jack feels that if he participates in the game, he will definitely not lose so easily, just like in the league a few days ago. Although Aston Villa won, it is still very difficult. With himself, even if the whole team is not in a state, it is not easy for the opponent to win easily.

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Benitez doesn't know what Don Jack is thinking.

For the game, Benitez has a dispensable attitude. The League Cup was originally the game he was ready to give up. Now Liverpool's injury situation is serious. Although Gerrard's comeback, the main lineup is still missing, and the bench is in a mess. Not to mention that the substitutes are not in a state, even if they are in a state, Pu's bench depth is impossible to support the team's third-line or even fourth-line battle. Thinking about the FA Cup and Champions League knockout matches that will start after Christmas, Benitez can't rest assured that he will be on the League Cup.

What makes the Spaniards angry is not the team's loss. Like Don Jack, he is angry about the team's loss.

The team that just played, where will Liverpool be?

While being angry, Benitez also feels helpless. Liverpool's strength is like this. The strength of the players on the bench is really limited. A veteran like Harman can be said to retire in Liverpool. He only relies on experience to play football, and other players are too young.

Such a bench depth is also the reason why the gap between the substitute team and the main team is too large.

But at present, Benitez only hopes that Liverpool can buy some good players in the winter transfer to supplement the depth of the bench, but he has no time to reorganize the team.

The game with Everton is also in sight, and he doesn't have time to worry about the status of the substitute players.