Newcastle 0, Liverpool 3 - post match analysis

Nov 26 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

CLEARLY there’s something to be said for focusing on coaching and training your team.

The question for Rafael Benitez now, though, is how many more times he will be allowed to do that at Liverpool.

A traumatic few days off the pitch ended in business as usual on it as the Anfield outfit extended their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a comfortable victory at St James’ Park.

The growing rift between Benitez and the club’s American owners was put to one side for at least a couple of hours as Liverpool delivered one of their finest displays of the season to swat aside the feeble resistance of Newcastle United.

That it edged old adversary Sam Allardyce a step nearer to receiving the boot from the Magpies will have provided extra satisfaction for Benitez.

Yet it is the axe that hangs precariously over his own head that is preoccupying the thoughts of a Liverpool support that has been left bewildered, bemused and berating the whirlwind speed at which events have taken course since Thursday afternoon.

At a time when his every comment is dissected and debated, even Benitez’s choice of matchday attire at the weekend became the focus of heated analysis.

Unusually, the Spaniard took to the dugout wearing a club tracksuit.

Taken as an inference to Tom Hicks and George Gillett saying he should concentrate on team matters while they deal with the financial side of the club, that opinion gained greater credence with Benitez’s later explanation that his official suit had been damaged was about as convincing as Newcastle’s defending.

Following on from the now infamous media briefing in the build up to the game, it all smacked of further point-scoring from the Anfield manager, who in the post-match conference again underlined his frustration at the Americans by questioning their understanding of the machinations of the January transfer window.

It’s a dangerous game, and one for which Benitez is increasingly likely to pay the ultimate price should matters not undergo a dramatic about-turn in the immediate future.

The chants of support from the travelling fans on Saturday indicate where their allegiances lie.

But the stubborn, ruthless streak that has helped Hicks and Gillett amass their personal fortunes means they will have no qualms in dumping a man equally stubborn in his beliefs and working practices.

When an irresistible force meets an immovable object, the one with the most power always wins.

Given such tumult behind the scenes, it would have been easy for Liverpool’s players to have been distracted when they resumed their Premier League campaign on Saturday following the international break.

Instead, they responded with a hugely impressive performance that, led by the example of outstanding skipper Steven Gerrard, completely overwhelmed a Newcastle team that were made to look even more awful than they actually are.

That was some achievement. Hampered by the loss of key players such as Michael Owen and Steven Taylor, the Magpies were devoid of inspiration, fight, application, skill and just about everything else that might be expected of a top-flight team.

But even Newcastle’s unadulterated ineptitude couldn’t take anything away from Liverpool’s display, the visitors’ passing and movement at times having even the home supporters purring in appreciation on the rare occasions they weren’t jeering their own team.

Had Fernando Torres shown anything like the goal-scoring prowess that had seen him previously snaffle eight goals in 14 appearances, Allardyce may well have been looking for a new job this morning.