Pressure on Benitez after big spending spree

LIVERPOOL, England: Rafael Benitez launches his fourth season in charge at Liverpool under real pressure to deliver silverware to the Anfield trophy room.

The Spaniard has already proved his worth by steering the Merseyside club to two Champions League finals, one of which ended in triumph after a dramatic May night in Istanbul in 2005.

He has also lifted the FA Cup as well as taking Liverpool to the League Cup final.

Yet there is now a level of expectancy about Liverpool created by his eye-catching summer signings.

Despite occasional success in domestic and European knockout competitions, fans have been waiting for a league title since 1990.

They will believe that the arrival of Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel and Andriy Voronin will give the side the firepower and fluency needed to win the Premiership for the first time since it started.

Meanwhile, the club's billionaire American owners will be expecting a return on the 40 million pounds they have allowed Benitez to spend since losing to AC Milan in May's Champions League final in Athens.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett will be looking harder than anybody at Benitez and if Liverpool are not in the running for the title in the last couple of weeks of the season there will be major disappointment among the faithful.

Goals in the league have been hard to come by under Benitez, hence the arrivals of club record signing Torres and Voronin while Babel, who cost 11.5 million pounds from Ajax, and Benayoun will be expected to supply the ammunition.

Spanish international Torres cost 21 million pounds from Atletico Madrid and will be under pressure to deliver from the start. He will not be allowed much time to get used to the Premiership and will be expected to get on the scoresheet in the first few games.

To be fair Liverpool's start is not the most demanding although their first home game is against Chelsea, who are determined to win back the title they lost to Manchester United last season.

Benitez's side launch their campaign at Aston Villa, who finished last season in the bottom half of the table, and face newly-promoted Sunderland, Derby and Birmingham before the end of September.

There is still room to improve the squad with Benitez looking to strengthen his options at left-back before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.

Attempts to lure Gabriel Heinze from arch-rivals Manchester United have so far failed, despite meeting United's 6.8-million-pound valuation for the Argentinian defender.

Benitez, however, is undeterred while Henize has also made it clear he wishes to move to Anfield after losing his first-team place at Old Trafford.

Influential skipper Steven Gerrard insists winning the Premiership is more important than lifting the European Cup this season.

"I'm really happy with the players the boss has brought in," said Gerrard.

"We're very ambitious and we know what's expected from us. The manager has been backed with good money this summer and he's spent it well, but now is the time for us to deliver.

"The Premier League is our main priority. If I could pick one trophy to win it would be the league because from a purely selfish point of view it's the only one I haven't won.

"Having said that, if we win the European Cup this year you won't see me upset at the end of the season."

AFP

(China Daily 07/31/2007 page23)