I just read a report which I thought you lot would like to read and which honestly took me by suprise- for some wierd reason.
http://msn.football365.com/story/0,17033,13852_6103073,00.html
Rafa Benitez has suggested that Liverpool were never likely to mount another title challenge this season.
Liverpool look unlikely to even claim fourth spot after a poor season characterised by injuries and missed chances, and Benitez believes that too much was expected of his side after last season's second place.
"At the beginning of the season expectations were too high," he is quoted in The Daily Mirror as saying.
"That is normal after such a good season.
"But I always say the same - the Premier League is the Premier League and the difference in money is so big that if you want to stay at this level for a while, you have to do almost everything perfectly.
"That's not easy when you push and push because sometimes you cannot keep the players working so hard or at the level they were in the previous season.
"During pre-season we also had players coming back late and then we had injuries. We've had seven, nine or 11 players out at the same time in different months, players who would normally be starters.
"We can talk about mistakes, but when you have so many players injured, especially key players, it is not easy to sustain a level of performance every week."
I honestly can't believe that he said 'the expectations were too high'. Regardless of injuries or any other nonsense excuse that the man is going to give. Liverpool WERE regarded as a top 4 team and are (sorry were) expected to compete for the title. He has had 6 years in charge in Liverpool, having only ONE decent attempt to challenge for it. But hey, I guess he's saying just not good enough to compete for it. Part of me is not shocked for what he said, but another part of me is asking me how the hell he can be in charge of a top four team and say that challegening the title- AND NOT EVEN WINNING IT- is 'above expectations'. It's his foocking fault that we do not have good enough players to cover for ours 'stars'. The guy deserves to be beaten, [oops] upon, .............ooops....... God I hate the [oops].