Liverpool FC Forum

[anfieldadorer]

lfctv

BURNLEY V LIVERPOOL
Friday 7 January 2005 19:45

Rafa Benitez has his first encounter in the FA Cup as Liverpool travel to Coca Cola Championship side Burnley in the 3rd round. It's Liverpool's first match against Burnley since 1997 when the Reds beat the Clarets in the FA Cup. The two sides met 10 years ago in the FA Cup and after a goalless draw at Turf Moor Liverpool won in an Anfield replay. It's been all change at Turf Moor this season with Steve Cotterill replacing Stan Ternant. At the start of the campaign Cotterill had just 13 players at his disposal before he managed to make more signings to boost his squad.

Burnley are currently 11th in the Championship and have five former Tranmere Rovers players in their side in the form of goalkeeper Danny Coyne, Ian Moore, John McGreal, Graham Branch and Tony Grant who also had a spell at Everton.

[anfieldadorer]

Benitez glad to bring on Babes
Jan 7 2005 
By Ian Doyle, Daily Post

FIRST it was the Carling Cup. Now Benitez's Babes will be elevated to FA Cup duty as the Spaniard gets his first taste of the world's oldest knockout competition this evening. While a lengthening injury list and a demanding Christmas period of four Premiership games in nine days has tested the resolve of the usually laidback Liverpool manager, the repercussions continue to offer opportunities for the club's youth.

The latest of those arrives at Turf Moor this evening, with many of the youngsters who have performed so admirably in the Carling Cup being asked to ease the workload of their more senior colleagues. Rafael Benitez certainly has no qualms about letting his fledglings loose on the first team scene, with the fine performances this season of Neil Mellor, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Stephen Warnock demonstrating the virtue of such a policy. However, with Xabi Alonso and Chris Kirkland joining an already bustling treatment room and his squad weary-legged after their Yule slog, necessity rather than design is the underlying reason for the latest selection shake-up.

"We will use the young players at Burnley and we have been working with them all week and we are happy and confident about them," says Benitez.
"We will use them the same way we did in the Carling Cup, but we will mix them with a few more senior players.
"They played very well in the Carling Cup so I am confident they can continue to do well.
"After Christmas time, there is no way we can play with same players for every game. We have the Carling Cup coming up next week and then we play Manchester United in an important Premiership game."

Zak Whitbread, David Raven, Darren Potter and John Welsh could all come into the reckoning at Burnley this evening. Teams have been criticised in recent years for devaluing the FA Cup by fielding under-strength sides, but while Benitez accepts the concerns he believes he is doing what is best for Liverpool. And after all, as the forthcoming semi-final first leg with Watford on Tuesday shows, the Carling Cup kids have certainly contributed to that competition.

"When we started using the youngsters in the Carling Cup, people did not think we were taking the competition seriously but we know they are all important games," insists Benitez..
"But we know this is a more important competition than the Carling Cup. But we have to play games with our full squad, and not just the same 11 players all the time. That would be impossible."
He adds: "When you win it is fantastic, but if you lose it is seen as a problem that you have rested all these players. The fans who can see the bigger picture like us will understand what we are doing.
"We want to finish in the top four and we are still in the Champions League and are in the last four of the Carling Cup.
"What is more important? The Premiership and the Champions League or the FA Cup? You would like to play your best team in all the competitions but it is impossible.
"If you have so many players already out injured then you need to make decisions to do the right thing and what is right for the team.
"Both the FA Cup and Carling Cup are important but the question is that we play Manchester United after them. In February we have a lot of games so we need to work with the squad now while we can.
"We will use certain players now and then another set next week."
He added: "We are right to preserve players like Steve Finnan and Steven Gerrard, who have played all the games over Christmas. We need to decide when to use them and when to rest them, and that is my responsibility.
"If the other players weren't injured then maybe things would be different. But we know what we have to do.
"You always lose players with injuries, but at the moment we seem to lose players for three or four months and that does create more problems."
Finnan and Gerrard will definitely be joined on the absent list this evening by Milan Baros. "Milan will not be ready for the game but he is training well," says Benitez. "If we lose him now for a length of time again, then with Harry Kewell injured we'll only have Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Neil Mellor as our forwards."

Coca-Cola Championship side Burnley have won their last four home games without conceding a goal, a run which includes a defeat of high-fliers Wigan. And Benitez admits: "We know that this will be a big game for Burnley but it is an important one for us as well. "We have seen the videos of them and they have had some good results at home recently. I believe the pitch will be muddy, but that will be the same for both sides.

"I know all about the FA Cup. It is exciting for all the foreign managers to see these type of games.
"In Spain we have the same experience. When a big club plays a not so big club, you have more things to lose and nothing to win.
"At Valencia we lost twice against smaller teams, Nobelda and Alicante. In one game, we were winning 3-1 with 10 minutes to go but ended up drawing 3-3 and lost 5-4 on penalties."

Another player unlikely to be available this evening is new signing Mauricio Pellegrino. The 33-year-old central defensive signing from Valenica has instead been pencilled in for a debut appearance against Wat-ford at Anfield on Tuesday.

"We have signed him because he is a winner," explains Benitez. "He is very good at tactical work and he has a lot of experience and has the right mentality for his team.
"As a manager, you want a player like him.
"He is always talking about football."

[anfieldadorer]

Head to Head

Liverpool Draw Burnley
League 29 19 26
FA Cup 6 4 3
League Cup 3 1 2
Total 38 24 31

General : The sides haven't met since an FA Cup meeting in 1997. League meetings between the sides date back to 1975-76 with the Reds just holding the upper hand in terms of wins.

LEAGUE STATS

Home and Away Stats

Liverpool Draw Burnley
Anfield 19 10 8
Turf Moor 10 9 18
Total 29 19 26

Last 5 Form

Home 27 Mar 1976 W 2-0 Fairclough 2
Away 6 Dec 1975 D 0-0 -
Away 8 Mar 1975 D 1-1 McDermott
Home 24 Sep 1974 L 0-1 -
Home 2 Mar 1974 W 1-0 Toshack

Date Score Scorer(s)
Last Home Win 27 Mar 1976 2-0 Fairclough
Last Home Draw 23 Aug 1969 3-3 Smith 2(1 pen), Graham
Last Home Loss 24 Sep 1974 0-1 -
Last Away Win 15 Aug 1970 2-1 A.Evans, Hughes
Last Away Draw 6 Dec 1975 0-0 -
Last Away Loss 26 Dec 1973 1-2 Cormack

Biggest Wins and Losses

Date Score Scorer(s)
Biggest Home Win 26 Dec 1928 8-0 Clarke 2, Edmed 2, Hodgson 3, Salisbury
Biggest Home Loss 3 Nov 1894 0-3 -
Biggest Away Win 26 Dec 1969 5-1 Ross, Graham, Lawler, Thompson, Callaghan
5 Dec 1964 Hunt 3, Strong, Lawler
Biggest Away Loss 25 Dec 1926 0-4 -

CUP STATS

Home and Away Stats

Liverpool Draw Burnley
Anfield 8 1 0
Away 1 4 5
Total 9 5 5

Last 5 Form

Home 4 Jan 1997 W 1-0 FA Cup Collymore
Home 7 Feb 1995 W 1-0 FA Cup Barnes
Away 28 Jan 1995 D 0-0 FA Cup -
Away 5 Oct 1994 W 4-1 League Cup Redknapp 2, Fowler, Clough
Home 21 Sep 1994 W 2-0 League Cup Scales, Fowler

Date Score Competition Scorer(s)
Last Home Win 4 Jan 1997 1-0 FA Cup Collymore
Last Home Draw 7 Oct 1975 1-1 League Cup Case
Last Home Loss - - - -
Last Away Win 5 Oct 1994 4-1 League Cup Redknapp 2, Fowler, Clough
Last Away Draw 28 Jan 1995 0-0 FA Cup -
Last Away Loss 15 Feb 1983 0-1 League Cup -

[anfieldadorer]

BBC
Burnley expect cup tie go-ahead

Burnley expect their FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool to go ahead after groundstaff battled to get the rain-soaked Turf Moor pitch ready. Their last home game against Leicester had to be abandoned after heavy rain and the surface is still affected. But Burnley officials are confident the pitch will be playable barring any worsening in weather conditions. Liverpool are expected to rest captain Steven Gerrard and several other big names after a heavy holiday programme. Former Everton star Tony Grant hopes to spring an FA Cup surprise on the old enemy. Grant was unbeaten in four Merseyside derbies during his Everton career in the 1990s.

And he said: "It would be nice if I could at least make it five draws, but it's going to be hard because Rafael Benitez is doing a good job at Anfield.
"I started four derbies and drew all of them. It would be nice to get a win."
Grant said: "They've had a couple of injuries but Benitez seems to be resting players at the right time and playing them at the right time.
"He's a proven manager and he seems to have bought well as well.
"They're still off the pace but I think he'll get it right next year or theyear after if he can keep the best players."

Benitez is likely to employ a similar policy to that which has enabled Liverpool to reach the Carling Cup semi-finals - giving youngsters their chance in cup competitions. 

He said: "We know the FA Cup is important, but we have to be conscious of the bigger picture.
"If I use Steven Gerrard, for example, and he gets injured then we have a big problem because we are already without Xabi Alonso. The same applies to Steve Finnan because Josemi is injured.
"If the supporters have the same big picture as we have, they will see this. We want to be in the top four and we want to be in the Champions League.
"When you have so many games, especially when five of your players are already visiting the surgeon, you have to make the right decisions for your team."

[SteveGInDaHouse]

I'm  gonna watch the game! And I bet Liverpool 's gonna win!
  Steve will score the first goal!!!!!!!

[andy_g]

i'm really looking forward to this game to see some of these young guys play - as up to now, i have to admit, i've not seen much of them. especially interested in seeing our future defence. i'm just hoping rafa keeps some proven quality in the side and on the bench - in case things get nasty...

[7_Kewell]

Steve will score the first goal!!!!!!!

he proabably isn't playing...see my earlier thread

[jonnymac1979]

No, he's definitely being rested.  So is Finnan.

[anfieldadorer]

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Why Hoyland is sick of playing at Anfield

LIVERPOOL 1
BURNLEY 0

FA Cup Rnd 3, January 2, 1997

IN typical fashion, Jamie Hoyland vomited on Anfield's hallowed turf as he ran out for yet another FA Cup clash betwen Burnley and Liverpool.

Regardless of the number of times he had played there in the past with Sheffield United, those trademark pre-match nerves still had the same effect.

They did at every ground Hoyland played at - home and away!

But the size of the Clarets defence's task, against the likes of John Barnes, Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore, shredded yet more nerves as Burnley built up for the third round tie.

"I remember we went there determined not to lose," Hoyland reflected.

"Chris Brass was given the task of man-to-man marking McManaman and that's all we went through all week in training.

"But then they went and scored early on and that put paid to that."

It was Collymore who broke Burnley's hearts with his ferocious right-footer on 14 minutes.

But the Clarets made sure they didn't get any more joy from their possession with a display rich in courage and toil.

"We just didn't perform going forward at all, we tried to stifle them. But it was a bit of an anti-climax after they scored," Hoyland said.

"It was still a great experience though, even though I'd played there before, and some of the young lads like Brassy were fantastic."

But while the game was played in a friendly atmosphere, it wasn't without incident either.

"I remember one occasion when Collymore picked Paul Weller up by the scruff of his collar and dangled him above the ground," Hoyland added. "He tossed him around like a rag doll."

Clearly the last meeting of the two sides was David v Goliath in more ways than one!

[Woollyback]

I live about 20 minutes from Burnley and it's been SERIOUSLY p*ssing down here all day, wouldn't be surprised if the game gets called off within 5 minutes of them taking the covers off the pitch

My mate was up there last week for the Leicester game which got called off after 19 minutes and he said the rain only started 45 minutes before kick-off that day

[fivecups]

Boys this game is not looking likely to happen. Expect a definite announcement in the next 45 minutes:(

[lakes10]

games off

[fivecups]

Postponed.

Was looking forward to watching the match tonight.

Ah well, the injury risk would have been too high.