A piece that appeared in the Daily Post in October regarding Pakoâs departure
JAMIE CARRAGHER has dismissed suggestions the departure of Pako Ayesteran has contributed to Liverpoolâs downturn in form â and believes anyone that does is âlooking for excusesâ.
Since Ayesteran left his post as assistant manager at the end of August following an irrevocable breakdown in his working relationship with Rafael Benitez, Liverpool have won just three of eight games and slipped to fourth in the Premier League.
Ayesteranâs exit was formally confirmed at the weekend, although the Spaniard will remain contracted at Anfield until the end of June next year to prevent him falling into the immediate clutches of any rival clubs.
But while Carragher believes Ayesteran was âoutstandingâ as Liverpoolâs fitness coach, the centre-back has revealed the footballing side of training has remained unchanged since the departure.
And the 29-year-old has rubbished rumours Benitezâs methods have been adversely affected by the loss of his former trusted lieutenant.
âGerard Houllier had the same thing thrown at him when Patrice Bergues left, and in that case I do think that had a big impact,â said Carragher.
âBut the difference now is that Rafa Benitez is a coach, while Gerard Houllier was more of simply a manager and observed coaching rather than actually taking it.
âI got on great with Pako, he was superb at his job and he had a great relationship with the manager, but he was the fitness coach.
âRafa is the coach. At the end of the day, weâve lost a fitness coach, not a football coach, although itâs a fitness coach who was outstanding at his job.
âBut itâs still the manager picking the team. Rafa is the football man and that hasnât changed, and Iâm sure the results since Pako has left is just a coincidence.
âI can understand why people might look at that. People are always looking for reasons why a team isnât playing so well, but in the training sessions we are still doing the same things.
âIf people do look at Pako leaving as the reason for our loss in form, I think they are looking for excuses really.â
Jamie has hit the nail on the head when he said âpeople are looking for excuses really.â Whenever we have a downturn in form every single aspect of the club is analysed, from whether the players feel loved enough to what the food is like at the training ground!
Frankly it is a lot more straightforward than that as some of the players and management should be asking themselves âam I giving a 100%?â, these people are proffesionals who are the best at what they do (except Voronin obviously!) and shouldnât need molly coddling into giving their all, christ I think every fan to a man (or Woman
) would pay the club to have the honour of wearing that red shirt nevermind being given ÂŁ50k a week for the privelige!
At the moment the club is in turmoil and far from blaming the players I believe the reason for our innocous form is down to the management, no not just Rafa because as if you read some of my other posts you will know I am a Rafa believer, but also because of the owners and their shambolic attempts at trying to run a âsoccer franchiseâ from the other side of the Atlantic.
How on earth can we expect players to perform at the top of their game when we have such uncertainty at the club?.... Is the boss staying? Will we have any new signings? Will we have new owners? Because if no money is paid by February we will no longer be owned by Cagney and Lacey but The Royal Bank of Scotland will take up the reigns!
I have never in all my years following the reds had the embarrassment to see the club become a magnet for all the football rumours we have had chucked at us lately and until the ownership and management are âcementedâ into place so no one can be under any illusion who owns/manages our great club we will have a few more farces acted out in the media on a daily basis.
Sort that out and iam sure everything will begin to fall into place.
Oh by the way Xavi Valero our esteemed goalkeeping coach is a master in Sports Psychology apparently so if as it looks like they are getting help already then it doesnât seem to be helping their game much, unless of course he only works with Pepe? And then I would say he is doing a wonderful job.
âXavi Valero took over the post of Goalkeeping Coach after Jose Ochotorena moved back to Valencia in 2007.
Valero began his professional career as a goalkeeper with Castellon in 1992, before moving onto Mallorca, Logrones, Murcia, Cordoba and Recreativo de Huelva in Spain. He also spent a short time with Wrexham where he put into practice the English he had studied at the University of Castellon.
He holds a Master in Goalkeeper Coaching from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and a Master of Sports Psychology from Madrid Univeristy (UNED). Valero previously worked with Jose Ochotorena at Logrones.â
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/squad/valero/