Today's Banter: Mourinho to replace Rafa?, Torres back in training, Benitez backs Kuyt, Babel, & more

Well, first let's get to the ridiculous rumor of the day. Apparently Jose Mourinho is interested in taking over at Liverpool if Rafa were to leave. I don't think 'The Special One' has thought this one through though. First, unlike at Chelsea, he would not have the resources to build a squad to his liking. He'll have some funds available to him and will probably be able to scrape up more by selling players he deems undesirable, but there's quite a gap between Abramovich money and Gillett/Hicks money. Second, does he really want to put up with the criticism he will most likely receive if he doesn't win the Champions League or Premiership title in the first season? The press and some 'fans' just don't live in reality in summing up our prospects and ability. Chelsea had little if any history or success before Mourinho, so he was pretty much their saviour and could do little wrong. The impatience among the so-called Liverpool faithful and the press seems almost viral at this point. Benitez wants to build the squad using players groomed and tested in the Academy and the Reserves, I don't understand what is so difficult to comprehend about that plan.

Moving on, it appears that Fernando Torres has already returned to training and could even be on the bench for Fulham on Saturday. The problem I see with that is it might give Luis Aragonés the idea that the 23-year-old Spaniard is available for Spain's Euro-qualifier with Sweden on November 17th. The last thing we need is for El Niño to get injured playing or training for his country again. We don't need the next Harry Kewell in that aspect.

The main course of today's banter meal appears to be the Kuyt/Crouch controversy. First off, unfortunately people, pundits, press, and bloggers need to be reminded that hindsight is 20-20 and that not knowing what Rafa knows, makes it a whole lot easier to criticize. In other words, you don't know who's slightly knocked, who's fatigued, nor who Rafa will need for our next match, which is coming up fast on Tuesday. Kuyt worked hard yet failed to take advantage of the opportunities afforded him. In my opinion, he was playing out-of-position at the true striker spot when his talents are much better utilized in the second striker position.

One of the arguments is that Rafa should have brought Crouch in for Kuyt and done so earlier in the match. I honestly think Rafa was trying to preserve Crouch for Tuesday's match with Besitkas and wanted to use the England International as sparingly as possible. As for bringing him in for Kuyt, well that would have crippled our efforts even more as Crouch appeared to take up and excel at the second striker position, pushing the ball forward to Kuyt, Gerrard, and Kewell with the use of headers. One other point I want to make is that it seems Harry Kewell is not getting the proper credit he deserves. The Aussie was just as much if not more so a contributor than Crouch to our sudden onslaught of attack late in the Blackburn match. I guess self-aggrandizement requires blinders.

Anyhow, I was glad to read that Benitez is in full support of not only Kuyt, but Babel as well. I feel most of the Kuyt criticism stems from a misunderstanding of the situation, but I can see why people were disappointed in his performance on Saturday. I was one of them after all. Kuyt is playing hard and giving it his all, but being played out-of-position and having to adjust your game to hinder your strengths are always potential recipes for a poor outing. As for Babel, after being arguably our man-of-the-match against Cardiff, the young Dutchman would have probably been suited to start from the bench, but Rafa didn't have the luxury to do so.

Before moving on and while I'm on the subject of the Cardiff match, I've read in a lot of other people's reviews and posts about the Blackburn match the questioning of why Lucas wasn't played. Well, first off he looked spent at the end of Wednesday's Carling Cup qualifying match and second, do you not think Rafa would have played him if he thought the young Brazilian would have been able to make a positive contribution? This second guessing Rafa is getting to the point of idiocy. He does what he does for the benefit of the club, why would he do otherwise? Use some common sense.

Finally, on the transfer speculation, we apparently now seem to be the front-runners for Burnley youngster John Cofie and are willing to pay £8m for a Spanish defensive midfielder named Juan de Dios Prados. The former is only 15-years-old, has been chased by Man U and Chelsea among other suitors, and would probably be an Academy player and possibly never heard of again. I know that may be negative, but odds are he, along with most Academy products, won't make it to the first team. As for Prados, if we pay £8m for a 21-year-old defensive midfielder when we already have Mascherano, Sissoko, and Damien Plessis, I have to believe that we either aren't going to re-sign Masche, which is insane, Sissoko is gone in January, which could happen but I doubt it, or Plessis will never play for the first team, which is possible, but from what I've seen from him, he's quite capable. Of course, that rumor may all very well be a pile of rubbish. Cheers.