Same here, but going mad in Cardiff was pretty special. I'd rather the European Cup than the FA Cup this season, but the FA Cup is one of only two chances for a trophy this season and I f*cking love winning trophies. Posts merged: Benítez out to erase the memory of darkest day By Oliver Kay IT ENDED in euphoric smiles in the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, but Rafael Benítez?s first season as Liverpool manager was far from plain sailing. After fielding an under-strength team that lost to Burnley in the FA Cup third round a year ago, the Spaniard was accused of ?cheapening the name of Liverpool? and, although his talk of the bigger picture was ultimately vindicated in spectacular style, he has no intention of making the same mistake against Luton Town this evening. That is not to say that Benítez will field his entire first-choice team. José Manuel Reina will make way for Scott Carson, the England Under-21 goalkeeper, and a couple of other senior players will be rested, but the line-up at Kenilworth Road will be far stronger than the one that succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Turf Moor. Benítez admits that defeat, sandwiched between demoralising losses to Manchester United and Southampton in the Premiership, was the lowest point of his 19 months in charge of Liverpool. He maintains that his team selection that evening was not a mistake as such, particularly as he ended the season guiding his side to the European Cup, but, having strengthened his squad over the past 12 months, he expects this season?s FA Cup to be a rather different story. ?I think when we lost to Burnley last season it was probably our lowest point,? Benítez said. ?We were in a bad situation in the Premiership at the time and afterwards people were talking badly about us. Looking back at what happened last season, maybe I would make the same decision again but change one or two things. You must remember we were trying to look after all our players at the time. I said afterwards we must consider the bigger picture and by the end of the season it was better for us. ?The difference now is the squad is stronger. We can make changes and the team is still strong. If you don?t have a strong squad then you can?t win everything, but we are much stronger now and can compete in three competitions.? The Liverpool squad seems to have been strengthened by the acquisition of Jan Kronkamp, the Holland full back, from Villarreal in an exchange with Josemi, while Daniel Agger, the highly-rated Denmark defender, is likely to join from Brondby next week in a £5.5 million deal. Benítez also hopes to sign a new winger before the end of the month, but there remain some concerns that his squad could be stretched during a campaign that started in mid-July with the first of six Champions League qualifying matches and has also included trips to Monte Carlo and Tokyo to play in the European Super Cup and Club World Championship respectively. That leaves them two games adrift of most of their Premiership rivals and with a severely congested fixture list. Benítez, a staunch of advocate of squad rotation, does not seem to be concerned. ?For this weekend, the FA Cup is our No 1 priority,? he said. ?We can think about the Premiership after this game. If we are still in the competition in February and March, then we can worry about fixture problems. I hope so.? Luton will have something to say about that, but Benítez is not expecting a repeat of the Burnley debacle. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-1974062,00.html
