Paul
Tomkins' Blog
The
idea of this blog is to speak with a bit more freedom than I'm (understandably)
allowed with the official site, and to be more in keeping with the style
of my books. I've never said anything I didn't mean on .tv, but some criticisms
have either been removed by the Press Office or I've had to censor myself.
Some blog entries will be fully formed articles, others shorter observations.
Some may appear in some form as .tv articles in due course. I also hope
to provide companion pieces to the .tv articles.
Feel free to contact me with your thoughts on the pieces, but as ever
I cannot guarantee a reply. Also, as long as I'm accredited and a link
to this site is provided, I'm happy for the pieces to be shared around
the internet.
New
Blog - November 2008 onwards
Blog Archive
October 2007 onwards
The
Impossible Job
31st January 2008
Hopefully my last piece for a while, trying to undertake a catch-all look
at the current situation with regard to how it's affecting things on the
pitch. Hopefully with this piece encapsulating my thoughts, and unlikely
to change soon, I can now rest in peace ... so to speak.
Click
here
Going Underground
22nd January 2008
(Updates and additions 24th January)
There are a number of reasons I’m taking a back seat from writing again
right now. Frankly, I’m disillusioned with the way things are going off
the field, and feel that it’s affecting what is happening on the pitch.
It’s all very depressing.
For me, this season is a write-off; that doesn’t mean giving up on the
two cups, but all I want now is a top four finish (which should be possible)
and a chance -- please -- to start afresh next season with all
the turmoil a thing of the past.
I take everything connected with the club far more personally these days;
maybe all fans do to varying degrees, but feeling expected to write about
every significant issue (either from the pressure I put on myself, or
from emails I receive, some requesting my take on things, others more
confrontational) takes it’s toll. But it’s also hard for me to stay quiet,
particularly when I read something really stupid being written about the
club. My instinct is to leap to the defence of the player or manager who
is being unfairly criticised.
Once I release a book, which has taken many months to write, I have to
then write columns to publicise that book, as that’s the only avenue open
to me; by mid-winter, given my illness, I’m usually exhausted. It’s a
vicious circle, and this winter has been particularly tiring, for obvious
reasons. The updated version of An Anfield Anthology
is out next month, but I’ve limited the copies produced so there’s less
pressure on shifting them.
Thankfully Above Us Only Sky has sold out far
quicker than expected (a few copies may remain in shops, but the wholesalers
have run out of stock). I see no point in producing any more, as so much
has changed since last October when it was published -- just three months
ago.
It’s impossible to judge the performance of the team right now, because
it’s an almost unworkable situation. Talk that the off-the-field issue
won’t affect the players makes no sense; it won’t turn them into rubbish
footballers overnight, but you need an atmosphere conducive to success
from top to bottom, and clearly that isn’t the case right now. For example,
Spurs were doing really well under Martin Jol until last summer, when
his position was undermined.
No matter what he then did, that team were a mess until he was finally
replaced. I’m not saying that Benítez needs to be replaced; quite the
opposite, in fact.
I can’t think of one club that has succeeded on the pitch while there’s
been this much unrest off it. Indeed, clubs have faltered with far
less disruption. As well as Martin Jol, the recent list pretty much proves
that Benítez stands no chance of getting the team to anywhere near
its true level unless things are resolved behind the scenes.
Manchester United suffered during the Glazer takeover,
although that was far less painful than this. They did fairly well in
the league, finishing 2nd, but went out of the Champions League at the
group stage just a few months after the takeover. The club also had problems
when Ferguson was planning to retire; the uncertainty affected the team.
Everton were a mess until they got the stability of Kenwright and Moyes
as a partnership; Moyes’ first few seasons were very up and down (big
highs, terrible lows), but after six years he’s finally establishing them
as a decent side. Newcastle have moved from one crisis to another, while
moving from one manager to another. And as soon as Mourinho and Abramovich
fell out, that was the end of Chelsea as a real force, as Manchester United
overtook them.
Benítez isn’t so much as a dead man walking as a neutered manager working
in limbo; even if Gillett and Hicks now believed in him 100%, no-one would
ever believe it, short of the most remarkable gesture. Uncertainty helps
no-one. Stability and security are needed to thrive. You need relaxed
players, not those carrying a weight of pressure; nervousness breeds failure.
And you need a manager who is in total control.
So much of football is psychological, be it confidence or belief or a
relaxed state of mind, and that becomes even more complicated when it’s
an issue surrounding the whole club.
It’s been a season of bimonthly catastrophucks to derail progress: September,
with the departure of Pako Ayesteran just as the team were purring; November,
with the big Rafa/owners fallout; and January, the Klinsmann revelations
and the whole thing going nuclear. No team can flourish in such circumstances.
Clearly there’s a lot that’s right with the team, in amongst all the shortcomings.
Indeed, with such a strong youth team, and the reserve team also doing
so well, there’s a lot right with all the teams. There are a number of
world-class and top-class players in the first team squad. There may be
a few not cutting the mustard, but as I’ve said before, there’s no-one
clearly taking (or on) the piss. Just like Arsene Wenger, it doesn’t matter
how many mistakes Benítez makes in the market, he always lands one, two
or three stars each season.
The senior side is proving hard to beat, and is keeping going to the end
of matches to score late goals.
There is far more attacking talent on the books this year, with Torres
in particular, and then Babel and Benayoun (the pair have seven goals
each which, given they’ve been in and out of a side they are new to, is
very good by January. If not totally exceptional, then certainly an improvement
on the output of Gonzalez and Pennant, and more like having two Luis Garcias
instead of one).
The issue of who partners Torres is still unresolved, and maybe that’s
an issue for the summer, if no-one puts down a firm marker in the meantime
(the difficulty with Crouch being that, like Torres, he’s best as the
spearhead, and no top team players with two of those these days). But
despite some problems, the team have scored four or more goals nine occasions
now (only one of those against really inferior opposition), and can clearly
take teams apart, once the two-goal margin is in place.
But at present the side clearly has a big mental block when that second
goal isn’t scored. And no manager alive can act to definitively remove
such a block; the team needs to retain its belief, and even if it gets
lucky holding on for a couple of 1-0 wins, doing so will go a long way
to ridding the ‘curse’. It’s particularly true at Anfield, where Benítez
had such a strong record before this season. There’s no reason why that
can’t return once the cloud is lifted. But with the cloud, it will be
extra difficult.
Whatever their intentions when they pitched up, the whole situation regarding
the fans has backfired on Gillett and Hicks to a spectacular degree. They
may choose to cut their losses -- or rather, make off with their winnings;
or they may opt to stick around for the long-haul, either to try and turn
things around (however unlikely that may seem with fan opinion so low),
or to further expand their chances of a windfall years down the line.
Right now, I have no idea what it’ll be.
I still have some doubts about DIC, and find myself a little uncomfortable
at the way they’re being treated as saviours without having actually done
anything to merit that.
But while I believe it’s possible things could get worse whoever
is in charge, if they did buy the club it would certainly give the clean
slate and fresh start that would be almost impossible now under the current
regime, no matter what the Americans attempted by way of pacifying the
fans. Even if they tried everything possible, I don’t know how Kopites
would ever trust them again. It’s easy to see why fans are clinging to
the hope that DIC, with the money being their own and a genuine fan running
the organisation, would be a better bet right now.
I hope everything is resolved for the ultimate good of Liverpool FC, and
I can be back in the groove soon. It’s not that my health is especially
bad at the moment, more a combination of not being at my best (winter,
viruses, etc, on top of overdoing things) and the task of writing about
the club being too much at the moment.
I will at least try to keep up with one article on the official site each
month, as is expected of me. But I am struggling to find either the energy
or the inclination to write about anything to do with football right now,
and see it as best to treat this as a natural break to rest and recuperate.
This is always the most difficult time of year for me; I tend to pick
up over the spring and summer months. Hopefully the same will be true
of Liverpool FC.
Careful What You
Wish For...
17th January 2008
A case of better the devil(s) you know?
Oceans Apart
15th January 2008
Thank God for Newcastle United, eh? Without them, our club would be the
biggest laughing stock in English football.
A three-year presence in the top four (with a game in hand on those below
who share 39 points) and progress to the last 16 of the Champions League
for the fourth year running, elevates the Reds way above what’s going
on a St James’ Park. It hasn’t got that bad yet. Or even close.
But it doesn’t seem we can go more than a month or two without the ‘Cantona
hitting the Matthew Simmons’.
You can look at Tom Hick’s statement about the courting of Jurgen Klinsmann
in one of two ways. The first is that it’s a blatant attempt to force
a resignation from Rafa Benítez in an act of constructive dismissal. In
which case, the shit really has kung-fu kicked the fan.
The second is that, back in November, there was what seemed an irreparable
breakdown between the two parties -- a breakdown we all knew about --
but one that has now, somehow, been repaired. Subsequently, with all the
continued speculation in the media, Hicks sought to show that -- hands
up, it’s a fair cop -- there was some fire behind the Klinsmann smoke,
but that it wasn’t happening recently, as the press suggested, and instead
took place two months ago.
Or in other words, Hicks’ actions, to quote the Ross and Rachel saga from
his country’s famous sitcom, came when “we were on a break”. His roving
eye was not an act of infidelity after the relationship had been patched
up, but an ‘understandable’ dalliance dating back to when things were
looking beyond hope. The problem is, they weren’t officially on a break
at all.
I’m not sure what to believe right now; my head feels like it’s been in
the tumble drier for a few hours. I always try to give people the benefit
of the doubt in life, and would love to believe that the true situation
is the second scenario I described. But I wouldn’t blame you if you thought
me bloody naive as a result.
I approached the arrival of Hicks and Gillett with an open mind, and gave
them the benefit of the doubt following some impressive soundbites when
taking charge, and allowing Benítez to finally sign an expensive world-class
player in the summer (even if the net spend wasn’t enormous).
But now I fear they could have been empty words, and the shape of the
American ownership has changed dramatically in the last few months. The
new stadium has become a fiasco, but changes in the financial markets
and rises in the cost of materials haven’t helped. But whether or not
the stadium issues are entirely their fault or mostly in the lap of the
gods, the buck (no pun intended) stops with them.
In essence, it could be seen as Hicks finally coming out and backing the
manager -- but only after admitting he wavered. I can live with this version
of events. But if it’s to force a constructive dismissal (or to save face
having been chasing Klinsmann even up until last week) I really would
be dismayed. And by talking to the press, Hicks has offered that scenario
on a plate to those who’d love to make it so.
The downside present with either scenario is that the debacle is still
being played out in the media, and how can that help? Killing speculation
is one thing, but doing so in a way that can cause further unrest makes
little sense to me. Maybe it was calculated; or perhaps it was a belated
attempt at transparency that backfired.
If Gillett and Hicks were genuinely worried about Benítez walking away,
then perhaps we can actually feel (a little) reassured that they were
‘on the ball’ in having a contingency plan. That’s one way of looking
at it. But why would Benítez even be considering walking away? -- unhappiness
at the way the club was being run is the only reason I can come up with.
And there’s also the issue of the choice of the man they were seeing behind
Rafa’s back. Klinsmann recently wooed the football folk of Brazil when
giving a talk on the game. The BBC’s South American correspondent, Tim
Vickery, said that the German “gave a lecture which some hardened people
in Brazilian football described as the best they had ever seen.”
He obviously talks a good game. But if you want to know more about the
Premiership and European football, as Hicks said, why not ask someone
who’s actually managed in the former, and led a team to glory in the latter?
Instead they speak to Klinsmann and Klinsmann duly impresses. Maybe he
really is a genius of a coach, and it could have been the most forward-thinking
appointment in the history of the sport. Who knows?
But what worries me is that you have two men who admit they don’t know
the sport, going and speaking to someone who does -- fair enough -- in
order to learn more, and then provisionally offering him the manager’s
the job based on what? -- what he said? Is that how easy it is?
In that case it’s a good job they didn’t speak to Neil Warnock. My problem
is that, if they don’t understand the sport, how could they know what
Klinsmann said made such amazing sense and wasn’t a load of old nonsense
he made up on the spot? -- “You need the isosceles triangle midfield,
the octagonal defence-offence zone and a rhombus of skilful players tucked
perpendicular to the wing.”
And where is the practical proof behind the German’s theories? Because
there’s precious little in terms of a CV to refer to. Klinsmann’s claim
to fame as a manager was taking a major footballing nation to the World
Cup semi-finals on home soil. Even South Korea managed to do that. I’m
sorry, but this would be like Liverpool playing every Champions League
game at Anfield in order to make the semi-final. As it was, Benítez made
two finals having to overcome those pesky away ties at places like the
Nou Camp, Stamford Bridge and Stadio Delle Alpi.
Perhaps the most worrying thing was the admission that Benítez’s job really
was on the line pending the Marseilles result. Two years ago Man United
fell at the group stage, and they had been off the pace in the Premiership
for the previous three years; but United kept faith in Ferguson. Arsene
Wenger spent four years between 1998 and 2002 not winning the league (or
indeed, anything) and failing fairly miserably in the Champions League.
But Arsenal never chatted up someone new.
If Rafa’s job was on the line based on his European record this season,
I would worry for the future of the club. Because all teams have bad seasons;
the well-run clubs don’t panic. Even Everton stuck with David Moyes following
two awful seasons in his first four years and European humiliation, and
look at how, in his sixth season and now with stability in the boardroom,
they’ve become a far better side.
It’s no wonder Rafa ‘sacrificed’ the Reading game with 30 minutes to go.
And that led to making it harder in the league. But as soon as a manager
is in a make-or-break, must-win situation in November, the pressure is
just ramped up. The Reds pulled it out of the bag in France, but the league
situation was adversely affected. And understandably so.
If his job was on the line on account of that game in Marseilles (given
that the Reds were still far from out of the league title race back then),
that suggests a hire-’em fire-’em attitude that just does not work in
English football.
I’ve always been of the belief that Benítez is the best man for the job.
It’s well known that I am a big supporter of his, and I don’t see the
point in allowing him to build up such strong collection of young players,
and make signings like Martin Skrtel, if his days are numbered. Maybe
the Skrtel signing is proof that things really were resolved at that December
meeting?
The only way I’d ever want to see Rafa replaced at any point would be
because he genuinely wants to go, not because he feels unable to stay.
Anyone coming in now would get the advantage of all the groundwork Rafa
has done, in constructing a world-class spine to the team, and procuring
a lot of hugely promising youngsters. But unless you can find one of the
very, very few men in the world with a comparable CV, then you’d be in
danger of doing far more damage that good. And with every passing year
the job gets harder, as the clock ticks from 18 to 19 to 20, and so on.
It’s unfair to blame Rafa for all the current lack of belief shown by
the team, given the unsettling nature of what’s been going on all season
long. I’m not excusing all of the bad performances and results because
of it, but there seems to be an additional layer of pressure hanging over
everyone right now.
I’ve always said that too much pressure, and a lack of confidence (which
can strike at any time), makes players appear like they don’t care. There’s
a difference between being dispirited and disinterested. And
different players handle it differently: they have their own body language.
Without confidence, players seem more frozen, more wooden. The body tenses
up more quickly. It’s natural.
The league title is a big millstone; the only similar one was United’s
in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and we all know how long it took Ferguson
to remove that burden. In that sense, Benítez has handled it far, far
better, if you compare their records in their first four years. That doesn’t
mean Benítez will definitely win the league simply because Ferguson eventually
did, just that you don’t have to prove you can win the league in the first
three or four years. Some jobs take longer.
These days Chelsea, Arsenal and United don’t have the pressure of having
gone two decades without the title. And they also have a core of players
who have the belief that comes from winning the league. Liverpool can
boast neither, not to mention far less money than two of those three clubs.
So where does that leave us? If Rafa knew about Klinsmann before this
week, as some reports suggested, then that’s less of a problem. He’ll
know that ‘sounding out’ goes on in football. In that case, the worst
crime here is a PR gaff, where a comment has been made that has only added
fuel to the fire.
If, as other reports claim, Rafa did not know of the Teutonic overtures,
then that has to be a kick in the teeth, coming on the back of four successive
draws. It just makes his job all the harder, but it will unite the fans
behind him once again, with some wavering after a few poor performances.
But either way, it’s another messy moment in an increasingly messy affair
-- one which has understandably left a lot of Reds feeling depressed,
confused and bitter. There’s no point in speculating about what will happen
next, as it appears that anything is possible at the moment.
Last week I managed to get tickets on the Kop for tonight’s game, so a
low-key affair has turned into a very important occasion. I’ll certainly
be showing my support for the manager.
© Paul Tomkins 2008
Spending of Rafa
Benítez vs Alex Ferguson
4th January 2008
This blog can be found, along with database images, here:
Half-term report:
Not bad, but need to do better
6th January 2008
It says a lot about expectations at Liverpool, and the requirements for
the remainder of the season, that two wins and two draws over the holiday
period, from two home games and two away, is seen as some kind of disaster.
I remember when averaging two points a game was what you aimed for.
And now there’s more talk of Benítez being a “dead man walking”. The atmosphere,
and the pressure, surrounding the club is starting to make it seem impossible
to succeed, with its undermining influence - unless some kind of siege
mentality can be summoned. Any poor result has the spectre of a larger
failure looming, and that’s only going to prove detrimental.
Jurgen Klinsmann - a great player - is again being liked with Rafa’s job,
but what has he done as a coach/manager? Really, it baffles me to see
him linked with top jobs.
I thought top clubs had moved away from appointing figurehead players
as managers? Klinsmann took Germany to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
But he did so on German soil, with the fans behind the team. Even England
make the semi-finals of tournaments held in this country; South Korea
did the same on home soil. How does a career of managing half a dozen
competitive games (as Germany were automatically at the Finals) qualify
Klinsmann for a job like managing Liverpool?
What is he like at buying players? What are his tactics? How does he man-manage?
Does he stick around long, especially when the going gets tough? There
is a gulf of difference between Benítez’s proven knowledge and ability
and some rookie who’s done virtually nothing in the job, and never managed
a club. He could be great, and he certainly has charisma, but where’s
the evidence he can manage a top club? I know this is only paper talk,
but if there is even 0.01% of truth in it, I’ll despair.
There’s a lot of doom and gloom around, and it’s understandable; another
year without a title challenge - or so it seems. I think the Reds can
get back in amongst the title race with a few wins on the spin, but not
to the point where a real challenge can be made; there’s just no margin
for error, and hasn’t been for a few weeks now.
All of the top teams had bad games over Christmas, but United sneaked
one more point from their four matches, despite a deserved defeat at West
Ham and a poor home performance against Birmingham. And Chelsea got the
kind of luck, with Kalou’s offside goal, that Liverpool were not blessed
with.
The Reds deserved to win all four games based on possession and clear-cut
chances, although the Derby and Wigan displays were clearly substandard.
The Reds could have used more luck, but also more inspiration. Having
been leading, the Wigan game felt more like a defeat.
These days, drawing against teams like Wigan and Birmingham is as bad
as it gets at Anfield; it’s not great, obviously, but prior to Benítez
arriving, the Reds lost home games to Bradford, Watford, Charlton, Manchester
City, Southampton and Leicester, and to some of those teams on more than
one occasion. I’m not suggesting that by not being as bad as that, the
Reds are therefore ‘great’, but it’s worth remembering those true low
points all the same. These days, only the top sides come away with all
three points.
Benítez’s team performed much, much better away at Man City, in the most
one-sided 0-0 draw in history. I think it was the first ever time I’ve
ever seen a supposed top side defend like that at home: acting like they
were a Conference side with the bus parked in front of the goal, but still
offering some kind of implied threat, with a lot of pace to hit on the
counter.
I wrote a lot about Rafa’s tactics and methods in Above Us Only Sky,
and nothing has really changed my opinion: while Arsenal, Chelsea and
United may do things differently, there’s nothing inherently wrong with
how Rafa works based on the examples I discussed. Two years ago Ferguson
had “lost the plot”, and Wenger has also had a lot of criticism for not
altering his thinking on certain issues, but once a team starts winning
again, it all gets forgotten. (Maybe psychology and motivation are areas
where the Reds could improve.)
Things are steadily improving under Benítez, and so many things are better
than before he arrived (such as not only qualifying for the Champions
League every single season, but also making the knockout stages, and,
unbelievably, two finals in three seasons), but other teams are improving
too, and the Premiership title is becoming an obsession. Then again, some
other teams who’ve spent big, like Spurs and Newcastle, are really
in the mire.
The Reds’ home form has been the main problem, but in the previous three
seasons it was excellent. The introduction of pace up front has helped
the team away from home, but maybe the balance has gone a little awry
at Anfield. But that can all change: the personnel is there for the team
to be better at home than it has been. Maybe it just needs a little more
understanding between the players, and a bit more luck and/or ruthlessness
in front of goal.
But it’s been a season beset from the start by problems: a lot of new
players to blend quickly into a cohesive team; the fallout with, and departure
of, Pako Ayestaran, which could have been either man’s fault (or a bit
of both); lack of centre-back cover after the belated ruling regarding
Gabriel Heinze; the unprecedented public spat between manager and owners,
and the increased pressure surrounding the club as a result; and while
not quite an injury crisis, a fair few notable absentees: Agger, Alonso,
Pennant, Torres, Aurelio and Kewell have all missed from a fair few games
to a handful of months - although the latter two players aren’t surprises
on that score.
But all of those listed are technical players, and in the case of Agger,
Benítez has been shorn of the one player who can step from defence into
midfield and give a move impetus, as well as altering the dynamics of
the play. His superb passing from the back is also sorely missed, as are
his goals - he was starting to chip in with a fair few. For me he is easily
the best footballing centre-back in the country, and while Hyypia has
at least matched his defensive abilities, the creative side of Agger’s
game is irreplaceable.
Unlike in the previous seasons since the title last arrived, there’s no-one
at the club taking (or seriously on) the piss, or who hasn’t had a lot
of good games for the club (unlike real deadwood, like Diao,
Cheyrou, et al). The mentality is mostly of winners, individually at least.
But one thing you cannot buy, or create, is the assurance that comes once
a team has landed its first league title.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement from a number of players,
but the nature of a big squad (which is needed) is that some players will
flourish and others will stagnate. You can’t give equal playing time to
25 players. And while Rafa continues to rotate, he sticks to a core of
his best players.
Of those who have featured more than a couple of times, I’d exempt from
blame: Torres, Reina, Gerrard, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa, Alonso, Mascherano,
Babel, Benayoun, Hyypia, Lucas, Hobbs and Finnan. That doesn’t mean all
are perfect, or were in form the whole time (Carragher, Gerrard and Finnan
certainly had slow starts to the season).
But on the whole I cannot fault their contribution to the first half of
the campaign (in some cases when age or settling into English football
is taken into account), and see them all as important players for the
future. Even Hyypia: after his excellent form deputising for Agger, it’s
clear he’s up to another year or two in the squad.
Once he settled back into the team, the Finn, with 22 starts already,
has largely been outstanding. I’ve always maintained he can play well
into his late 30s, and while I started to get concerned that he might
be ready to be put out to pasture early in the season, he has shown it
to be merely rustiness. Another centre-back is needed, until Hobbs - who
has immense potential - matures. He’s a great 19-year-old centre-back,
but it’ll take a few years to be a great top-level centre-back.
Finding a partner for Fernando Torres - someone to play just behind him
- seems to be the main concern. It’s a role that Ryan Babel prefers, and
in time one he may well make his own; he has the potential to just that,
and more. At the moment he lacks the necessary experience, and it’s perhaps
better that he adjusts to life in the Premiership on the wings, where
there’s more time and space. In the centre, there’s often a crowd.
But another idea is Yossi Benayoun, a player who has always reminded me
of Peter Beardsley in playing style and movement; he can create, score
and also works hard. He started his career as a second-striker, and at
the very least it seems an option worth considering.
I still believe that Benítez has constructed an excellent - and I mean
excellent - young spine for this team. Reina, Agger, Carragher (the ‘old
man’ of it), Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard and Torres are all top, top players:
gifted, committed, dedicated and born winners. That spine can only get
better, and stronger. Lucas is surely another world-class central midfielder
in the making, and Ryan Babel can add himself to the list of top spine
players, if he matures to become the second-striker many feel is possible.
Were Benítez to be sacked, or walk away, as the press are yet again suggesting,
the first concern would be how the Latin contingent would respond. They’re
professionals, and paid to get on with it, but it would clearly disappoint
and, to some degree, disrupt players like Torres, Alonso and Reina. Then
there’s how a new manager would alter things, and the process of learning
new systems and introducing yet more new players.
While I am still 100% convinced that Rafa is the right man for the job,
and is shaping something that he is best qualified to utilise, I do also
think that any replacement, should things pan out that way, would inherit
a quite superb nucleus of core players, and a lot of very promising youngsters.
But as I write, Rafa is very much still in his job.
Aside from the issue of who to play just behind Torres, the problems lie
mostly in the wider areas, as it has for a couple of years. Finnan and
Arbeloa are excellent full-backs; no real problem there. Although neither
is outstanding going forward, both are good technical players who overlap
when the wide midfielders tuck inside, and can play their part in fluid
attacks. Elsewhere in wide areas there are a lot of decent to very-good
players, and in Babel, one potentially great one, but none who are currently
up there with the very best - in terms of consistency if nothing else.
Babel is not yet a totally effective winger, although he has the pace,
skill and strength to mirror John Barnes at his best. He’s still two years
younger than Digger when he arrived, and unlike the former no.10, has
to adapt to a new league at the same time. I really see such enormous
potential in Babel, but at present he’s struggling to pull his game together
for more than a few minutes here and there, mostly when appearing as a
sub - which, in the circumstances, is perfectly natural. He’s on a steep
learning curve.
Steven Gerrard is still the most effective and complete wide player the
Reds have, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing - in that at least the
Reds do have him. In 2005/06 he was excellent out there, and
scored a lot of goals; but he doesn’t seem happy with the role.
To a degree I can understand why, but it’s a shame - if he was really
enthusiastic about it (rather than doing it as a chore), Benítez could
have him marauding up and down that flank as well as cutting into the
middle to score goals, with two from Alonso, Mascherano and Lucas holding
the fort down in the middle and controlling the tempo of the game. That
would make the Reds strong from left to right.
For me, a midfield four of Babel (or a fit, in-form Kewell, if such a
thing can still exist), Alonso, Mascherano and Gerrard looks as strong
as any around - on paper, at least. But as it stands, by putting Gerrard
on the right the manager would have to gamble with a player who will do
a job there, but whose heart clearly wouldn’t be in it.
Rafa tried Gerrard behind Torres against Wigan, to get Alonso and Mascherano
into the same side, but for some reason Gerrard can’t adapt to the role
quite as well as he should.
In theory it’s a dream striking combination - the pair have 28 goals between
them by the start of January - but the captain seems happiest coming onto
the play from deeper areas, and seems unhappy with his back to goal. Maybe
it’s something that can be worked on; with his pace, power and eye for
goal, he should be able to become a real force in the position. And as
mentioned earlier, Babel has similar qualities, but will need time.
I’m not entirely sure why Crouch hasn’t played more often, but
at the same time, I’m baffled why people keep asking me about an agenda
against the player from Rafa. There’s no suggestion of a falling out,
and Rafa obviously rates him: he bought him, and played him a lot in the
previous first two seasons, even when everyone called him insane for doing
so. So for me, it’s more a tactical concern.
Crouch is most effective as the main striker - the target man - as is
Torres. Neither is at his best behind another striker. And no top team
plays two out-and-out strikers pushed up the whole time. In fact, United’s
success this season has been without any main strikers: both Tevez and
Rooney like to come deep, and neither has the physical attributes to be
a target man.
Chelsea were better with just Drogba up front, before Shevchenko was shoe-horned
in. Players who can operate in the hole, or between the lines, are essential.
Crouch can do this, but it’s not his strong suit. And Torres can certainly
do this, but then you lose his pace against the last defender. So that’s
a problem.
In his first season, Kuyt really impressed me: a decent amount of goals
(all the better considering he didn’t take any penalties, and came close
on a number of occasions, hitting the woodwork six times), a good amount
of assists, as well as a quite stupendous work-rate. Against Barcelona
and Chelsea in the Champions League he was really immense.
But this season, despite some sterling showings and signs of a promising
partnership with Torres, his contribution in the final third has gradually
wilted, to the point where it’s almost non-existent. His lack of pace
is hugely frustrating - an extra yard or two and he’d be right in the
top bracket. He has a lot of game intelligence, both in and out of possession,
but often gets closed off when he’s about to shoot from a lack of that
extra yard of pace.
But he’s a battler, and a winner, and his work-rate does lift the other
players. The more totally committed, never-say-die men in the squad, the
better. And if he can rediscover his early season form, he looks a good
foil for Torres.
Despite this, he currently looks like one of the players who, if a better
alternative can be found, will slip down the pecking order. You can’t
improve on players like Torres and Gerrard, but you can on Kuyt, even
if it’s not easy to find the right man.
Momo Sissoko is another who started his Liverpool career brightly, and
appeared to have a wonderful future, only for it to fall away.
Sissoko had two excellent seasons, although the second one trailed off
towards the end. With the emergence of Lucas and the arrival of Mascherano,
I would have no problem with the manager cashing in on the Malian if the
price is anywhere near what has been quoted; unlike a lot of the other
players some fans are disillusioned with, he could be considered surplus
to requirements on account of the sheer quality he’s competing with. But
I still think he’s an underrated player - one where people always focus
on what he gets wrong.
It’s really hard to know what to make of Harry Kewell these days. His
footballing intelligence is always going to be there - he’s a clever,
consistent passer. But the other kind of passing - when it relates to
overtaking a full-back - currently looks a thing of the past; at least
on any kind of consistent basis. While apparently over his injuries, he
needs to find peak fitness and sharpness before any real judgement can
be made, and he’s running out of time. The lack of goals is also a worry,
as it was his strong suit at Leeds and in his first year at Liverpool,
before the curse struck.
Andrei Voronin started his Liverpool career well, and has had a few excellent
games, but has recently trailed off into oblivion. Again, it’s hard to
know what to make of him, and his lack of cachet amongst the fans makes
him an easy target. A decent acquisition as a free transfer, he could
just be going through the adaptation process; but as a free transfer he’ll
always be regarded with scepticism. It’s hard to see past him being fourth-choice
at best.
John Arne Riise’s form has also disintegrated. Never the greatest player,
he had a couple of very solid seasons at left-back under Rafa, and has
weighed in with some important goals. Maybe he needs a new challenge?
In the same position, Fabio Aurelio has excellent technique, and put in
his best display for the Reds at Manchester City. But long-term fitness
concerns have hampered his progress. When he plays like he did at the
Eastlands you can see someone who is easily good enough, if he
can stay fit. Arbeloa is also very good in the role, and perhaps more
likely to nail it down, given his good fitness record and extra pace.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Insua may make the breakthrough in the next year
or two.
Jermaine Pennant is another ‘nearly’ player. He has pace, good control,
can beat a man and deliver a really telling cross. But when not on form
his game can fall apart (as it can with ‘confidence’ players), and his
lack of any kind of goal threat is clearly a problem. His problem is being
compared with someone like Ronaldo - the kind of player you can’t easily
get hold of.
Pennant was excellent in the second half of last season, and man-of-the-match
in the Champions AC Milan. He started this season well, but his form dipped
before injury struck. He remains a good option, but until he finds a consistent
end product, nothing more.
Sebastian Leto, meanwhile, has yet to make any kind of impact, but has
shown for the reserves that he has natural talent; at just 20, and adapting
to life in England, that’s maybe all we could hope for at this stage,
from a player who was never bought as a potential world-beater in the
first place.
Despite the current state of doom and gloom, I am convinced that the bones
of a great team is there, and that a fair bit of it has been fleshed out,
too. If the solution to who partners Torres, and how they perform, can
be sorted, and Babel can progress either on the wing or in that very role,
then that will be another step forward. In the meantime, there may be
nothing else to do, other than be patient.
© Paul Tomkins 2008
Facts For a Time
Capsule
15th December 2007
I ended up sending my latest blog to RAWK, and it can be found using the following link:
I thought it was best to just get the piece out there ahead of the Man United game. I spoke to Oliver Kay following his alarming piece in the Times earlier today, and he assured me that the tensions were still very real. I didn't ask him to reveal his sources, but I trust they are real and reliable; however, that does not mean every source gets it right every time.
But whether or not Rafa's job is still under threat, the need for common sense remains strong. Frankly, I couldn't care less if the protagonists no longer get along, so long as they put their egos aside and do what's best for Liverpool Football Club. And as far as I'm concerned, that means working with Rafa's vision, not at odds with it.
There are plenty more facts I could have included relating to Ferguson and Wenger, and it doesn't cover every last angle, but the piece was long enough as it is. Part of this piece is culled from Above Us Only Sky, where I could obviously go into the issues in far greater breadth and depth. I've also written a comparison with Houllier's first five years, but didn't feel it was important to include right now; it was written a few weeks ago when people were moaning that it's "Houllier all over again".
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