How do u disagree with Tomkins?? Everything he said in this article resonates with how I feel about our team now. In any case, let us just sit back and enjoy this feel good moment before we face Chelski next Sunday.
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His record for Liverpool almost defies belief, especially as he doesn't take the free shots at goal that are penalties, unlike many other major goalscorers. That, along with his all-round game and the nature of his goals, already elevates him above Owen, Aldridge, and dare I say it, Fowler.
Only Rush and Hunt, as out-and-out centre-forwards in Liverpool's post-war history, deserve to be mentioned in the same breath – that's how good Torres has been thus far. Of course, Rush and Hunt had longevity, but you can't hold that against the Spaniard. He can only do what he can in the time he's had; and he's done it, and then some.
To be on target to beat Hunt's record for the fastest Liverpool player to 50 top-flight league goals is incredible: 46 from 56 starts (plus eight as a sub) is phenomenal. But even that doesn't tell the whole story – after all, he only played an hour at the weekend. So it's not like those 56 starts all amounted to 90 minutes each.
How quickly things change. Torres was jaded, Liverpool were hopeless, and the creative lynchpin was in Spain. It was all over. Even I got dragged down by the doom and gloom. You wouldn't think from the early media reactions that Liverpool, following on from last season, would so soon be able to lead the way in goals scored, would you? Lacking this, lacking that, yada yada yada. Not bad for a team whose biggest summer signing isn't even fit yet, and who, of course, are cautious (yawn).
The bench, that was supposedly too weak (funny how missing five top-class players can do that!), now looks stronger, with Babel, Voronin and N'Gog all contributing in recent weeks, and the injured stars regaining fitness. Of course, defeat at Chelsea on Sunday, and the perception will be that it's all over again, but the table will clearly show that to be a lie.
Liverpool's four league wins on the bounce, and Chelsea's humbling at Wigan, prove that this league can remain wide open. Crucially, the Reds can go there with confidence, while Cech-less Chelsea have their first doubts crashing in – not least in their man-marking at set-pieces. I have to admit being driven close to breaking point regarding Liverpool's zonal marking in the past few weeks: not the system (though mistakes were being made), but the almost Tourettes-like mentions of it. Are prospective pundits and summarisers required to perform an anti-zonal marking diatribe as part of their job interview?
Creating The Tomkins Times, my new LFC web journal, has given me a chance to really study such topics in real depth, and counter every myth surrounding issues that are often complex. It's also somewhere I can keep an ongoing check on media hypocrisy. Criticism can obviously be fair, but double-standards are not. Just last week on one discussion show, Benítez was criticised for selling Peter Crouch (who rejected a new contract), criticised for selling Alonso (who wanted to play for Real Madrid, and was sold for three times his original fee), and was labelled ‘lucky' for having Fernando Torres. I kid you not. Lucky!
Anyone else would be hailed as a genius for ‘risking' a large percentage of his transfer budget on a player some judges had doubts over, and helping him blossom into the best striker in the world. I tell you, some people will twist themselves in knots of illogical argument rather than say a good word about the Liverpool manager. Luck? It was judgement.
Rafa was also criticised for offloading Robbie Keane, who is having a good season at Spurs. But since Keane's sale, Liverpool have doubled their goals-per-game ratio. Keane wins, Spurs win, but so do Liverpool, in finding a far better blend after getting their money back on the striker. Again, much of the criticism of Liverpool came back to an apparent lack of forwards, but Kuyt continues to score and create goals, and he is one of about five or six players who can play either in midfield or up front, in a fluid, interchangeable system. And while Torres was missed at times last season, the Reds still did extremely well in his absence.
David N'Gog only looks like a weak option if you haven't really heard of him (because he's not yet a household name, at just 20, and is therefore easy to dismiss), or if you compare him to Torres, against whom any up-and-coming striker would suffer by contrast. Watch him closely in midweek, however, and suddenly the view might change. Also, his goals-per-minute ratio in a Liverpool shirt is nothing short of incredible. He hasn't played many vital minutes, admittedly, but as with Torres, he can only do what he's asked to do, and thus far that is to score five goals at an average of one every 138 minutes of football; or in other words, quicker than both Torres or Gerrard managed throughout last season – or one every 1.5 games'-worth of playing time.
You could argue that the two players Benítez is lucky to have are Carragher and Gerrard, both of whom he inherited. But even that pair have had their roles changed and their play developed in the past five years. I've always maintained that on the whole Benítez has bought extremely well, but all managers have their flops. A 50% success rate is about the best any can hope for.
It's also true that at any one time, by the very nature of only eleven getting to start, several of any manager's signings will be questioned; the better Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt play, for instance, the harder it is for Ryan Babel and Albert Riera to look as effective. Having said that, against Hull all four of those players made massive contributions, with Babel's coming as a sub. Again, so much for the squad being weak. (I know the opposition weren't of the highest calibre, but these are the teams Liverpool struggled to beat at home.)
Goal Involvement, a measurement I devised for ‘Red Race', is another area I aim to regularly monitor on The Tomkins Times. It's my version of assists, which counts all meaningful passes in the build-up to a goal, not just the final one, which are then added to the goals themselves, to give an indication of who is supplying the cutting edge. It's not 100% foolproof (I devised it, after all), but it is a more all-encompassing gauge for who plays important roles in the creation and execution of goals. This is then looked at as totals, and as per-minute contributions. I also try to rate the quality of the contribution, although this is clearly subjective.
For a team that supposedly relies so heavily on two players, since February Liverpool have been a sublime attacking unit. And while Kuyt and Benayoun continue their excellent form from last season, Glen Johnson has already added a whole new dimension; far and away eclipsing Alvaro Arbeloa in this regard. Johnson may get forward no more than his predecessor, but he in more incisive.
Not only are the goals being shared around, but the supposed reliance on Gerrard and Torres also stretches to how the team as a whole are creating chances; it's not just the biggest two names feeding each other or creating goals out of nothing. So far, Glen Johnson has been involved in more Liverpool goals than his captain, as has Dirk Kuyt. With the goals flowing, more players are getting assists and ‘involvements'. The left-back slot highlights this trend.
With Johnson kept relatively quiet against Hull, that allowed Emiliano Insua space, as the left flank became the avenue to exploit. He richly deserves his call up for Argentina (although I'd have preferred him wrapped in cotton wool at Melwood!)
One of the flaws of any system that ranks assists is that the supplier is only rewarded if the ball is turned into the net; last year Insua's overlapping runs were excellent, but his crosses were not converted; he didn't feature in a single goal in his ten league games. This season he has already been involved in five goals, in just seven matches. Despite the loss of Alonso, there are improvements all over the pitch at Liverpool this season. And this is before Agger and Aquilani have even kicked a ball. There will clearly be a number of teams contesting the title, but after a poor start, Liverpool now look capable of being one of them; and this with another gear or two to find.
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