THE GOALS ARE FLOWING, BUT WHY NOW? Paul Tomkins 13 December 2006

I've felt for some time that this squad has a lot of goals spread throughout, rather than just a couple of prolific players who have to be relied upon, as may have been the case in recent years.
Liverpool have a lot of good goalscorers, but they were missing too many chances earlier in the season. You had Xabi Alonso scoring from 70 yards, and then a striker missing from point-blank range. A lot was made about Benítez not knowing his best team, and especially his favoured front two. But his four strikers have now shared 23 goals, and the attacking midfielders are weighing in, too. Steven Gerrard is back among the goals, with four in recent weeks, while Luis Garcia, with five already, is on course for his third consecutive 10-15 goal season. Mark Gonzalez is another who is chipping in. The trouble with the general improvement of the last two years is that it's changed the approach of the opposition. Teams are coming to Anfield to play (pray?) for a draw. That much is obvious. A few seasons back teams were arriving with ambitions, but the imperious home form, which has improved each season under Benítez, has curtailed that. Getting the first goal changes everything in football, but never more so when confidence in front of goal is fragile – and that was the case, certainly in away games, in recent months. And the more negative visiting teams are at Anfield, the more it helps to breakthrough as quickly as possible. But now the attacking players are starting to come good. Mark Gonzalez clearly has a great shot and an eye for goal, based on his career in Spain and Chile. But after a couple of quick goals for the Reds, his overall confidence dropped, and his shooting started to to grow ragged and wayward. He had started shooting in hope rather than belief, although when your confidence is low it's sometimes the best policy. It only takes a deflection to change your luck, whereas consistently squaring the ball won't. But it often means dragging a few dire efforts well wide in the meantime. The same thing could be seen with Steven Gerrard, especially in the Bordeaux home game. I don't think I've ever seen him badly miscue as many shots in a season, let alone one match. But he broke his season's duck later in that game, with an unspectacular effort that the keeper really should have saved. Now he's hitting shots instinctively again, as seen late-on on Saturday with his stinging first-time effort from Pennant's perceptive cross. For a while I've been banging on about goals 'per minute' being the best judge of a player's scoring ability, rather than per game. The latter is relevant for play-every-game players, but less revealing for squad players and those who make plenty of substitute appearances. In the case of Benítez, where so many of his attacking players share the duties, it's the most valuable meter. It's been a difficult season for Robbie Fowler, but his goals-per-90 minutes rate remains up there with the very best: 0.75 goals for every 90 minutes of football: easily the best at the club this season, as it was last. Unfortunately for him, three of his four goals have come on less auspicious occasions, with Dirk Kuyt's arrival in particular making it difficult for the no.9 to get Premiership minutes. Kuyt's six league goals, as well as his assists and indefatigable work-rate, has justified his selection. But Fowler will never forget how to finish. Kuyt's goal at Blackburn, while looking relatively simple, boasted the hallmark of a quality finisher. I can't think of too many players who would not have side-footed the ball into what appeared to be the gaping right-hand side of the goal, but he had the presence of mind to judge the movement of the two defenders when receiving Bellamy's pass, judging their movement to perfection in order to slot it back across goal, between their desperate lunges. As with his second goal against Reading a few weeks back, he weighed up a situation very quickly, and remained incredibly calm. That's the sign of a natural. I still think there's another level Kuyt will find. I'd like to see him using his left foot more, as sometimes a chance only exists on one side. The Dutchman has tried a few cute lobs with the outside of his right foot, but on Saturday the ball sat up beautifully for a left-footed volley (think of his compatriot, van Basten, in 1988), and Kuyt again used his right when it just wasn't possible to make a good connection. He turned a great chance on his left foot into less than a half chance on his favoured side. Having said that, when your right foot is as good as his, you'd be tempted to rely on it. Were the Fulham defenders not making saves Pepe Reina would be proud of, he might have had a couple more goals to his name. Mark Gonzalez's scoring rate in his two seasons in Spain was around 0.35 goals per 90 minutes, or one goal every three full matches. It's interesting to note that despite an in-and-out time at Liverpool, as he feels his ways into English football while overcoming some niggling injuries, he's maintaining an identical ratio. On the evidence of Saturday's goal, it's great to have a left-footer capable of curling accurate direct free-kicks, to contrast with Riise's more explosive alternative. Having said that, anyone who saw the Chilean's 40-yard howitzer for Real Sociedad last season will attest to the fact that it made Riise's most famous effort, against Manchester United, look like a gentle tap-in. Gonzalez has always been a goalscoring winger, whereas Jermaine Pennant has always been more of a supplier. The former has yet to assist on a goal, while the latter has yet to score one. However, each has been very successful where the other has failed. Going into the Fulham game, Pennant's assist-per-90-minutes rate (across all competitions) was joint top at the club with Steven Gerrard. While patently struggling at times, that shows that whatever he's doing wrong, he's doing stuff right, too. It would obviously help if he could add goals to his game, as it's difficult for a top side to 'carry' a non-scoring attacking player (not to mention winning more pressure-relieving headlines), but anyone who regularly creates goals for others is playing his part. Then we have Jamie Carragher's goals-per-90-minutes. To be honest, you might be better off measuring his goals per-light year. The bad news for Carra is that, at his current league scoring rate, he's due to reach retirement age before next getting on the scoresheet. The source of Carra's strike – a corner – is another area where the Reds are now taking full advantage. It's now seven corners scored from in the last two months. While the short-corner routine may still infuriate from time to time, as will the delivery that doesn't clear the first man, that remains a remarkable success rate. The Reds bagged ten in total last season, and just four the season before; so a clear indication of progress as we approach the halfway stage of 2006/07. And while it may not always come off, the rich variety at least makes teams unsure of how best to set up to defend against the Reds' in these situations. There is no one set, predictable routine, and that also applies to Benítez's entire approach. Then there's the Agger factor. Here is a young centre half who is not only remarkably assured and solid at the back for one so young, but a player who has also been directly involved in five goals, scoring two himself. He has such a sweet left foot, but at the weekend he put in a pinpoint cross from the left wing with his right. Defenders who can weigh in at one end without compromising things at the other are a great bonus. I have a great belief in the goalscoring abilities of at least half a dozen attacking players at the club, but scoring goals is as much about confidence as anything else. In the last 18 months there have been spells notable for collective confidence crises, followed by spells when you feel even Rafa could run on the pitch to get in on the goalscoring act. What the Reds could use are a few more scrappy goals during the lean spells, to nick a few more points when things aren't going so well. Or, when others are struggling, one striker in form to bag the points.