TOMKINS: 'TIS THE SEASON TO BE MERRY
Paul Tomkins 30 December 2008

It's a shame trophies aren't awarded on calendar years; if they were, 2009 would have been a memorable campaign for Liverpool.
Obviously that's not the way prizes are dished out. But the success in terms of improvement is there for all to see. I think I'm right in saying that the Reds won more Premiership points than anyone else in 2008. It's also the club's best calendar year since 1990, when they last won the league. Back then under Kenny Dalglish, it wasn't just landing the title but also an incredible start to the following season; I went to my first game at Anfield in October 1990, as Liverpool beat Derby 2-0 to secure the eighth straight win from the start of the season. So 1990 was no ordinary year. Of course, the pressures are different when you're going through the 2nd half of the league season without the title at stake, as was the case at the start of 2008, even if trying to secure a top four finish after a difficult winter had its own problems. And as we saw in 1990/91, when the Reds fell away after Kenny Dalgish's resignation, it's not how well you start the season that matters most, but the position in which you end it. But what this calendar year proves is how consistent Liverpool have become as a league team. And to enter the New Year in such a good position is hugely encouraging. If this doesn't prove to be the Reds' season, at least we're seeing a progression. Liverpool's home form has been criticised of late, and yet it was an unbeaten 12 months in the league at Anfield. It was also an unbeaten year home and away in the Champions League based on 90-minute group matches and 180-minute knockout ties, against teams like Atletico Madrid, Marseilles, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Chelsea (defeat at Stamford Bridge coming in extra-time). The biggest bonus over the festive period has been how well the 'squad' players have performed. Ludicrously written off after one nightmare in the Carling Cup, the fringe players have shown that they have real talent and ability. Some are experienced internationals who can't quite be squeezed into the starting XI, others are making their progress from the reserves. Ryan Babel, whose chances have been limited by the in-form Riera, came in against Newcastle, and scored. Lucas came in for the in-form Alonso, and had his best game in a red shirt. Ngog came on, won a penalty, and had a legitimate goal chalked off. Emiliano Insua has started the last few matches, and looks like he's been in the team his whole life. Sami Hyppia, meanwhile, just seems to get better and better with age, to give the manager a welcome selection headache now that all four centre-backs are fit. Like Hyypia, Yossi Benayoun was not featuring much earlier in the season, yet scored a vital goal at Blackburn a few weeks back and set up goals against Bolton and Newcastle. Robbie Keane was out of the frame for a few games, then came in and notched three in five days. And Nabil El Zhar has become a great asset to unleash from the bench. This is what we wanted, isn't it? Strength in depth being proved with Premiership results? And yet, despite leading the league, and in spite of injuries to key players, too much of the talk remains about the negative connotations of rotation. Newcastle away was the perfect example of why some degree of rotation is vital, particularly with the way the Reds play. Yes, there's no league game for a while now, but this away fixture, against a Newcastle side rejuvenated at home, came just 43 hours after the Bolton game ended. If you can't even freshen things up over the hectic festive programme, when can you? The inclusion of Mascherano and Lucas signalled Liverpool's intent - fast pressing and closing down. High energy, fast tempo. So it was no accident Newcastle were overwhelmed. Despite resting three of the best technical players at the club, Liverpool bossed possession and, quite frankly, could have won by a double-figure margin. When Andy Gray says 9-1 wouldn't have flattered Liverpool, you know it could have been 12-1. I got a little stick from some quarters for praising Lucas' display at Arsenal, but I thought he was very good that day. I feel I must have seen something those fans hadn't, because he took the basis of that performance and built on it at St James'. He was excellent. As well as his tackling and closing down, he could have scored three goals and had three assists, but for some remarkable goalkeeping from Shay Given and an unjust offside flag when he presented Ngog with an unmissable chance to make it 6-1. As it was, he produced one of the passes of the season for Gerrard's second, as part of a wonderful one-two. It also irks me that Liverpool were again described as deploying two holding midfielders. Maybe it's just the term, because when other teams play central midfielders they are just that; but Liverpool's are ‘holding', which implies negativity and caution. Lucas is far from a holding midfielder. He is a box-to-box midfielder who can get ahead of play, albeit one a little lacking in confidence earlier this season, which may have made him a little less ambitious in his forward movements. Xabi Alonso is also not a holding midfielder, unless he's paired with Steven Gerrard (in which case it's far from two holding midfielders!). And even then, the Spaniard can carve teams apart with one pass from his own half, and score goals from open play, so it's not like he's in the mould of Claude Makelele. The only true holding midfielder is Mascherano, and outstanding he is at it, too. Even then, the Argentine was in Newcastle's box to set Benayoun free to create the first goal, so it's not like his role is inflexible and he cannot join attacks. (Damien Plessis is another who most holds, but is of course only at the fringes of the first-team squad at this stage.) And harking back to another of my bugbears, how outstanding does Steven Gerrard have to be and how many goals does he have to score when playing in the hole to stop being labelled a mere ‘midfielder'? Was Kuyt really the ‘lone striker' at Newcastle? On another day, Gerrard might have had a dozen goals himself from his free attacking role. So much of the criticism of Liverpool, which continues despite pole position, is about misconceptions. For some people, nothing Benítez does will ever be right. They are like hawks waiting to swoop. Zonal marking was criticised again, yet it's still worked very well this season, bar a few inevitable blips. If Newcastle were an advert for man-marking, then no thanks! And how did Chelsea's man-marking work out this weekend? It led to conceding two costly goals. With Rafa's team selections constantly questioned, some of his signings written off, his zonal marking system derided, his substitutions criticised, his man-management castigated, his style branded as too cautious and the strength of his squad doubted, you'd think Liverpool were in the relegation zone, not sitting clear at the top of the Premiership and imperious in Europe – despite the prolonged absence of his main striker, Fernando Torres, who has only started seven league games, and limped off very early in one of those (and naturally lacked sharpness in others). If Benítez choses to change the system or the personnel, it's with good reason, and not to prove a point or show how clever he is. It's to win games. I was obviously irritated by the constant talk of Robbie Keane being 'dropped' for the trip to Newcastle, and the regular shots of him on the bench, even when Liverpool were 5-1 up. I'm sorry, but the story was Liverpool winning in style, nothing else. Keane had run himself into the ground against Bolton, and while more confident as a result of that game, his sharpness could easily have been blunted. Kuyt, whose energy seems boundless and who was taken off on Boxing Day, may not have scored at St James', but look again at how he physically bossed Collocini, and how many chances he was involved in, and you can see why, tactically speaking, it was spot-on. Against Arsenal, Rafa was criticised for taking Keane off, then in the next game the striker scored two more goals. Against Newcastle Rafa was criticised for omitting him when on top form, yet the Reds scored five away from home. So is the manager not getting things right more often than wrong? It must be hard for the player, but equally, he's at a massive club, and all of the ‘big four' employ a rotation policy. That's life at the top. And of course, he can look at the league table and take pride at the part he has played in getting his boyhood favourites three points clear, and know that his good form will help him start more games in the future, even if not the one immediately after a tireless display. There's a long way to go, and the pressure will mount on the club. But confidence can be taken from the fact that 18 games have been won and only one lost this season (excluding the Carling Cup); the way the goals are being shared around in the absence of Torres; the continued miserly defending, no matter who is in the side; and most of all, that the club are motoring on all major fronts. Keep it going, and it really could be the season to be merry.

TOMKINS: WHAT CONCLUSIONS TO DRAW?
Paul Tomkins 22 December 2008

It's getting very hard to judge a lot of Liverpool's games lately. The football Gods are giving with one hand, taking back with the other.
A microcosm of the season as a whole, the game in north London was a mixture of hugely encouraging signs and a few continued nagging doubts. Liverpool have clearly progressed this season, but only, it seems, to realistic levels. There hasn't been a super-human leap, but then again, we've seen very little of the team that the manager would like to put out, in order to make conclusive judgements. ‘Draw' is the operative word this week, with another comeback to earn a point, and with the legendary Real Madrid pulled out of the hat. These are exciting times. (If you don't feel that way, check that you have a pulse.) A point at the Emirates, having been the far better side in all senses for 60 minutes and fallen a goal behind against the run of play, is something to celebrate, particularly with the Gunners having saved their best for the big teams. And yet the last 30 minutes were largely frustrating, as the Reds failed to make the extra man count. So yet again there's a tinge of disappointment. It's a shame that the sending off worked against Liverpool in a lot of ways; the crowd became far more belligerent and hostile (backing their side with fervour, rather than the unhelpful silence or barracking that would otherwise have ensued), and Arsenal, fuelled with a sense of injustice and nothing to lose, went for it. The game became scrappy and Liverpool lost their momentum, as the pressure was shifted back onto the grey shirts. Up to that point, Liverpool were embarrassing the hosts, who couldn't get near the ball. What Arsenal did lose, however, was a player who could have helped get them a goal out of nothing. So for all their huffing and puffing with ten men, they never really worried the Liverpool goal. The positives for Liverpool were manifest. It was the Reds' best display away at Arsenal for many a year, and yet another comeback; Robbie Keane scored a marvellous goal; teenage left-back Emiliano Insua was superb at both ends of the pitch; and another youngster, Lucas, put in a fine display of quick harassing and clever passing, not to mention one of the game's best efforts on goal. From the bench, yet another of the younger players, Nabil El Zhar, almost won the game with a header won against the odds, and showed terrific determination in everything he did. And the impressive Daniel Agger, who only last week turned 24, was millimetres from reprising his West Ham wonder-goal. Behind the Dane, Pepe Reina was barely troubled all afternoon. Even up to last season, Liverpool had failed to look the part away from home against the big sides. It was noted as a big flaw. That has not been the case this season. The Reds tended to start those games fairly well, but fall away badly after going a goal behind. Now they can go to places like The Emirates and Stamford Bridge and look the better side. It's nearly a decade since the Reds out-passed teams like Arsenal and Chelsea on their own patch in league encounters. (Last season's draw at Arsenal was in truth more of a reserve match.) Snatch-and-grab raids were performed by Houllier's Reds, and in the early years of Benítez's reign little more could be asked for than to try and continue that trend. Now the football is much better in the big arenas. But a run of Anfield draws, against teams with less pedigree, inevitably meant that three points at the Emirates would have provided ample recompense for those dropped at home. It's obvious but true: the Reds need to get back to winning ways soon. It's unclear whether or not Liverpool are stuttering because they are top and under more pressure, or simply having a difficult run of form that all teams experience – when wins are hard to come by, and performances are inconsistent. The pressure is clearly not helping, and has to be got used to, but nor is the absence of key players, most notably Fernando Torres. Other teams miss key players, but he offers something extra that cannot be replaced. As Arsene Wenger rightly said before the match, you can get by without your best players in the short-term, but in the long term they will be missed. It's not just Torres' talent, but his pace, which Liverpool don't necessarily have in lots of areas. Steven Gerrard is the only other regular from the front six who has real acceleration. (Mascherano has a good turn of pace, but is obviously more of a defensive player.) Equally, none of Liverpool's full-backs has the kind of blistering pace that enables them to overlap with real menace. They are more footballing full-backs than athletes. One player who does offer genuine pace is Ryan Babel, but his playing time has been limited by the arrival of Albert Riera, who gives the team balance and width, but who tends to beat players with a piece of skill rather than a quick pair of heels. Kuyt's ability to create and score goals from the right, as well as great defensive cover when tracking back – and just his all-round commitment – makes it hard to displace him on that flank without losing something important. Up front, Keane is lively and clever in his movement, but not electric. And that's why the decisions can get tricky. El Zhar and David Ngog both have a real turn of speed, but both are still quite raw, although the former has surprised me with his progress this season. Daniel Pacheco is another very quick player, who is also blessed with bags of skill, but at 17 he's still got some way to go. In time, he could well add another dimension to the Reds' attack, but obviously not right now. And so just where to play Babel is a big dilemma. Some may argue that he's not had enough starts, while others will counter that his form hasn't been the best, which leads to a ‘chicken and egg' debate. He's a player I love to see in the team, but I also understand the tactical reasons why he hasn't featured as much lately. And with the Reds top of both the Premiership and their European group, those who haven't featured as much as they would like have had few opportunities to suggest they could have done better. Also, Babel's favoured position is the one from which Steven Gerrard has been banging in the goals. Drop the captain back into midfield, and you have to omit either Mascherano or Alonso, and much of the success this season has been built on that particular platform. So the system and the personnel have largely worked this season, without being perfect. Add Torres, and you can see a really top side emerging. What you don't expect a manager to do is abandon his principles at the first run of less-than-perfect results, but of course, it's up to Rafa and his coaching staff to get things back on track. The first aim of the season had to be that of being well positioned in the Premiership at Christmas, and in the last 16 in Europe. Those boxes can be ticked. The next goal has to be perform well against the mighty Real Madrid, at a time when still in contention for the league title. When you draw a massive name, the European Cup almost becomes a bonus, and I prefer it like that; I'd prefer the big nights at Anfield with the crowd hyped up than the occasions when the atmosphere is more sedate. In return, the fear and respect the Spanish champions will experience when facing the Reds is the most clear indication of how far Liverpool have come in recent seasons. A handful of years ago we'd have laughed ourselves silly at suggestions that the Reds might be favourites to go through in such an encounter. And an extra element of that respect will be because Liverpool have led the Premiership in recent weeks. If Chelsea do leapfrog the Reds on Merseyside tonight, it's worth remembering how well positioned Benítez's boys are. If we'd got to this point after a sluggish start, there'd be euphoria at being in contention. This way around, it's obviously less enjoyable. But a couple of good wins, particularly with Aston Villa versus Arsenal and Manchester United versus Chelsea on the horizon, and it could yet unfold the Reds' way. And on that note, I'd like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a 'Premiership' New Year.

TOMKINS: THE SELECTION HEADACHE
Paul Tomkins 15 December 2008

It's been a harsh reminder for me, and I'm guessing a fair few other fans, just how little fun competing for the title can actually be.
Every emotion is ramped up to 10. Stress levels have risen, as has the ability for almost anything to irritate me before, during and immediately after a game. And it's only December. Perhaps it's only in the release of tension at finishing top in May, should we be so blessed, that true joy can be derived. Otherwise it's just ten months of slow torture. Never mind the players –– do we have the bottle? I think that as fans we are all clearly feeling the strain a little. We've waited so long to be in with a shout of no.19, we've become achingly desperate. And understandably so. (I take the liberty to break tradition and speak for the masses based purely on observations and conversations; while I accept that we all think, perceive and analyse things very differently, one thing that usually binds us is our emotional response.) I also think we've forgotten how these things work. Indeed, anyone under 30 will have little experience of what's involved. (My maths isn't awry, I just don't think you understand much of what's going on in a title tilt before your teens; I certainly didn't.) There have been quite a few incredible games this season, and the Reds can boast an amazing ability to almost never be beaten; coming back to win lots of games, and drawing the latest pulsating encounter after being 2-0 down. But typically of late, nothing seemed clear: was it one point gained or two dropped? Or, paradoxically, both? This remains a great season as a whole, with some wonderful entertainment and peerless points hauls both domestically and in Europe, but the most recent chunk of it has been more rocky than rosy. The aim has to prove that it's any side's inevitable blip, and not a longer-term trend. It's easy to forget that champions don't have ten months of sensational football. As the great bard observed in 1595, The course of a league title never did run smooth. In many ways Liverpool's league form has been a bit like it was when winning the European Cup in 2005 and the FA Cup a year later: not consistent brilliance, but a number of top-class showings to beat the biggest teams when it mattered, and a remarkable ability to rescue lost causes against opposition of all calibre. We're seeing some of the spirit that somehow helped achieve results against Olympiacos, AC Milan, Luton and West Ham, as well as the ability to beat Manchester United and Chelsea. It's a different competition, with progress marked in other ways and rivals rarely ‘knocked out'/eliminated, but maybe the parallels are apt. It's the first time the Reds have shown such incredible fighting qualities in the first half of a league season for a long, long time. So let's keep that in mind. The first half comeback against Hull involved some sensational play, and with a bit more luck it could have been 5-2 at half-time. And the Reds had started the half the far better side, too, with the visitor's first goal against the run of play, and their second down to a bizarre free-kick award against Carragher. The second half was also dominated by Liverpool, despite Hull yet again excelling on the road, and as such, it's hard to be too critical after dropping two more points. This was a far cry from the Fulham game. Patience seems much thinner on the ground since the winning of an 18th title (in life in general, not just football), and perhaps the squad system has only led to a greater questioning of a manager's methods. By my reckoning almost 20 players had a good claim to start against Hull based on their previous game; but the rules haven't changed that much in the past 18 years. With all this in mind, Rafa's team selection was always going to be called into question. Robbie Keane could well have featured after a fine display in midweek. But the player deployed in his favoured position (just off the main striker) was the man who scored both of the Reds' goals; a player now with eleven for the season. (As an aside, please let's stop counting Gerrard as a midfielder when listing formations when he's in this role; he's an attacking tour de force.) Dirk Kuyt partnered him up front, and he's the team's second-top scorer. He also created both goals. So it's rarely as simple as people like to portray it. Liverpool ‘may' have done better had Keane played. Equally, Gerrard may not have scored two goals had he been deployed further back; it's very unlikely he'd have been quite as advanced towards the six-yard box to poach his two goals like a true centre-forward. I'm a big fan of Robbie Keane, and feel that his time to really shine will come, but it was hardly like his recent form made him a shoo-in for this game. And the more it's made to be about one player, the more I sense the manager will reign it back to being about the team; not to prove a point or to cut off his nose to spite his face, but because obsessing over whether or not one player features can be counterproductive. Some fans might not like it, but Benítez has strong ideas, and this is to be respected; we don't want a weak character swayed by our temperamental and emotional whims, or by price tags, but a man who knows his own mind. Like anyone with an opinion, I don't necessarily agree with all Rafa's line-ups when I see the team-sheet, but then that applies to loads of games that ended up being won. I don't necessarily agree with all his substitutions, either, but often I find myself nodding once the change reaps dividends. At the very least, they tend to have a positive effect on the performance, even if they can't guarantee a positive outcome. Basically, I've learned to reserve judgement. Rafa's record is one of getting things right a lot more than wrong. Some days it won't work, but that applies to any team. (I still see Man United fans moaning about Alex Ferguson's selections and tactics, so no-one is exempt, despite their long-term and recent records.) I also don't share this outdated obsession some fans retain with two out-and-out forwards, or that throwing more strikers on in a game definitely makes it easier to score goals. Benítez went for pace and skill in wide areas from the bench, and I have no problem with that. Changing creative players is hardly a negative move. And Nabil El Zhar almost scored the winner. I recall watching too many games from over the years when, needing a late goal, extra forwards were thrown on by a manager, only for it to blunt the attack; the midfield battle was then lost, and no-one could create anything. Sometimes it might work, particularly if you're just going to pound balls into the box, but it can just as easily confuse you as the opposition. A poor, but not disastrous run of form should not see perspective abandoned en masse. Yes, Liverpool have failed to take advantage of the other big four teams losing or drawing, but equally, the reverse applies. And if all these teams are showing so much greater title-winning form, why isn't it reflected in the league table? The fact remains that Liverpool are on top on merit, albeit by the slenderest of margins. No large gap has been opened up as hoped, but equally, no-one has thus far put in a better claim to be there. In terms of points, Liverpool have effectively lost two of the last three home games: six points dropped. That's a big blow. But of course, there isn't the stinging psychological damage of two defeats, even if the draws have hardly been good for confidence. And at least the latest draw came with some genuine positives. In my quieter, reflective moments I'm no less patient than usual for a 19th title, but I have felt a lot more anxious during recent league games, getting things out of perspective. And I've sensed a lot more tension and angst amongst fans in general. The higher we've soared, the more we've felt our wings start to melt. At times in the last few matches I've almost felt like I did when the Reds played QPR in 1990, when a 2-1 victory after being a goal down secured the 18th league title. I'm having to remind myself that we're not even at the halfway mark, such is the tension. It's almost as if we all, whether optimists or pessimists, have subconsciously felt that the only way to win the league was to get top and open up a big gap, particularly as, on paper, the recent run of games all looked winnable. But it's rarely that simple. As newcomers to the title race, staying top, or pulling clear, was never going to be straightforward for these players; but being there for a few weeks should provide a good education in handling the pressure. It is all an experience to learn from. At the start of the season, Liverpool were outsiders to land the title. Had the bookies known that Fernando Torres would miss most of the first half of the season, the odds would have been far longer. At present Liverpool remain a good bet, and will be an even better one if the Spaniard, whose freshness after a very intense year will no longer be an issue following several enforced rests, plays in the majority of the remaining fixtures. Chelsea have been missing a greater number of players, but Torres' unique talents helps make Liverpool something special. The Reds have won games without him, but the inclusion of his pace, skill and finishing ability obviously makes for a better side. And so, just as beating Olympiacos four years ago this month simply gave the Reds the chance to stay in the hunt on a more-or-less all-square basis at the halfway mark of that tournament, then the same applies to the league table right now as things began to heat up. It remains very much game on, not game over.

STEVIE: WHY CHRISTMAS IS SO CRUCIAL
Kristian Walsh 12 December 2008

Steven Gerrard believes the upcoming Christmas period is the most important for a long time as Liverpool attempt to maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Rafa Benitez's men know they will stand a real chance of fighting for that elusive league title if they can enter the New Year in pole position - something they haven't done for 12 years. Liverpool will bid to maintain - or improve upon - their one point lead over Chelsea against Hull on Saturday before a festive calendar made up of Arsenal (a), Bolton (h) and Newcastle (a). Gerrard admits these fixtures could make or break the season. "We're coming up to Christmas and that's when things really start to take shape," the skipper told the official LFC Magazine. "The festive season might not be as congested as it has been in the past few years in terms of the number of games we're going to play, but the results are more critical this season than they've been for ages – because of where we find ourselves in the league." Liverpool top the table after impressive victories over Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton, although they've struggled with form of late with home draws against West Ham and Fulham. Gerrard is conscious of the team's achievements so far but knows there is plenty of room for improvement. "I don't really think we've played our best football this season," said the 28-year-old. "We might have done it for 45 minutes here and there, but for a full 90 minutes, the closest we've come has been at Stamford Bridge." That victory, courtesy of Xabi Alonso's deflected strike, ended Chelsea's 86-match unbeaten home record and heralded Liverpool's potential to win their first league title in 19 years. "Looking back at the first half of the season, there's a lot for us to be happy with," added Gerrard. "We've put ourselves in a position we haven't been in for a long, long time. But the fact is that the hardest part of the season is still to come. "United are going to get stronger. Arsenal keep proving that they can't be written off. People have done that and they've gone out and beaten United at home and Chelsea away. Chelsea have had a stumble but they'll be back too." Hull visit Anfield on Saturday hoping to emulate West Ham and Fulham's performances, and the Liverpool captain is cautious of the threat these teams pose to their title hopes. He said: "You see from results around the country that everyone can make life tough for teams at the top. It's a cliche, but there aren't any easy games in the Premier League. We're not playing particularly well at the moment, but we know that. No-one's pretending otherwise." Gerrard is hoping the Reds build on back-to-back wins against Blackburn and PSV Eindhoven. "There are 40-odd thousand people at Anfield every other week and about 4,000 people who follow us all over the country and beyond," he said. "They've seen success. We've won everything in my time at Liverpool except for the Premier League. That's the one they want. "It's a burning desire. I know, because I share it. We all do."

TOMKINS: A CAUTIONARY TALE
Paul Tomkins 08 December 2008

In football, it doesn't matter what position in the league you are if you hit that inevitable sticky patch: as a result, confidence can wither away.
It may seem odd to have a confidence crisis when right at the top, but it's rare even for champions to not have at least one dodgy spell in a season when results don't go their way, and the football is less than inspiring. The positive from Liverpool's point of view is that games weren't lost, and another victory has subsequently been banked. I wouldn't go as far as to suggest that the Blackburn result, and the performance of the final 30 minutes, represents a corner turned, but it was encouraging to see the Reds hold on to top spot for another week in the face of pressure and criticism. Confidence really is the most important thing in football, and yet it's the least controllable. It can be affected in positive ways by a manager, but it cannot be conjured when absent or pinned down when present. If one aspect of the performance goes wrong, confidence in that part of a team's game can quickly crumble. And conversely, as we saw with the recent problem with scoring goals, once you get the first, the rest can soon follow with an ease that just wasn't possible minutes earlier. Confidence can change on a moment of genius, or, as we saw at Blackburn, a mis-hit Dirk Kuyt shot that fell to Alonso to trickle a shot over the line. The Reds had experienced another fairly difficult first half at Ewood Park, and while the second 45 wasn't vintage, it was more than good enough. The confidence had returned, and Yossi Benayoun's brilliant match-winning goal came out of a revival in the Reds' belief. The expression 'form is temporary, class is permanent' could almost relate purely to confidence; it is, after all, at the heart of a player's form. Take the example of Alonso. It looked like he might be sold in the summer, after a couple of seasons when, mostly due to injuries, he seemed to have lost his way a little. Then, over the summer, Alonso played an important role for Spain in their remarkable success. As '12th man', he came on in most games to help the eventual winners show their class. Still his future at Liverpool looked uncertain, but at his best he was always one of Rafa's key men, and I found it hard to believe he would leave. Now you could argue that it led to Alonso reaffirming his love of the club, and is playing the best football of his Liverpool career. He is imposing himself on matches once again with his exquisite vision, be it long range passes or the sort of short, simple and sensible kind that keep possession ticking over. He is also getting about the pitch, looking fit and aggressive, and has already scored two vital goals in league victories over Chelsea and Blackburn. As a manager, there's a fine line between the decisions that affect confidence and motivation. If you drop a player, does he lose confidence, compounding the issue? Or does he try harder to get back in the team? Often a manager wants a positive response of one kind or another, and that's another reason why Benitez tries to buy strong characters. It can take time to build confidence at a new club, too. If Robbie Keane is feeling down he need only look at Nicolas Anelka. The Frenchman, after successful stints at four previous Premiership clubs, had a miserable first six months at Chelsea, and missed the penalty that would have won them the Champions League. Hardly the platform to become the following season's star striker. But look at the stats. Not for the first time, I have a couple of issues with the country's highest profile pundits in their assessments of Liverpool, although to their credit, both Alan Hansen and Andy Gray do see the Reds as genuine title challengers. The problems I have are with the smaller details. First, Andy Gray was yet again criticising zonal marking. Four Liverpool players failed to notice a short corner at Ewood Park, so the set-piece defending failed. However, excluding the Carling Cup, Santa Cruz is the first opponent to score against the Reds this season from a corner or free-kick delivered into the box (Jamie Carragher scored the other). That’s 16 league games and seven in Europe. Every system has its flaws, so by all means point them out. But put them in context. Apart from last season, and the first few months of 2004/05, zonal marking has been a brilliant defensive system for Liverpool, as the hugely meaningful stats point out. Every week I see far more goals conceded through poor man-marking. Then there was the issue of the manager's cautiousness. In analysing Benitez's preferred system, Gray kept talking about two holding midfielders. My argument is that this is a case of needlessly negative semantics. For Liverpool, Javier Mascherano is always a holding midfielder. But Xabi Alonso isn't. He is a playmaker with licence to roam. One of the league's best passers, he also gets forward a lot more when paired with the little Argentine. When it's Alonso and Gerrard, then of course the Spaniard will naturally sit deeper. But as we saw at the weekend, Alonso has the freedom to get forward and have attempts at goal when Mascherano is in the side. So it's another 'negative' label on this Liverpool side that doesn't fit. Granted, Alonso won't get ahead of the ball like Frank Lampard, because that's not his game, but equally, he is far from a holding midfielder in this system. He has scored as many goals this season as Claude Makelele managed in almost 400 games for Real Madrid and Chelsea, and both were from open play. I also think it was a touch unfair of Alan Hansen to suggest, even in the guise of observation rather than criticism, that the manager is the most cautious in Liverpool's history. I've been impressed with Hansen's analysis of Liverpool this season, but the focus on caution, to my mind, is wrong. You don&'t get to the top of the table with overly cautious football. As a whole, I honestly don't see Rafa as a cautious coach; I still see him as all about the balance. In a game like Blackburn away, it's easy to think that the Reds can just go there and blitz the opposition, but the home side were always going to come out fighting. I see it as fairly sensible to tactic to start out solid, and gamble more as the game progresses, using the team's extra quality as space opens up. It can go wrong, but so too can overcommitting men early on and paying the price before you've even got a foothold in the game; there's no guarantee either approach will work. So caution could easily be another word for being sensible, only with damaging negative connotations. It's easier to be constantly positive if you are by far the best team in the land; a position Liverpool had got themselves into by the mid-70s, after a decade of improvement under Bill Shankly, and it was a supremacy that lasted another 15 years. You have that in-built confidence as winners. Yes, you become more of a scalp, but your belief as a team should be immense. You've got the medals to prove you can win league titles. What Liverpool now face is far harder. The team still has that expectation that they should be winning things, borne of decades of league titles, but without the platform of years of recent success. Paisley, Fagan, Dalglish and Souness inherited teams full of league winners; Benitez didn't. I think that consistently beautiful football becomes easier when you have that success in the bank, but for now, Liverpool just need to win the league by any means possible. I'd like no.19 to be attained with 100 points and 150 goals, but at this stage in the club's reawakening, but we cannot be too precious about it. The same applies to simply challenging for the title. We can worry about the aesthetics another time, but beggars can't be choosers, and for almost two decades we've been begging just for a shot at the title. Let's also not forget that Liverpool's attacking play has ranged from very good to superb against a number of teams this season, including Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton, Wigan, Manchester City, West Brom, Bolton and, perversely, in the defeat at Spurs. Many of those matches were without the club's best attacking player, Fernando Torres. But it's encouraging that in the number of games when the team hasn't played well, results of one kind or another have been achieved; no bad performance has resulted in a complete lack of points. And that is why the Reds are justifiably top. I honestly don't see the point of Hansen implying that Benitez isn't as positive as Graeme Souness and Roy Evans; surely positivity lies in the outcome, not the means? What's 'positive' about the sloppy defending that let down the mid-90s side, or, in Souness' case, losing far too many games? Evans won 48 per cent of his league matches (excluding his time with Houllier), and Souness won just 41 per cent. By contrast, Benitez has won 56 per cent of his league matches, while his all-competitions record stands at 57 per cent – the same as Bob Paisley's, and better than Bill Shankly's. Does that suggest caution? Liverpool played some beautiful football under Evans, and as a season ticket holder throughout his time in charge, it gave me a lot of pleasure. But what Liverpool lacked was the right balance between defence and attack. Caution in modern football is seen as almost like cheating, or not playing the game in the true spirit. Which is rubbish. Liverpool's European empire was built on hugely cautious displays away from home, with so many backpasses you'd lose count. And rightly so, as it worked. So I'm not arguing that Liverpool are currently an extremely positive attacking side to rival the Brazil of 1970, as that's not the case. What we are seeing is neither caution nor a gung-ho, devil-may-care attitude; it's a successful balance. For me, the manager is 'tactical', not 'cautious'.

TOMKINS: GLASS IS MORE THAN HALF FULL
Paul Tomkins 25 November 2008

I'm accused of being a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. But if the result against Fulham equates to a failure to add a few fluid ounces to the pint pot, then the league table still shows a glass almost brimming in its fullness.
It may be an analogy that I'll stretch to breaking point, but the glass has been topped up regularly since August. And while a few extra millilitres would have been nice, the other results this weekend more-or-less evened everything out. On paper, Manchester United's result was better than the other teams in the top four – but that didn't stop people moaning when the Reds drew 0-0 at Villa Park. Of course, they have more points to catch up on, and the problem of a trip to Tokyo next month. If anything, the weekend's results suggest that the major sides are 'levelled' by the international break. Teams with fewer international players may lack that special quality, but then they have extra freshness to compensate. Not one of the top five teams scored a goal, and in the case of the top four, the games were against sides they traditionally beat. United had won 14 in a row against Aston Villa, and Arsenal had only lost twice to Manchester City since the Premiership was formed. Benítez tried some fresh legs and rested Alonso after his exertions in two games in the previous week. But the usually effervescent Mascherano, who did start, looked tired after his run of games, while, as the manager noted, Riera and Kuyt weren't as sharp as of late. By contrast, at Stamford Bridge, Scolari kept faith with all his major players and yet, if anything, they were even more flat than Liverpool. So maybe it's not selection issues, but tiredness, and, due to their absence, an ability for their club managers to properly prepare. People tell me that there's no point in beating Chelsea and United but failing to overcome Stoke and Fulham. If the Reds were mid-table, I'd agree. But to me, there is quite a lot of 'point' to the overall pattern of results. That point is the league table. And Liverpool are joint-top. So Fulham was a missed opportunity to go clear on points, but far from a disaster. Some people won't want to hear me say something positive, and that's fair enough. We all have our own reactions and coping mechanisms after dropped points, and optimism can rub people up the wrong way; it used to do the same to me. But some people desire a true picture of the metaphorical glass, and its contents. And that means that while the weekend's showing was not good enough in isolation, it doesn't really change the big picture – or the big pitcher – from one which is good enough. In terms of the points tally, the Reds have rarely been so replete at this stage in a campaign, and percentage-wise, never better over a whole season. The most league wins in any season for the Reds, in percentage terms, is the 71.4 per cent of 19778-79: 30 wins, eight draws, four defeats. Currently the Reds have lost only once and won 10 out 14, and that equals ... 71.4 per cent. That is the key thing to remember at a time like this. We can all feel disappointed after a poor result, but never has a team gone through a season without such setbacks. The overall situation is what defines a team, not one or two games. Yes, Liverpool at home to Fulham was a chance to pull clear of Chelsea. But Chelsea at home to Newcastle (a side doing significantly worse this season than the Londoners who had won three of their last four) was a chance for them to pull clear of Liverpool. It cuts both ways. And let's not forget how fancied Arsenal were this season, too. To be 10 points clear of the Gunners in November is something we'd all have taken in August, as indeed we would the chance of the current league table. Even if they win their game in hand, Manchester United will still be five points adrift. It perhaps should be seven, but equally, they will count their own missed opportunities this season and feel they 'should' be top. So after the generally disruptive international break, and without Steven Gerrard, the weekend was nowhere near as bad as it could have been, just as it wasn't as good as it could have been. So it was a glass-is-half-full weekend; a small weekly glass (or tumbler) which, when its contents are tipped into the seasonal pint pot, maintains the joint-fullest glass in the country. I hate Liverpool failing to win as much as the next person. But I also accept that you cannot be happy with your team every week, and that some slack must be cut. In 1984 the Reds won the league despite drawing or losing almost half their 42 games; virtually every other game involved dropped points, with six defeats and 14 draws. The equally-revered class of 1988 were unbeaten for the first 29 games, but won 'only' 65 per cent of their league matches. Of course those teams still did more than enough to win the league. Times have changed. But it also illustrates how, despite fewer occasions to bemoan dropped points, plenty of fans are still dissatisfied in a way that makes me believe their version of the past is one of three points every week. It wasn't so. So while below-par performances and dropped points frustrate me, I accept them as part and parcel of football life; they sting, they irritate, they annoy, they gall, but they are like the cold you catch climbing Mount Everest. Everyone suffers the same on the climb to the summit. You only worry if it becomes pneumonia. (I'm in metaphor overdrive today. I'm like a man with a factory of tiny analogy elves in his brain, spinning similes on a loom of comparative descriptions. Or something.) A look at the league table is also very revealing in other ways. Chelsea have failed to win four home games, meaning they've won only three at Stamford Bridge. This is the new, super-attacking Blues, as eulogised by all and sundry and managed by a World Cup-winning Brazilian. But it is away, where teams allow them some kind of space, where they have won seven out of seven. Liverpool are facing a similar problem. The home and away form is almost identical, but performances have been better on the road. Also, there's the increased frustration of home fans in the modern age, when patience seems less readily available than in the past, combined with an increased expectancy to steamroll everybody in this dismissive age. It's no secret that Fabio Capello prefers England to play away from home, and I'd hate to see Anfield becoming as cynical as Wembley. It's far from the case, but Anfield is also not always as ebullient as it could be. It does concern me that the Kop doesn't suck the ball into the net in the ways of yore unless it's a massive occasion; when it's the big games, the atmosphere is incredible. If that could be replicated on a weekly basis, the league title would be that much closer. But it's a chicken and egg situation: at times it's hard to say what comes first, the quiet ground or the poor display. One seems to exacerbate the other. Similarly, players low on confidence need a boost from the stands, but any crowd will groan at their struggles, or a decision by the manager that they disagree with. It's human nature. It doesn't help, but it's hard to avoid. I never booed an individual in all my years as a season ticket holder, but I did groan in frustration on plenty of occasions. (Then again, I've seen countless home defeats to supposedly weak teams, let alone draws.) However, as someone unable to go as regularly as I used to, I can't be too critical. I have been awed over the years by the fans' response when the odds are stacked against their team; but if the Reds were 3-0 down at half-time to Fulham, there wouldn't be the reaction we saw in Istanbul. At times the place could use a similar sense of defiance and support, but it will never be forthcoming when fans think the opposition should be taken apart without their assistance. Again, that's the nature of all football fans. I did expect more atmosphere at Anfield this season with the team going so well – a belief that being in the title hunt would make every game an occasion – but maybe it's too early in the season for such an edge, and it will appear in the run-in. Hopefully so. It's not individuals who are to blame, but the complex psychology of the collective. Sometimes the crowd just don't get going, and sometimes players are flat, particularly after a tough schedule. Players and supporters will always have an extra edge for the big games, because those cause the adrenaline to pump harder. Sometimes the lesser games have a "can't win even if we win" air. Players get paid, and the crowd have paid, so maybe the responsibility lies with those on the field. However, take any individual out of the crowd, and he or she will acknowledge that support boosts performance. And yet, sitting in the stands, as part of the throng, you cannot always rationalise and control your frustration, and it boils over. But maybe I already had this game in perspective before kick-off. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a 14-year-old Liverpool fan called Chelsea North, and shared her Just Giving web page. At the start of the summer she was just a normal teenager; by the end of July she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Last week Chelsea died peacefully in her sleep. Many Liverpool fans from around the world, who did not know her personally, donated money to the cause she had chosen, and her parents have asked me to pass on their heartfelt thanks. I'm sure everyone passes on their condolences.

STEVIE'S KOP 10 MILESTONES
Joe Curran 21 November 2008

Everyone from Thierry Henry to Jamie Redknapp have said their piece in our week-long celebration of Steven Gerrard's ten years at the club, now we pay homage to our inspirational number eight with his very own Kop 10 of personal achievements.

DebutCast your mind back to November 29 1998. A cosmetically enhanced Cher was top of the charts with 'Believe' and Bill Clinton was still insisting 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman'. But on the football front a fresh-faced boy from Huyton by the name of Steven George Gerrard made his first appearance for Liverpool's senior team. Gerrard came on as a 90th-minute substitute for Vegard Heggem when Liverpool were comfortably 2-0 up against Blackburn Rovers at Anfield. It might have only been a cameo appearance, but in that short period of injury time he showed the kind of commitment and drive that would become a prevailing feature of his future Reds career. Chomping at the bit and eager to make an impression, Gerrard instantly won over the Kop by thundering into a crunching challenge on the right-hand touchline. Gerrard went on to make 13 appearances as understudy to Jamie Redknapp that season; his most memorable contribution being a 20-minute cameo appearance in his first Merseyside derby. He played a key role in that 3-2 victory at Anfield and kept the Reds in the game by clearing off the line twice.
First goalGerard Houllier used Gerrard at right-back and in a central midfield role before the teenager showed he also knew how to strike a ball against Sheffield Wednesday in December 1999. It was his 25th match in a Liverpool shirt when he scored his first goal for the club - and what a goal. Stevie plundered the Reds' third in a 4-1 victory with a dazzling run, a drop of the shoulder and a coolly drilled low effort into the far corner to beat Kevin Pressman. He was still showing the world what he could do when he netted his first goal and a scintillating performance in a 3-1 win over Leeds United two months later would confirm Gerrard as one of English football's brightest hopes at the time.
PFA AwardsWith 10 goals to his name and the world at his feet, a 20-year-old Gerrard picked up his first major personal accolade in April 2001. Fending off competition from the likes of Emile Heskey, Wes Brown, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Alan Smith, Stevie's outstanding performances in helping the Reds to three cup finals that year secured him the PFA Young Player of the Year award. "I was in contention for this award last year and I really wanted to win it this year," said Gerrard at the time. "I'm pleased I have won it because it was a very good shortlist and there are some very good young players around at the moment." Five years and a cabinet-load of trophies later, Gerrard was voted by his peers to win the PFA Players' Player of The Year award.
Treble seasonNever one to do things by halves, Gerrard didn't win one trophy in his debut season as a first-team regular. He only went and helped the Reds to three. Instrumental from start to finish, Gerrard played in Michael Owen to score time after time across successful campaigns in the League Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Cup. The all-action midfielder's crucial strike against Alaves in the Uefa Cup final put the icing on the cake of this truly magnificent season in which Liverpool also qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
CaptaincyAged just 23, Stevie took over from Sami Hyypia as Liverpool captain in October 2003. His first game with the armband saw the Reds run out 3-0 winners over to Slovenian side NK Olimpija Ljubljana in the Uefa Cup first round second leg. On hearing the news that he would follow in the footsteps of greats like Graeme Souness and Emlyn Hughes - to name but a few - Gerrard could not hide his delight. "The manager has always said I would captain the club one day but it was a shock yesterday when Gerard Houllier told me I was to be captain from now on," he said at the time. "I was captain of my school side and I used to go along to Anfield to watch the team and I always looked up to people like John Barnes who captained the team during the 90s. "I want to blossom into a world class player - something I'm not yet - and hopefully captaining Liverpool will help me achieve that ambition."

2004/05: What a seasonWe could do a whole Kop 10 feature from this season alone. Without doubt his crowning glory was lifting the Champions League trophy on 25 May, but his contribution was not restricted to one powerful header against AC Milan. Whether it be his brace against Graz AK; his 25-yard thunderbolt against Olympiacos; the superb free-kick to beat Everton; his 54th-minute header against AC Milan or his excellent performance at right-back while the Reds were under the kosh in Istanbul, this season is littered with personal triumphs for Steven Gerrard. Never ones to remind people how many times Liverpool have won the European Cup, Reds fans everywhere look back on that year, and that final, as Gerrard's defining season. His name has been commonly prefixed with 'the inspirational' ever since.

The Gerrard finalDown and out; dead and buried; on the ropes - put it however you like, Liverpool really looked like they were heading for defeat in the 2006 FA Cup Final. Losing 2-1 and with only stoppage time left to play, Liverpool really needed something extraordinarily special to get back into this one, and Gerrard popped up just in the nick of time to score his second and force the match into extra-time. Like Rafa Benitez said earlier in the week, Steven Gerrard doesn't just score goals, he scores special goals - and this was a prime example. The skipper powered an incredible drive beyond the despairing dive of Shaka Hislop and into the far corner of the net to save the Reds once again. Liverpool took home the FA Cup for the seventh time in their history that day, and it was in no small part down to another Steven Gerrard landmark.

MBERecognition of the highest order came for Stevie in December 2006. Named in the New Year's honours list that year, Gerrard went to meet the queen and became a Member of the British Empire. Another personal achievement and a proud day for his family, the phrase 'outstanding achievement to football' has never been more appropriately used than when describing Steven Gerrard - and he certainly cut a dash at Buckingham Palace that day too.
European goal recordsThe skipper now holds pretty much all the European Cup scoring records you can think of for Liverpool. He holds the record for most goals in Europe as a whole for Liverpool and also most goals in the European Cup on its own. In August 2005 he became the first player in Liverpool's history to score in five successive European matches, while in the 2005/06 season he equalled the club record by scoring seven European Cup goals in one season. Then in 2007/08 he became the first player to score in four successive European games at Anfield.

100th goalThe Reds skipper recently joined the likes of Ian Rush, Roger Hunt, Billy Lidell and Kenny Dalglish in Liverpool's elite 100 club when he fired home a trademark free-kick in front of the Kop against PSV Eindhoven. It might have felt like a long time coming after having one disallowed against Stoke City, but a century of strikes in just over 400 games is not easy. Put it this way: Gerrard scored 100 goals for Liverpool in 448 matches, while Bobby Charlton found the net 249 times for Manchester United over the course of 758 appearances. Not bad, eh?

HENRY WINTER ON STEVEN GERRARD
Henry Winter 21 November 2008

Is there a better all-round midfielder in the world than Steven Gerrard at the moment?
Liverpool's captain is creating goals, scoring them, tackling and passing. Even during a rare defeat in the Premier League, such as to Tottenham Hotspur, most newspapers listed Gerrard as man of the match. Even when Liverpool looked to be slumping to Champions League embarrassment to Atletico Madrid, Gerrard pops up to win a penalty, admittedly controversially, and convert it. If there was one midfielder that every manager on the planet would love to have in their team it would be Gerrard. Why? He is the man for the big occasion, for the critical moment in a match when decisive leaders are required. Ask Olympiacos, AC Milan, West Ham United or Atletico. Fabio Capello, who began the England manager's job wondering about Gerrard's tactical discipline, has even tweaked his midfield to bring the best out of Liverpool's dynamo, allowing him a freer role. Since arriving in the Liverpool first team 10 year ago, and recovering from an awkward first start against David Ginola, Gerrard has matured from a raw talent with a tendency for rash challenges into a class act, a man with a mission, leading Liverpool to glory. Gerrard learned from playing with such an outstanding central midfielder as Gary McAllister, who also urged him to cut out the bad tackles. The apprentice became the master craftsman. Now at the peak of his game, Gerrard is invariably named in the PFA Team of the Year and when talk with foreign reporters turns to English players, they invariably rave about Liverpool's No 8. Gerrard is admired by supporters of other teams because he represents the passionate pursuit of silverware, not money as is the case with many modern players. They know he plays from the heart, that Liverpool red runs through his veins. Even if Gerrard has a poor game for England, the fans will never criticise him because they know how much he cares about the team's welfare – and how much he worries about his own form. The hunger he showed when emulating his heroes on the streets of Huyton remains. Supporters respect that. His surroundings may have changed, elegant mansion replacing council house, but the man himself does not appear to have altered markedly. Maybe that's a Liverpool trait, an enduring acknowledgement of one's roots; Jamie Carragher does not appear to have changed much either. Family and friends wouldn't allow it anyway.
Winter on Stevie
If there was one midfielder that every manager on the planet would love to have in their team it would be Gerrard. Why? He is the man for the big occasion, for the critical moment in a match when decisive leaders are required. Ask Olympiacos, AC Milan, West Ham United or Atletico.Just as Carragher has few equals amongst Europe's leading centre-halves, it is hard find genuine challengers to Gerrard's billing as the most accomplished midfielder at work today. A debate about whether Gerrard has any rivals as the best midfielder leads to mention of Chelsea's Frank Lampard, whose many allies in the media rarely pause in promoting his cause. Lampard has many strengths, a box-to-box energy, a terrific passing range and an ability to create a shooting chance out of the tiniest pieces of space but he does not seize the day as Gerrard can. The 2005 Champions League climax is occasionally referred to as the Gerrard Final. Ditto the 2006 FA Cup final. Gerrard delivers on the grand stages. Chelsea fans would put forward another challenger to Gerrard. John Obi Mikel has been in magnificent form this season, anchoring midfield like a youthful Makelele while displaying a greater array of passing, particularly when switching the ball out wide to Jose Bosingwa or Ashley Cole. But Mikel is still learning his craft, and still lacks the goal threat of Gerrard. Along with Mikel and Lampard, other rivals deserve brief consideration. Barcelona offers Xavi and Andres Iniesta, both inspired for Spain during Euro 2008, but neither is in Gerrard's creative league. Iniesta is a continuity man, keeping moves ticking over, but not capping them with a 30-yard thunderbolt a la Gerrard. Xavi works incredibly hard, rarely squandering possession but he rarely dominates the final third. Arsenal fans would argue that Cesc Fabregas can run a game like Gerrard. Arsenal's tempo-setter has this wonderful way of inviting team-mates to attack, sliding passes through to Robin van Persie or Emmanuel Adebayor. Fabregas also became an integral part of Spain's successful boys of summer, beginning on the bench but then showing his class with some fine assists. But unlike Gerrard, Fabregas starts moves, rarely finishes them. Andrea Pirlo of AC Milan and Italy probably fits into the same category as Fabregas, the architect behind moves but rarely the finisher. When fit and not suspended, Paul Scholes is hugely influential for Manchester United, and was outstanding last season but his best years are behind him. Others deserve mention like Gareth Barry, who can nick the ball and distribute it well while Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves have individual strengths. At Liverpool, Xabi Alonso has shown his class this season, particularly against Chelsea at the Bridge where he disrupted Blue attacks while finding time to get forward and score. For holding midfielders, few can match Javier Mascherano, who exudes all that time-honoured Argentinian trait of frustrating the opposition. All outstanding. But none possesses the armoury of strengths of Gerrard, a gladiator amongst midfield men.
Henry Winter is the Chief Football reporter for the Daily Telegraph.

STEVIE G: AN UNOFFICIAL WEBSITE'S VIEW
James Carroll 20 November 2008

James Carroll, editor of shanklygates.co.uk, explains why Steven Gerrard deserves to be recognised as one of the greatest Liverpool players to ever wear the red shirt.
The first time I can recall seeing Steven Gerrard in action was around ten years ago in a Liverpool reserve fixture at St Helens' Knowsley Road. The youngster was deployed on the right-wing but struggled to impose himself on the game and, if memory serves me correct, he was substituted shortly after half-time. It's fair to say that the handful of Liverpool fans scattered around the old stadium that evening could not envisage the rookie midfielder going on to become one of the world's greatest footballers and write himself into Anfield history. Injuries meant that a first team debut followed shortly after for Gerrard and he began to establish himself as a key member of Gerard Houllier's squad with a series of eye-catching displays in various positions all over the park. Fans are always especially delighted to see a local lad break into the team and Gerrard quickly won the hearts of the Kop, especially after he celebrated making two goal-line clearances in a Merseyside derby as if he had scored the winning goal himself. "This lad is definitely one of us," we realised. His enthusiasm and passion was there for all to see and Gerrard was seemingly improving with every game. By the time he scored his first goal against Sheffield Wednesday is December 1999 he was already a household name. Gerrard's tough tackling, supreme passing ability and a knack of scoring spectacular goals became his trademarks and the midfielder played a crucial role in the cup treble success of 2001, scoring Liverpool's second in the UEFA Cup Final victory over Alaves. Houllier's final couple of season's at Anfield were not quite as glorious but, despite this, Gerrard continued to excel and almost single handedly pulled the Reds into the Champions League qualification places in 03/04 with a number of herculean performances and vital goals from the centre of midfield. His appointment as team captain by Houllier was warmly welcomed by fans, who had recognised his leadership qualities long before he was handed the armband. These attributes came to the fore in Rafael Benitez's first season in L4 as Liverpool boss. The Reds battled their way into the knock-out phase of the Champions League and no one will ever forget a certain night at Anfield in December 2004. Olympiakos arrived on Merseyside with Liverpool needing to win by two clear goals in order to progress into the next round of the tournament. However, the Greek side hadn't come to roll over and stunned Anfield by taking a first half lead leaving the Reds needing to score three times without reply in the second period. Backed by a vociferous Kop, the Reds forced their way into a lead before Gerrard unleashed a magnificent volley into the bottom corner to spark scenes of jubilation. It was a goal that made the rest of Europe sit up and take notice. For the younger generation, who had grown up fed on stories of Liverpool's European domination in the 70's and 80's, this was our St Etienne. Incredibly, each round seemed to better the last and, against all odds, Liverpool battled their way into the final to face the mighty AC Milan in Istanbul. Liverpool's league form had fallen away but their performances in the Champions League had given the fans hope and belief that the Reds could overcome Kaka, Crespo and co. That hope and belief had evaporated by half-time, however, and the sheer quality of the Italians was there for all to see as they raced into a three goal lead to shell shock Liverpool. A rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone during the break raised spirits on the terraces slightly, but this looked like a game too far for the Reds and fans were hoping for an improved second half performance if only to salvage some pride rather than dreaming of lifting 'Old Big Ears'. Gerrard joined Benitez in attempting to rally the troops during half-time. The skipper pulled an early goal back with a header but surely it was going to be just a consolation? It seemed as though Gerrard had other ideas as he gestured to the Reds fans suggested that he thought this game wasn't over just yet. The rest is history, as they say, made possible by the fighting spirit that had been instilled in the team by the likes of Benitez, Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. Gerrard had helped lead his side to victory in what is generally regarded as the best European Cup Final in history and one of the Reds' finest ever achievements. He claimed the man-of-the-match award and was later named UEFA's Club Footballer of the Year for his part in the heroics of Istanbul. Confidence was running high through the club and, in the following campaign, Gerrard enjoyed his finest season in front of goal, netting an incredible 23 times from midfield. Liverpool also marched into the FA Cup Final where it was expected that they'd see off West Ham and lift the trophy for the seventh time. However, us Liverpool fans know that this team of ours never seem to do things the easy way and the Hammer's took an early two-goal lead. The spirit of Istanbul was in need of resurrection and Gerrard duly delivered, allowing Djibril Cisse to pull a goal back with a pin-point pass before the captain got himself on the score sheet with a thumping volley to level the scoreline. West Ham, to their credit, weren't dead yet and regained the lead leaving Liverpool needing to dig deep in order to salvage something with time ebbing away once again. The fans looked to Gerrard but a long-season that had begun in early July had taken it's toll and the captain was crippled with cramp. As the game entered stoppage-time, it looked as though the trophy had eluded Liverpool but Gerrard is no average footballer and he somehow mustered the energy and strength to smash home an equaliser from fully 35-yards in the 91st minute. The Reds went on to lift the cup with a penalty shoot-out victory and Gerrard had etched his name in FA Cup folklore forever more. It was a goal that would not have been out of place in a Roy of the Rovers comic - the number of current players in world football who are capable of such a moment can be counted on one hand. Over the course of the last decade, Gerrard has established himself as an Anfield legend and a genuine world-class footballer. He can rightly be talked about in the same breath as the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Billy Liddell and the rest. The Premiership is currently the only major club honour that has so far eluded the 28-year-old but you can be certain that he'll be doing everything in his power to change that and, worryingly for the other teams, he seems to be improving and learning all the time under the guidance of Benitez. He has come a long way since that night at Knowsley Road.

TOMKINS: THE EVOLUTION OF A SQUAD
Paul Tomkins 10 November 2008

Liverpool brush West Brom aside with contempt, and what is the post-match tv debate about? – why was Robbie Keane taken off.
Keane played brilliantly, and took his two goals like the top-class finisher I believe he is. His movement was outstanding, and like Kuyt and Torres, and Beardsley and Rush before them, he works incredibly hard. There's no standing around, sulking and pouting with him. But he was taken off at 2-0, and the Reds won 3-0. So the only topic should be how well Liverpool played, not the decision to deny a player his hat-trick. Can we dispense with the cult of the individual? Frankly, it drives me potty. What is the only thing that really matters? The three points. By all means express a little sympathy for Keane; like any striker, he wanted to grab that third goal, and I was willing him to do so. But the manager took him off, and the team subsequently increased its lead. Keane remains fresh for the upcoming schedule, and so there can be no complaints. At first it was rotation; Rafa was slated for it, even though I've constantly argued that he has done so no more than his main rivals. He was told to concentrate on winning games with his strongest team, then rest his star players after an hour or 70 minutes. And yet when he does so, it's almost a case of ‘how dare he?'. I do feel with Benítez that he has to be criticised for something. And as well as the anchormen always looking for the negative slant, the problem lies with ex-players as pundits. If they're there to talk about good play on the pitch, then their insight can be excellent. But more often than not they criticise a manager's decisions, when they are clearly still thinking from an individual player's perspective. A manager's remit is so much bigger than any single player's, because he is the man responsible for results. He thinks only about the bigger picture. Liverpool's best-ever season in terms of games won was the 71% in 1979; currently, the total for this season stands at 75%. That may not continue until May, but let's acknowledge the work in getting to that level – the big picture – and not the far less significant denial of a player to get his hat-trick. It's the same with all the rot about when Gerrard was playing on the right in 2005/06. It didn't matter that Liverpool won two-thirds of their league games (the second best-ever tally in the club's history), and brushed aside several Premiership teams, including Manchester United and Chelsea, to win the FA Cup, with the captain scoring 23 times. And yet it was all “it's not his best position”, and “he won't be happy”. As much as it would please me to see Gerrard grinning like a Cheshire cat because he's playing well in his favoured role, I know there's a specific smile that will mean far more to him: the one that darts across his face when he lifts aloft the Premiership trophy. And if you told him now that playing right-midfield would guarantee that, I think he'd take it, don't you? Hell, I'm sure he'd even play in goal to get that medal. As it happens, he's been playing either in a central midfield pair, or off the main striker. But when everyone's fit, there will be decisions to be made as to who plays. Mascherano and Alonso have been two of the team's best performers so far, Torres will play 95% of matches when fit, and Robbie Keane has added that special combination of link-play coupled with the ability to approach 20 goals in a season. Riera is giving the team great width, and at times it looks like the ball is glued to his foot, while Dirk Kuyt has had his best few months as a Liverpool player. Ryan Babel, who is almost unstoppable when on song, is having to settle for the bench most weeks, and this overall picture is all something we should celebrate. It's what we've all wanted: players in form, and genuine competition for places. When Martin Skrtel is fit again, there'll be another headache for the manager; one he will welcome that with open arms. All the while, Sami Hyypia is still on hand. (Could there have been a more soothing sight at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea grew desperate in the final stages than that mop of bright yellow hair rising to head away each long punt?) Again, I feel sorry for Sami that he probably won't play as much as he wants. But I am incredibly grateful that he's still around. So at present, there are at least 16 players I could make a very strong case for deserving to feature in the starting line-up most weeks, and plenty of others I feel assured won't let the team down. That's far better than struggling to find six or seven you want to see play. But then the focus in the media shifts to who has to miss out, or who has to shift across or drop back to a different role. It's then about who is unhappy, who will feel hurt or slighted to be left out, or substituted, or played out of position. That's the role of the media: to sniff a story, to stir the pot. But again, I couldn't give a stuff who plays if the results are going the Reds' way. Keeping everyone happy won't be easy – that's the challenge of managing a big squad where more than eleven players have a good shout to start most matches. But with the side of ‘rotation' that never gets praised, Rafa never keeps anyone in the cold for too long; while some players won't like it when it's their turn to be rested, those who haven't featured as much know that he will call on them if the situation merits. No-one is ever completely frozen out. Xabi Alonso had just started nine games in the row, and, surreally, the talk was of him being the one who always has to miss out. Well, what about Carlos Tevez at Manchester United? A manager cannot field 15 players to satisfy all his star names. It's the same with Robbie Keane being taken off. Sure, he'll be disappointed, but he'll have looked at the four goals he's now bagged as a decent contribution, on top of improving all-round play, and more importantly he'll look at the Reds top of the league and the Champions League group. He'll know that he played an important part in wins over Man United and Chelsea. He didn't come to Liverpool to try and top the 23 goals he scored last season for Spurs; he came to challenge for the serious trophies. And so far that's looking an inspired decision. People kept telling me that Keane would never find his confidence while regularly being substituted, but equally, he has started a lot of games, and has therefore remained a key part of the team. And despite Rafa replacing him after an hour in several games, he's continued to improve, and now has four goals in his last seven starts. I may be wrong, but I feel that Benítez tests his players. And in the Spaniard's own Darwinian way, the strong survive and the weak are sold on – only for a new crop to arrive, in which there may inevitably be a couple of flops, but there will also be a clutch of winners; so that season upon season, a better mentality evolves around the place. In an age where players can fall into the comfort zone, or rest on their laurels (and their bank balance), there's no harm in making sure every last player has a hunger for success. Without naming names, there have been a few players in the last 18 years who haven't been half as keen on winning games as they have in playing the part of a Premiership footballer. From what the senior players have said, Rafa does not go out of his way to put an arm around a player, or tell him in person how great he is (even if he does extol their virtues to the press). It's important to have someone like Sammy Lee around, who is such a great ‘people person' as well as a top-class coach. You need that balance. The opposite to Rafa is someone like Harry Redknapp, who arrived at Spurs and told each player to his face how good he was, and what he does well. By contrast, Rafa will point out each player's faults. And yet both methods can be effective. The key is to do what works for you. There's no use in constantly telling your players they are the best in the world if that leads to complacency or over-inflated egos. And there is also a logic to getting players to work on their weaknesses. You could argue that Djibril Cissé was a player who needed to feel loved, and who really struggled with the rotation system. I'm pleased to see the Frenchman doing fairly well at Sunderland; he's a player I like. However, Rafa's solution to the problem Cissé posed in terms of consistency, confidence and concentration was, quite brutally, to sell him, and buy someone better – and, crucially, a lot mentally tougher – in Torres. (Cissé will always have my respect for the way he came back from those horrific injuries, and in that sense his character was immense, but he was too emotional, too volatile, for the kind of steely attitude Benítez was trying to create.) The final debate with Robbie Keane will be his price tag. But a player's value does not exist in a vacuum; it relates to a need. Take the example of a battered old motorbike (not that I'm equating Keane to a shabby Kawasaki!). In a normal situation, its worth won't be that high. However, if you are stranded in the middle of the Australian outback in 50º heat, with 100 miles to the safety, then you'll pay your every last cent for such a bike. In other words, if Liverpool win the league this season, and he continues to play a major part, Keane will have proved worth every last penny.

TOMKINS REFLECTS ON CHELSEA WIN
Paul Tomkins 27 October 2008

So, when do you start believing? Perhaps it's best to use the victory at Stamford Bridge as a metaphor for the season as a whole.
When Xabi Alonso's shot was deflected past Petr Cech, I was obviously pleased – but I didn't feel victory was in the bag. What the goal did do, however, was give the Reds a chance. And in the past 19 years at Stamford Bridge, that's been a rare pleasure. But after about 65 minutes, with Ryan Babel on to use his pace and skill, after Robbie Keane had run his socks off, and with the Reds clearly on top (with Gerrard having his best game against the Blues), I finally felt victory was possible. And it was then, at the point of truly believing, that I got really nervous. And bizarrely, it was Alonso's superb free-kick that cannoned back off the post a few minutes later that made me rethink, and worry that it might yet be Chelsea's day. So, as a season, it should be the two-thirds mark when we really know if our belief is not misplaced, and that the Reds can hang in there. But what this start has clearly done, as with Alonso's goal, is give Liverpool a chance. I often don't seem as disappointed as some fans after a defeat because I've been less optimistic beforehand. I obviously want the Reds to win every game, but sometimes I sense defeat looming. Anything then is a bonus. An away game at Chelsea, with their 86 home game unbeaten record, and I'm already expecting the worst. Of course, I'd never want the players or manager to have this outlook; they are the ones who can control the moods of us all, the ones who need to have belief, with our collective destiny in their hands. Thankfully they had belief in spades yesterday. I've spent the past three years on this website trying to boost morale at this point of the season. My worry now is that some fans will get carried away –– and I'm trying my best to not join them. Total elation when you're winning can be as misplaced as total doom when you're not. And from such a high, you can experience a bigger fall when the inevitable bad result or two comes along. What I will say is that people need to enjoy the present moment, and the football we've seen this season. Right now, things are nigh-on perfect. We need to appreciate that fact. But that doesn't mean one or two bad results won't see the ‘moodometer' swing 180º in the opposite direction. It does depress me when people focus on the negatives, as I experienced before this game. In a number of instances I experienced comments along the lines of Dirk Kuyt's goals being ‘lucky' because the keeper got some kind of touch on them, and that the recent 3-2 victories ultimately meant that we'll definitely end up losing games. Clearly you can't keep conceding goals and needing to comeback to win. But what was ever to say that Liverpool would keep going behind, or conceding two goals in games? The key thing for me was that when the Reds did concede goals – and all teams do, one way or another, at sometime or another – there was the ability to play football and win from difficult positions. The sendings off may have helped in those victories, but no-one asked the opposition to make dangerous tackles on Xabi Alonso. And while the victories against last season's top two have come with the aid of own goals/deflections, it must be acknowledged that the pressure Liverpool put teams under forced these mistakes. So I don't buy that Liverpool have had a surplus of luck. The Stoke game was drawn because the officials disallowed a perfectly good goal, and none of the sendings off were unjust. Before Antonio Valencia's first booking, the Wigan wall, of which he was part, refused to retreat for almost two minutes. And his second booking was a straight red in my eyes. Add the niggling injuries to Torres, in particular, as well as those to Gerrard and Babel in the early weeks, followed by the loss of Martin Skrtel to a serious knee problem, and you can't say that it's been handed to Liverpool on a plate. Then there was the issue of three players lost to Olympics, more than any other club. And when talking of luck, the fixture list hasn't exactly been kind, either: the away derby, Man United and Chelsea in the first nine games, plus Aston Villa and Manchester City away – two of the obvious favourites for 5th spot. Also, five of the nine games so far have been away, so those 23 points have been hard-earned. By contrast, Arsenal haven't even played anyone of distinction yet: West Brom, Fulham, Newcastle, Blackburn, Bolton, Hull, Sunderland, Everton and West Ham. Hull are flying high, but it's still a game you'd expect Arsenal to win at home. And many of Benítez's hoodoos are being broken. There was the Steve Bruce league jinx, and the long-awaited home and away victories against Manchester United and Chelsea. These are perennial bogey fixtures – but not this season. Not only have Liverpool beaten both United and Chelsea, but they've both been fully deserved. I hate to use the 'V'-word, but there is a look to this Liverpool team that brings to mind Rafa's Valencia. It's nowhere near identical, because it's an entirely different collection of individuals, but the style of play is growing ever closer in most senses. Valencia used to grind teams down: the 'Crushing Machine' was their nickname. But Valencia also played the best football I've ever seen in the flesh from a visiting team at Anfield. Not the fanciest football, with tricks and flicks, but the most complete display of a team moving from defence to attack, and then back again, as if telepathic. I think we all expected the same to happen at Liverpool, but it's taken its time. We've seen hints of it before, but it was always a slightly watered down version. Now I see a team that looks capable of matching Benítez's achievements at Valencia. I do hate this patronising notion that Rafa finally 'understands' English football; as if a man with his football intelligence didn't ‘get it' in four years here. His league win rate with the Reds going into this campaign was already ahead of some of his legendary forebears, but the bar had been raised, particularly by Chelsea's über-squad and Alex Ferguson's best-ever team. It seems there is a little less rotation from Rafa this time, but it only appears like a sea-change if you work from the incorrect notion that he rotated far more than his rivals to start with; in the previous two league seasons combined, it was 235 total changes to United's league line-ups to 244 to Liverpool's, while Chelsea made 222. So not much in it. By contrast, Arsenal made only 171, and yet they didn't end either season in style. If anything, Liverpool's remarkable overachievement in Europe under Benítez has worked against him in home-soil perceptions. I have never felt that the manager has prioritised Europe over the Premiership –– unless it's been at the stage of the season when the former has become the only realistic target. Much was made of a couple of Benítez's league line-ups early last season, but he has always fielded fringe players in the Champions League qualifiers, and his team that lost to Marseilles was far from the strongest available. But as that was doesn't fit the argument, it tends to be overlooked. Also, Torres has missed games with injury this season and the Reds have won, which kind of disproves the ‘Torres or bust' theories. I've defended rotation, but I've never said it is foolproof, or indeed that it is the only way to succeed –– my point has always been that it's impossible to conclusively prove either way, and as such, is an easy thing to blame when things aren't working out. Liverpool weren't winning the league, therefore it must have been Benítez's tinkering. However, could it not have been that the teams that did win the league cost far more money? –– in the same way that teams who spend far less than Liverpool tend to finish far lower. What confuses me is that other clubs who have spent similar amounts to Liverpool in the last three or four years –– such as Spurs and Newcastle –– are not expected to do anywhere near as well as the Reds. These are teams with lots of £10m+ players, yet look at the sorry state they've got themselves into. I've counted seven £10m+ players representing Spurs this season. By contrast, Liverpool have just five on the books: the only five Benítez has bought (with Dirk Kuyt a fraction under £10m). Go to the other end of the spectrum, and in the last 12 months Chelsea have fielded 14 stars who cost £10m+, and have eleven on the books at present. United currently have nine players in this price bracket. So for me, maybe the fact that Chelsea and United have that many more £10m-£30m players helped give them the edge. I'm not pleading poverty for Liverpool, as Rafa has clearly had some money to spend; I'm merely trying to show that, pound for pound, Benítez has done an excellent job when compared with his rivals. And what we're now seeing is in keeping with a point I've been arguing for some years: that if you give a top-class manager the time to build the squad he wants, he can achieve his ambitions. Those ambitions haven't yet been fulfilled, but it's moving in the right direction. However, nothing I can say in the hope of a strong summation can top what the manager himself said after a landmark victory: “We have belief, we have quality and we have character. But we need three points in our next game against Portsmouth if we are going to keep this mentality.” Amen to that.

TOMKINS: ENGLAND'S LOSS, LIVERPOOL'S GAIN
Paul Tomkins 13 October 2008

I have to shake my head in disbelief at the criticism that has come Steven Gerrard's way in the past week, from fans and media alike.
Of course, it all stems from England's matches; although this has led fans of other clubs, somewhat laughably, to expand it to include talk about how overrated he is in general. (By the way, isn't ‘overrated' the most tiresomely overused word in football? I can't think of one player it hasn't been levelled against.) It was even mooted by one United fan that Michael Carrick is a far better player – a fact ‘proven' by him having won a greater number of the medals that matter most. By this logic, dear old Djimi Traoré is as good as Michael Owen, Matt Le Tissier and Alan Shearer combined, on account of total career medals garnered, which includes the European Cup. Clearly it doesn't work this way. Carrick better than Gerrard? Yes, the debate has got that surreal. Football is about opinions, but let's keep some reality; I'm not about to argue that Bernard Diomede was a better winger than Cristiano Ronaldo just because I'm a Liverpool fan. And Michael Robinson, who admitted to being woefully out of his depth at Anfield in 1984, won as many medals as George Best, but I won't take that train of thought any further. The issue of Gerrard's quality is not to be confused with team balance, something that England often lack in the centre of midfield when Gerrard and Lampard are paired together, given their similar desire to get forward. At Liverpool, Mascherano and Alonso don't clash with their captain's instincts. For England, Gerrard has to think a lot harder, because before making a move he has to check whether his midfield partner has already bombed forward. One national newspaper's blog even spoke of Gerrard's (and Lampard's) “limited technical ability and incessant mediocrity at international level”. It makes me laugh that this is suggested after a game against the calibre of opposition that wouldn't even make the Uefa Cup; and yet over the past five seasons we've seen Gerrard impress hugely in leading Liverpool to the latter stages of the Champions League, and inspiring the Reds to overcome the mighty AC Milan from a 3-0 disadvantage. (And let's face it, Lampard has hardly been found wanting in European football, has he?) Suddenly Gerrard doesn't posses the adequate technique for international football? What is the Champions League then? – an English pub league? I'm sorry, but aside from the top few national teams in the world, the knockout stages of the Champions League has a greater proliferation of world-class talent than the general international arena. And the group stages involve more talent than a World Cup qualifying campaign; Marseilles and PSV Eindhoven, propping up Liverpool's group, are far better sides than Kazakhstan, while teams like Andorra wouldn't even make the Inter Toto Cup. Big European teams have the cream of the world's crop, gathered in tight clusters. Liverpool themselves have a collection of the best players from England, Argentina, Spain and Holland, four of the globe's traditional superpowers, and emerging internationals from two further major nations, Italy and Brazil. You can say something similar of all the top Champions League sides. Only last month Gerrard scored the kind of goal against Marseilles that 99.9% of players from any country could only dream about: wrapping his foot around the ball for a shot in such a difficult and unnatural body position – so that he looked almost double-jointed in its execution – but making it look effortless in the process. The goalkeeper didn't move a muscle. If Ronaldinho had produced this piece of skill we'd have heard about how only the Latinos of this world can conjure such otherworldly perfection. And someone is telling me that Gerrard lacks technique beyond the confines of the hurly-burly of the Premiership? (Which, itself, is now a far more technical league than in the past.) The problem is not one of technique or calibre of opposition, but of context. At Liverpool, Gerrard is respected, treasured and a go-to man. For England, he has much less of a support network. For England, like others, he is just another potential scapegoat. For a start, any player representing England has to put up with the numbskulls who boo their own players mercilessly after a mistake. Far be it from me to want to defend Ashley Cole (and I'm more likely to be asked to become the sixth member of Girls Aloud than to make a habit of it), but a baying home arena does not help players, no matter how much they earn. Why would anyone want to destroy the confidence of one of their own players with 20 minutes remaining? Yes, you pay your money, but you're only likely to make players more nervous; if not just this time, then when contemplating the next game. Thankfully Anfield still remains the most cultured crowd. You only have to look at how quickly the passionate Newcastle fans have turned on their own players and managers in recent seasons (and how it only made things worse) to see that patience and intelligence are also key attributes of a club's support – not just raw emotion, dedication and passion. I've only been to see England play once as an adult, back in 1996, when Robbie Fowler made his debut against Croatia. By contrast I've been to see Liverpool a few hundred times. Therefore, like a lot of fans, I care about my club first and foremost. However, if I did care enough about England to pay money and travel to the game (and therefore, presumably, desperately wanted them to win), I don't see the point of then booing a player I don't like. Why don't these fans ask themselves why their team plays better away from home, when they're not playing with fear? The media treatment of England is also generally appalling. Again, the players are well-paid professionals at the top of their sport who don't need mollycoddling, but equally they should not feel like they are battling their own nation. It's easy to look on at the Olympic spirit seen this summer by our heroic gold medal athletes, but they didn't have thousands of fans barracking their every move from the sidelines and journalists praying that they fail, because it makes better copy. There's also this new ‘Hollywood' accusation regarding Gerrard's passing. Suddenly it's a bad thing to be able to pass 60 yards with incredible vision. Sure, they don't always come off; nor do Xabi Alonso's. But at times you have to try and mix it up, and if one out of every three or four dissects the opposition like a hot knife through butter, then it's a job well done. I'm sure you could put together a stunning montage of Gerrard's long-range assists over the past decade to justify his decision to look ambitiously long every now and then. Having said all this, like every other top-class player, Gerrard is not without his faults. He seems to burn too much nervous energy ahead of big games, but then he does carry an enormous burden of expectation and responsibility; even cool, calm and collected Alan Hansen said that the older he got the more he became a bag of nerves before big matches, as a lot was expected of him as a senior figure in the team. But even if Gerrard can look nervous early on in big games, he tends to come good and deliver when it really matters. His record proves that. Of course he will struggle to regularly dominate games against Chelsea or Man United to the degree he does others, because these are fixtures in which no-one really dominates proceedings, such is the spread of talent and the tactical battle at the heart of the pitch. Often centre-backs are the ones who get noticed most. Sometimes it frustrates me when Gerrard gets Man of the Match for Liverpool almost on his reputation alone; on occasions you can pick out someone less-heralded who underpinned the victory. And as we saw against Man United recently, Liverpool are not lost without him, even though you'd want him in the side whenever possible. There seems to be this usual black/white reporting that he saves ‘one-man' Liverpool's bacon time and time again, yet when he has a bad game for England he is rubbish and technically incompetent. To me, it's like Liverpool get insulted by the media in club debates as having only one great player (a nonsense, even before Torres arrived), but with England, it is then Liverpool's player that gets insulted. I admit my bias, but I don't recall Wayne Rooney getting so heavily doubted after four mostly uninspiring years for his country. But despite one or two inevitable flaws, I still think that Gerrard is the most complete player to represent Liverpool (and England); at least in my lifetime. He can pass, shoot, tackle, beat a man, but what marks him out is that he has both the pace and the stature to make him a dominant physical presence, too. To score 100 club goals from midfield is a remarkable achievement, particularly as he was not on penalty duty for much of his career. Hopefully he will feel far more comfortable, appreciated and understood once he returns to Melwood at the end of the week. And, once back in the fold, he can instantly begin work on his next century of goals.