Anyone fed up and miserable out there ? Read this then 
And smile 
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/NG157807071126-1308.htmSo far it's Eight Torres beauties, Seven Stevie stunners, Six Kuyt finishes –– Five for Benayoun –– Four from Ryan and Andriy, Three Crouch strikes, two Alonso goals and a belter from Mo Sissoko ... and, er, one each from Sami Hyypia and Nabil El Zhar.
(For the final line, it's a shame Richie Partridge is no longer on the books, or indeed, in a pear tree.)
Twenty-one of those goals are from four of the new players. It's precisely what BenÃtez wanted with regard to the team sharing the goals around, and even players who are in and out of the side are racking up some good figures. Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard, harangued by the home fans at St James' Park, has rediscovered the goalscoring touch that is so important to the Reds.
I do think this country's booing culture is getting out of hand, and bar the odd occasion, I'm proud that it's a tradition that Liverpool fans do not adhere to. While the circumstances were different, in that the Reds weren't expected to win, the half-time reaction in Istanbul should be compared with that of the England fans at Wembley this week, followed by the Geordies' treatment of Gerrard.
Martin Samuel of The Times made an interesting point a few weeks back when likening it to Big Brother / X-Factor culture: everyone has their phone vote, everyone has their say, as to who to they want to kick out.
Newcastle fans spent the entire game booing someone or other. I admire their passion and commitment, and pity them their recent history, but they have to look at their own role in their team's failure.
It reminds me of England fans booing their own players in previous games –– singling out individuals like Lampard and Crouch to crucify –– as it just ramps up the fear factor. No wonder England players looked scared last Wednesday; already under enormous pressure, they knew their own crowd would turn on them within a heartbeat.
I understand the Geordies using England's failure to get at a player who was in opposition ranks on Saturday, but it's not like their team contained anyone fit to lace Gerrard's boots, either on the day or over the course of their careers.
Continuing to boo him after he'd scored a belter was typical of the idiocy of a crowd mentality at times. Did they not notice he was just getting better and better as a result?
Also, I had to laugh when Gerrard's corner was flicked on by an unmarked Hyypia and turned in by an unmarked Kuyt, with an unmarked Harry Kewell running in for good measure.
I heard no mention by Andy Gray about the failings of man-to-marking at set-pieces. Nor, as expected, did I hear how zonal marking would have stopped such a terrible defensive mess. (And did anyone see Man United's farcical set-piece defending that cost them the points at Bolton? Kudos to Danny Guthrie, too, for his role in the result.)
Without wishing to tempt fate, it's nearly seven months since Liverpool last conceded a goal from a set-piece delivery into the box (excluding Carling Cup games, with the Reds' defence heavily altered for those games). That last one from the first team 'proper' came from a corner against Arsenal on March 31st. No other team can come close to matching this.
(Sami Hyypia's own goal at Everton was from the second phase, after the initial corner was cleared, and it was hardly the fault of zonal marking; if anything it showed that Hyppia's positioning was spot-on, but he sliced his clearance.)
Dirk Kuyt had a rough time at Blackburn a few weeks back, but he's back with a goal, and as any striker knows, it just needs one to go in off the backside or, in this case, the shin to get the confidence up and running again. He's got a respectable six to his name so far this season, and while I think penalties distort a striker's tally, there's no doubting that the two he took at Goodison were not your run-of-the-mill spot-kick situations, and fully deserving of great credit.
Kuyt does so much good work between the lines, and can look at home in bolstering the midfield (crucial in away games) or supporting the main striker. If you looked at him as an attacking midfielder in a 4-5-1 formation, which is what in reality he often is, you'd be very happy with six goals by November.
Just look at Kuyt's part in the third goal on Saturday to see his worth. The ball is won by Sissoko from Alan Smith, and the Reds will keep it for almost a full minute. Once Sissoko wins it, Kuyt makes a bursting run down the inside-left channel, but doesn't receive the ball. All the same, it creates space for others.
Within seconds he's appearing on the right-hand touchline, keeping possession. The ball eventually ends up going back to Hyypia, and Kuyt's on the move again, back to the centre-forward position. By the time the ball is with Finnan at right-back, Kuyt, running like he’s on Duracell batteries, has dropped deep and fairly central to receive the pass. Finnan's ball sends Kuyt down the right-wing, but it's slightly over-hit.
However, Kuyt wins it from the Newcastle player, and sends Babel away, into the space he himself has vacated. Babel and Gerrard then combine for the young Dutchman to finish with aplomb.
Just watching Kuyt's movement and running in this one goal, it's easy to see why Torres gets so many chances playing alongside him. The way Kuyt pulls defenders this way and that leaves the Spaniard in his favoured central position, often faced by just one opponent. And as well as creating space, several of Torres' chances were teed up by his Dutch colleague, either with battling tendencies, flick-ons or well-weighted through balls.
I also think you need as many players with Kuyt's character as possible.
He's a bit like Jamie Carragher in that he's not the silkiest of players, but his determination lifts those around him. Such players complement the likes of Torres, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano and Agger, who have the greater natural technical ability to go with equally great desire.
Players this complete and multi-faceted are rarities, and not easy to come by. However, if you can keep high the number of 'winners' alongside them, who put in unceasing work and battle for every ball, you will get a more consistent intensity from the performance of the team as a whole.
Players like Carragher and Kuyt simply never go missing. It doesn't mean they don't have bad games, but the effort is always there, setting an example to others. Fans may sometimes covet outrageously skilful players, but anyone who shirks their share of the work can drag the team down.
The older I get, the more I appreciate this fact. The psychology of a football team is so complex, because you have eleven (and more) individuals, each with their own unique character, which gets enhanced or negated depending on those around them, and the circumstances in which the team finds itself.
It only needs a couple of defeatists to give up on the pitch and the whole thing can fall apart. The majority of BenÃtez's signings continue to go from strength to strength, and the reason why, for me, is that character is so crucial to him. Even non-physical players like Benayoun chase and harry, while always wanting the ball.
One new signing, Lucas, was superb on his full league debut –– a really mature performance of steady, accurate passing, intelligent movement and gutsy hard work from the 20-year-old. At times I felt he deferred to Steven Gerrard a bit too much, passing to the captain when he himself was better placed to hit a cross or forward pass, but that's understandable; he will find his own authority once he is more settled at the club.
At full-back, Arbeloa continues to increasingly impress me –– he has arguably been BenÃtez's best bargain. Speed, skill and composure: top quality.
Ryan Babel is improving all the time, and now showing his class. A laid-back personality, he is perhaps someone who needs the likes of Kuyt to lift him. But he still has character and commitment: at Ajax, where the emphasis was already on ability with the ball, he employed his own technical trainer to help him work on his game, not to mention taking one-on-one sessions in striking from Marco Van Basten.
Babel may not be a natural winger, but he has everything needed to succeed out wide (pace, power, skill and a good cross), as well as that priceless commodity of being natural in central areas when he drifts infield, as is his wont. In the long-term he may end up there permanently. He side-foots the ball harder than most can hit it with the laces.
In the last three games he has come on in the second-half, and lifted the Reds' game by a notch or two. Against Besiktas he claimed two and hit the bar in a sparkling cameo up front; against Fulham his introduction coincided with the late goals (the second of which he created); and at Newcastle he showed how clever he is in linking play and getting into shooting chances, scoring yet another.
It all adds up to less than 90 minutes' football, but includes three goals for himself, some assists, hitting the woodwork, and the Reds scoring six goals during his time on the field. With the opposition tiring, he has a bit more time and space to work in, which helps as he gets used to English football.
Strangely, it was another one of BenÃtez's signings, and one who had very little meaningful work to do, who caught my eye this weekend. Pepe Reina just looks so comfortable. He's like an 11th outfield player in how he deals with the ball.
The assurance with which he handles situations, and the speed and accuracy of his distribution, allows the team to start building attacks before the opposition have even realised they've stopped building their own. (Torres gives him a great 'out' ball, too.)
I've felt all season that the Reds are at least capable of challenging for the title. I didn't alter that view when points were being dropped, and the good wins the team is now getting merely reinforces my hunch.
On the evidence so far, it really does look like a four-horse race for the title, with Manchester City acting as the surprise fifth horse that will almost certainly fade away.
Despite things like the BBC website saying that "Liverpool are [only] fifth in the Premier League" as a criticism of BenÃtez, if the Reds win their game in hand they'd be second, ahead of Manchester United on goal difference (while Arsenal's form could be considered distorted on account of having had eight of their 13 games at home).
In what crazy world is that unacceptable for the Reds at this point in the season? 
