TOMKINS: IT'S A GAP, NOT A GULF
Paul Tomkins 25 March 2008
Whatever happened at Old Trafford, I had already decided that Liverpool are behind Manchester United in terms of talent but closing the gap. These fixtures tend to take on an all-defining power, but ultimately it's just one game. And one-off games involve luck, the kind Liverpool haven't done well enough at Old Trafford to deserve in recent years, but which has been unfairly lacking in recent home games against United. United also used to win these games when Liverpool were the best side in the world, while the Reds regularly beat United when they were winning titles at the start of the new millennium, so it's important to put them into perspective.
United, based on the league table, were always going to still be the better team regardless, but the gap is closing in a season where United have actually considerably strengthened (adding Ā£80m-worth of talent), when their squad was already far more expensive than Liverpool's to start with.
The result from Old Trafford, whatever it would be, would only sway my opinion a few percent either way: a draw, and we're where I thought; a win, and we're perhaps 5% ahead; a defeat, and maybe 5% behind. But performance, and ability to deserve more at Old Trafford, would also be important. In the end, maybe that was hardest to judge.
I hadn't reckoned with the Ashley Cole factor, and refs cracking down on any form of dissent following his bad foul and barracking of the ref last week. It's ironic that Liverpool hardly ever harass the referee, and rarely get players sent off, and yet pay the price of a clampdown while teams who misbehave more frequently continue to get away with it. Cole's tackle and reaction were far worse, but he got away with it. Ferguson, meanwhile, had put the referee under more pressure before the match.
Mascherano was clearly treading a tightrope, and while I understand his frustration at being booked for his first tackle while United players were only getting warnings, he should have kept out of things having already been cautioned and can't have too many complaints.
However, if referees are going to give one team all the bookings, and award nonsensical yellow cards, trouble will follow. Torres was being fouled and fouled again, by three United players in three seconds, and when he asked the ref about it, he got booked. Ludicrous, utterly ludicrous. Some refs have admitted letting Wayne Rooney swear at them 20 times or more in a match, and then Mascherano gets sent off for plain dissent following Torres' unfair booking. Where's the consistency?
Ten-man Liverpool showed character in the middle of the second half, and that's encouraging. But when United can bring on Ā£60m-worth of talent (Tevez valued at Ā£30m, even if only on loan initially), you can see the disparity in resources as they turned the screw in the last ten minutes. This when Ferguson's starting team already cost Ā£30m more than Benitez's.
Unfortunately, it all coincided with Pepe Reina experiencing probably his most mixed game for the club - three wonderful saves, but also a couple of costly mistakes. I still think he's the best keeper in the country, but part of United's success has been down to landing Van der Sar after years with dodgy keepers. Can they replace their ageing Dutchman when the time comes?
Much of the constant criticism of Benitez has been that he has never appeared to know what his best team is. I've never seen this as essential in the modern age, when the squad takes on more significance. Isn't it better to have two equally good players competing for one position, where you can't choose your best XI, than one good and one bad, where you easily can?
Ideally you'd want a great player in the mix, and few teams have two of those competing for the same spot. One is hard enough to come by, let alone two.
When trying to work out United's strongest team, who are their best midfielders? Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes, Anderson, Nani, Hargreaves, Carrick and Fletcher are those who appear most. You could make a strong case for the inclusion of the first seven names in particular, but only four can start at once. Ferguson chops and changes them, and 'rotates' heavily, all without criticism, even when they lose.
If anything, the midfield situation is clearer at Liverpool, particularly since Gerrard was moved into a more advanced role (something Ronaldo also does for United from time to time). The most obvious choices for the two deeper midfielders are Mascherano and Alonso. Lucas is an excellent player for his age, and a handy option at this stage of his career, but is still learning when compared with the other two.
The left-wing role is being nailed down by the exciting Babel, who, like Lucas, is also learning. Babel, however, has the ability to be devastating, and that will only increase with experience of the league and maturity. He's improving, but there's more to come. He's at the stage Ronaldo was two or three years ago.
It's easy to say 'why didn't Benitez do all this at the start of the season', but that misses the point. First of all, Alonso was injured. That left Lucas, who was not ready to be a regular at that stage, and Sissoko, who had lost his confidence. So Gerrard played in a traditional midfield role; and even had he played in his current position, there's nothing to say the understanding with Torres back then would have been as strong as it is now.
Also, Babel wasn't ready to be as consistent; he was struggling to adapt to the pace of the game, and the frequency of matches. It's very hard for a manager expected to challenge for the title to bed in new players straight into the starting XI; there's no patience from outside with regard to mistakes while the adaptation takes place.
I feel that Liverpool are now where United were in 2006. Although the Reds finished just one point behind United that season, Ferguson's project was more advanced. He was about to have Ronaldo and Rooney come of age; whereas Liverpool were never going to get that dramatic improvement from the ageing Fowler and Morientes, while Cisse's pace on the wing had its limitations - he was never going to improve in the way Babel, a clever player, has the potential to.
In 2005/06, Benitez had some new key elements in place - Reina, Agger, Alonso - but since then he's added Torres, Babel, Mascherano, Lucas, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Aurelio and Benayoun, to name just a few. This collection of players is now starting to blend, but it can improve markedly given the age of the team and its time spent together.
Also, United invested even more heavily than Liverpool last summer, building from a position of strength - although they paid around Ā£50m, they added Ā£80m of talent in just four players last summer. How do you close a gap in those circumstances?
In Torres and Gerrard, the Reds have a combination to build success around, in the manner United did with Rooney and Ronaldo, before adding a third axis in Tevez. Of course, as soon as Liverpool found the prolific striker everyone said the club lacked, the focus switched to 'Liverpool rely too much on Torres'. Crazy.
It's important that Liverpool build on the formula the manager has created. But an avoidance of injuries to key players next season will be crucial; it is to any team. It's not possible to say how much a team relies on one player simply by removing their goals from the equation; after all, if they weren't playing, someone else would be. However, I find it hard to believe United would be doing anywhere near as well had Ronaldo suffered a serious injury in August.
Man-for-man, there's not a massive gulf between the two clubs' strongest XIs. But it's about the squad, too. Also, a team is not just a collection of individuals; it's how they gel together, and how much they exceed the sum of their parts. United have the advantage in that sense, having been together longer. They break with such pace and understanding, and that hasn't happened overnight. Liverpool, with Gerrard, Torres and Babel forming a new super-quick attack, are capable of matching them - but in time.
They also have players with league-winning experience from 2003 and before, which helped underpin their recent success. Liverpool are closing the gap in terms of team cohesion and unity, but the psychology of two decades without a league title will always be the hardest barrier to overcome.
A fit Agger, and Liverpool would almost certainly have been closer to the top three. He was missed in a number of home games in particular. Alonso was also missed. I don't think United had to get by without any key first-choice players for long periods this season, bar Gary Neville, who is not crucial to their cause.
Of course, a lot depends on how each of the big teams strengthen over the summer, and how quickly the new additions settle. I just feel that, despite the setback, Benitez is now really close to the side he wants. Will that be enough? With United building upon key elements Ferguson had put in place while Rafa was still at Valencia, it'll be hard. But hopefully not impossible. Time will tell...
I really enjoy Tompkins column, he covers a lot of ground. After the game i decided i had an anger problem which is one of the reasons why i didn't come on-line to discuss the game, i dribbled sh*t while it was on but i was drunk. Anyway after reading the posts of everyone its clear that we are all discusted by what happened over the weekend and there are mainly 2 views; 1) we played like we were scared of united or shaky if that sounds nicer, 2) we were hard done by by the ref.
In my opinion we didn't see the liverpool that we had been seeing recently, something was different about them even though we looked to have the upper hand in the build up to the game and we were all thinking from recent performances of both teams that this would be the game where we would win at old trafford. Even my cousin (manc fan) was shitting himself on the lead up to this game. But at the same time i feel that the ref (wont say his name cos hes a c**t) was extremely biased and nothing will change my opinion in that, it was absolutely discusting and it makes me think again about the consistency of the refs in the league. this has not been a good year for liverpool as far as reffing is concerned that's for sure.
In the last section of Tomkins column he points out some very valid things that maybe i didn't take into account though i knew of them, one of them being:
Also, United invested even more heavily than Liverpool last summer, building from a position of strength - although they paid around Ā£50m, they added Ā£80m of talent in just four players last summer. How do you close a gap in those circumstances? I'm not thinking of this as an excuse to what happened over the weekend as we should have rose to the occasion but he brings to light the fact that our squad is still being built and still gelling together, something that the papers have not been thinking about purely from been biased and stupidity.
I still think Rafa is the man for the job to bring us the title and once he gets his squad EXACTLY how he wants it then and only then will we see us winning year in year out.
I really cant wait until fergie retires and he will do very soon, and unless united get someone like mourinho in then i can see their winning form dropping until they gel with there new manager just like Chelsea. also i think that a few players will have moved on by then. But before all that happens i want us to win at anfeild and old trafford while fergie is still in charge which i believe is very achievable within the next couple of seasons. One thing i believe is going to be a big factor is what happens over the summer, personally id like Rafa to be ruthless and clear out the dead wood still hanging on and get all the money he needs to be able to buy the talent HE wants.
This is a very exciting time for liverpool and i think if H&G don't F**k it up then we are going to have a very bright red future
