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      The Official Paul Tomkins Thread

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      DOBBS83
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      • @chrisdobbs83
      The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Apr 01, 2008 05:07:24 am
      Seeing as i didn't find one on him I've decided to make up my own thread. I think he writes some fantastic stuff and I believe he deserves a thread to himself because he contibutes a lot to the LFC.TV website among other things. Hell, theres people on here that we hate and are anti liverpool who get their own threads so why not Paul. I was really inspired by his ITS A GAP NOT A GULF column the other week and realised that it probably wont be the last time i do something like that on him and decided he needed his place here.

      OK, so this thread is for anything concerning Paul Tomkins. Put in his columns and throw on your own views about what he has to say or it could be about his health or other things about him, anything about him goes in here! Updates on his books or whatever. Ive just bought his book Anfeild Anthology and will be purchasing the rest his catalogue soon, they are excellent reads!. I know there are a few people on here that don't agree with or dislikes what he writes but hey, put that down as well. ;)

      Also I'll be sending him an email to see if he'd like to join us and view his feed back, i know i like feed back if Ive written a piece.
      « Last Edit: Nov 25, 2009 05:46:27 pm by JD »
      lil cisse
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #1: Apr 01, 2008 06:24:56 am
      Great idea.

      Heres his latest piece from the liverpool site and its another great one.

      TOMKINS ON THE DERBY
      Paul Tomkins 31 March 2008 
      This is what Liverpool are all about in recent years –– being very much alive in April, for the fourth successive season under Rafa Benítez. 


       
      Having last week claimed that there was only a gap and not a gulf between Liverpool and Man United, after United only slightly edged the game when it was evenly matched in terms of numbers (before turning the screw impressively with a man advantage), I think the true gulf is between the top four and the rest.
       
      While there are only five points between the Reds and Blues, as opposed to the 14 between Liverpool and Man United, the overall season record speaks of the difference in class between the top four and those in 5th and beyond.
       
      Representing your country in the Champions League, while an honour and an absolute must these days for the big teams, is to the detriment of your domestic campaign. You play two games in a week, while the other 16 tend to play one, bar a few UEFA Cup games against mostly substandard opposition. Europe's premier competition generates more money, but you need to spend it on personnel to be able to survive in it whilst fighting a separate battle back home, even before the domestic cups are put into the equation.
       
      You need a different kind of squad, and money has to be spread across 20-30 players. That's easier for United and Chelsea, who have plenty of £15m-£30m squad players, such as Saha, Nani, Mikel, Anelka and Shevchenko.
       
      It's less easy for Arsenal and Liverpool, although both have invested sensibly in young talent for the future. Of course, Arsenal started scouring the world a decade ago, and as such, have a head-start.
       
      This weekend I heard a lot in the media about the difference in the resources between Liverpool and Everton, which means Everton can't be expected to finish above their neighbours, but I hear little about how the current top two have squads far more costly than Liverpool's. It's as if buying one really expensive player –– Torres –– has, in the eyes of lazy pundits, put Liverpool's spending on a par with Chelsea and Man United.
       
      Everton are definitely closing the gap on the top four in terms of Premiership football, and are a team I begrudgingly admire in certain respects, but their manager doesn't have to build a team that can win in Milan and Barcelona, as well as Wigan and Sunderland. The relative tightness in league terms between Red and Blue is blown out of the water by Liverpool's infinite superiority in Europe. It's more than a gap –– its a chasm.
       
      And that's the point. Were Liverpool still a UEFA Cup team, as the Reds were throughout the ‘90s or for part of this decade, or were they falling at the group stages year after year, then it would only be a gap. But add Europe to the league wherewithal, and also Liverpool's ability to win a domestic cup or two, and Everton are still a long way behind.
       
      Everton were lucky not to be 4-0 down at half-time in an eleven vs eleven contest as the Reds were explosive in everything they did. Benítez's side then played a more tactical, risk-free second-half, and never looked troubled, partly due to the awesome display of Martin Strtel in his first derby. The Slovakian was dominant on the ground and in the air.
       
      Putting chances away remains something of a problem for Liverpool, even after 100 goals this season as a clear sign of progress. Next term it has to improve yet again. The positive is that the Reds have created even more chances, and in Torres, have a striker who, as seen against Everton, can take his one and only chance. The goal the team can struggle to get is the one that secures the crucial two-goal lead; once Liverpool get that, the points are 99% secure.
       
      Some of the less-heralded stars underpinned the derby win. I thought it was Riise's best game of the season. The Norwegian was faultless in his defending, and also delivered some fine balls into the box. Sami Hyypia, who doesn't get the praise he used to, put in the tackle of the match in denying the diving Yakubu, while Skrtel's tackle on Osman was equally impressive, but with greater margin for error being outside the box.
       
      While I defend him, I'm not blind to Dirk Kuyt's shortcomings, but it's matches like this that you see his worth. This sport is about winning, and when you have a player who, in the 92nd minute, closes down two defenders and a goalkeeper repeatedly, in order to stop them launching an attack, you have the kind of commitment and stamina that wins matches.
       
      Kuyt needs to sharpen up his finishing, although Phil Neville was all over him for the close-range header he missed. (Neville's impressive derby record now reads two sendings off, one own goal and one hissy fit when being substituted.) What's encouraging is that, without sacrificing his work on the wing, Kuyt was able to get into good central positions in the first place. A couple of shots were weak and wide, but a couple more were goal-bound before desperate defensive interventions.
       
      Kuyt is not a highlights player, not a YouTube player. He is the man who does the hard work in between those eye-catching moments; the graft and clever positional play that allows Gerrard, Babel and Torres to perform with real flair.
       
      There is no doubt that Torres has improved Liverpool's threat on the break away from Anfield, as well as forcing teams set up differently to face Rafa's men, but his home form has been absolutely astonishing. However, he has a hat-trick in the League Cup away at Reading, and goals in Marseilles and Milan, so he's not merely a player happy in the home comforts, despite his league record.
       
      What he is, without doubt, is a player equally good in tighter situations as he is on the counter-attack with space to attack. He is the perfect striker, good at everything, and only getting better. To get 20+ league goals in a season is amazing, but he could end the season with 20 league goals at Anfield.
       
      It's also good to see Babel looking stronger in terms of stamina –– seen when running at opponents and still being able to chase back and close down –– as it nears the end of what will have been a gruelling first season in England. He is working much harder without the ball, and providing a threat with it. Stamina over 90 minutes is an area where another youngster, Lucas, is still a little lacking, but the talent and tenacity is there, and the strength should follow as he develops.
       
      I like Babel on the left, as it allows him to be more of a goal threat by cutting inside. He is using his left foot to cross when shown the outside, and while the delivery hasn't been the best, it's important that he continues to develop this side of his game. Such is his threat that "The Chosen One" positioned Neville on that flank to double-up on him.
       
      Winning this particular derby was perhaps more crucial than ever. Having just lost to United, and coming a few days ahead of a quarter-final of the Champions League against Arsenal, this was about even more than city bragging rights and the chase for fourth. It was about a state of mind.
       
      Just as Arsenal got a massive confidence-boosting win at the weekend, Liverpool had to follow suit; to have lost consecutive games against United and Everton would not have been good for morale. The Gunners win against Bolton was a little reminiscent of Liverpool beating Everton in 2001. Bolton were a big bogey team for Wenger's men, but they won from a position of 2-0 down and a man light. That will remove some of the psychological fatigue they had been displaying after a run of five league games without a win, as the season enters the run-in.
       
      Liverpool are closing in on the quality of football Arsenal play, and arguably have more variety. But Arsenal are still the masters at one-touch football and as a team they have, on the whole, been together longer. Had they lost at Bolton I'd have felt more confident for the upcoming games, but it's a complex situation; by keeping their league hopes alive they now cannot rest too many players in the league fixture that is sandwiched during a crazy period of games.
       
      The Gunners have had an extra day's rest before the sequence starts, and Liverpool's record at Arsenal hasn't been the best in recent years. Where the Reds have an advantage is in the psychology of the competition –– having done well in it almost every season under Benítez, the Champions League holds no fears.
       
      Arsenal are more accustomed to failure in it, and while it won't determine everything about the matches, it could add an air of inferiority to their mindset; in the same way that while Chelsea were regularly beating Liverpool in the league, in Europe the results were the opposite.
       
      As a tie I find it impossible to call. But with eight wins in the last nine games, the Reds are hitting form at the right time of the season. With Benítez only missing Daniel Agger to injury, you can't ask for much more going into such a massive six days for both clubs. 

      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Summed up the derby well and highlighted how good our options are in both attack and defence. I agree with him about the Arsenal game aswell we do have a psychological advantage over them with our success in the competition. I was suprised to see just two thing Tomkins didn't being up about arsenal though, Two ways of them trying to gain their own psychological advantage. The first being Arsene Wenger almost copying what alex ferguson did earlier in the season by attempting to pile pressure on Torres, mentioning them being interested in while he was at athletico but them NOT having made a bid. This was very unneccesary as no one was even mentioning it and I feel it was a plan to put pressure on torres.

      The second thing being Kolo Tourés comments that we fear them, his main base to stand on was calling upon the 4 games against them last season and saying that they beat us in three of those games and now they must show they have improved but obviously he fails to mention who was playing in the two cup games and that it was'nt mainly first team players we fielded. I feel this is just another way of trying to put pressure on us and gain a psychological advantage as looking at the champions league its clear to see who has been more successful in recent years. The games will be interesting and I feel we can win all three to be honest. if I had to take one draw within the three I think I'd take a 1-1 at anfield with us beating them at the emirates in the first leg to give us the away goals advantage and with us beating them there in the league to keep up the gap over everton.
      The Fallen Soldier
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #2: Apr 01, 2008 08:23:13 am
      I do like Tomkins but I actually dont agree with some of his assessments at times. He does write well and I enjoy the read, and I think its a good idea to have a thread.
      Billy1
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #3: Apr 01, 2008 09:14:48 am
       Tomkins certainly writes good articles and I do believe he tells it as it is.At least he does not go out for sensationalism just to sell newspapers.
      DOBBS83
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      • @chrisdobbs83
      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #4: Apr 01, 2008 02:42:10 pm
      Well i sent an email to him and here is what he had say, nice bloke. its sad that he's sick and i really wish he could get better.
      So yes i will be buying the books this weekend when i get paid, and will make some donations to the causes on his website.



      Hi Chris,


      Thanks for the email, and starting a thread on LFCREDS - I do browse the site from time to time, but I haven't got any interest in joining forum debates as I end up getting too much grief, and into too many arguments! Enjoy the books when you get them...


      All the best,


      PAUL



      Lil cisse, nice assessment on wenger there. cheeky f**ker aswell that Touré, hes full of sh*t. :f_steam:
      MsGerrard
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #5: Apr 01, 2008 03:47:44 pm
      Well I sent an email to him and here is what he had say, nice bloke. its sad that he's sick and I really wish he could get better.
      So yes I will be buying the books this weekend when I get paid, and will make some donations to the causes on his website.



      Hi Chris,


      Thanks for the email, and starting a thread on LFCREDS - I do browse the site from time to time, but I haven't got any interest in joining forum debates as I end up getting too much grief, and into too many arguments! Enjoy the books when you get them...


      All the best,


      PAUL



      Lil cisse, nice assessment on wenger there. cheeky f**ker aswell that Touré, hes full of sh*t. :f_steam:

      Dobbs 83...........I have got all of Paul Tomkins books and I have to say they are brilliant, the last one...Above Us Only Sky was excellent.
      He has a new book coming out in the summer which is a Historical book about Liverpool which covers a lot of important events over the years.
      lil cisse
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #6: Apr 01, 2008 05:19:20 pm
      Well I sent an email to him and here is what he had say, nice bloke. its sad that he's sick and I really wish he could get better.
      So yes I will be buying the books this weekend when I get paid, and will make some donations to the causes on his website.



      Hi Chris,


      Thanks for the email, and starting a thread on LFCREDS - I do browse the site from time to time, but I haven't got any interest in joining forum debates as I end up getting too much grief, and into too many arguments! Enjoy the books when you get them...


      All the best,


      PAUL



      Lil cisse, nice assessment on wenger there. cheeky f**ker aswell that Touré, hes full of sh*t. :f_steam:

      Good to see he comes on here.

      Thanks, yeah i know very sly man isnt Mr. Wenger and Touré. He is also one of the i didnt see it when it was my player that commited the crime types.
      Scouse pie
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #7: Apr 01, 2008 05:26:26 pm
      Got alot of the respect for the man, he is intelligent, assured and uses the stats to make his point. He may be too optimistic but i could not care, i mean after all Rafa is taking us in the right direction and is one of the best managers we have had in a long time. Got Paul tomkins books as well and derserve all the praise he gets.
      MsGerrard
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #8: Apr 01, 2008 05:32:43 pm
      Got alot of the respect for the man, he is intelligent, assured and uses the stats to make his point. He may be too optimistic but I could not care, I mean after all Rafa is taking us in the right direction and is one of the best managers we have had in a long time. Got Paul tomkins books as well and derserve all the praise he gets.

      Welcome Scouse Pie...........great name ;)

      Look forward to reading all your posts on the forum ;D

      I've just put an order in for Tomkins new book.
      Tayls
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #9: Apr 01, 2008 07:07:28 pm
      Yeah Tomkins talks sense. He finds some interesting facts, but knows when not to hide behind em and use stats to explain failures. Always read the stuff on the official site, though I don't think I'll buy the books.
      The Invisible Man
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #10: Apr 01, 2008 07:34:07 pm
      Always read the stuff on the official site, though I don't think I'll buy the books.


      I find the books are a bit more balanced, as he's not stopped from being critical.
      Scouse pie
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #11: Apr 01, 2008 09:56:17 pm
      Welcome Scouse Pie...........great name ;)

      Look forward to reading all your posts on the forum ;D

      I've just put an order in for Tomkins new book.

      Well that is understandable  if my post are as good and indepth as that! (Only joking). Anyway Thanks for the welcome and look forward to sharing views about this wonderful club that we all love.
      EddieC
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #12: Apr 01, 2008 10:19:24 pm
      Well i sent an email to him and here is what he had say, nice bloke. its sad that he's sick and i really wish he could get better.
      So yes i will be buying the books this weekend when i get paid, and will make some donations to the causes on his website.



      Hi Chris,


      Thanks for the email, and starting a thread on LFCREDS - I do browse the site from time to time, but I haven't got any interest in joining forum debates as I end up getting too much grief, and into too many arguments! Enjoy the books when you get them...


      All the best,


      PAUL



      Lil cisse, nice assessment on wenger there. cheeky f**ker aswell that Touré, hes full of sh*t. :f_steam:

      I knew he was nicking some of my thoughts ;D
      CRK
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #13: Apr 01, 2008 10:51:40 pm
      The man's a legend! I haven't read a bad article from him! A top bloke and I'll throw an order in for his books too! :)
      EddieC
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #14: Apr 01, 2008 10:58:03 pm
      Like most on here I  read Tomkins articles & for the most find myself nodding in agreement. I do feel from time to time though he needs to learn to just accept that we were sh*t & there's no other way of dressing it up, I find him occassionally looking for positives when there just aren't any. That said though, as The Invisible Man has suggested, maybe he isn't allowed to put any of that objective stuff on the website, I'll get one of his books to see if they are a little less one sided.
      CRK
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #15: Apr 01, 2008 11:06:34 pm
      Like most on here I  read Tomkins articles & for the most find myself nodding in agreement. I do feel from time to time though he needs to learn to just accept that we were sh*t & there's no other way of dressing it up, I find him occassionally looking for positives when there just aren't any. That said though, as The Invisible Man has suggested, maybe he isn't allowed to put any of that objective stuff on the website, I'll get one of his books to see if they are a little less one sided.

      To be fair though, everytime he dresses it up in our favour, you do actually see it as a viable excuse! The derby comment was a cracker, saying Everton aren't expected to finish higher than us due to the difference in expenditure, but because we've spent a wedge on Torres then we're on an equal spending par with Chelsea and United!

      He has an answer for everything, but I am intrigued to read his books to see how he comments without the Official Site shackles! ;) Maybe he's just the most educated optimist in the world! :)
      MsGerrard
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #16: Apr 01, 2008 11:44:29 pm
      Like most on here I  read Tomkins articles & for the most find myself nodding in agreement. I do feel from time to time though he needs to learn to just accept that we were sh*t & there's no other way of dressing it up, I find him occassionally looking for positives when there just aren't any. That said though, as The Invisible Man has suggested, maybe he isn't allowed to put any of that objective stuff on the website, I'll get one of his books to see if they are a little less one sided.

      Eddie I will lend you a couple next week if you want.....they really are worth reading.

      You'd enjoy them Joey....knowing how you like to read.
      JD
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #17: Apr 02, 2008 01:33:01 am
      Can we not have an unofficial thread where we can slag him off?

      Some of his writing's decent, but I think most Liverpool fans like his pieces because he can polish a turd.  You can be feeling gutted about a performance/defeat/chairmen/Rafa leaving stories and he will come up with a couple of facts like
      Quote
      'We have scored more left footed goals this season than at any time in our history'
      and we all feel a little bit better.
      DOBBS83
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      • @chrisdobbs83
      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #18: Apr 02, 2008 04:22:53 am
      Can we not have an unofficial thread where we can slag him off?

      Some of his writing's decent, but I think most Liverpool fans like his pieces because he can polish a turd.  You can be feeling gutted about a performance/defeat/chairmen/Rafa leaving stories and he will come up with a couple of facts like  and we all feel a little bit better.

      Yes I know what you mean JD but i enjoy that. Just put the slagging off in this thread, as i said its for ANYTHING bout him. if anyone doesnt like him then feel free to slagg him, its a free world and I'm sure he wont give a toss :D

      I knew he was nicking some of my thoughts ;D

      God Eddie you make me laugh man! i had a feeling you'd come up with some witty comment like that  :lmao:


      Dobbs 83...........I have got all of Paul Tomkins books and I have to say they are brilliant, the last one...Above Us Only Sky was excellent.
      He has a new book coming out in the summer which is a Historical book about Liverpool which covers a lot of important events over the years.

      I Downloaded a PDF file of An Anfeild Anthology he had on offer on his website to see what he was like, it was fanatastic. As I said I'm going to buy them all including Anthology at the weekend.

      I'm just happy he had the respect to reply to my email, let alone within 12 hrs of sending it to him. It will be good knowing he browses through the site and he's aware of his own thread now ;)

      Thanks for the + who ever that was!
      bartman49
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #19: Apr 02, 2008 11:25:31 am
      He always tells it as he see's it and he analyzes a match in an unbiased way,a pure genius amongst football writers...
      jamsieboy86
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #20: Apr 02, 2008 02:18:11 pm
      He always mangages to put things in perspective, never gets carried away when we're winning and doesn't get too down if we lose. I always use his facts and views when arguing with my friends, the man's a genius.
      MsGerrard
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      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #21: Apr 07, 2008 09:59:16 am
      TOMKINS: TIME TO TIP THE BALANCE

      Paul Tomkins 07 April 2008
       
        While Liverpool still struggle against Manchester United, five drawn games against Arsenal and Chelsea suggest a parity between the chasing pack. 

      Liverpool have a slight advantage in the second leg against Arsenal, but it's fragile in these situations. We all remember 1989, and how Liverpool were caught in two minds about how to approach the game, needing only a 1-0 win to clinch the league title. And I struggle to see Liverpool keeping a clean sheet against this Arsenal side; they just seem to score whenever they play. But equally, at home in Europe, when the crowd is buzzing, Liverpool rarely fail.
       
      Liverpool clearly need to improve their set-piece defending. Andy Gray still laughably mocks zonal marking, doing so again last week because Arsenal scored from a corner, and also because the Reds have shipped goals from a few of those of late. But in the same match Arsenal left Torres, Skrtel and Hyypia totally unmarked on three separate occasions. Where was the criticism of managers who opt for man-marking?
       
      This season I've seen Man United's man-marking cost them two goals in one match at West Ham, while Chelsea conceded four goals from set-pieces in two games recently due to shoddy man-marking.
       
      It seems that more and more goals are coming from set-pieces throughout the country, and while Liverpool are losing far more than in the previous two seasons, you don't abandon a system that has done so well for you for such a long period of time. It seems an issue with confidence as much as anything, as players get nervy when they concede a certain type of goal and the situation arises again.
      
Short of an emphatic win at the Emirates, I'm not sure what result I would have wanted going into the second game. Any time you are a favourite without a great advantage in the scoreline it gets harder; it's yours to lose. The away goal was important, but a 1-1 draw in the second leg and suddenly Arsenal have a further 30 minutes where the away goal rule still applies.
       
      Including last season's League Cup game as some kind of marker of Arsenal's ability to get a result at Anfield, as some have done, is ludicrous. For a start, it was mostly reserves, and eight of Liverpool's starting XI are no longer at the club (although Danny Guthrie is only on loan). Arsenal's hero, Julio Baptiste, has also moved on.
       
      Which leaves two contests to take seriously from last term, and as well as Arsenal winning 3-1 in the FA Cup they lost 4-1 in the league. Admittedly that was a pretty heartless side, but even so, they were despatched with consummate ease. Should he get on as a sub, as he did in the league game earlier this season (when both Torres and Alonso were injured), Peter Crouch will still feel the confidence of that inspired hat-trick, and now another fine strike, this time at the Emirates.
       
      But as highly as I rate Crouch, it's hard to argue for his inclusion from the start with the way the team is performing, and the way Gerrard is linking with Torres, as well as the midfield behind him. The balance looks right. In this role, Gerrard is less involved in the play, and at times he can be isolated. Against better teams it's inevitable that he will see less of the ball. But the point is what he does when he is involved.
       
      Still, it makes me laugh that it was Gerrard who ‘inevitably' got Liverpool back into the game last week; had it been Torres, it would ‘inevitably' have been the Spaniard instead. Meanwhile, as great as Gerrard's play was, if Babel or Kuyt had produced such a run but Gerrard scored, Gerrard would have been the ‘saviour', not the person who created it. So Gerrard should share the credit with Kuyt, who backed up my constant assertions that he gets into good positions when coming infield. At the other end of the pitch, Eboue didn't have a clue how to do the same.
       
      And even when it is Torres and Gerrard who win the plaudits, it shouldn't be seen as a bad thing to have two world-class match winners who frequently make a difference; that's what they're there for. Also, it's not like the others aren't playing their part in providing the platform or chipping in with goals; Babel, Kuyt and Benayoun have 28 between them; two more for Crouch and Babel, and it will mean six players into double figures, while Torres could end with 30+ and Gerrard 20+. Meanwhile, the defence and shielding midfielders continue to play extremely well.
       
      Even if some argue that he's not a ‘big game' player, in that you don't always see him dominate the major matches from start to finish, he is a ‘big moment' player. Liverpool have had few, if any, better at coming up with the contribution at the right time. Against Arsenal, as in Istanbul, it needed a quick riposte to change the complexion of the game. At other times, such as Olympiacos, West Ham and Inter Milan, it's been stunning last-gasp contributions.
       
      Arsenal deserve most of the credit that comes their way. But I do feel Arsene Wenger is exempt from some of the criticisms levelled at others. In the last three seasons, Arsenal have amassed seven fewer Premiership points than Liverpool.
       
      Arsenal are a young side. But Liverpool are also a fledgling team, and unlike Arsenal, the majority haven't been part of the set-up for years. The 18-man squads involved in last Wednesday's match had average ages of 25 (Arsenal) and 26 (Liverpool). By comparison with the other English teams involved, Manchester United's was 27 and Chelsea's 28. (Players' ages correct to the last day of this season.) And of course, had Agger been fit to play instead of Hyypia, the average age of the Reds' starting XI would come down by a full year.
       
      While Arsenal have a few youngsters who are regularly on the bench –– Walcott, 19, and Bendtner, 20 –– they are not this team of raw kids as which they are portrayed. Almumia is 31, Gallas 30, Rosicky 27, Hleb 27, Toure 26, Eduardo 25, while van Persie and Adebayor are 24, and Eboue is nearly 24. Senderos is now 23, and Clichy will be 23 in the summer. The one truly young gem they have is Cesc Fabregas, who is about to turn 21.
       
      The key difference is that most of Liverpool's younger players are new to England this year, and part of a newer project, and as such are lagging behind Arsenal's younger players in terms of adaptation. You will always get the exceptions to the rule like Torres, who adjusted very quickly (although has still improved), but the majority take time. Incredibly, none of Arsenal's starting XI arrived into English football after 2005, and nine were either at Arsenal (or Chelsea, in Gallas's case) in 2004. No wonder they play with a lot of understanding, of English football and of each other.
       
      Contrast that with Liverpool, where six had arrived since 2006, and four of those since the start of 2007, and you can see the relativeness newness of Benítez's project. Arsenal had two subs who arrived in 2006, but otherwise they all pre-dated 2005. In other words, Wenger had collected nearly all of his squad before or during Benítez's first year. Liverpool's bench contained four players signed in the last nine months.
       
      This returns to a point I've been making all season long: that Wenger, without the riches of Chelsea or Manchester United, has been allowed time for his youngsters to mature, and for his unit to grow in cohesiveness, by starting this project several years ago, and accepting two mediocre league seasons while they developed. Benítez, as a new boss with more to prove, was under more pressure to deliver quickly.
       
      While Fabregas and Clichy are now top-class top-level players, you need to wait at least two or three years to judge Benítez's youngest signings, like Hobbs, Insua, Pacheco, Bruna, Nemeth and the impressive Plessis, who mixes midfield destruction with a sweet left foot.
       
      I think it was the otherwise sensible Henry Winter who said on Sky's Sunday Supplement that "Benítez buys either good or bad players", while one of this weekend's papers said "Far from all of Rafa Benítez's numerous Liverpool recruits have succeeded" –– as if there was the existence of one single manager who doesn't get plenty wrong. One of my main bugbears is how Arsene Wenger's mistakes in the transfer market somehow get overlooked.
       
      While, as with Benítez, he has unearthed a lot of great players, he's also bought a fair few failures and disappointments too. Stepanovs, Jeffers, Wright (Richard), Boa Morte, Diawara, Cygan, Wreh, Grimandi, Chukwunyelu Obinna, Danilevicious, Luzhny, van Bronckhurst and Baptista (bar one game, at Anfield) –– to name just a few; in all, a mixture of substandard players and a couple of talented ones who failed to settle.
       
      Meanwhile, Wiltord and Reyes were £10m+ players who hardly set the world alight. With Benítez, a few cheap flops like Nunez, Josemi and Paletta (a mere kid) get brought up as if they are par for the course. You could add those three to the fee of Morientes and still not get what Arsenal paid for either Wiltord or Reyes.
       
      With the relative merits of both sides I find this game virtually impossible to call. But Liverpool are ending the season on an upward curve, while Arsenal appear to be on a slippery slope. The full force of the European Kop, and it could easily be one more step towards another European Cup.

      **************************************************************************************


      Another top read by PT............Excellent stuff ;D
       
      lil cisse
      • Forum Legend - Fagan
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      • 2,957 posts | 62 
      Re: The Official Paul Tomkins Thread
      Reply #22: Apr 09, 2008 04:35:52 pm
      TOMKINS: PROGRESS AT ALL LEVELS
      Paul Tomkins 09 April 2008 
      I don't cry over football; maybe some of the things that can surround it, such as the tragedy a few weeks before the 1989 match that's been so talked about this week, but never the game itself. 
       
      Maybe it was nervous exhaustion, but I was definitely welling up at the end of last night's game. At varying times I felt ill, elated, nauseous, hyperactive and fidgety, slightly insane, and by the final whistle had a sense of disbelief and overwhelmingness I've not experienced since Istanbul. And the late, late goals made up for the shock of Michael Thomas' winner 19 years ago. I've lost my voice, so I'm typing this in silence.
       
      The Chelsea semi-finals of '05 and '07 had been incredibly tense, but not the rollercoaster ride of this quarter-final. However, when Liverpool needed the class, two new additions made the difference, in Torres and Babel. When Liverpool needed the guts and the heart, Mascherano was snapping at every Gunners' heels, Kuyt was perpetual motion and Skrtel made some crucial blocks with a never-say-die attitude. Of course, not that any of the players at the club for a longer time were any less intense.
       
      I had decided to write the outline of a piece about progression before the game. How it was finished, and how it would be perceived, would be altered by the result, but the underlying facts about the progress being made across the board at Liverpool would remain the same.
       
      In truth, I half expected the Reds to go out, for the very reason witnessed in the first 30 minutes - the slightest advantage was likely to weigh heavy, as it had in '89, and in turn, free Arsenal of pressure. I didn't expect Liverpool to recover so quickly from going behind, but the character of this side should never be in doubt. So apologies to the lads for a momentary wobble on my part.
       
      Arsenal seem to score in every game they play, and even at 2-1, I was certain they'd get a late goal, as it's a nervy situation to defend; one that results in dropping too deep, and well, there was that whole 1989 thing again.
       
      Again, I didn't expect such a quick riposte from the Reds - and that's been the key over both games. Arsenal never got two goals in front, and any advantage they had lasted only a few minutes. Maybe Liverpool got lucky with Hleb's penalty appeal last week, which was no different from Babel's, but this week Hleb handled the ball in the build up to their first goal, so they can't complain overall.
       
      Click here to watch Torres's goal v Arsenal>>
       
      And so the first team is starting to get a look of Rafa's DNA, and as the new and relatively new players continue to gel with the old, and with a couple of additions in the summer, I expect further improvements next season.
       
      However, winning the reserve league with a young side is hugely significant, too. Maybe it's the more significant event this week, in many respects. In terms of the silverware itself it's relatively minor, but you only have to look at the club's history to see how portentous it has proved. It's almost like a barometer that forecasts approaching warm weather.
       
      In 1957, with Bob Paisley running the reserves, the Reds won their first Central League title. Clearly, it was a sign of things to come -albeit, in that case, more of an indication of Bob's talent than that of the players. But from then on, the parallels between reserve success and improvement in the first team is pronounced.
       
      While Bill Shankly failed to win a championship title between 1966 and 1973, in 1969, 1970 and 1971 the reserve team were once again winning the Central League; within two years, the Reds were crowned English champions. The domination continued in first and second string leagues until 1985, while the last reserve title for a decade would arrive in 1990, a year whose significance isn't lost on Liverpool fans yearning for no.19.
       
      Then, in 2000, four years after the club's first-ever Youth Cup success, the reserves won what was, until this week, their last title. Most interesting is that, yet again, the first team benefited very soon afterwards; 2001 was clearly a very special season, with three cups won for the only time in English football history, and 2002 saw the Reds finish second in the Premiership with 80 points. The strength of the first team squad between 2000 and 2002 was as good as it got under Houllier, and the reserve league success shows the strength in depth.
       
      More recently, in 2006 and 2007 the club won the Youth Cup, and for some of those players, such as Stephen Darby, Ryan Flynn and Jay Spearing, along with a collection of new teenage foreign recruits, to go on and win the reserve league title in 2008 speaks volumes about the progress being made at the club on a number of levels.
       
      This latest success is slightly different from the reserve teams of yore, in that it is more of a youth side than a reserve side; gone are the days of the second string being filled with dissatisfied pros, first team substitutes, stars recovering from injury, and only a few younger players who were in and out of the side. The lack of clarity left a real mixed bag.
       
      Perhaps more remarkably, this latest success has occurred with many of the most promising young players out on loan, as, in keeping with a lot of successful young Premiership stars, they step up their education in a more pressurised environment; playing in games that really matter, in front of crowds of up to 30,000 (and even 76,000, in Danny Guthrie’s case).
       
      While some players, like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen went straight into Premiership football as teenagers, others, like David Beckham and Ashley Cole, went out to lower division clubs first. And yet all would ultimately be described as 'world-class' by many experts.
       
      Players develop at different rates, but also much depends on weaknesses in the first team as to when they make their bow. If Liverpool had Alan Shearer and Dennis Bergkamp on the books in 1997, and Robbie Fowler wasn't injured, Michael Owen would probably have gone out on loan first or spent longer in the reserves.
       
      Unlike older pros who are out of the first team picture, young players are rarely loaned out merely to get them off the wage bill; they go out to improve. Some will come on in leaps and bounds, and others won't. But even those who do very well are up against it when there are already 20 plus senior players ahead of them, most of whom are already full internationals.
       
      Without taking anything away from those who have done so magnificently, I think if you added Jack Hobbs, Adam Hammill, Danny Guthrie, Godwin Antwi and Paul Anderson to the current reserve squad, then it would be 30 per cent stronger. The difficulty would be who to leave out, because, for example, centre-backs San Jose Dominguez (18), Huth (18) and Ayala (17) have all looked incredibly accomplished for their age. It's testament to the scouting that there now seems to be a conveyor belt of these types of player.
       
      It's hard on some of the lads to single out stars from the reserves, because they've all contributed, and players develop at different speeds while they’re learning the game and, in many cases, still developing physically. And it's wrong to put too much pressure on certain individuals at a tender age.
       
      I've been impressed with Damien Plessis all season long. He's like a mix of Momo Sissoko and Xabi Alonso - the physicality and tackling of the former (without as much pace, it seems), but with some of the passing skills, positional sense and composure of the latter.
       
      Emiliano Insua is a wonderful attacking left-back. The only doubt I have about him is his height, particularly given the importance of crosses in English football, but he's strong, committed and very clever on the ball. You don't play in the Liverpool first team in the league at the age of 17, as Insua did last May, without special talent, even if they were relatively meaningless fixtures.
       
      I haven't seen enough of Pacheco, Bruna and Simon to be too conclusive in my judgements, but they all possess excellent technique.
       
      But the star for me is Krisztian Nemeth. The Hungarian reminds me of a right-footed version of prime-years Robbie Fowler. While not slow, he doesn’t have that searing pace that makes many young strikers so dangerous as teenagers, at a point when they lack footballing intelligence and experience.
       
      But Nemeth, like Fowler, has intelligence in abundance, as well as an exquisite touch on the ball. To score 14 goals in 37 Hungarian top-division games at MTK Hungária FC between the ages of 16 and 18 showed immense potential, while he has scored seven goals for both the U19 and the U21 national sides, in just three and six appearances respectively. Eight in nine reserve games confirms his ability to score regularly.
       
      His movement, positioning and finishing mark him out as a real natural. He seems on another level to almost any other young player I've seen play for the reserves. But Premier League football is another level altogether, and he'll need time to adjust.
       
      Any manager will play youngsters when they are ready, as a boss has nothing to gain by keeping them out of the team if they are good enough, just as he has nothing to gain by playing them when they're too raw.
       
      But as we've seen with the first team's performances in the second half of the season, there's no desperate need to throw the kids in. Blooding them in games that are not as crucial is the way forward, as seen with the impressive Plessis at The Emirates. Their development is all part of the wider context of improvement.
       
      In the meantime, there's a few really important matches coming up. Maybe it’ll be third time lucky for Chelsea, or perhaps they are just too sick of the sight of Liverpool in semi-finals. But whatever happens, it's been another remarkable European campaign from the Reds, and another Anfield night of great drama and emotion. At times we are well and truly spoilt.

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