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Tomkins: Season starts now
24th Sep 2012 - Latest News
In his latest article for Liverpoolfc.com, columnist Paul Tomkins reflects on an emotional Sunday at Anfield.
It was a moving, emotional affair before the kick off against Manchester United. The game itself evoked its own emotions: frustration, anger and injustice - although inscrutable decisions by officials would always pale in comparison with the far, far bigger injustice that framed the occasion.
Referees make honest mistakes; 23 years ago, elected officials and public safety providers should not have been making dishonest ones. That remains the bigger picture.
It was fitting that Sir Bobby Charlton, a survivor of United's tragedy in 1958, brought out flowers to present to Ian Rush, a Liverpool player at Hillsborough. Kenny Dalglish, the leader of Liverpool 23 years ago, was back at Anfield, in the stands. 96 red balloons were released and the mosaic unveiled during You'll Never Walk Alone sent chills up the spine.
Let's be fair to Manchester United for the club's conduct in the lead-up to the game. And let's credit their team for somehow winning a game in which they were totally outclassed.
It's been an insanely difficult first five games for Brendan Rodgers; the best three teams in the league last season faced in the first three home fixtures of this. And as we know, away games against mid-table sides are rarely easy (as I noted last week, both West Brom and Sunderland were playing their first home games, which makes it more like a cup tie). It's the kind of run of fixtures that usually happens only once a decade.
Questions will inevitably be asked of Rodgers after just two points from five games, but there's plenty to be optimistic about.
I actually think it's a perfectly natural response to need convincing about a new manager. It's a question of getting to know their strengths and weaknesses, and trying to understand what they are doing. That's not going to happen from day one, is it?
You should of course do your best to support the manager, just as you support the team, but I don't think that you can expect fans to inherently trust just anyone who happens to be in the role; I couldn't ever see myself being enthusiastic about, say, Neil Warnock getting the job, should such a footballing apocalypse occur. No one in football should expect blind trust.
Everyone knows that I'm a big fan of Rafa Benítez, but four or five months into his first campaign I was far from certain about how things were going to pan out. I loved the way Liverpool played in some of those early matches - Manchester City, Norwich and Monaco in particular - and I especially liked his main signings (Garcia, Alonso), but there were also quite a lot of issues with aspects of the team's play. Lots of change was occurring, and it didn't always make a smooth transition.
At the time I hated zonal marking, simply because everyone else seemed to (and as with a lot of hate, it stemmed from not understanding something).
It was leading to Liverpool conceding quite a lot of goals in the autumn of 2004, but the number of costly corners and wide-free kicks started to drop by the spring, by which time Liverpool were now winning their bigger games. And in the following season, the Reds ended up with the fewest goals conceded from set pieces, and also conceded the lowest percentage from those faced (in other words, it wasn't just that Benitez's team simply ended up not giving set-pieces away in the first place).
Maybe the way Liverpool are playing right now is reminiscent of how the team set up in those situations eight years ago: people not quite in the right positions, not quite knowing their roles inside-out, and being punished for every last slip. Lots of instances of split-second indecisions and hesitations that ended up in opposition goals, and as we know, any time you concede you are in danger of not getting a win (I believe two-thirds of games are won by the team who scores first, as just one example; this didn't happen against United, of course, but it was 10 versus 11).
LFC 1-2 Man U: 11 mins
This season, Liverpool have been undone by fine margins. Not necessarily in terms of the scorelines, but in terms of players being a fraction out of position, a fraction late; even a fractional error in where and when to pass, and indeed, when to shoot. And yet the overall play has been largely encouraging; at times it's been excellent. Both Manchester clubs were clearly outplayed.
Yaya Toure said it was the toughest game he'd faced since arriving in England, and Gary Neville clearly knew that "his" side had been outplayed by the Reds.
Understanding a system can taken time. Liverpool were still a passing side last season, but the formation was different, and the timing (and emphasis) of the passing was not quite the same. Players are expected to take up different positions, and, in certain situations, use the ball in a way that might not have been expected to in the past. It's not a sea change, but it is an evolution.
What's expected needs to become second nature, and that takes time. Rodgers hasn't been helped by decisions beyond his control: the men in black haven't helped his cause.
If Shelvey's challenge was a red card, then so too was Johnny Evans'. The worst tackle of the weekend, by David Luiz, ended in just a yellow and no ban, but Shelvey's ended with a red and a three-game ban. How is that fair? (Answer: it's not.)
Evans was allowed to stay on, and didn't even receive a yellow, while van Persie only got a yellow for a tackle arguably as bad as Shelvey's.
Had Shelvey rolled around, Evans might have been punished too. This came after a dangerous tackle by Patrice Evra on Raheem Sterling on the edge of the box that, amazingly, didn't even warrant a caution.
I do think, however, that as fans we have to allow players to pull out of certain tackles; to not berate them for "bottling" it. It's not like the old days when you could go thundering in. Losing a tackle is almost always better than losing a man. I'm not suggesting players start pulling out of all tackles; getting "stuck in" is often vital to the tempo of a game. But with the speed of the play these days, more injuries and more red cards come from such situations.
Despite the defeat, there were plenty of plusses from the game. It was great to see the introduction of Suso - yet another hugely gifted teenager making his bow.
If Liverpool's regular participation in the Champions League ended in 2009-10, it has to be said that the seeds for a rebirth were sewn that season. It was the season in which Jonjo Shelvey, now 20, Raheem Sterling, still only 17, and Suso, now 18, were signed, for a combined fee of well under £10m.
This trio have been involved in some massive games lately. Sterling has often been the Reds' most successful passer in the final third, and Suso completed all 22 of his passes on his league debut, and created two chances in just 45 minutes. He can certainly spot a through-ball, like a lot of Spanish players.
Their inexperience has inevitably shown at times, and I'd personally like to see Shelvey calming down a bit in the tackle (in the way the Steven Gerrard had to learn to), but on the whole they've added a new dimension to the squad, and even the first XI.
Another youngster secured just before that time, Andre Wisdom, scored on his debut against Young Boys, and showcased the leadership skills he's clearly possessed since the age of 15, when I first saw him play. And of course, Jack Robinson, who became Liverpool's youngest ever player in the final game of 2009-10, looks every inch a future first-team left-back.
These players will be learning, and learning the hard way. And yet they don't look out of place. Having said that, against United the older players, particularly Gerrard, Johnson and Suarez, led by example. Joe Allen, at mere 22, was another leader out there.
Let's be clear: when it was 11 against 11, the Reds had almost 70 per cent possession, and a succession of goalmouth situations. They maintained control of the game for the rest of the first half with 10, and were in no way second-best in terms of overall play after the break.
It's also clear that Suarez should have had three penalties this season. Referees are judging the player, not the situation. Commentators in those games have all said Suarez dived, only to then say "oh, actually he didn't". Opposition players, who know they were at fault, then lean over him and shout at him, as they try to influence the referee (no-one ever calls that cheating, by the way).
Yet at the other end, Mark Halsey had no hesitation in pointing to the spot when Valencia went to ground before contact was made. To make matters worse, Agger got injured in the build-up to that situation, as we saw yet another example of every little slip doubly punished.
And yet I feel strangely calm. In early 2010-11 I was panicking due to the nature of our football, which I saw as defensive, reactionary and dull, in a team full of older pros going through the motions. But right now it seems that the side are doing many of the "right" things, but not getting the breaks.
Yes, there have been too many self-inflicted wounds, but every error seems to have been punished. Teams are scoring with their very first shot on target, and United, who couldn't even really force a shooting opportunity, equalised out of the blue by Rafael curling an unstoppable effort past Reina.
I just hope Rodgers' luck changes. Lucas and Agger stretchered off in games against the Manchester clubs, when the Reds were easily the better team, seems almost unfair. Players sent off, penalties conceded, yet nothing ever given at the other end. At least the fixture list won't remain as cruel.
In truth, I hate it when people say "the season starts now". But seriously...the season starts now.
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