Liverpool FC Forum

by **Reg** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:13 pm

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.

For details of how to purchase 'Dynasty: Fifty Years of Shankly's Liverpool', click here to visit Paul Tomkins' official website>>

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily shared by Liverpool FC or Liverpoolfc.tv.

by **stmichael** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:24 pm

Reg wrote:I'm accused of being a glass-is-half-full kind of guy.

World exclusive

by **tonyeh** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:11 pm

A point re: that article. There is no such thing as "joint top". That's a stupid term. There is first place and second place. At present, Liverpool are very much in second place due to Chelsea's impressive goal difference. They WILL NOT catch them on that, especially if they continue to struggle for goals like they have been. At the moment and if nothing changes, Chelsea have two ways of winning out over Liverpool each game, points & GD. Liverpool have one, points. So, this means that liverpool MUST win the "easy" games against the "lesser" teams if they are to get an edge on Chelsea. It's not a "disaster" that Liverpool failed to beat Fulham and go three points clear of Chelsea, but it IS another chink in the armour and another missed opportunity. There are no prizes for second place in the Premiership.

The benchmark for the Premiership is not to lose more than 5 or 6 games and to keep draws well under double figures and each silly draw cuts away at our chances. It's what killed Liverpool last year and I cannot see Chelsea losing 4 or 5 games this year. So, no, it's no "disaster", but Liverpool can thank their lucky stars that the big four also failed to get the better of their opponents too.

The game against West Ham is another chance to get a win against a "lesser" team and get a gap between them and Chelsea. Liverpool cannot afford not to take advantage of these chances.

Every Liverpool fan will be supporting Arsenal and City next Sunday and if they win out over Chelsea and Utd, it'll make for a doubly exciting match for Liverpool on Monday night.

Roll on next weekend I say.

by **taff** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:49 pm

I think Chelsea meet Arsenal who are capable of beating tgem but on current form capable of getting hammered, with the dissapointment over Fulham we must go full guns for a win this weekend.

The vital match for us will be Chelsea at home.

by **neil** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:53 pm

taff wrote:The vital match for us will be Chelsea at home.

nothing gets passed you mate

by **taff** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 6:54 pm

Its my goalkeeping skills form my youth, never leaves you

by **Owzat** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:29 am

neil wrote:
taff wrote:The vital match for us will be Chelsea at home.

nothing gets passed you mate

Assuming we're still in touch come 1st February. If we are then our title credentials will have some credibility, otherwise a win might just help the mancs make it - well you know what, I can't bring myself to say it

by **Effes** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:08 pm

Not sure about half full, but Tompkins's article has me half asleep - again.

by **Quadrophenia** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:22 am

Reg wrote: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.

Paul you've excelled yourself mate. Not only have you written under your rose-tinted specs which is to be expected from you now, you've also became Mystic Meg.

How on earth does anybody, and that includes such an optimist like yourself Paul, know what's going to happen in 19778? I've heard of looking into the future but that's a bit extreme wouldn't you agree?

by **JBG** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:10 pm

Quadrophenia wrote:
Reg wrote: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.

Paul you've excelled yourself mate. Not only have you written under your rose-tinted specs which is to be expected from you now, you've also became Mystic Meg.

How on earth does anybody, and that includes such an optimist like yourself Paul, know what's going to happen in 19778? I've heard of looking into the future but that's a bit extreme wouldn't you agree?

Que?

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Tomkins: glass is more than half full - 25 november 2008

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