MACCA: REDS ARE BEST AROUND

James Carroll 30 April 2009

Steve McManaman believes Liverpool's current form is that of the best team in the Barclays Premier League.

The Reds are the league's top goalscorers with 66 strikes and have netted an astonishing 32 times in their last 10 matches in all competitions. "They are by far the best team around at present," said former Anfield winger McManaman. "They are certainly playing the best football. They may not be getting the best results, but they are certainly the best team around. "Normally you say it's Manchester United who are the most creative team around, but it's not, it's Liverpool at the minute. It's just unfortunate they've let in a few goals. "They finished last season strongly as well, but this year they look a different team. "They are all closing the ball down, they are all aggressive and they are not giving anybody space to pass the ball. "I think that's what's really clicked this year and if they can take that through to next season and of course add that little bit of quality to their squad they can certainly challenge strongly for the title. "But I am really impressed with the way they're playing at the moment. I really am. "I think they're playing really, really well. It's the best I've seen them play in a while, regardless of the results." With four games remaining, the Reds are just one goal shy of equaling their total in the league last season and on course to better their highest Premier League tally of 72, which was achieved in 1997. "I just think the way they have set about games has really impressed me," added McManaman.
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"They set about games more so than we did in those 4-3 games with Newcastle in the 90s. "They have started games really, really quickly and been very aggressive. They are closing people down like I have never seen all year. "They steam-rollered Arsenal the way they set about them and I thought Liverpool were excellent again."

GUEST COLUMN : PAUL TOMKINS TOMKINS: TORRES HAS IMPROVED

Recently I've noted the importance of goals by Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun; observing that, this season, both had only struck goals that affected games, rather than grabbing consolation or luxury strikes.

It led me to examine this phenomenon further, and analyse the importance of goals scored by the whole squad. A goal is a goal, some might say. But the value of each varies radically, depending on the stage of the game or the quality of the opposition. We often rank goals by their beauty, but rarely by their importance. No-one can deny the aesthetics of Fernando Torres' opener against Blackburn: a sublime turn and volley out of nothing. Genius. But what made it more special was the context: it helped win a must-win game. It kept Liverpool in a title race. It was beauty with meaning and substance. It was Carla Bruni rather than Paris Hilton. To me, if you win 3-2, the first and second goals are as important as the winner. But if you win 5-2, the fourth goal is marginally less important (although it provides a valuable cushion), and the fifth has slightly less importance still, as it effectively kills the game, but you may have been able to hold out for the win without it. However, a sixth, seventh or eighth goal would be pretty meaningless if it's a knockout cup competition, and only really relative to goal difference in the league. The same applies to consolation goals in league games already lost. (And while goal difference can be important, it's once in a blue moon that it makes a major impact on league standings; until Howard Webb's intervention at Old Trafford, it looked like this could have been one such year, at which point every goal Liverpool scored would have seen its meaning magnified
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tenfold). It's important to point out that even a so-called luxury goal can have consequences that reach beyond the result; for instance, it's highly unlikely that Andrea Dossena scores the 4th goal at Old Trafford so effortlessly had he not smashed in what was, in terms of Liverpool beating Real Madrid, an unnecessary' goal a few days earlier. And then there's the psychological fillip of beating Madrid by four goals, not three; that extra boost it gives can actually be quite significant. So Dossena's goals in both games not only provided a gloss, they also added to the belief of the entire team. With this in mind, I want to make it clear that I don't wish to demean any goal; as the clich goes, in many ways they all count equal, whether scored in the first minute or last, or via a backheel or a backside. However, there's no escaping the fact that some are crucial, while others ice the cake or provide only consolation. So for the book I'm currently working on, as part of a detailed look into how the Reds have improved to the point of making an impressive title challenge, I decided to go through and rank each of the goals over the past two seasons on a descending scale, working only with Premiership and Champions League games (with domestic cups being more about squad players these days, and not the main priority of any major club). I have tried to judge the importance of goals in two different ways, awarding a sliding scale of points, out of 5, for each category. First, there is the impact the goal has on a result, from 5 points for being vital, down to 1 point for a mere Goal Difference or Consolation goal. Then there is the quality of opposition, with 5 points for a goal against Top Four and big European sides (plus Everton, on account of the derby bite, particularly now that they are a good side again), and less points for goals against weaker teams. These ratings are somewhat subjective, although they are based on the league position of opposing teams, and the relevance to the overall result in terms of importance, both of which are hard to argue with from a factual point of view.

Now, as ever when I devise stats, they are not designed to be 100% scientific or totally conclusive. It is merely a tool a form of quantifying and qualifying contributions to enable me to see who pops up with vital goals in big games, and who, though he may score a good amount of goals, gets lots at the end of handsome thrashings or against substandard teams. There's obviously not room here to disclose the full findings, which will be laid out in full in Red Race'. And, of course, this season isn't complete yet, so it's an ongoing calculation. Caveats aside, the results are still very interesting. The first thing that strikes me on the data so far is that Fernando Torres has actually improved this season. Radically. Despite playing numerous games handicapped by a lack of match fitness, with at least five/six matches coming whilst returning from significant injuries, his goals have actually influenced games more than last season, when the overall goal tally was far higher, but the average value less. His 13 league goals have almost all been vital (an average of 4.8 out of a possible 5), whereas last year his 24 included a few more goals that did not influence the result, just glossed the scoreline (thus a lower average of 4.3, which is still impressive). And the value of his Champions League goals also went up this season, even though the quantity was again lower, again due to missing lots of games though injury. More tellingly, there has been a massive increase in the quality of league opposition scored against, with an average rising from 2.9 last season (with 3 being the figure of a middling Premiership team and 2 relegation fodder), to a whopping 4.1 so far this season, with 4 being a team in the Uefa Cup spots and 5 being a team in the top four. In other words, the majority of his league goals last season were against mid-table or poor opposition (such as Derby, Middlesbrough and West Ham), whereas this season they've mostly been against the top four sides and Everton. When combining both the importance of the goals and the quality of the opposition, Torres' figures this season are almost perfect. If 5 is scoring only vital goals against the best opposition, and 1 is luxury goals against poor
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sides, then you can see for yourself what 4.7 means. So not only has his strike rate remained very impressive, his goals are a big reason why Liverpool have gone up a level this season. It's just a shame he wasn't able to play more games, particularly in a lot of the 0-0 draws. As mentioned earlier, it was the goals of Benayoun and Kuyt that got me thinking about the subject in the first place. Both of these players have had their critics in the past two seasons, although hopefully everyone will now appreciate the quality that they bring. Their form deserves credit, and as with most players, neither's game is purely about goalscoring, as they continue to contribute in key ways. What's interesting is that last season, each of Benayoun's four league goals was absolutely vital, while Kuyt's three were equally important. Of course, the latter had a disappointing league campaign in front of goal, but at least those three counted for something, not least in winning at Goodison Park. For the Dutchman, it was the Champions League where he did his best work last time around, whereas this time he's into double figures for the Premiership, a great achievement for a non-penalty taking (this season at least) wide man. This season, out of the players who have scored five league goals or more, that pair lead the way, just edging ahead of Torres, with their average of 5. Benayoun's six have all been 100% vital, and only Kuyt's 10th league goal of the season, last weekend at Hull, was anything less than critical; and even that was of great value in easing the nerves, at 3-1. Liverpool may have seen out the game at 2-1, which is why I'd rate it as 4/5 in terms of importance; not 100% vital, but a telling contribution all the same. (For the record, I've counted Kuyt's goal at Spurs as vital, even though Liverpool lost; ultimately it was a very important goal at the time that it was scored, and that's a key distinction. All goals that put the team into the lead or draw the side level are rated as essential, in spite of the final result.) However, neither Kuyt nor Benayoun have come close to Torres for the quality of league opposition scored against, with Gerrard 2nd in that particular table (again including only those who've scored five or more). Of course, Gerrard is famous for his vital goals. It's hard to think of a player
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who has popped up with more crucial strikes over the years; even Ian Rush struggles to match the drama of Gerrard's goals. Having said that, the captain's 13 league goals this season have included quite a few relatively meaningless strikes, when games were already well won. Percentage-wise, he's actually well down the list. Despite a lower average, he has still struck a lot of important goals in that total of 21, not least the opening-day winner against Middlesbrough. In the Champions League, it's a different story, with Gerrard scoring seven goals, all of which were highly relevant, and six of which were vital. And overall, for his all-round performances, Gerrard has been the country's player of the year; he is a player who creates countless openings in every game. When adding together the contributions this year and last, in terms of goal relevance and opposition scored against, Premiership and Champions League, to form one single all-inclusive singing-and-dancing average mark out of 5, two players lead the way. I've already spoken at length about Torres' contibution, but level with him, on an average of 4.25 out of 5, is Dirk Kuyt, whose 24 goals in that period (roughly half of Torres' total) have been of real significance. In the big games, against the big teams, or simply in the big moments of other matches, he has delivered the goods. But the most illuminating evidence, for me, remains the improvement of Fernando Torres. Rather than suffer Second Season Syndrome, as some suggested when the injury curse took away some of that sharpness, he's delivered much, much more in terms of the value of his goals, and the quality of opposition he has put to the sword. And that makes it even clearer how well Liverpool have done in the face of his prolonged absences this season and how we have a valid if only...' shout when it comes to all those games he's missed. Last season, Chelsea (twice), Arsenal and Inter Milan were victims of his goals, but only one of those goals, against Chelsea, came in the Premiership. This time, Chelsea (three times), Arsenal (twice), Manchester United and Real Madrid have suffered, despite having missed entire league games against
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each, and limped off in Madrid. In just three league games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, he has scored five goals. He also doubled his tally against Everton from one last year to two this time. All we can do now is hope that this improvement is carried into next season, and that he has an injury-free campaign. Or, should we really dare to dream, that he can still influence this year's title race, should United drop enough points.