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TOMKINS: THE KEY TO HAPPINESS?
Paul Tomkins 26 September 2007
The League Cup has never been the most valued of trophies, and in recent years its stock has fallen lower still.
However, last night's victory could prove to be one of the Reds' most important in the competition in some years. After three consecutive low-scoring draws (two of which were decent results, with only the Birmingham game two clearly dropped points), a convincing victory could prove a big shot in the arm just as momentum was starting to ebb away.
The free-scoring Liverpool of the first month of the season were back. Without yet more bizarre officiating, with an outrageously offside Reading goal allowed and a blatant Liverpool penalty denied (as well as the more worrying fact of no protection afforded to Torres at all), it could have been more emphatic than 4-2.
Indeed, penalties could be the theme of the season. Liverpool have conceded an unthinkable four already –– although only two were clear-cut, with one borderline (Arbeloa's at Portsmouth –– technically a foul, but Crouch should have dozens every game if that's to be the norm), and the one against Chelsea a farce. And what do Liverpool have to do to get one at the other end?
Of course, the main talking point of the week revolves around one man.
Like most fans, I was surprised to see Torres on the bench against Birmingham and then starting against Reading in the Carling Cup. But after giving his striker a 'mini break', Benítez's decision could yet prove inspired. Torres bagged an outstanding hat-trick against Reading, in one of the most complete centre-forward displays I've ever seen. He can now take the confidence of this landmark display into the rest of the season. And yes, that means the decision could yet benefit the team in league games.
I'm not saying I was happy with the decision on Saturday, as I wasn't, but Benítez will have had his reasons that we are not privy to; it's not like he left him out on a whim. Kuyt had just scored in midweek, while Voronin has been a revelation, and has at times looked like a £20m player himself. Each had already bagged three goals. And it's clear there would be less space in behind Birmingham's defence for Torres to run into. (Of course, he's so good he doesn't have to have that space to shine, but it helps.)
All the same, I expected to see Torres start. More than anything he gives the fans a lift at Anfield, and puts fear into the opposition.
However, I need to keep reminding myself that Torres is still new to English football, and that while he's clearly adapting well to the style of the game, he's entering a whole new level of physical demands. Every individual is different, and the players these days have their conditioning analysed to scientific levels.
Christiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas were eased in to English football, although they were younger than Torres at the time. Didier Drogba wasn't, and perhaps it showed in some of his individual performances at times, even though his physical presence helped Chelsea win two league titles.
Torres is someone who's never played in European club competition before, so he's not used to playing non-stop football. He averaged 40 games a season in Spain –– ie he played nearly every game for Atletico Madrid between 2001 and 2007 –– whereas Liverpool tend to play 60 or more games a season.
It would not just be the increase in the number games, if he were to start every one, but the nature of those games. English football, unlike that of the continent, offers few 'breathers' during the 90 minutes, and attacking players do the most running.
Add the travelling and playing demands of internationals, and were Torres to start every game for Liverpool –– particularly early on –– it could prove costly in a cumulative way. It's all very well saying rest him when he's tired, but sometimes that comes too late, and serious muscle injuries strike first.
Torres is young, he's fit, he's strong, but adapting is about more than playing well in the first few games. Maybe it seems like the manager is being too cautious with him, but perhaps Benítez is concerned about putting too many physical demands on a player still new to this league, and is trying to build up his strength and stamina in stages?
While Torres is delivering on the pitch, his body still has to adjust, and it could be argued that this is best achieved gradually. I'm merely surmising here, but I'd like to think Benítez won't leave him on the bench for too many more league games, particularly as the season wears on, providing he feels the player is capable of playing to his best level. But if he does leave him out it will because he has other talented strikers who are capable of winning games.
A common opinion appears to be "You don't pay £20m to keep a player on the bench". Equally, you don't pay £20m for a player to burn him out in the first six weeks. You don't buy a Ferrari and thrash its engine to bits on a racetrack. You ease it in. (Or so I'm told…)
To compare, Arsenal paid a reported £16m for Eduardo, and have hardly played him. Wenger has eased him in, only just giving him a first league start. This weekend Wenger left out Van Persie, his best striker, in order to play the new Croatian, and made other notable changes from the previous week. Wenger did not do what so many people say Benítez has to every week, i.e. "field his strongest team" (on paper, at least). Maybe Derby is as easy as a home league game gets, but Wenger rotated all the same.
Also, Newcastle paid £17m for an ex-Liverpool striker a couple of years back, and their new manager recently played him immediately after two internationals. It was a game they lost against poor opposition, as Owen limped off injured. That's the alternative to paying a lot of money for a player: feeling you cannot leave him out if he's able to take to the field in one piece, even for his own long-term fitness. Newcastle have now lost him for three to six weeks.
And let's not forget that it is Benítez who has given us Torres, and that Torres wanted to play for the top Spanish manager. After all, the striker had previously spurned the advances of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Maybe we should appreciate what Rafa has done to improve the squad, rather than criticise him every time he picks someone else?
By omitting some of his stars in the last two weeks, a number of fans and pundits have accused Benítez of not caring about the league. But surely he's just caring about it in a different way, with a longer term view? –– a view which will prove right or wrong not now, or next month, but in May. Also, it was, on the whole, a very strong team he fielded against Birmingham, even allowing for two key players, Alonso and Agger, out with broken metatarsals (taking the broken bone tally to five for the season already).
Dr Ben-Shahar, a former Israeli squash champion, is a lecturer at Harvard University's most popular course: Positive Psychology. I'm sure what he teaches must apply in some way to football, and how we feel about Benítez's handling of Torres.
He talks about two extremely opposite personality types who cannot find happiness: what he calls the Hedonist and the Rat-Racer.
The Hedonist lives only for the moment –– for instant gratification –– but ultimately finds it an empty existence, from never building towards anything concrete. The Rat-Racer delays gratification, working hard for the future and making many sacrifices that cause unhappiness, believing that happiness and fulfilment will arrive once he or she finishes university, or gets a promotion to a better position, or earns so much money that life becomes more fun. (Ben-Shahar also talks about the Nihilist: someone who's given up on finding happiness in both the present and the future. We all know some of those.)
Ben-Shahar says we should seek the middle ground between the Hedonist and the Rat-Racer: to live in, and enjoy, the present moment, while working towards sustainable future happiness. Easier said than done, perhaps.
Taking 'one game at a time' is the Hedonist approach. Win this match, and we're happy, no matter what the consequences are. Critics might feel Benítez is following the Rat-Racer approach, in planning too much for 'tomorrow'.
However, I honestly feel he's aiming to be in the middle, trying to get results in the present while ensuring the team is in good shape at a later date. It's how he won the league title twice in Spain, and reached two Champions League finals with Liverpool. In each of those seasons, there were times when things weren't going well, but it was May when his methods made most sense.
Of course, in football, happiness is a more simple concept than in life itself, depending on the straight black and white of the result. Win in the present, and the future looks rosy. Drop points, and it feels like you'll never win again. But neither is an enduring reality.
I think it's fair to say that given the way Benítez works, the autumn is always going to be the toughest time of any season. As a manager who likes to prepare down to the fine detail, it will always be challenging: international breaks and Champions League games disrupting the flow. It all gets bitty.
It's the time when Liverpool have habitually struggled under Benítez. But once the international game takes an extended break over winter, and the Champions League goes into hibernation for three months, Liverpool tend to come very strong, with the players' fitness levels perfect for the second half of the season. At that stage, in February, even the return of continental club and country football doesn't derail the momentum in the competitions in which the Reds are still in the hunt.
One thing is for sure: wins against Wigan and Spurs, and we'll all be happy. But even then, there will still be a long way to go on the road to ultimate happiness.
Paul Tomkins 26 September 2007
The League Cup has never been the most valued of trophies, and in recent years its stock has fallen lower still.
However, last night's victory could prove to be one of the Reds' most important in the competition in some years. After three consecutive low-scoring draws (two of which were decent results, with only the Birmingham game two clearly dropped points), a convincing victory could prove a big shot in the arm just as momentum was starting to ebb away.
The free-scoring Liverpool of the first month of the season were back. Without yet more bizarre officiating, with an outrageously offside Reading goal allowed and a blatant Liverpool penalty denied (as well as the more worrying fact of no protection afforded to Torres at all), it could have been more emphatic than 4-2.
Indeed, penalties could be the theme of the season. Liverpool have conceded an unthinkable four already –– although only two were clear-cut, with one borderline (Arbeloa's at Portsmouth –– technically a foul, but Crouch should have dozens every game if that's to be the norm), and the one against Chelsea a farce. And what do Liverpool have to do to get one at the other end?
Of course, the main talking point of the week revolves around one man.
Like most fans, I was surprised to see Torres on the bench against Birmingham and then starting against Reading in the Carling Cup. But after giving his striker a 'mini break', Benítez's decision could yet prove inspired. Torres bagged an outstanding hat-trick against Reading, in one of the most complete centre-forward displays I've ever seen. He can now take the confidence of this landmark display into the rest of the season. And yes, that means the decision could yet benefit the team in league games.
I'm not saying I was happy with the decision on Saturday, as I wasn't, but Benítez will have had his reasons that we are not privy to; it's not like he left him out on a whim. Kuyt had just scored in midweek, while Voronin has been a revelation, and has at times looked like a £20m player himself. Each had already bagged three goals. And it's clear there would be less space in behind Birmingham's defence for Torres to run into. (Of course, he's so good he doesn't have to have that space to shine, but it helps.)
All the same, I expected to see Torres start. More than anything he gives the fans a lift at Anfield, and puts fear into the opposition.
However, I need to keep reminding myself that Torres is still new to English football, and that while he's clearly adapting well to the style of the game, he's entering a whole new level of physical demands. Every individual is different, and the players these days have their conditioning analysed to scientific levels.
Christiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas were eased in to English football, although they were younger than Torres at the time. Didier Drogba wasn't, and perhaps it showed in some of his individual performances at times, even though his physical presence helped Chelsea win two league titles.
Torres is someone who's never played in European club competition before, so he's not used to playing non-stop football. He averaged 40 games a season in Spain –– ie he played nearly every game for Atletico Madrid between 2001 and 2007 –– whereas Liverpool tend to play 60 or more games a season.
It would not just be the increase in the number games, if he were to start every one, but the nature of those games. English football, unlike that of the continent, offers few 'breathers' during the 90 minutes, and attacking players do the most running.
Add the travelling and playing demands of internationals, and were Torres to start every game for Liverpool –– particularly early on –– it could prove costly in a cumulative way. It's all very well saying rest him when he's tired, but sometimes that comes too late, and serious muscle injuries strike first.
Torres is young, he's fit, he's strong, but adapting is about more than playing well in the first few games. Maybe it seems like the manager is being too cautious with him, but perhaps Benítez is concerned about putting too many physical demands on a player still new to this league, and is trying to build up his strength and stamina in stages?
While Torres is delivering on the pitch, his body still has to adjust, and it could be argued that this is best achieved gradually. I'm merely surmising here, but I'd like to think Benítez won't leave him on the bench for too many more league games, particularly as the season wears on, providing he feels the player is capable of playing to his best level. But if he does leave him out it will because he has other talented strikers who are capable of winning games.
A common opinion appears to be "You don't pay £20m to keep a player on the bench". Equally, you don't pay £20m for a player to burn him out in the first six weeks. You don't buy a Ferrari and thrash its engine to bits on a racetrack. You ease it in. (Or so I'm told…)
To compare, Arsenal paid a reported £16m for Eduardo, and have hardly played him. Wenger has eased him in, only just giving him a first league start. This weekend Wenger left out Van Persie, his best striker, in order to play the new Croatian, and made other notable changes from the previous week. Wenger did not do what so many people say Benítez has to every week, i.e. "field his strongest team" (on paper, at least). Maybe Derby is as easy as a home league game gets, but Wenger rotated all the same.
Also, Newcastle paid £17m for an ex-Liverpool striker a couple of years back, and their new manager recently played him immediately after two internationals. It was a game they lost against poor opposition, as Owen limped off injured. That's the alternative to paying a lot of money for a player: feeling you cannot leave him out if he's able to take to the field in one piece, even for his own long-term fitness. Newcastle have now lost him for three to six weeks.
And let's not forget that it is Benítez who has given us Torres, and that Torres wanted to play for the top Spanish manager. After all, the striker had previously spurned the advances of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Maybe we should appreciate what Rafa has done to improve the squad, rather than criticise him every time he picks someone else?
By omitting some of his stars in the last two weeks, a number of fans and pundits have accused Benítez of not caring about the league. But surely he's just caring about it in a different way, with a longer term view? –– a view which will prove right or wrong not now, or next month, but in May. Also, it was, on the whole, a very strong team he fielded against Birmingham, even allowing for two key players, Alonso and Agger, out with broken metatarsals (taking the broken bone tally to five for the season already).
Dr Ben-Shahar, a former Israeli squash champion, is a lecturer at Harvard University's most popular course: Positive Psychology. I'm sure what he teaches must apply in some way to football, and how we feel about Benítez's handling of Torres.
He talks about two extremely opposite personality types who cannot find happiness: what he calls the Hedonist and the Rat-Racer.
The Hedonist lives only for the moment –– for instant gratification –– but ultimately finds it an empty existence, from never building towards anything concrete. The Rat-Racer delays gratification, working hard for the future and making many sacrifices that cause unhappiness, believing that happiness and fulfilment will arrive once he or she finishes university, or gets a promotion to a better position, or earns so much money that life becomes more fun. (Ben-Shahar also talks about the Nihilist: someone who's given up on finding happiness in both the present and the future. We all know some of those.)
Ben-Shahar says we should seek the middle ground between the Hedonist and the Rat-Racer: to live in, and enjoy, the present moment, while working towards sustainable future happiness. Easier said than done, perhaps.
Taking 'one game at a time' is the Hedonist approach. Win this match, and we're happy, no matter what the consequences are. Critics might feel Benítez is following the Rat-Racer approach, in planning too much for 'tomorrow'.
However, I honestly feel he's aiming to be in the middle, trying to get results in the present while ensuring the team is in good shape at a later date. It's how he won the league title twice in Spain, and reached two Champions League finals with Liverpool. In each of those seasons, there were times when things weren't going well, but it was May when his methods made most sense.
Of course, in football, happiness is a more simple concept than in life itself, depending on the straight black and white of the result. Win in the present, and the future looks rosy. Drop points, and it feels like you'll never win again. But neither is an enduring reality.
I think it's fair to say that given the way Benítez works, the autumn is always going to be the toughest time of any season. As a manager who likes to prepare down to the fine detail, it will always be challenging: international breaks and Champions League games disrupting the flow. It all gets bitty.
It's the time when Liverpool have habitually struggled under Benítez. But once the international game takes an extended break over winter, and the Champions League goes into hibernation for three months, Liverpool tend to come very strong, with the players' fitness levels perfect for the second half of the season. At that stage, in February, even the return of continental club and country football doesn't derail the momentum in the competitions in which the Reds are still in the hunt.
One thing is for sure: wins against Wigan and Spurs, and we'll all be happy. But even then, there will still be a long way to go on the road to ultimate happiness.