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The Key Position?

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:05:45 +0000

The most important player in any football team?

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Who Said You Had To ‘Understand’?

Paul Tomkins — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:10:28 +0000

When people email, text and Tweet me that Rafa was definitely wrong to take off Torres at Birmingham, I ask “how do you know?”

There’s a chance that this wonderful striker, who was clearly tired and not really in the game, could have pulled a rabbit out of the hat, as he did at Villa.

There’s also a chance that he might not – as was the case at Wigan, when he stayed on and missed good chances.

And there’s a chance that, given he was clearly leggy after a tough shift in Portugal, and given his problems this season (not to mention how injuries occur more readily to tired, over-stretched players), he might have pulled a muscle.

Then where would we be?

Now, those who think Rafa was 100% wrong fail to see such alternatives.

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Reds Back on Track, Steve Bruce Deflated

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:34:54 +0000

After a tired display at Old Trafford, when the third game in a week took its toll, the Reds’ revival continued against Sunderland.

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Rock, Paper, Scissors

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:15:25 +0000

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Tough and Rumble

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:08:05 +0000

Well, if Liverpool didn’t know they were in a battle for 4th, they do now; indeed, too literally so this weekend.

After the utter nonsense last season, the Blackburn game was always going to be a bigger deal than usual. Add that the Reds took to the field only after Manchester City and Spurs had already won, and it was a fixture on a knife-edge.

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Cutting Edge

Paul Tomkins — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:29:02 +0000

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Youthful Promise

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:40:33 +0000

If you ever want to see the perfect example of how media reporting of football has changed in the past 40 years, consider the following.

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Derby Day Delight

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:59:09 +0000

One thing really bothered me earlier in the season: accusations from some quarters that Liverpool lacked character. This didn’t tally with what I believed to be the case. Last season, time and time again, the Reds showed incredible character to rescue lost causes, and lose so few games.

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Success Starts at the Back

Paul Tomkins — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:27:54 +0000

Whisper it quietly, but Liverpool could be six games into a very important run of form.

An eight point deficit to fourth place is now down to one, and it’s another week closer to the major attacking threats of Torres, Benayoun and Johnson returning.

With every passing month, another top-four challenger falls away; as happens every year. People worrying about the threat of Birmingham has been made to look premature.

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End to the ‘Perfect Storm’ in Sight?

Paul Tomkins — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:35:25 +0000

A difficult week is over. However, it ended with the Reds getting the best result out of the four teams contesting a place in the top four.

A few weeks back, Liverpool were eight points off 4th place. Now the gap is down to four. Lost in all the drama of an FA cup shock (which, let’s face it, happened to Shankly, Paisley and Dalglish, and to Alex Ferguson as recently as this month) was that the Reds are closing in on the top four.

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