I attempt to read all emails, even though I can't reply to them all. After poor results I get a mixture of messages: those from people who appreciate my attempts to find light in the dark (and who, such as this weekend, request a dose of positivity served in a glass half full), and those from people who offer a suggestion as to what I can go do with myself, sometimes with precise details as to the how and where.
I don't like to dwell upon a bad result. Upon medical advice I am aiming to lessen my workload over the coming months (not easy with a book just released and the season so quickly in full emotional flow), but while a result like beating United can see me happily steer clear of the laptop and just savour the memory, the over reaction to two points dropped at home to a promoted side can spur me into action.
When I read that the Reds definitely cannot win the title after one bad result, I despair. Just as beating Manchester United didn't make Liverpool a certainty to win it, one draw at home to a promoted side does not mean the opposite is now true. What I abhor most about modern football support is this constant swing from one extreme to another.
Anything is still possible, be it bad or good. Unbeaten in eight, only three goals conceded - each time leading to a victory after being behind - and a mere point off the Premier League pace. The big picture seems fine to me.
I still don't fully understand the emails I receive that treat me as if I am the person to blame, but I guess venting spleen is an important desire for many upset fans, and as someone who very much believes in the current manager, I'm an obvious target.
After all, we all feel helpless in the support of our team. We'd love to be able to directly influence the game, but that's just impossible. And we all get wise after the event. Had Stoke scored from a long throw, then it would have been a mistake to not play Hyypia. Had it been from central midfield, it would have been due to leaving out Mascherano.
As it was, it was an attacking line-up from Benitez, with two strikers, one winger and another striker-cum-wideman, and the two most creative central midfielders at the club. And Liverpool did all the attacking. They just drew a blank. Galling as it is, it happens.
Drawing 0-0 at home to Stoke is clearly a bad result. Of course, the referee did not help matters; what the home team desperately needs in parked-bus games is that first goal. It's not an excuse, just a fact of life. If you score legitimately after 67 seconds, you can relax, and the opposition has to change tact.
Let's be clear: brilliant, free-flowing football is virtually impossible in game like this - at least until that first goal goes in. It's hard to pass around a team that sets up like part-timers Andorra did against England; except Stoke are not non-league standard. And while the result wasn't as hoped, Liverpool did pretty much everything text-book against a packed defence.
There may have seemed like too many long distance efforts, but then Liverpool have already beaten 'Boro, Sunderland and Marseilles thanks to shots from outside the area. It can be a way past a massed defence if there is little space to work the ball, but Liverpool also went wide, tried intricate pass-and-moves, and created good chances close to goal as well.
I don't blame Stoke at all; they came with a game plan, just as Liverpool used to go to places like Barcelona under Gerard Houllier and park the bus. The referee allowed it to work this weekend due to his bizarre early decision, and the Reds failed to take their chances. All credit to the Potters.
There are obviously parallels with last season, particularly the 0-0s at Portsmouth and Birmingham at the same stage (not to mention an illogical refereeing mistake at Anfield that cost the Reds two points).
Like then, the first 0-0 - this time at Villa Park - was actually a decent result. Last season Benitez was blamed for resting Torres and Gerrard; this year he has done no such thing (although he was without them in the win against United), which goes to show that sometimes bad things happen to good teams, no matter who features in the line-up.
The difference this season is that Liverpool have already beaten a title favourite. I kept hearing for four seasons that the other big three are the teams you need to beat to win the title. At the same time, I still keep hearing that every single other team is the kind of team you need to beat to win the title. But you can't win 'em all.
All champions have a handful of bad results over the course of a season. No title is ever lost because of one slip-up in September.
However, every bad result clearly lessens the margin for error.
You can always carry a few setbacks, like United did when drawing at home to Reading early last season (amid other bad results in a poor start), but each one means one fewer 'get out of jail free' card. So it's not something to be blase about. It can prove costly, but only in a cumulative fashion.
While drawing with Stoke seems to negate all the good work against United, the fact remains that beating the current champions not only gave the Reds three points, but denied Ferguson's men their own.
Beating Stoke and drawing with United might seem a far more respectable way to get four points, but this way around is actually better, as United, who've already dropped points at home to 19th-placed Newcastle, remain worse off, and that's an important difference. (Unless it's Stoke who end up challenging for the title) Again, it should have been six points, but these blips happen.
For me, the main problem this season has been the fitness, sharpness and confidence of the two strikers. And there's not a lot a manager can do to change that, apart from keep faith and have patience. To my mind Rafa was right to buy Robbie Keane, who is a quality striker, but there was no guarantee of an instant windfall.
Torres was late back from Euro 2008, then suffered a hamstring strain. He's not found his full acceleration, and perhaps he's feeling the pressure a little after the raised expectations after a quite incredible 12 months. He has looked a little tentative when running, and it might be a week or two before we see him feel comfortable enough to use his explosive pace.
As a quick striker in my playing days (with only marginally less ability than Torres), I suffered with hamstring problems. They do play on your mind; it's a horrible feeling when one pings at full-pelt. Even when it's healed, the psychological scars linger a little longer. You need to feel able to trust your body.
I still feel Torres will have an excellent season. He doesn't need to score as many goals overall, just pull a rabbit out of the hat like he did at Sunderland, and of course, in the Euro 2008 final. Fewer goals but more 'winners' would be great.
Robbie Keane, meanwhile, seems overanxious, which is natural for any new striker with a big price tag searching out his first goal. Peter Crouch took 19 games to break his duck, but after that his scoring record was pretty good. Keane's two main efforts against Stoke were deft attempts, but a confident striker feels more able to aim for the corners; when the goals aren't flowing, you tend to concentrate on just hitting the target.
When I started out as a semi-pro I couldn't buy a goal (I was refused credit at Goals'R'Us). But once the first went in, my whole game went from abysmal to what I would call my 'personal best' (to some observers, that was only a fraction better than abysmal, but that's semantics...).
It's hard to explain how different you become as a footballer once you find your confidence. And trying too hard really is a curse. You need work-rate, but a relaxed mind.
Albert Riera seems to have settled much more quickly. For a tricky winger, his passing is superb. He looks a bargain, and Andrea Dossena, who has come in for some unnecessary criticism on a couple of occasions, will help offer a new dimension on that flank.
Another major plus is that Liverpool are defending set-pieces far better this season. The zonal marking system improved upon the arrival of Mauricio Pellegrino as a player in 2005, and he seems to have tweaked things again; particularly important with players like Crouch, Sissoko and Riise replaced by smaller alternatives. Liverpool have played some very tall sides this season, but rarely been worried (touch wood). But the Reds still need to score more from their own corners.
As has been noted, Liverpool have rode their luck at times this season, but it ran out at the weekend. The Manchester United victory showed how good this team can be, and despite the up-and-down nature of the performances, the Reds are brilliantly placed in both the league and in Europe. It could be better still, but every team can say that, including Arsenal, who lost at Fulham. As it stands, six points ahead of United and level on points with Chelsea, in addition to an away win in Marseilles, is something we'd have all taken if offered it in August.
Amidst the gloom of a missed opportunity, it's important to not lose sight of that fact.
Article courtesy of Paul Tomkins.
