TOMKINS: RETHINKING OUR JUDGEMENTS

Emile Heskey's recall to the England line-up made me think about the process that sees us declare that a Liverpool player is a 'failure'.

The successes are usually easy to judge. But someone like Heskey epitomises the grey area in the middle, where fans will often disagree. Perhaps these are the players who had some great moments but lacked consistency, or didn't quite punch their weight –– both of which seem true in the big striker's case.

Only the signing of Fernando Torres has excited more than that of Heskey in March 2000. But even the arrival of Torres this summer was couched with slight concerns about how he'd adapt to English football, in the initial months particularly; concerns that thankfully now seem redundant. Heskey, however, just seemed totally perfect at the time: so much power, so much potential, and a natural foil, as a big, strong forward, for either Owen or Fowler. Now in a much better team, he seemed certain to flourish.

Heskey's first full season was a success: 22 goals, three trophies won, and a first Champions League qualification since the name changed from the European Cup. But Heskey's goals dried up in the last 10 games of his inaugural campaign, as each contest became 'must-win', suggesting that he was not the best in high-pressure situations. And I found myself already turning against him at that time.

I feel I made the mistake of backing my favourite player –– Robbie Fowler –– over the man who formed a more natural partnership with Owen (who, at the time, as European Footballer of the Year, was the main man on merit).

As an individual, Fowler's ability was as good as anyone I'd seen, and I wanted to see his name on the team-sheet alongside Owen's. While he and Owen were intelligent enough to play together, I struggled to accept that Heskey and Owen were the partnership that caused defences a greater range of problems, as well as being more suited to the tactics Gérard Houllier deployed at the time.

But then, paradoxically, those tactics were also what worked against Liverpool and Heskey. With Owen and Heskey often isolated way ahead of the midfield, and with a lack of players operating between the lines who could support them, it fell onto their shoulders to score the majority of goals. Owen got his share, but Heskey fell short.

Compare the goals scored from open play by Steven Gerrard and Luis Garcia in the last three seasons, to the totals of the midfielders under Houllier, and you'll see a big difference.

Danny Murphy and Gary McAllister, aided by penalties and free-kicks, scored a few, but midfielders didn't get into goalscoring positions as often, particularly after 2000/01. In his six seasons under Houllier, Gerrard scored 28 goals in all competitions; in the three subsequent seasons he's registered 48, the vast majority from open play. Luis Garcia got 30 in two-and-a-half seasons, all from open play.

Of course, everyone is aware that the strikers in general weren't scoring as many under Benítez –- although this season it finally looks like a balance unseen for almost 20 years is in place, with goals flowing from all areas of the team. This is what the manager has been working towards.

Perhaps my confusion over Heskey six years ago was made greater by Fowler popping up with goals in two semi-finals, two finals, and a brace in the 'final final' at Charlton. When it mattered most, Fowler seemed to deliver. But Heskey had played his part in making those achievements possible.

By 2003 I'd developed an irrational aversion to Heskey. It wasn't a happy time for me, and I needed someone to vent my frustrations on.

With hindsight, I was far too harsh on him. Having said that, I do still feel that the summer of 2004 required serious action at Liverpool, and after four seasons, it seemed that Heskey heading for the exit was essential, given that a title challenge was only getting further away. As it happened, a managerial change would take the club in a new direction anyway.

Ironically, by the end of Benítez's first season I felt Heskey was the type of player we missed, particularly away from home in the Premiership: someone big and strong who could hold up the ball for the attacking midfielders, and also use his pace on the counter-attack. In a different system, Heskey might have proved a bigger success.

Had Liverpool won a league title with Heskey, even if he didn't score a single goal, then anyone who doubted him (including me) would have been missing the point. As a more extreme example, is a striker fails to score in 100 games for a club, but all 100 games are won, a flop or a runaway success? After all, winning every game with him in the side can't be a coincidence, can it?

This week Steven Gerrard dubbed Heskey a "players' player", and I think Liverpool now have another in Dirk Kuyt. Some players oil the wheels for others. Kuyt didn't score in the Champions League last season until the very last minute of the final, but there's no doubt in my mind he played a massive part in getting the team there. This season his selflessness and clever movement will help Torres shine.

Perhaps a few years ago I would have fixated on Kuyt's goalscoring record, in the way I did with Heskey's, but for me Kuyt and Torres are a partnership that will win the Reds a lot of games, and ultimately that is all that matters.

It's how the team does, rather than just the individual. Djibril Cissé scored 19 goals in his final season at Liverpool, despite a lot of time in midfield –– hardly the record of a 'flop'. But too often he seemed at odds with the team's tactics and the ethos of working hard. Fernando Morientes, meanwhile, struggled to score goals, but more often than not the team won when he was playing.

You could argue that each was therefore a success; but there's also evidence to suggest each was actually a failure. Sometimes it's not enough to satisfy us by being quietly effective if we expect fireworks from a player, and that can confuse matters. If we expect Sissoko to pass like Alonso, we're setting ourselves up to be disappointed.

Obviously, like all fans, I have my favourite players. But for the first time since I can remember, there is no-one in the squad whose inclusion in the team would make me think 'Hmmm, I'm not sure about this...'. I didn't have a massive problem with players like Bolo Zenden and Stephen Warnock, but at times they didn't fill me with confidence, either. They weren't bad players, but neither found his niche in the side.

Then there was Josemi, who I felt was a potential world-beater in his first six weeks in England, but who from then on had me pulling out what little hair I had left. Perhaps the true Josemi is neither a world-beater nor the poor player he ended up appearing, but confidence (or a lack of it) does strange things to players.

Indeed, confidence, and the psychological side of the game, was the biggest hurdle that Heskey ultimately couldn't overcome. Had he possessed genuine self-belief he could have been an all-time great. But while players can develop and improve over time, not many can reverse their natural character to a significant degree.

While I do think you can achieve the ultimate success with players like Heskey, depending on the balance of your team, if you have a player like Torres –– who will do the same kind of selfless things for the team, but who attacks with much greater ability and belief –– then your chances are better. And perhaps that's the key.

Each season Benítez has added at least two or three gems, to the point where the squad now has a frightening look to it. At the same time, he has offloaded plenty of players who either had enough redeeming qualities, or who had started to produce some fine form (or merely discovered their confidence), that you could have made a case for keeping them.

Biscan, Warnock, Cissé, Smicer, Fowler, Kromkamp, Baros, Zenden, Hamann, Sinama-Pongolle, Gonzalez, as well as Henchoz and Murphy: none of them lacked talent, and each had their moments (or more), but Benítez replaced them with superior (and/or younger) alternatives when some other managers might have settled for what they offer.

I think it's too easy to label a struggling player a flop, or turn against him. You can end up painting yourself into a corner, where you then refuse to acknowledge his true abilities. I've seen people do it with Jermaine Pennant, with their minds made up after an inauspicious start to his Liverpool career; even now they still refuse to give him his dues. But it's a manager's prerogative to persevere with those he has faith in, particularly if he has high standards he believes the player can match.

The worst thing as a fan is to end up wanting to see players fail just to prove yourself right. That's not a good place to be.

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