The Special One

It was a relief when Yossi Benayoun scored in the 75th minute in yesterday's game, hence chalking up Liverpool's first league win after 2 league outings. The other two big teams also won by a similar scoreline, with Arsenal winning away at West Ham and Manchester United did what Liverpool couldn't do last week, scoring a goal against the resilient Birmingham team.

Playing Wigan, Liverpool had a fair advantage in the statistic department. Wigan has never beaten, nor hold the top teams (being Liverpool, Arsenal, Man. United and Chelsea) in 16 straight games. Last season they were 4 goals down by halftime, so they did considerably well this time around to limit Liverpool to just one goal. Needless to say, it was a nervous game for the visiting team.

A lot has been said about Rafa Benitez rotation policy in recent weeks. Having 4 good strikers at his disposal, he selects the two that he redeems best suited for a particular game. That means leaving Fernando Torres on the bench in recent games.

Torres however, didn't go quietly. After being benched for two league games and only appearing as substitute to play the remaining 30 minutes, he was given the chance to shine in last week's League Cup game against Reading. And shine he did, scoring his first hat trick (and definitely not his last) for Liverpool. Voices everywhere, from football pundits to fans alike have been urging Rafa to play Torres in every single game. But Rafa remained adamant, the master tactician sticking to his policy that no one is assured of a place in the starting lineup.

Looking back in history, Liverpool is in need of a consistent striker to provide them the goals that have been hard in coming. The last consistent goal-scorer for Liverpool is playing for Newcastle United now, and eversince his departure in June 2004 to Real Madrid, Liverpool has been struggling to find a perfect replacement for the player dubbed as the one of the greatest player ever by some. Michael Owen consistently scored 15 goals and more (except in 1999/2000 season when he was out injured for a lengthy period of time), accumulating a massive 118 goals scored in the Premier League in 7 seasons.

His replacements, never did achieve what was expected of them, and with that, gone were the goals that were desperately needed to push Liverpool to the top of the table. Baros, Cisse, Morientes, Crouch and Bellamy, all failed to get past 10 goals a season. There were times when Liverpool relied heavily on their midfielders for the goals, namely in Gerrard, Garcia and Riise.

Last season, Dirk Kuyt and Peter Crouch combined to score 21 goals among them, and it looked to be a good partnership. Of course, with Rafa rotation policy, the consistency never materialized with Crouch often left on the bench and only came on as a late substitute.

Now, Fernando Torres has the making to be the next Owen (not in the sense of being injury-prone, but scoring consistently). Looking at his statistic when he was with Atletico Madrid, he scored an amazing 75 goals in 5 seasons in La Liga, and that itself is an impressive feat. He has the speed and the skills to shine for Liverpool, and so far, he is Liverpool's top scorer with 6 goals in 10 games. All he needs now, is to start and play regularly, to build his confidence and scoring consistently.

Rafa needs to play him as often as possible. He is no good warming up the bench. And maybe, just maybe, Rafa could just win that elusive league title and complete his collection of trophies. As John Dykes puts it, "He has the means to do so at his disposal. His name is Fernando Torres and he is the Special One"

The ball is mine! (after the game against Reading)