When I was younger I occasionally ventured round to the Main Stand of a matchday with my dad. It was to sort out tickets and whatnot with distant relatives instead of gawping at the likes of Patrik Berger as he pranced through the Players' Entrance.
Usually on these days Liverpool would put in a sub-par and frantic performance with a defeat usually the end product. Southampton in 97/98 stick outs as the prime examples.
Coincidentally the usually subdued inhabitants of the Main Stand would pipe up, bemoaning the team's performance and calling for Roy Evans' head.
Saturday was another one of those days except now it wasn't just the Main Standers that spoke out, there were a good few frustrated voices coming from the Kop too. Even the new Kemlyn Road stand (or Centenary Stand as it's now known) got involved with one old timer getting as good as he gave when he gave an earful to Jamie Carragher.
No matter how many times you watch it, analyse or sympathise with them, Liverpool were poor to say the least and the abuse the players and the manager received inside Anfield on Saturday afternoon was nothing short of warranted.
Benitez's decision to play Robbie Keane was as questionable as the decision to sign him in the first place. Robbie can bleat on all he likes about his dream move to Anfield and how he aims to prove himself but if he's not going to back up those words with actions then he's just setting himself up for a massive fall.
The problem with Keane is that since he joined the club he's been like a completely different player. Where beforehand at Spurs and Leeds before them he would hit the ball first time when it came to him for a goalscoring opportunity, he's now taking an extra touch or two and nine times out of ten he's losing possession and missing sitters. He even did it with the two goals he scored against West Brom earlier this month and if the truth be told the relegation certain Baggies made him look good by comparison to his previous performances in a red shirt.
But it was back to business on Saturday for Keane and he wasn't the only one in what someone behind me described as a game where Liverpool were 'not at the races'. Hopefully Benitez will follow up his comments and drop Keane to the subs' bench because doesn't fit into the formation or style that his team plays to.
Lucas Leiva came in for some pretty strong criticism and whilst the manager has refused to lay blame with any one player and contrary to what Fabio Aurelio said earlier today, they were in desperate need of Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool have been accused of being a team wholly dependant on Torres and Gerrard but this theory was proved wrong in the five games the Spaniard missed between last month and this. The absence of the Liverpool captain against Fulham was sorely missed. It begs the question of how Benitez would have coped had Gerrard moved to West London in the two summers where he was courted by Chelsea in a saga that saw the Huyton-born midfielder hand in a transfer request in July 2005 - less than two months after lifting the European Cup.
Despite the chest-beating celebrations and 'holier than thou' mentality, Gerrard has been the club's driving force for the best part of five years. Ever since the dark days of Houllier's reign he has continued to drag us out of some pretty unpleasant situations with Olympiakos, Istanbul and Cardiff being the most notable inclusions.
The FA Cup final against West Ham was where Gerrard came into his own. It was a game that Liverpool didn't even look like they could win against a West Ham side who were determined to fight tooth and nail to take the cup back to the East End. But the captain's grit and determination saved face and led his side to the trophy via extra time and penalties. Some would argue thatit overshadowed Istanbul as his finest performance in a red shirt.
Saturday's draw was also a tell-tale sign of how the international breaks, no matter how little, take their toll on players representing their country.
Dirk Kuyt and Albert Riera - usually tireless workers throughout games - seemed highly fatigued even in the early stages of the game. Javier Mascherano, fresh from captaining Argentina to a 1-0 win over Scotland in midweek, also looked out of sorts and was no doubt relieved when he was replaced by Xabi Alonso.
The introduction of Alonso, as much as it was being called for by supporters, was also greeted with disgust that it was not Lucas Leiva's number on the fourth official's board.
The Brazilian had one of his poorest games for Liverpool, giving away possession regularly with only a handful of his passes reached their intended targets.
Michael Ballack has written off Liverpool's chance to win the league because they are a team only suited to the Champions League. Based on Saturday's performance there might be some validity to his words.
