When the fixtures for the forthcoming season are released there is one game that all the newly promoted sides look forward to.
But it isn’t the prospect of visiting Old Trafford or the lure of Stamford Bridge and the Emirates that excites them. It is the opportunity to run out at Anfield and come away with at least a point that attracts them more than other away games against the top four.
Since the Premier League was founded in 1992, 20 newly-promoted teams have taken points off Liverpool at Anfield in their first season after coming up from the old Division 1. The combined total of the points gained by the new boys in 30 and two of them came against the Reds this season and Hull City became that 20th side with a 2-2 draw against a misfiring and defensively frail Liverpool side.
The Tigers have been something of a surprise package this season with a wins over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as wel as a high scoring defeat away to Manchester United but they will be more pleased with the point gained at Anfield than their heroics against these three sides combined.
Liverpool are supposed to be a team challenging for the title but based on the performance you could be forgiven for thinking that they were still a side complacent with finishing the season in fourth place.
£20 million Robbie Keane was left on the subs’ bench for the second league game running as the Reds drew their third home game on the bounce against a team that they should have really beaten despite the visitors’ success story.
After goalless draws against West Ham and Fulham it was refreshing to see Liverpool find the net in a league game at Anfield. It’s just a pity that the two goals that were scored served only as equalisers and not match-winners.
Rafael Benitez’s team selection contained changes that puzzled supporters with Keane’s exile on the bench extended after a full 90 minutes in the same position against Blackburn last weekend and despite a gutsy and encouraging performance against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Yossi Benayoun retained his place on the right wing as Benitez deployed Dirk Kuyt as a lone star of Liverpool’s attack.
The striker, who has made the right wing position his own in recent times, drew similarities with Keane in his performance during a game that saw him fail to convert basic chances through taking too many touches of the ball – something the Irishman has been doing a lot since his arrival at Anfield.
Yet again it was up to Steven Gerrard to carry the team by the scruff of their neck and get them out of what would’ve been an embarrassing defeat given their predicted title credentials. Gerrard has been the driving force behind the team as far back as 2003 and you have to wonder what Benitez will do if the captain is sidelined with a serious injury.
Fortunately, as with the draw against Fulham, Liverpool's title rivals failed to capitalise on their failure to take maximum points with both Arsenal and Manchester United drawing their games against Middlesbrough and Spurs respectively. However when Chelsea face West Ham later today, Scolari's team are dead certs to turn over the Hammers at Stamford Bridge. Despite a goalless draw against Newcastle on the weekend when Fulham frustrated the Reds at home, West Ham - another side to come away from Anfield this season with a point - are the least formidable team in the league at present and the short trip across London will serve as nothing more than a city derby with a home win pretty much a given.
Yet the blind optimists amongst Liverpool's support are still bleating on about being top of the league despite the fact that their team underperformed and dropped points that will be costly come May. They are refusing to look at the negatives or even accept the reality that Chelsea are likely to go two points clear of them at the top of the table later today. They are still pedalling the 'in Rafa we trust' mantra and will not hear him criticised. I wonder how loud and proud those voices will be when Chelsea or, God forbid, Manchester United have their hands around the title.
United currently have 17 league titles and they are determined to not only match Liverpool's record of 18, but to overtake it. This has increased the expectancy and added urgency to the Reds' title challenge this term as opposed to previous seasons.
The boos that rang around Anfield after the West Ham match seemed a bit quieter after this result. Perhaps they were still ringing around the Emirates stadium for Emmanuel Eboue from last week or maybe the supporters are becoming apathetic to Liverpool’s title bid.
The voices inside Anfield yesterday were the same that were heard during the previous two league games and drew similiarities with the voices that eventually called for Gerard Houllier to be removed after a gradual decline following the 2001 treble and a 2nd placed finish in 01-02.
Whilst kneejerk reactors vented their frustrations on the local post match phone-ins with some calling for the manager’s head, others are still maintaining their beatification of Benitez. This blind faith has left the manager’s decisions and the team’s results exempt from scrutiny in the eyes of some who liken the slagging of the players by seasoned supporters to the fickle booing shown by Arsenal fans towards Eboue last week that reared its ugly head five days previous after Liverpool drew with West Ham.
The misfortune of Benitez’s position at Liverpool is that he became a victim of his own success by winning the Champions League in his first season with an inherited team. Since then the expectancy placed upon him to deliver club’s first league title for 1990 and the tactically stubborn manager is now struggling to meet expectations, four seasons after the miracle of Istanbul.
With a faltering title challenge starting to seriously derail, where Liverpool go from here remains to be seen.
