Last night's cup exit summed up everything wrong about Liverpool under Rafa Benitez this season: poor selections and no game plan apart from total dependency on Steven Gerrard.
Everton manager David Moyes said: "We haven't won the cup tonight, although it feels a bit like it in there." You can't help but think that he had a point. A good number of his club's supporters acted as if they were non-league giant killers with their reaction to Gerrard's substitution. It wouldn't have come as a shock if their chairman Bill Kenwright had pranced down to the press box to preach to the media about how proud he was of his team. He did it after the tie at Anfield and you wouldn't bet against it. Nor would you bet against the Goodison Park marketing department unleashing another 90-minute DVD extravaganza commemorating their first victory over their local rivals since September 2006. Coincidentally they 'celebrated' that 3-0 league victory in the same manner.
But last night was not about the pettiness of the home support. Their team more than made up for that embarrassment with a well-fought performance in what was a very scrappy game. If alarm bells aren't ringing in Benitez's head this morning after that performance then something is seriously wrong. Jamie Carragher had previously stated that it was his and the team's personal goal to lift the FA Cup for the memory of the 96 Liverpool supporters who died at Hillsborough 20 years ago however on last night's showing it will only be the Bootle-born defender and Steven Gerrard, both of whom grew up with the aftermath of Hillsborough, that will have felt this more than most from the Reds' team that lost in extra time to Everton.
There shouldn't be any scapegoats for the performance but there is one that stuck out like a sore thumb before a ball had even been kicked. Lucas Leiva's starting role proved to be a decision that cost Liverpool a fifth round meeting with Aston Villa next weekend. The Brazilian was dismissed on 76 minutes after being shown a second yellow card. Despite two or three games over the festive period, where he was average at best, Lucas has returned to his usual self in at the turn of the year and shows no signs of improving. Benitez's selection of him is becoming as tedious as Gerard Houllier's persistence in picking Bruno Cheyrou during his time at the Anfield helm. But this isn't the first time Lucas has cost Liverpool victory in a Merseyside derby. His heroics at Goodison in October 2007 were well and truly undone with the sending off last night which has summed up his Anfield career.
Andrea Dossena was another player who has been consistently poor since he breezed through the doors at L4. His crossing was poor to say the least and his carelessness in putting the ball out of play unchallenged was simply baffling. If this is Italy's first choice left back and supposedly worth £7 million then no wonder the financial world is suffering because no player of his quality is worth even close to that amount.
Many pundits in the media have said that Liverpool rely on Gerrard and to a degree that is true. One player who relies on Gerrard more than the team is Fernando Torres who looked like a little boy lost on the Goodison pitch and was constantly in Leighton Baines' pocket. Since his hamstring injuries the Spaniard has looked off the pace and his first touch was shocking for a player who scored 33 goals last season. It is not a case of second season syndrome as some knee-jerk reactions pointed to last night after the game. Torres' main attribute was his pace and ability to turn defenders without a moment's thought but since his injuries he is a shadow of his former self. As a result his dependency on Gerrard for balls to latch onto has heightened. It was considered last season and for much of this current campaign that the Gerrard-Torres partnership has been key to the team's success. However Benitez will be sweating on the captain's hamstring scan more than any niggles Torres has, such is the importance of Gerrard to the club.
Benitez insisted after the game that there was still all to play for both in the league and Europe. After Sunday's late win over Chelsea that claim has considerable weight alongside a convincing showing in the Champions League group stage but the Reds might have to forefeit one one of their campaigns with a busy schedule which sees them face Manchester United, Aston Villa and Arsenal as well as a potentitally difficult visit to Fulham at Craven Cottage after their second leg tie with Real Madrid.
Judging by the reaction that greeted Torres' brace last Sunday, there can be no doubt what the fans want the team to strive for. The question remains whether Benitez's love affair with the European Cup will distract the club from that dream. Liverpool were forced to press for the Champions League last season after their title challenge derailed before Christmas. They are in a stronger position than they have ever been under Benitez at this stage of the season and there is no reason to surrender the title to Manchester United just yet. However, careless tactical decisions and the constant inclusion of players that have previously cost the side victories this season could inevitably spell the end of the Anfield title dream.
Judging by the reaction that greeted Torres' brace last Sunday, there can be no doubt what the fans want the team to strive for. The question remains whether Benitez's love affair with the European Cup will distract the club from that dream. Liverpool were forced to press for the Champions League last season after their title challenge derailed before Christmas. They are in a stronger position than they have ever been under Benitez at this stage of the season and there is no reason to surrender the title to Manchester United just yet. However, careless tactical decisions and the constant inclusion of players that have previously cost the side victories this season could inevitably spell the end of the Anfield title dream.
