More Disappointment for Liverpool

We looked completely average and were humbled by a rejuvenated Arsenal team who taught us a lesson in football. Unfortunately, I'm worried that this will be another lesson that Benitez will ignore, and will continue to stick with a formula that is clearly not working. Playing with one man up front, especially at home is a very negative tactic, and one that is not working for us this season.

Just because it worked for us last season does not mean that it is the only tactic that is ever going to work for us. This is a new season, with different circumstances and Mr Benitez needs to see that to be a good manager, you need to be open to trying new formations and tactics now and again, otherwise, as we have seen, ideas become stale and you become very predictable.

I realise that Rafa is not completely to blame, the American owners have let the club down big time and now we are in a dire financial situation, one that is hard to see us coming out of in the near future, therefore big signings and a new stadium seem totally out of the question.

This is a really confusing situation to be in for the fans, the obvious solution would be to sell the club, however the Americans look like they will do anything to avoid this, so there's nothing we can do about that, and because Rafa and the players are not getting the financial support they deserve, circumstances on the pitch are equally as poor. But at the same time it is difficult to decipher whether this is because Benitez is a bad manager or it is because he's not receiving enough support from the owners, so again we're left with a horrible equilibrium in which we don't know what to think or who to blame, and there is too much of a polarisation in opinion to make a decision on what is best for the club.

But one thing is for certain is that unless we turn our season around and finish in the top four, things are only going to get much worse for the club, so Rafa and the players need to come up with the goods week in week out from now on, despite of what is going on off the pitch. The frustrating thing is that we have enough quality to be competing for the top prizes, but because of poor decisions, a lot of bad luck and a lack in confidence, things are not going our way, in a big way.

Last night, after we went 2-1 down, the one and only thing the team knew they had to do was to score at least one goal to draw level, or preferably two to win the game - everything else was irrelevant, they knew their task and the only thing they could do was to put everything in to achieving it. Therefore the most upsetting thing was that we didn't even come close to this, and if anything we played a lot worse than before Arshavin's wonder strike.

The game against Wigan in midweek is the perfect platform for us to bounce back, and it is essential that we put in a performance. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and start playing to our strengths otherwise I'm afraid the only way is down.

If we don't make the Champions League next season, it could see the end of the likes of Torres, Gerrard and Reina in a Liverpool shirt, an unthinkable situation for any Liverpool fan, but a realistic one of we are not up there with the best in the world come May.