That Was The Week That Was

By mid week it was also announced that another of Liverpool's sons would be making his five hundredth appearance in a Liverpool shirt. Steven Gerrard joined the club straight from school and worked his way up through the academy before making his first appearance in the team ten years ago. He also scored his first goal in that game and I wondered if history would repeat itself during the game against Blackburn at Ewood Park. He has been a marvellous servant of the club and apart from the odd hiccup has made sure that he puts his all into every game. There was a point several years ago when he thought about signing for Chelsea but thankfully the pull of Liverpool and its football club kept him on Merseyside. Liverpool as a football club have benefited from that in many ways. He is a great ambassador off the field as well and always behaves like a gentleman when on personal or club business. There have been the odd misdemeanours but boys will be boys.

Saturday came around and it was confirmed that Stevie would indeed led the team out. He had recovered from the lethargy that seemed to have been holding him back during the Derby game. Of course the big question on everyone's lips was would Aquilani be playing or would he yet again be there as a spectator? I was having people contact me a good ninety minutes before kick- off and asking if I knew the team for today. Thankfully an hour before kick-off, John Aldridge announced the team on CityTalk Sport. It was Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Insua, Mascherano, Benayoun, Riera, Lucas, Kuyt and Gerrard. On the Bench was, Cavalieri and yes you have guessed it Aquiliani, Kyriakos, Ngog, El Zhar, Skrtel and Dossena.

The game started and Liverpool at first gave the impression that they up for the fight. There were another three points at stake, and they were points that the club desperately need to improve their standing in the league. I watched as the first half progressed and I began to wonder if the impression that I had got at the beginning of the game was the wrong one. The players simply did not give the impression that they actually wanted to be on the pitch. It appeared that Stevie G, Jamie Carragher, Lucas, Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt were the only players that seemed to realise how important a win would be that afternoon. Glen Johnson did appear to be having a good game, but I am yet to be convinced that he is happy at the club. As the minutes ticked by, the same old problems in the defence began to show up and I must have screamed at my computer screen half a dozen times - how I wish they could hear me, because they are not listening to their manager or whoever trains them at Melwood. This week though the attack also seemed to be having a could not give a damn moment, Blackburn were all over them and to be honest I expected them to score a goal. How Sam Allardyce kept his cool in the Director's box I will never know. He must have wondered what his team actually had to do to get through our ropey defence and score the goal that they wanted. Half time could not have come quick enough for either team or the supporters. The afternoon had started full of promise and here we were forty five minutes in and it was a stalemate. This was not the way to end such a momentous week in Liverpool's history. I can only guess that at this point in the afternoon Stevie G felt very deflated.

The second half began and when all the lads were on the pitch, Stevie gave what I can only call a rallying cry. I watched with baited breathe and hoped that our performance would improve. It didn't and again Blackburn gave the impression that they were going to prove that yet again our defence was flawed, not that we need reminding of that. As the half progressed, tempers were getting a little frayed and Diouf got to the point where an early bath became imminent. Blackburn's Assistant Manager, Neil MacDonald quickly stepped and made a substitution.

Rafa Benitez had already made one substitution at that point by taking of Reira and replacing him with Ngog. I guess he was hoping that Ngog and his boot would find the net but this did not happen. Play was now becoming more aggressive and Liverpool finally appeared to be waking up a bit and spending more and more time in the box. Chances were being taken but nothing was finding the net. Then came the second substitution, would it be Aquilani I wondered? No chance - it was El Zhar for Benayoun. El Zhar who had not played in the first team for quite some time, did his best but still the much wanted goal did not appear. The game finally came to a close with a nil-nil scoreline.

I sat at my computer dismayed and annoyed for Stevie G. How I wished that they had won the game so that he had something positive to remember. I honestly wonder what Bill Shankly would have thought of it all. I know he would not have put up with the sloppy play that seems to be prevalent in the team at the moment. I simply cannot understand why most of the players lack the desire to play for such a great club and to become part of its history. The only thing most of them are going to be remembered for at the moment is the team that dragged Liverpool down and into a bad period of its history. Every game now becomes according to Rafa Benitez just a blip in our season. How many times I wonder are we going hear this.

I sat wondering what to write and then decided to wait until the post match press conference to hear what Rafa had to say. I had the feeling though it would be the same as he has been saying for weeks. I did not watch this on the computer or the television but listened to him as he spoke to Citytalk Sport. He seemed slightly bemused by it all and to be honest a little confused about what answers to give. He did acknowledge that Liverpool had played badly in the first half and that our attack needed to be sorted out. His comments about the second half were that the team had improved and that they had in fact played better than last week because it had been a difficult game. Then came the question that all the sports reporters like asking at the moment. Why was Aquilani yet again left on the bench? Rafa said that he did think about putting him on the pitch, but there had been some very hard tackles and he felt that Aquilani would not be able to cope with them. He then said that Aquilani would probably start our game against Fiorentina on Wednesday. This game is meaningless so I guess the team can play in a lacklustre way - but isn't that what they are doing at the moment?

Here we have a player that is reportedly worth £20million pounds, although I understand we have only paid £5million for him so far and he has become a fixture on the bench. Why he is being held back I simply cannot understand. Every player and manager knows in this day and age that tackles can be hard and fast. There are times when you are going to get caught by an opposing player and getting hurt is part and parcel of this in some cases. I get the feeling that perhaps Rafa realises that Aquiliani's ankle is not as strong as it should be and although he has been under the eye of the medical staff it is not mending as it should have been. I just hope that he is not going to be a white elephant where the club is concerned, we need a player that can come on the pitch and pull us out of the dulldrums.

Will he play on Wednesday, quite possibly but probably not for the whole ninety minutes. If he comes on at the start, I can see him perhaps playing just the first half and then being substituted. If he is on the bench, as we have come to expect, then perhaps the last ten to fifteen minutes of play certainly no more. The one thing we have to be thankful for is that Torres is expected to also play on Wednesday. I just hope that he is back to full fitness because at this moment in time we are bereft of a goal scorer.

It has certainly been one of those weeks that no Liverpool supporter will forget. It started with the club immortalizing the man that started it all and ended in an embarrassing draw for the captain of the team today. On what should have been a wonderful occasion the team did little to ensure that their captain could enjoy his landmark. In fact it has yet again ended with the club's supporters calling for the manager's head. Are they right to do this? It has certainly got to the point where people are asking questions? As I have said before I am still on the fence over this one but have set myself a marker. If the team do not pick up and improve between now and the end of the Christmas period then I will perhaps have a rethink. Since the day Bill Shankly took over there have been many highs and lows and at the moment we are in the midst of a rather big low.

IS THERE ANOTHER BILL SHANKLY OUT THERE I WONDER?