Anfield, The Unwilling Witness to Yet Another Liverpool Horror Story

The team selected to play was only slightly different than that of the previous Thursday. Maxi Rodrigeuz and Sotos Kyriakos came in with Ryan Babel and Glen Johnson moving aside. Referee for the afternoon was the experienced Alan Wiley. Anfield as usual was a cauldron of high expectation but the volume coming from the Kop was definitely muted.

The teams came out and Chelsea kicked off, almost immediately having an early chance at the goal. They were on a mission and had no intention of letting the title slip through their fingers that easily. Liverpool though, settled down fairly quickly and had a wonderful period play, the exhaustion and disappointment from the previous game had not yet reared its ugly head. As though on cue, Drogba being Drogba, did what he does best and feigned his first injury of the afternoon. Thankfully Alan Wiley saw through it immediately and let the game continue with any fuss.

At this point things were looking good as Liverpool seemed to have the upper hand. Aquilani was again showing what a wonderful player he could be if allowed to play enough matches. He had a wonderful try at the goal and I will admit to screaming as I watched it sail over the top. Suddenly though Anelka had a go at the other end and if it had not been for Pepe Reina probably would have put one in the net. Liverpool though quickly regrouped and had a wonderful period of play where their passing was superb. Anfield though, was still unusually quiet, was the twelfth man sensing what was around the corner I wonder?

Then the event that was to change the course of the whole game happened. Stevie G in a moment of sheer madness, sent a back kick straight into the path of Drogba and Chelsea were in the lead. This gave Chelsea the momentum they need and so began yet another horror story for the team to play through and the supporters to watch. Several moments later Frank Lampard had a chance to increase the scoreline but thankfully, nothing came off it. Meanwhile, Ballack was receiving a talking too by Alan Wiley which eventually led to him receiving a yellow card.

Liverpool who by now had lost any momentum that they had, were rocked by the sudden substitution of Maxi Rodrigeuz who appeared to be in trouble. Ryan Babel was thrown into the fray on 42 minutes and immediately showed that he did have periods when he was very good with the ball.

Half time came and went very quickly, the mood around the ground appeared to be getting worse by the minute. The Kop was getting quieter and quieter with none of the usual songs ringing out from the stand. Would we recover in the second half was the big question on everyone's lips. Sadly it was not too be.

Liverpool kicked off, but it become immediately evident that the heart and soul that was holding the team together had disappeared. Thankfully, though with Chelsea looking for a goal fest, our defense at that moment in time was holding up. Drogba had a free kick, which thankfully hit our wall, quickly followed by what should have been an easy goal for Kalou.

Stevie G, who had not really got over his mistake in the first half was beginning to show the rigors of playing so soon after such an energetic game on Thursday. He was running around the pitch, looking totally forlorn and in a world of his own. We will of course never know what was on his mind, but the word WHY possibly featured many times.

Then the goal that was to seal our fate went into the back of the net. Frank Lampard made is 2-0 to Chelsea. Liverpool was now in total disarray, none of the players seemed to know what to do next. Jamie was taken off with a suspected problem with his leg and young Ayala came on in his place. That meant that our defense was immediately in trouble. It was Jamie that has kept the whole defense set up together this season. Ryan Babel then made a good run through the Chelsea defense which for a few moments awoke the sleeping Kop up but could not find the back of the net. Moment's later Dirk kuyt was down after colliding with a Chelsea player and seemed to take a while to recover. Whilst this was going on the camera switched to the stands, where they showed not only a very worried and angry looking Kenny Dalglish but a rather bemused and fed up Fernando Torres.

At this point, Liverpool seemed to have decided that perhaps back passes were thee way to play and there seemed to be several of them made, one after the other. There was no improvement in the game though and as the clock approached 76 minutes Aquilani was replaced by Ngog. That was a clear signal that Rafa had thrown in the towel. There was not going to be any fight back and to be honest Chelsea could quite easily have scored many more goals.

Tiredness suddenly took over and it was really just a case of Liverpool kicking the ball about until the final whistle was blown by Alan Wiley.

I have never in all the years that I have supported Liverpool Football Club seen the Kop empty before the final whistle, but today it did and I guess that tells a story of its own.

Chelsea was by far the best team on the pitch that afternoon. It did not need a conspiracy or indeed a back kick to ensure the game went their way. The team of inept players, which we have at the moment are not going to win anything.

During the game the camera had flashed across to the bench and it showed a very stony faced Benitez. He was sitting there but not making his usual notes. That was a clear sign to me that maybe his days as Manager of Liverpool Football Club are numbered. This season his lack of man management skills, bad buys and even after six years, a lack of understanding about what is needed to win the premiership has sent the club spiraling into a decline that has not been seen at Anfield for 50 years.

If there is another Bill Shankly out there, can you please make yourself known to Martin Broughton and Christian Purslow because we need your skills to breathe new life and new ideas into the club?