Four Days In November That Has Competely Changed the Outlook for Liverpool Supporters

The match itself though, started and it appeared that the team put out was quite strong although Poulsen, who still has not settled into the premiership and is regarded as a waste of space by a lot of Liverpool supporter's was on the team sheet. Jay Spearing and JonJo Shelvey were two of the youngster that was being given another chance to prove how well they were progressing. Stevie G was on the bench but there was no sign of Torres - he, it appeared was being saved for the big game against Chelsea on Sunday. Was this team strong enough to pull us through, was the question on everyone's lips and going by the performance in the first half- the answer was simply no. Although the team had started spritely, there still did not seem to be any heart and soul in the players. They were missing chance after chance and their passing was appalling. The defence was also having a bad day and if it had not been for some good moves by Jamie Carragher, Liverpool would have been in severe trouble.

The team gave the impression that they were falling apart and as if to try and cheer things up, the television camera's panned towards the main stand. John Henry and his wife were there along with a very sour faced Kenny Dalglish, who I suspect was wondering what else could go wrong. Further up sat a very bored and fed up looking Fernando Torres with Pacheco and Maxi beside him. Napoli, who were by this time in command of the game found a break and scored. This of course sent the Napoli supporters into raptures and silenced the home crowd who were relieved when the half time whistle was blown.

But God must have been looking down on Anfield that evening because Stevie G was stripped and warming up. The mood of the supporters changed completely and as the second half started there was a fresh feeling of optimism in the air. Liverpool's one man team was now back on the pitch and immediately began to make an impact. The style of play changed completely and with Stevie playing through the middle, anything had become possible. The teams passing became more fluid and with Stevie picking up the balls and having some great runs it was not long before goal number one saw the back of the net.

The best was yet to come and with Liverpool being awarded a penalty Stevie stepped up to take the shot and the moment the ball hit the back of the net, the Kop was jolted back into life. As the singing increased so did the action on the pitch and Stevie being Stevie picked up a wonderful ball and goal number three was in the back of the net. What had looked like yet another disastrous performance turned into a fantastic victory brought about by none other Mr Liverpool himself - but this of course should not be the case- a football team consists of eleven players and they should all play their part.

It was hoped that this result would become a confidence booster for their game against Chelsea at weekend where hopefully several more of the first team players would be in contention for a place. Roy who had welcomed Damien Comolli to his team during the week was also hoping for a good result, I suspect to bolster his popularity amongst the supporters and the press. It was also to serve as a statement of intent to show that Liverpool were indeed making and up for the lost time and were determined to make their way up the table.

Sunday came and a full and very noisy Anfield greeted John Henry and his wife Linda. Linda has made every effort to became embraced in the supporter culture that surrounds the club and has been seen singing along with everyone. She is of course very attractive, which has caught the eye of many of the male supporter and media base.
The team sheet was read out just before kick-off and the name that people were waiting to hear, was greeted with a very loud cheer as it became apparent that he would indeed be playing that afternoon. Torres was back in the team, but would he be able to shrug off whatever has been holding him back from being the player that we all grew to love.

The match against Chelsea started and we were immediately on the attack. Several free kicks were awarded very quickly and with young Martin Kelly proving that he was capable of playing in the first team by making some wonderful defensive runs. Torres had also appeared to have found the energy that had been missing since August. He was picking up some great passes and one of them led to a wonderful goal. The man was back and the Kop went wild.

Chelsea though seemed very lack lustre. Whether this was because a couple of key players were missing it is hard to say, but they had Drogba , who was suffering from a fever on the bench. What would have seemed impossible a couple of weeks ago was happening on the pitch, the team were running rings around Chelsea and it was a pleasure to see. Lucas, who had been the butt of criticism for the last couple of seasons, was having a fantastic game and proved that the patience shown by Rafa and now Roy Hodgson was beginning to show dividends. Dirk Kuyt who had also returned from injury, was the workhorse he always was and in all honesty it was like watching the Liverpool of old.

With half time approaching and with people hoping that Liverpool could hold on to their slender 1-0 lead, Torres again picked up a wonderful ball and set Anfield alight as it hit the back of the net

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Liverpool went in a half time with a 2 goal lead and I suspect that I was not the only one who wished that the clock said 90 and not 45 minutes. What was to follow was a very nervy twenty minutes, where it appeared that they had reverted to the Liverpool of old. Chelsea, who had brought on the sick Drogba, seemed to have upped the pace and were determined to prove that they were the worthy leaders of the Premiership. Something happened though and suddenly they found themselves on the back foot again. Liverpool picked up the pace and with some great moves and saves from Pepe Reina managed to contain them.

There were of several incidents during the game that warranted cards and as usual when Howard Webb is refereeing something is normally missed. In the second half there was an incident that involved John Terry, which if it had been any other player or referee would have warranted a yellow card.

Torres who was now beginning to look tired was replaced by Ngog and with around ten minutes everyone was hoping that he would be able to add to the scoresheet. It was not to be though and with Dirk and Meireles replaced with JonJo Shelvey and Jay Spearing in the closing minutes the match drew to a close. The team left the field to the sound of You'll Never Walk Alone ringing around the ground and a very impressed Mr and Mrs John Henry looking on.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day and hopefully signals that November 2010 was the turning point in Liverpool'season. Linda tweeted this morning that several members of Red Sox were in the audience yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed what they saw. My answer to that is 'Believe me, you have not seen anything yet'.