Recently by Ian Doyle

ALBERT RIERA has reassured Liverpool supporters that the club's Spanish contingent have no intention of walking away from Anfield.

And the winger believes that Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina share his burning desire to lift silverware for Rafael Benitez's side.

All three have been linked with moves away from Liverpool during a difficult campaign for the Anfield outfit.

THE obscenities that emerged from the fingers of Tom Hicks Jnr were nothing compared to those raining down from the Anfield stands last night.

After a week dominated by the potty-mouthed outburst that prompted a board reshuffle, the air of resignation spread to the first team as Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup in truly dismal fashion.

A dreadful campaign plumbed new depths as Coca-Cola Championship strugglers Reading fought from behind to deservedly triumph in this third round replay.

THE end result may have been the same, but the emotions of the beaten Liverpool players as they trudged from the turf were markedly different.

A savage 6-3 defeat to Arsenal in the Carling Cup in January 2007 prompted furious debate over the strength of Rafael Benitez's squad and his youth policy.

However, there should be no similar post-mortem after the Anfield outfit slipped out of the competition to the same opposition at the Emirates last night.

JUST when Liverpool appear to have acquired the knack of swatting aside the Premier League's lesser lights, so the problem has emerged in Europe.

Dirk Kuyt ensured a landmark occasion for the Anfield outfit as they began their Champions League campaign with hard-earned victory over unheralded Hungarians Debrecen.

But it was a painstaking triumph that evoked memories of last season's home league struggles for an increasingly frustrated home support.

PREMIER LEAGUE, you're having a laugh, sang the away supporters. But nobody at Liverpool will be smiling this morning.

If the testing summer hadn't already made it apparent, the Anfield faithful may now be inclined to lower their expectations this season.

A mere 10 days into the new term, Liverpool have already lost as many Premier League games as they did the whole of the previous campaign.