We can't count on our manager, it seems.

Roy Hodgson is a decent manager. But Liverpool expects more.

We expect our managers to be figureheads and leaders, for better or worse.

A manager who says, "I don't want a piece of that" as the single greatest icon of our single greatest rival unjustifiably savages one of our star players doesn't mesh.

To vacate the field on the club's finances is one thing. But to put a personal friendship ahead of a necessary defence of our best player is well out of line.

Steven Gerrard: Four wins will get Liverpool FC back on track

STEVEN GERRARD today insisted a four-match winning spree would provide Liverpool with the perfect antidote to their Old Trafford heartbreak.

Manchester United 3 Liverpool FC 2: Dominic King on another self-inflicted bloody nose for the Reds

TO borrow the phrase he muttered last week: what a bloody nightmare.

James Pearce: Liverpool FC must fear losing touch with football's elite

STEVEN GERRARD smooching with the camera in front of the delirious travelling Kop and Old Trafford stunned into silence - it was like Liverpool had turned back the clock.

Liverpool FC fighting spirit at Man Utd shows we are on the right track - Jamie Carragher

JAMIE CARRAGHER today claimed Liverpool's spirited second half showing at Old Trafford points to a bright future - as he held his hands up to the goal that cost them a point.

Roy Hodgson bemoans defensive lapses at Man Utd which costs Liverpool FC dear

ROY HODGSON was left to rue the lapse in concentration which cost Liverpool a point at Old Trafford yesterday.

Liverpool FC's Lucas hails rising star David Ngog after beating Steaua

LUCAS today hailed David Ngog's strength of character after the young striker kept his nerve to help Liverpool get their Europa League campaign off to a flying start.

Liverpool FC 4 Steaua Bucharest 1: Dominic King sees the Reds start their Europa League campaign with a win at a subdued Anfield

FLAT crowd, weakened team, swathes of empty seats - the Europa League might be the Champions League's poorer sister but Liverpool can't afford to treat it as an afterthought. Everything is relative.

Liverpool FC manager Roy Hodgson happy with his changing faces

LIVERPOOL manager Roy Hodgson felt his decision to field a weakened team was vindicated after his side's 4-1 Europa League victory over Steaua Bucharest.

European nights are now an empty gesture for Liverpool FC

LOVE for the Europa League is seemingly in short supply. On a night when manager Roy Hodgson gave most of his top stars the night off, Liverpool supporters also decided to put their feet up.

Angry Daniel Agger vows to prove Roy Hodgson wrong after being dropped

DANIEL AGGER today vowed to channel the anger from his weekend frustrations into a performance that will make Roy Hodgson sit up and take notice.

Pepe Reina is happy to be playing midweek games for Liverpool FC

FOR someone who has not had a summer off for three years and has just returned from a sapping trip to Buenos Aires, you might think Pepe Reina would welcome a midweek break.

Roy Hodgson backs misfiring LFC striker Fernando Torres

LIVERPOOL manager Roy Hodgson has dismissed speculation about Fernando Torres' state of mind after the striker was criticised on his last outing for the club.

Phil Thompson: Let's hear about solutions in the Fernando Torres debate - not problems

FERNANDO TORRES is out of sorts and that, for some, is manna from heaven; another week in Liverpool's life, another serious issue to explore.

Fernando Torres out to reward LFC fans for their support with victory at Old Trafford

FERNANDO TORRES is determined to reward Liverpool fans for their unwavering support in Sunday's clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

John Aldridge: Why I was always in the Hunt for goals

NUMBERS have always been important to John Aldridge. Every one of the 476 career goals that made the former Liverpool striker the most prolific marksman of English football's post-war era are cherished possessions.

James Pearce on LFC's first Europa League opponents Steaua Bucharest

Steaua Bucharest are Liverpool's opening opponents in the group stage of the Europa League at Anfield tomorrow night. James Pearce takes a look at the threat posed by the Romanians

John Aldridge recalls Neville Southall nemesis from Liverpool FC days

JOHN ALDRIDGE, the most prolific goalscorer of his generation, regarded Everton's Neville Southall as the best goalkeeper he ever faced.

Yesterday at St Andrews, it was one of those days where you wish you could turn back the clock. Liverpool had arrived at St Andrews after the international break knowing that, Birmingham had not lost at home for a season. Was this the day though that could put an end to that?

Sadly within minutes of the match starting, it became evident that Liverpool were not the team, they should have been. Roy Hodgson had chosen a more or less full strength team, which included several of the new arrivals at Anfield. It was Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Konchelsky, Maxi, Poulson, Lucas, Jovanovic, Gerrard and Torres. Substitutes: Jones, Agger, Kyriakos, Pacheco, Meireles, Ngog and Babel.

Birmingham kicked off and immediately showed that they were a force to be reckoned with. They were determined to outrun the Liverpool team and sadly this became as I have said evident far too quickly. I don't know what was going on in the minds of the players but they simply could not string a pass together or keep possession.

Pepe Reina: Liverpool FC are still finding their feet under Roy Hodgson

PEPE REINA today admitted Liverpool are still finding their feet under Roy Hodgson - but believes a second successive clean sheet offers proof they can quickly push on.

Birmingham 0 Liverpool FC 0: Dominic King on how an instant fix is not a reality for the Reds

PATIENCE is a quality lacking in the modern world but patience is needed more than ever in the modern world of Liverpool FC.

Roy Hodgson leaps to defence of misfiring Liverpool FC striker Fernando Torres

LIVERPOOL boss Roy Hodgson leapt to the defence of striker Fernando Torres after the goalless draw with Birmingham at St Andrew's.

Liverpool FC to back Roy Hodgson's search for a new striker

LIVERPOOL will give Roy Hodgson every financial assistance if he chooses to pursue another striker when the transfer window re-opens on January 1.

Liverpool FC's Ryan Babel given chance to shine again

ALL things happen for a reason. Had the various pieces fallen into place on transfer deadline day, Ryan Babel could have been preparing for a game in the Midlands today.

TOMMY SMITH: Liverpool FC boss Roy Hodgson so right to get lean and mean

I SAID a couple of weeks ago that I thought Roy Hodgson was learning fast at Liverpool. And now I'm convinced I was right!

BLOOD RED: Famine could turn to a feast at Liverpool's Academy

JAMIE CARRAGHER'S autobiography is widely recognised as one of the most honest football books published in recent years and a passage on youth team football is particularly candid.

David Moyes - Wayne Rooney wanted to play for Everton in Jamie Carragher's Liverpool FC testimonial

DAVID MOYES has revealed how Wayne Rooney wanted to pull on an Everton shirt to play a part in Jamie Carragher's testimonial last weekend.

Several days ago David Maddock (not David McMaddock as LFCTV put on their ticker tape last night) who writes for the Mirror and Mirror football sitre published an article outlining that Liverpool have a very good chance of going bust on 6th October 2010. It has received a great reception and in honesty needs to be read by every Liverpool supporter in the world.

To ensure that this hopefully happens, I have had an email conversation with David and his editior and we are all hopeful that it will be published in the paper edition of the Mirror on Saturday morning. This is to ensure of course that Liverpool supporters who do not have internet see the article.

I am also sure that David will not mind the article being published on here as it has been making its way around the internet from the moment of publication.

That is the question on the lips of thousands of Liverpool Supporters today. It was revealed in the press last night that The Royal Bank of Scotland had finally placed the Liverpool Football Club accounts into their Global Restructuring Department. This of course should have happened months ago and in fact if you believe the Daily Telegraph report; it actually took place in March.

Was this part of the agreement reached I wonder with Tom Hicks and George Gillett, which allowed them to restructure the debt and cajole us all into believing that they had put the club up for sale. Another move of course was to appoint Martin Broughton as temporary Chairman. This would in their eyes ensure that any interested buyer would be hoodwinked into believing that they were purchasing a well-run asset, not one that was being run down into the ground.

Of course the true scenario is that yet again we, the lifeblood of the club have been told lies, Tom Hicks and George Gillett have in fact since March been scouring the world for a refinancing deal. Thankfully though, at this point in time it has not happened and as long as The Royal Bank of Scotland keep their nerve, will not. At the beginning of August, several so-called buyers emerged and were quickly found out to be frauds, 1 was a stalking horse and the other a chancer who decided to give the club and the banks a run for their money.