If the Reds were sat in the Anfield dressing room disappointed after the undeserved draw and failed victory over Man Utd, I cannot fathom what they must have felt yesterday evening after throwing away yet another two points at home….to Norwich City!
So let me start by making a statement. The difference at this point in time between Liverpool and Man Utd is the following: Norwich went to Old Trafford, stole the show, but even though Utd played a horrifying game they won 2-0. Liverpool dominated the first 45 minutes; hit the woodwork 3 times, had twice if not three times the goal attempts Norwich had, and got only 1 point. Yes 1 miserable point!
What is this? Do we suffer from ‘Newcomers’ Syndrome’? Now let me tell you about the difference between Liverpool and Norwich City! The difference is that they went down 1-0 to a first half injury time goal. What do they do? The throw in Holt (a second striker) and they equalize. What do Liverpool do: they concede the equalizer and bloody panic. Because panic is what we did! From that moment on we barely put a string of three consecutive passes together and we were constantly living dangerously at the back!
I do not want to hear we deserved this or that. I do not want to hear we should have won 5 or 6 nil. I saw the missed chances, I am not blind. I have never been a hopeless romantic and I will never be. You do NOT climb the table with statistics: possession, passes, assists, attempts at goal, hitting the woodwork ecc, ecc, do not make you a winner. They do not propel you to the heights of the table we aspire for. We need to kill games! Even thought Man Utd scored in perhaps their only real chance of the game, it was Man Utd and that makes it a bit more acceptable. How can Liverpool raise their aspirations and draw at home, even risking losing the game to Norwich City, a team which two seasons ago was in League One!
We cannot say we were not warned. Those of you, like me, who saw their game against Utd knew what to expect!
I am not slamming anyone. I refuse to go there. We triumph as a team and we falter as a team. What I am saying however, and this at the risk of conceding the wrath of the ‘ever optimistic’, is that we are not showing signs that we are going places. We are too inconsistent, we are too inconclusive, and we are too dependent on Luis Suarez!
I was getting flashbacks of Liverpool vs Blackpool last season, and believe you me, it was a very horrible feeling…….!