FROM THE KOP END

From the Kop End

Anxious Anfield as Rafa ruffles the Liverbird feathers

Ejaz Khan


Crouch sizzles as Riise, Hyppia and Kuyt fizzle out. Is a cleanout on the cards at Anfield ?

Liverpool and Arsenal squared off at a wonderfully vibrant Anfield full of anticipation as the pressure mounts on the Reds to stand up and be counted.


The substitution at Everton had clearly had an effect on Steven Gerrard and shaken him up back into the superstar of old, The Gerrard we know can pull the strings and dictate a game from start to end. The Gerrard versus Fabregas encounter brought out the best in Stevie G, and Fabregas was not allowed to conduct the Gunner symphony but did orchestrate and finish a well-taken equalising goal.

Gerrard’s might have been overshadowed but he was not outclassed by any means. John Arne Riise teed up his skipper and Almunia had no time to even move, such was the quality and power of the strike. The goal set Anfield alight, and the Reds fans were back at their vociferous best cheering every tackle, getting behind every attack and shouting ''man on'' like Rafa’s 45 000-strong team of watchmen.

Liverpool have the best supporters in the world, if you just give it your all, they will back you with all they have. And that is the biting truth as pointed out by my colleague Mamz Wadee. Lacklustre players like Riise, Sami Hyppia and falling star Dirk Kuyt have only to look back at their performances and see how little they give to their loyal supporters. Breadcrumbs most of the time.

One thing that has been irking me for a while is the constant blind support for Kuyt to start and indeed complete the entire game. The most commonly used phrases to describe Kuyt is “very hard working”. But Instead of working hard, he should be working smart. We have enough hard working midfielders, so he renders our strike force a man down when he comes deep and leaves a man less in the strike force to finish off chances. Yesterday Rafa asked him to do a role on the right, and boy did he do everything other than deliver. He is too slow, his first touch resembles my 14 year old cousin, and she hardly plays football. Come January, he is one of the players who just aren’t cut out for the New Liverpool post Yank takeover. Rafael Benitez should be able to show the same ruthlessness shown by the likes of Sir Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Indeed Arsene “the whinger” Wenger. All of these coaches have, at some point or the other, released or sidelined players who were deemed to be in effective, regardless of their “Fan Favourite tags or popularity amongst the players. We all remember Ferguson giving Beckham the boot(literally) and Van Nistelrooy brushed aside, regardless of being a goalscorer of note. He might be scoring goals by the bucket loads in Spain, but United have still managed to win the league without his services. Will Rafa be able to let go off a player he brought to the club, or will he feel obligated to make him a success, time will tell, but time waits for no man.

Moving on to another sore point, one which seems to be hitting a nerve with most Liverpool Supporters. The big or rather tallest debate of all, The Crouch Debate.
Why is Peter Crouch not in the starting line-up baffles the mind. The little drips and drabs that we’ve seen of him have been promising, and his impact upon introduction against Arsenal proved he is worthy of a start, and Liverpool looked far more menacing with him on the field. He held up ball, drove powerful shots from far out and linked up smoothly with Gerrard, who almost grabbed a late winner running on to a perfectly weighted chested ball from the lanky striker.

Benitez, all footballing expertise aside, seems to be losing his biggest asset, the fans. Visuals of Reds supporters shouting profanities at Riise and Hyppia doesn’t bade the Spaniard well. He needs to get it right before his tenure resembles Souness/Houllier proportions. Liverpool can certainly play the pass and move game, though somehow Rafa needs to get that aspect back into the training, alongside dealing with high balls for our defenders, which continues to expose our fragility at the back. Most supporters would have preferred to see Arlvaro Arbeloa fill in for waste of Space Hyppia occupies, or even let Sissoko take up the challenge for the cause of his team. One things for sure, Benitez will have to spend in January, and the cleanout should begin with Riise and Hyppia first on the list.Kuyt in a close third, but we will wait to see if Rafa will keep faith his off the pace “striker” – Penalty specialist for now .

All in all , another draw at Anfield, but against Arsenal, the best playing team in the premiership, all is not lost,yet.
Seeing Red supporters leaving earlier had better have caught Rafa’s eye, and its up to him to get back some momentum.
Rest assured that Rafa will not be resting assured. Anxious times, but a few wins on the trot and all will be forgotten.
Or will it?