Three games, no wins and not a single goal from open play. Liverpool's start to the season has been less than impressive, and already we're seven points down on the corresponding fixtures last season.

After the awful display at Villa Park on Sunday, Gerard Houllier decided to finally adopt the positive approach that the fans have long been calling out for. The midfield four that started against Spurs was arguably the most attack minded quartet that have taken to the field under Houllier's reign, yet it was still not enough to break down a Tottenham outfit which hadn't kept a clean sheet since January.

As TLW exclusively revealed earlier in the day, John Arne Riise and Danny Murphy paid the price for their lacklustre displays at Villa, dropping to the bench to be replaced by Steve Finnan and Vladimir Smicer.

There was mixed news on the injury front, with the loss of Stephane Henchoz balanced out by the fact that Emile Heskey was also missing. Having limped off 'injured' at Villa, for once Heskey wasn't fit for the next game. Bet you he's ready for the weekend though.

So Igor Biscan filled in at centre half, and Milan Baros started his first game of the season up front alongside Michael Owen. But it was the midfield selection which really captured the imagination.

Steven Gerrard was the holding player, with Kewell, Smicer and Diouf all interchanging in front of him. The 4-1-3-2 formation looks very attacking on paper, but the results against Spurs were not altogether convincing, although there were some positive things to be taken from it.

As usual, Houllier completely overstated things after the game, declaring this as one of our most encouraging performances of his reign. I wouldn't go that far, not by a long way, although equally the booing at the full time whistle was not a fair reflection of the team's performance either.

The players gave everything, and couldn't be faulted for their attitude or commitment. They played some very good stuff, but it all seems to fall apart when we reach the opposing penatly area. That's the area of our play which requires the most work on the training ground.

The booing was born of the frustration of the last 12 months, rather than a reaction to this particular game. But after the start we've had, anything other than a win against Spurs was always going to be greeted by booing by some.

It should also be pointed out that once the booing stopped, plenty of fans chose to prove a point of their own by singing "We love you Liverpool." There was also a nice ovation for the returning Jamie Redknapp at the start of the second half, which was well deserved. Gotta love Jamie, bless 'im.

Liverpool dominated the game for long spells, and had plenty of attempts at goal. However, I can only remember Kasey Keller being seriously tested once, when Gerrard forced the American keeper into a fabulous stop at the Kop end.

For all the reds nice build up play, good passing and movement and general control of the game, the lack of a cutting edge once again betrayed them.

Owen is clearly desperately unhappy. His body language is screaming out that he isn't enjoying his football anymore, and given the lack of quality service it’s easy to see why. However, there was some evidence tonight to suggest that if Houllier has the courage to stick with the positive approach he employed against Spurs, things could get better.

Smicer was excellent, as was Diouf, whilst Kewell had his moments without ever really looking at his best. If those three are given a run of games playing together, then surely the frontmen will finally start to receive the kind of service they've been starved of for so long?

It didn't happen against Spurs, as most attempts at goal came from outisde the box. Smicer in particular went close on numerous occasions, and the Czech midfielder was the reds' biggest goal threat throughout before being subbed midway through the second half, to a chorus of boos from an unhappy crowd.

Vladi looked as though he thought the booing was for him, when in actual fact it was for the manager who was bringing him off. Again, I thought the booing was harsh, but it was surely a reaction to a long list of baffling Houllier changes, rather than just this one particular decision.

It could be argued that Kewell should have been the one to make way, as Vladi was more effective than his successor to the number seven shirt. But had Kewell's number gone up, then the response would no doubt have been the same. Houllier has lost a lot of fans, and no matter what he does now there'll be no pleasing some.

My feelings towards him are no secret, but I personally had no real complaints about his team selection or substitutions against Spurs. The approach was positive, which was nice to see, but it just didn't happen for us.

The closest the reds came to a goal in the first half was when Owen brilliantly jinked his way to the byline and stood up a teasing cross with his left foot which was met by the incoming Smicer. His volley was sweet, and seemed destined for the bottom corner until it struck the prone Milan Baros who had gone tumbling in front of his Czech team-mate.

Kewell fired a shot over the bar, and both he and Stevie G wasted four free kicks between them. If its not Hamann or Riise blasting them into the wall, its Kewell sending them over the bar. Danny Murphy is our only real threat from set pieces these days, and he was only on the bench.

Murphy appeared in the second half, although he may as well not have bothered. I'm a big fan of Danny's, and for me he was our undisputed player of the season last year. He's started this campaign less than impressively however, and with hindsight, Anthony Le Tallec would have been a more effective option off the bench.

Spurs offered little threat of course, they are Tottenham after all, and Liverpool never looked like losing this game. Trouble is, we never really looked like winning it either.

A snapshot on the turn from Gardner, and a cross shot from Bobby Zamora which Dudek palmed away was the closest the visitors came to inflicting defeat on the reds, as Hyypia and the re-juvinated Biscan dealt with the Londoners strikeforce with relative ease.

Steve Finnan enjoyed an impressive full debut at right back, defending well and generally looking neat and tidy in everything he did, whilst Carra was his dependable self on the left.

Spurs didn't defend particularly well, but then you don't need to when you can simply just foul anyone whenever they look like they may pose a threat to your goal.

Their three centre halves took crudeness to new levels. Baros was being wrestled to the ground regularly, and Owen was hacked down any time he looked about to get free.

How Dean Richards was not sent off is anyone's guess, as he committed enough fouls to earn at least six yellow cards in the first half alone. King and Gardner weren't much better, whilst Tarricco was his usual snidy self, hacking at Diouf's ankles and trying to provoke him at every opportunity.

Then there's Steven Carr. You know how sometimes you can just develop a severe dislike of a player for no real good reason? That's me with Carr. He's done nothing to cause me to dislike him so much, and yet I do. I can't stand him, but can give you no reason why.

Overall this has to go down as a disappointing night, not so much because of the performance, but merely due to dropping another two points at home.

The performance wasn't too bad, and we've played worse and won on many occasions under Houllier. The good points were the passing and moving, which at times was excellent, and the lively performances of Smicer and Diouf.

Gerrard too was outstanding, driving the team forward and providing further evidence that although he may not wear the armband, he is the undoubted leader of this team.

The other pleasing aspect of the performance was the lack of the long ball. We tried to play the ball on the ground, and although we're a long way from where we need to be, it's a start, and at least I wasn't bored rigid watching for once.

It's the derby next, and if we were to field the same line up against the blues, I'd expect a comfortable victory for us. However, given the physical nature of derbies, I wouldn't be surprised to see the likes of Diao and Murphy come into contention.

 

Team: Jerzy Dudek; Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Igor Biscan; El Hadji Diouf, Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer (Danny Murphy), Harry Kewell; Milan Baros, Michael Owen:

 

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