Report by Steve Horton at Turf Moor

40 years ago this season came arguably the most glorious moment in the clubs history when Liverpool FC won the FA Cup or the first time. It ended 73 years of torment and finally shut the Blue Noses up who said the Liver Birds would fly away before we won it.

The cup has given us some wonderful memories since, but at Turf Moor the manager and some of the players representing Liverpool FC treated the competition with a contempt that I didn't think our great club could hold for anything.
 
It was a brave decision for Rafael Benitez to go with the line up he did and it backfired big time. Nothing can be taken away from the youngsters. Only Darren Potter struggled and he was played in an unfamiliar role.

David Raven was solid, doing especially well given he had no one of any use in front of him, and Stephen Warnock was outstanding. John Welsh put in a strong display too and was the only player to test the Burnley keeper in the first half
 
But as for the experienced players that were selected to help them along, well some of them should never be allowed to wear the shirt again. Igor Biscan had his big chance to stake his claim after Salif Diao was loaned out to Birmingham earlier in the day, but he didn't take it.

It was clearly an inconvenience for him to be on the pitch. He didn't get a splash of mud on him. He didn't pass, didn't tackle just strolled around. His performance was summed up in the last minute when he had a chance to equalise and weakly dragged his shot across goal instead of blasting it.
 
The other disgrace was Antonio Nunez. I wanted this lad to succeed but it just isn't happening. Real Madrid have stitched us up big time and the only mystery is why he had been allowed to stay there for so long. He didn't put in a decent cross all night and then when he did do us a favour and leave the pitch by getting himself sent off, he couldn't even elbow properly.
 
Florent Sinama Pongolle was frustrating yet again, but then again the service wasn't coming, whilst Djimi Traore had a nightmare that was as bad as some of his worst displays under Gerard Houllier.

He didn't seem to realise that just because we weren't up for it, it didn't mean the same for Burnley. He was far too casual at all times then paid a horrendous price for trying to be too stylish when a simple hoof away from the goalmouth would have done. His backheel, had it been at the right end, would have been talked about for years to come.

Ultimately I do feel sorry for Traore. He has come on leaps and bounds this season and last night he made a massive error of judgement which I hope he will learn from.
 
Of those who started, only Sami Hyypia put in anything like an adequate performance and even then his distribution was poor. Milan Baros came off the bench and did his best to rectify things, running himself to the ground as he was forced to drop back into midfield or go out wide to do the job that Nunez and Biscan should have been doing.
 
So what team should he have played then? Personally, I'd have played regular first teamers who know what the FA Cup is all about. That means Jamie Carragher instead of Hyypia. At least then we'd have had a leader on the pitch. On the left, I'd have played John Arne Riise as he knows about the cups traditions having been brought up on English football as a child in Scandinavia.

Up front, it had to have been Neil Mellor, who gives 100% in every single game and also knows the value of the FA Cup.
 
I don't condemn Benitez for picking the line up he did, as he wasn't to know Biscan and Traore would have nightmares. Ultimately speaking he put out a team he thought could win the game, one that had served him well in the League Cup. It didn't happen this time and sometimes such is life.

If we'd have put in a decent display then gone out to a Ronnie Radford type special then I'd have accepted it. But we didn't and I have to condemn Benitez for not changing things in the game and then appearing to be disinterested in defeat. Why did Biscan stay on 90 minutes?

Why didn't Mellor get on till the 75th minute? Why was Rafa conspicuous by his absence from the touchline for most of the game. Why was he still smiling after and not furious at such effortless displays from some players?
 
He may not have been arsed but 4000 fans were. The FA Cup holds a special place in the hearts of many. In fact I know a lot who only ever go to away games if it's in the cup. The fans were in excellent voice for the first half, with many original songs coming out. Only the Millwall one was a sore point.
 
Those fans who went to Burnley TWICE on a work day don't care if the FA Cup isn't what it once was and only carries the same prize as the League Cup, which we are only two games from winning. Liverpool FC exist to win trophies, someone should tell Rafael Benitez that.

We don't exist to kick one in to touch and concentrate on the other three (especially when one of the other 'prizes' still got his predecessor the sack). I'm sick of hearing that players need a rest as well.

Back in 2001, were the players tired in the last few weeks of the season, when we were playing in Barcelona on the Thursday, a FA Cup semi on the Sunday and a league game on the Tuesday? Were they fuck, the momentum kept them going.
 
A win at Burnley would have given us a piss easy 4th round tie and with it a place in the last 16, but we chose not to take it and don't seem bothered at all. About five years ago, I was livid that Alex Ferguson could take a youth side to Sunderland for a League Cup tie, lose it then describe it as a useful exercise.

That was just the League Cup and I don't expect any more from such a monstrous club that is no more than a business corporation. However I always thought Liverpool FC stood or Football Club. Now I'm not so sure and for that I am hanging my head in shame.
 

Liverpool: Dudek, Raven, Hyypia, Whitbread, Traore (Baros); Nunez, Welsh (Mellor), Biscan, Potter, Warnock; Sinama-Pongolle:

Agree or disagree? Email me at steve@liverpoolway.co.uk

To discuss this game on our forums click here