Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Liverpool have faced Manchester United twice now this season, and on both occasions only two or three of our players actually turned up. Having shamefully strolled through the cup tie with Watford in midweek, we expected our team to come out all guns blazing for this one. Sadly, we were wrong.

This is as poor a United side as I've seen in a long time, yet they have beaten us fairly comfortably, and that's a worry.

If players can't get up for a game with the mancs, then we have a big problem. We were second to every ball in the opening half, and they seemed to want it more. That's unacceptable, especially given the half hearted display in the Carling Cup which was put down to the players having an eye on this game.

I'm writing this three days after the United game, not for any reason other than this is the first opportunity I've had to sit down and do it. It's not that I needed time to cool off, as I wasn't particularly angry, more disheartened if anything.

The Chelsea defeat hurt much more than this, simply because we were very hard done by that day(my polite way of saying we were screwed by Mike Rileski). This was different however, this was a game in which we got exactly what we deserved - nothing.

Actually, that's perhaps not quite true. Had we sneaked a goalless draw few could have complained, as it wasn't as though they created too much themselves, despite being in almost total control in the first half.

But we didn't get a goalless draw, because yet again, a team has scored from their only shot on target. It's been the story of our season (that and shite refereeing and a horrendous injury list).

Next time we play the mancs at Anfield, hopefully Dudek will be thousands of miles away, as that's three years in a row now he's given them three points in L4. It was bad enough he let Rooney's daisy cutter go under his arms, but what was worse was he has since tried to claim it wasn't his fault, and the ball must have swerved. Swerved? It was a fucking pee roller.

He absolved himself from blame after Portsmouth too, and isn't endearing himself to me at the moment at all. You fucked up Jerzy, at least be big enough to admit it.

As for Rooney, there was a sense of inevitability about him scoring. When he was getting stick from the Kop, I couldn't help but think it would come back to haunt us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the Kop were wrong to dish it out, if anything I thought they could have given him more abuse, perhaps a song concerning his dealings with a certain rag?

I don't blame anyone for abusing the hateful little fat shit. It's just that these things to tend to come back to bite you in the arse, and thanks to Dudek that's exactly what happened. (although Sami wasn't blameless either, as he made no attempt to prevent the shot, in fact he seemed to encourage it)

As for what happened afterwards, well obviously it was wrong to throw a mobile phone at him. It was a stupid thing to do (for several reasons), and if the culprit is identified then they'll get a ban and deservedly so.

It may even have been an accident, as surely if the throw had been intentional it would have hit what is, let's face it, a pretty wide fucking target.

I don't blame Rooney for celebrating as he did either. He'd been getting stick, and he rammed it back down our throats. You dish it out, you have to take it, and anyone who complained about it is no better than the Evertonians who bitch about Robbie when he taunts them.

There is one main difference between Rooney and Robbie's celebrations thoug: one is done in a jovial, piss taking way, the other is done in an aggressive, confrontational manner.

Rooney spits, hisses and snarls his way through every game he plays. He really is an angry young man. Some anger management classes might help. Not that he'll get that under the leadership of the Demented one.

But what they do isn't my concern. We've far too many pressing problems of our own to be worrying about Balooney & co.

Apart from Carragher, Baros and maybe Riise, none of the side seemed to really be that arsed about what this game means. That's what concerned me the most. Some were worse than others, but the only ones who really looked as though defeat would genuinely hurt were the three I just mentioned.

Of the others, Morientes looked off the pace, which is understandable as he hasn't played a full ninety minutes since the CL Final last season, whilst I thought Pellegrino did pretty well on what was a real baptism of fire.

Morientes has the luxury of being able to play his way back to form, and if he is below par it doesn't particularly hurt the team as he's a striker and if he makes an error it's no big deal.

Had Pellegrino shown any real sign of ring rust though it could have cost us a goal. He's hardly featured for Valencia this season, and given that he's playing in a new country, with new team-mates and in a game of such magnitude, I think the 'long pork sausage' can be satisfied with his efforts.

This game was lost in midfield (as well as in goal obviously). Hamann was very poor, which surprised me a lot as in games like this Didi is usually different class.

He can still produce the occasional great performance (Arsenal this season for example) but the bad ones are becoming more and more frequent now.

Then we have Gerrard. In the first half nothing he tried came off. He was trying to do everything at a hundred miles an hour and wanted to do everything himself.

It didn't get much better for him after the break either, where he dropped deeper and deeper to the point where he was collecting the ball off the toes of Pellegrino and Hyypia when we needed him further forward.

I got about a dozen texts after the game from mates, and every one was slating Gerrard. Speaking to a few reds after the game, they were ripping into him too.

I haven't exactly been shy about giving Gerrard stick this season for certain things, but my view of him against United was not of a player who hid, or who wasn't trying. I just thought he had a bad game, and try as he might he just shake himself out of it.

When he plays badly we notiuce it all the more because none of his team-mates can fill the void he leaves when he doesn't bring his 'A game' (or his B or C game for that matter).

Look at the team he's playing in. If the creativity and drive doesn't come from him, where will it come from? Garcia? Yeah right. Hamann? Don't think so. Riise? Well he tried hard, but he's someone you want on the end of chances as opposed to being the man trying to create things.

There's just too much weight on Gerrard's shoulers, especially now that we don't have Alonso. Xabi's absence is having a massive effect on the side, and also on Gerrard.

I could be wrong, and maybe those who are saying he chokes in big games, or that he isn't trying, or that he was hiding etc are right. However, my personal opinion is that he looked like a man trying to do too much because there just isn't enough quality around him.

He was shite against United, but it happens and I'm not reading anything into it other than he had a poor game.

There's been rumours since that he had to have an injection in a groin injury to play in this game, but that's by the by for me. I don't think his movement was impaired in any way, as his mobility seemed fine. He just didn't play well, and I don't think that was due to injury, it was just an off day.

The only criticism I have of Gerrard is that he stood in front of their fans whilst waiting to take a corner, and did nothing as they taunted us with "He wants to play for a big club"

It seemed like an age as he stood there whilst they taunted us. "Fuckin do something Stevie" I muttered. He could have pointed to the badge and said 'this is a fucking big club you pricks" or given them the 'fourtimes' salute made famous by Robbie.

"Just do something, don't let them take the piss out of us like that." But he did nothing. Fair enough, maybe he was rising above it. It doesn't mean anything of course, and some will say he was right to ignore it.

It's just that I would just have liked him to have offered some sort of response on our behalf. You know Carra would, and Robbie has done, several times in fact. It's what a 'fan' would do, but I guess that's why they're held in higher esteem by some than Steven Gerrard is, despite his phenomenal talent.

United found it very easy in the first half. Saha was lively up front and held the ball up well, but it was in the middle of the park where they were bossing the game.

Keane and Scholes bossed Gerrard and Hamann, although they were ably assisted by Fletcher who had a good first half. With them having the extra man in the centre that allowed them to dominate. Had Xabi been fit that wouldn't have happened and I'm sure we'd have won, as Alonso's influence would have improved us significantly.

Ferguson's tactics did give us a problem, and we just couldn't get Gerrard into the game. Baros was lively but didn't get enough of the ball, which was frustrating as he had the beating of Brown and Silvestre all day.

Morientes showed some classy touches, but was largely a peripharal figure. He did have one good opportunity in the first half when he chested down a Garcia pass but screwed his half volley well wide. With another game or two under his belt he may have finished that one.

With Finnan ruled out, we had to reshuffle the backline. Carra and Sami both moved one place to the right, with Pellegrino coming in to the left centre half role normally filled by Sami.

That meant the only spot in our regular backline which was filled by the usual first choice was left back. Traore has been excellent this season, but he seemed nervous in this game, especially in the opening period.

Fair enough, Ronaldo is a trickly customer but a lot of the problems he caused were of Djimi's own making. He did settle down, and once he did he kept the Portuguese ladyboy very quiet. Ronaldo really pisses me off, he's more girly than most women footballers.

In fact, in the second half they hardly threatened us at all. Of course, they had been unlucky not to have increased their lead before the break when Keane struck the bar with a stunning shot. The old man was the best player on the park by a distance to be fair. He may not have the legs anymore, but he plays the game with his head and rarely wasted a pass.

In the second half when we were trying to put them under pressure, it was Keane who would break up our attacks and take the sting out of the game by keeping possession.

We had plenty of the ball, but Carroll never had a save to make until the 89th minute when Carragher tested him with a sidefooter from 20 yards following a well worked free kick.

That's the most disappointing thing for me. They have a poor defence, and it was weakened further when Brown was sent off for a second yellow after a shocking challenge on Riise. Yet still we just couldn't create anything of note.

Baros was a danger throughout, and regularly took the defence on and won. But whenever he put the ball into the centre there was no-one on the end of it.

Benitez shuffled his pack to try and change things, bringing on Sinama for Riise (how Garcia stayed on ahead of Riise I have no idea) and Nunez for the tiring Morientes, but it made no difference whatsoever. We could have played until this time next year and wouldn't have scored.

Gerard Houllier always used to say that if you don't score you must make sure you don't concede. Benitez would no doubt agree, but the problem is that we find it hard to keep clean sheets because regardless of how well our defence plays our goalkeepers seem to let in any shot that manages to find it's way on target.

Had it not been for the horrendous injuries we've suffered, we'd be in a much better position in the league, I'm sure of that. But regardless of injuries, we have some glaring weaknesses in the squad and some players are just not good enough.

A keeper and a right winger simply must be brought in before the end of January or we have no chance of finishing in the top four. We have decent enough options in all other areas of the side, but we have no keeper we can rely on and Garcia and Nunez are simply not good enough to fill the right wing spot.

Garcia offers something playing off the front, but in midfield he's becoming a liability, such is his carelessness in possession. We can't keep carrying him on the off chance that one of the things he tries will come off.

Losing to the mancs always hurts, but losing to a United side as poor as this one is very frustrating. Losing to a goal which never should have been, to a player as despicable as Rooney, well that's very hard to take.

We may get an early chance of revenge if both sides can reach Cardiff for the Carling Cup final, but unless we get that new keeper and right winger, or unless Xabi makes a miraculous recovery, I wouldn't fancy things to be much different unfortunately.

Still, on the bright side, Josemi returned to training this week!

Liverpool: Dudek, Carragher, Hyypia, Pellegrino, Traore; Garcia, Hamann, Gerrard, Riise (Sinama-Pongolle); Morientes (Nunez), Baros:

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

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