Yesterday was one of those days that will remain in the memory not only of Liverpool supporters for many years to come.  It was of course the day that Luis Suarez announced to the watching football world that he is back to his best.

The day weather-wise was not one of the best and as the team arrived in Norwich they were greeted by a good old fashioned East Anglian down pour?  A down pour, that could quite possibly change the how the game was played in terms of speed and the players chosen.

Unbeknown to us at this point in time Kenny had already done that and the resulting team sheet led to the usual questions being asked about the omission of two players.  These players were Martin Skrtel and Andy Carroll.  Now Martin I suspect was being rested with the view that he will be needed not only for the midweek game against Fulham but also the FA Cup Final on Saturday.  Andy, we were told has a slight groin strain, but I get the feeling there is a lot more to that than we are being told.

Earlier in the season Norwich had come to Anfield and due to the heroics of goalkeeper John Ruddy and striker Grant Holt, ensured that they left not only with the points tally but also the headlines that day. 

There was no way Kenny would allow that to happen again, which I guess had something also to do with his team selection and formation. He was also I am sure aware that Everton are not only going through a goal fest at the moment, but that they are above us in the Premiership table. As every Liverpool supporter will tell you, this must not be allowed to happen.

What he did not know of course as the team made their way out onto a rain-sodden pitch was that the afternoon would end with his main striker possibly now in the running for a goal of the season award.

The game itself was slow to begin with as both teams struggled to find their feet, but it was Liverpool that soon showed who was going to be in charge of the proceedings that afternoon.  Whether it was because those in the team knew that their FA Cup Final places were at stake or whether it was because the good Liverpool team had turned up, but we were witnessing some fantastic football being played. The passing and the speed of the ball was fantastic, even though the conditions were dire, and it did not take long for Liverpool and Luis Suarez to let the watching crowd know that they were there to win the game.

The match had barely reached the twenty fourth minute mark when David Fox dithered over the ball long enough to allow Stevie G to dispossess him and sent the ball with a reverse kick thundering towards Luis Suarez, who then sent a thundering shot with his left foot, towards John Ruddy. The goalkeeper did not stand a chance of stopping the ball and goal number one was in the back of the net.

Liverpool was now in total control of the game and four minutes later, Norwich were made to pay for yet another mistake.  Kyle Naughton who had moved into to the left back position after Adam Drury had been injured and miss-kicked a back pass to Elliott Ward.  Luis Suarez, who had been lurking on the flanks ran in, dispossessed him and with an fantastic angle sent the ball goal bound towards John Ruddy, who again just looked on in awe as the ball found the back of the net. Liverpool was now two goals to the good and with Norwich crumbling it was not a case of if they would score again but when.

Paul Lambert who had worked miracles with the team since his arrival at Norwich was not going to give up that easy and after half time and a couple of changes in personnel, his team did all they could to try and turn the game around.

Pepe Reina, who had literally watched from the side-lines as the drama unfolded in front of him, was called into action for the first time, when a ball from Elliot Bennett had to be tipped away from the goal.

With both teams now in the thick of the action it was the turn of young Jonjo Shelvey to do, what Liverpool know how to do best.  He picked up a ball and at close range shot towards the goal, only to see it hit the post.  Having recovered from this, seconds later, he was in thick of the action once again.  This time though, with an open goalmouth, he picked up a ball and it was sent wide.

Now I don't know whether this is to do possibly with him suffering from nerves or just inexperience. But having watched him closely since his return from Blackpool, given the time and the experience he will hopefully gain from being around the senior players, he will evolve into one of Liverpool's great players.

This seemed to signal to Norwich once again that perhaps they could still quite possibly turn the game around.  With fifteen minutes left on the clock, James Vaughan sent a header towards Pepe only to see it saved but Paul Lambert then introduced local hero Grant Holt from the substitutes bench hoping that he would do the damage required to ensure a home win.

What nobody realised at that point in time was that Luis Suarez was about to ensure his name went into the Liverpool Football Club history books.

Elliott Ward had picked up the ball, but then carelessly let it go only for Luis Suarez, who had already noted that John Ruddy was off his line, to pick up and send a fantastic shot 50 yards into the back of the net.

Liverpool went into the dressing room worthy winners and with Luis Suarez now back to his best, have issued a warning to Chelsea that next Saturday's FA Cup Final at Anfield South, is not going to be the walk over they believe it will be.  In fact Liverpool I am sure will do everything to ensure the cup is taken back to the North West rather than to South East London.

Revenge they say can be sweet if aimed in the right direction.  Today it was aimed at Liverpool Football Club who sixteen months ago had sacked Roy Hodgson due to dire football that he had got the team playing.

Today he marked his return to Anfield as manager of West Bromwich Albion.  Now West Bromwich are more suited to the style of play that Roy prefers and it is well known that they have made steady progress since his tenure began, but would that progress enable to them to beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since the mid-sixties was one of the questions on everybody's lips. 

The other of course was the type of reception that Roy would receive on his return to the club.  It has been well documented in the media about the so-called hatred aimed at Roy due to  him simply being the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Why should they welcome me, they hated me while I was there, so there is no reason to think that has changed".

He had of course underestimated the Anfield crowd and was clapped as he made his way towards the visiting team's bench.  You see, as any Liverpool supporter will tell you.  We never hold a grudge against anyone and what happened, happened for a reason.  It was just another event in the life of Liverpool Football Club.

With the end of the season now fast approaching, it was vital of course for Liverpool to get the three points at home to ensure that they finished as strong as they could.  Three points that would see us go above our local rivals Everton Football Club, but the omens did not look too good when it became known that Stevie G was being rested.

Saying that though, the team,  that Kenny picked had plenty of quality as well as goals in it.  But there appears to be something in the air that makes Anfield an intimidating place for the home team. Why that is only they can answer because today became another one of those days, where players buckled in front of an open goalmouth, or indeed   their kicks to ensure once again that the balls went straight over the top or indeed hit the woodwork.

From the moment the game kicked-off, it had all the hall markings of a fantastic win for Liverpool at home.  Liverpool was in the ascendency with the way the football was being played.  The pass and move style was very much in evidence and the speed at which it was being played was enjoyable. But with just ten minutes of the game played, Dirk set the tone of the game.  He had picked up a ball, miss-timed his kick and the shot ended up going wide.

Here we go again, were the thoughts on many of the supporters minds as we watched the events of the afternoon continue to unfold.  Luis Suarez, Daniel Agger, Jay Spearing, Andy Carroll and Maxi Rodrigeux all tried to score the elusive goal with some fantastic play in the six yard box, but it simply did not appear to be going to happen.

For a couple of minutes there appeared to be a small glimmer of hope when Maxi was tripped over and everyone thought a penalty should have been given.  It was not and Liverpool quickly picked themselves up and continued to press although it was West Brom who eventually came close to scoring in the first half.  Chris Brunt had sent a wonderful volley towards Pepe Reina, who thankfully stopped it with his left hand and blocking the follow-on shot by Liam Ridgewell.

Thankfully though, Liverpool survived until half time and upon their return to the pitch quickly showed which team was the better one on the day.  They were passing the ball so well, that West Brom must have wondered what they needed to do, to try and get a period where they had possession of the ball.

Luis Suarez in particular was now back to the player that we had come to love.  He was causing major problems for the West Brom defence and how he missed his chances, is something that only he can answer.  Several of his balls were picked up by Andy Carroll, Dirk Kuyt and Jordan Henderson.  Now Jordan as we all know has had a torrid time this season, and it would have been wonderful if his volley had found its way into the back of the net.  The hallmarked sound of the woodwork rattling told the watching world, that it had not.

With play continuing things then went from bad to worse.  Glen Johnson made one of those mistakes that can end up costing you the game.   After collecting the ball, he found himself in a tight spot, let the ball go, only to see it being picked up by Mulumbu, who forwarded it to Odemwingie, who sent the ball towards Pepe Reina and found the back of the net. 

Liverpool of course picked themselves up and the onslaught began once again with Craig, Jonjo and Stewart replacing Dirk, Jay and Maxi, but still the goals would not come.  It did not matter how many times the ball was goal bound because if it did not hit the woodwork or indeed go over, it was saved by West Broms goalie, Ben Foster.

The end of the game finally came and Roy was the happier of the two managers.  He had returned to his old stomping ground and proved a point.

His team also highlighted once again, that Liverpool are not capable of scoring goals without the out and out goal scorer that they should have brought into the club during the January window. 

It is also points to a sad scenario to be honest.  Here we have eleven footballers who know how to play the game well, particularly if they are in a cup competition, but as soon as they are playing a league game that 'could not give a damn' attitude comes in to play far too quickly. 

That attitude of course has cost us our league position and could ultimately cost several of them their Anfield careers and along with that of our manager.  A man would fifteen months ago came to our rescue and deserves to be given at least another season to put things right.f

In the life of Liverpool Football Club, this season has been one of those that will be consigned to the history books for several different reasons.  We have watched as our beloved king, Kenny Dalglish has taken the brunt for things that many people believed he and he alone could have prevented.  That of course is totally untrue, as sometimes things can go out of control and in a perfect world, those above him should have stepped in and put a damage limitation exercise in place.  They did not, and ultimately it sent the club and the team into a backward spiral.

That backward spiral was brought to a head during last week when John Henry and Tom Werner flew into Liverpool, having decided between them that something had to be done about the failings of the team in the Premiership. A series of meetings were then set up at the Hilton Hotel and Kenny Dalglish along with Damien Comolli was asked to attend.  They were, it transpired both asked to explain why the signings that had cost so much money, had performed so badly on the pitch.

Now nobody apart from those within the hierarchy at Liverpool Football Club, were aware that John and Tom were already in the country - most of us believed that they would attend the FA Cup Semi Final - let alone that a series of meetings were taking place.  Meetings that if the media was to believed would take place once the current season had finished.

Now I have never been a fan of his - he always seemed like an imposter to me and having listened to Arsene Wenger and Harry Rednapp over the last few days, he certainly was not the man he claimed to be and it appears his C.V. contained rather a lot of fabricated statements. 

Why he was sacked, everyone has said that he has taken the blame for the massive prices paid for the players since his tenure began.  There are also several other factors involved which I suspect we will not know anything about for many years to come, but one that does come to mind is that during the Louis Suarez debacle, he changed his statements and also spoke to the referee, when it would have been better for him to literally have kept his mouth shut.

He is gone now thank goodness and Kenny can get on with his job without any interference.  He will hopefully be able to set up his own scouting network and find the same sort of gems that Newcastle have managed to do for a portion of the funds that Damien Comolli parted with during his tenure.

Now everyone wondered if the timing of this was perhaps a little odd, but as it transpired twenty four later it was to ensure that John and Tom were back in Boston for a baseball game.  A game, that quite frankly only needed one of them to be in attendance, the other could and should have been at Wembley on Saturday and at the Remembrance Service for Hillsborough victims on the Sunday.

The other thing that everyone seemed to be worried about was, if Damien's departure would affect the player's preparation for the FA Cup Semi Final.  Now, if what we had known about the job specification for the Director of Football was in fact correct, there was no reason for it to do so.  But like a lot of things surrounding Damien, I had my suspicions about his actual involvement around team matters and I get the feeling that the players felt intimidated by him.   I may be wrong on this of course but the upturn in the form of Andy Carroll tells me I am not.

Andy as we all know has been struggling for form since his arrival from Newcastle in January 2011 and I get the feeling that he was constantly being reminded about his price tag from within the club. Whether it was Damien Comolli doing this or not, I will never know for sure, but I am pretty certain the players were made aware that something that something was afoot and that an announcement was imminent.  This could well have been music to Andy's ears and with the shackles off, we saw an absolutely fantastic performance from him on the Tuesday when we went to Ewood Park.

The Andy Carroll that had a regular in the Newcastle team, suddenly appeared in the Liverpool team and being a massive critic of Andy, I have to say, I was extremely pleased by what I saw.  Everyone I spoke to in the media felt the same and the next question on everyone's lips was, will his performance in the semi-final be just as good if he is picked to play.

Now that semi-final was due to take place at Wembley on the day before the anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy and the FA had asked the Hillsborough families if they would like a minutes silence to take place before kick-off.  They said yes and with our opponents being Everton Football Club, everyone hoped that it would be observed without trouble.

It had also been arranged that Stevie G and Phil Neville would present two of the Hillsborough families with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the Football Association.  This was done with the dignity it deserved and with the players of both teams as well as the match officials around the centre circle, referee Howard Webb blew his whistle to signal that the one minutes silence had begun. 

There is not much you can say here, except thank you to all concerned as it was observed with the upmost dignity by both sets of supporters and if someone had dropped a pin, you would have heard it.

The match itself started with the same hesitancy that always appears to be present when the Merseyside Derby's take place and for the first 20 or so minutes, the passing from either team was not as good as it should have been. This led to a mistake by Jamie Carragher and Jelavic being the prolific poacher and striker that he, picked up the ball and it was straight into the back of the net.

Now there was nothing that stand-in goalkeeper Brad Jones could have done to prevent the shot and on the day when fate and little Luca decreed his dad should be in goal, it looked as though Liverpool were on their way out of the FA Cup.

The Liverpool team that we were watching appeared to be the Liverpool team that could not give a damn and rather than try and pull one back, they just played with the ball until the half time whistle came.

Now I have no idea what Kenny said to the players during the half time team talk but within minutes it looked as though the teams had gone through a role-reversal situation.  Liverpool suddenly took the game by the scruff of its neck, whilst Everton believing that they had the game in the bag, sat back and hoped that the clock would tick down quickly.

This attitude of course leads to mistakes and Syvain Distin was the first Everton player to suffer the consequences.  Luis Suarez picked up one of his short passes and with had a clear run towards the goal. A run, that culminated in the ball going straight passed goalie Tim Howard, to bring Liverpool back on level terms.

This seem to fire Liverpool up and with Kenny making several changes - Jordan Henderson who seemed to have lost his way once again, appeared to be doing everything he could to get sent off - was taken off along with Stewart Downing.  They were replaced by Craig Bellamy and Maxi Rodrigeux in that hope that the second goal would arrive.

It did off course and the scorer was Andy Carroll.  Everton had foolishly given away a free kick and Craig Bellamy time his shot to ensure it met with Andy's head.  With three minutes to go Liverpool were now in the lead and it was simply a matter of either trying to score another or to ensure that Brad was not bothered at the other end of the pitch. 

Now Andy who in the second half proved again that the shackles had come off, was doing all he could to either help his team mates or indeed score another goal. It did not happen of course and the only other change fell to Maxi Rodrigeux who somehow managed to miss a fantastic goal opportunity.

It did not matter though, and Liverpool Football Club will be back to play at Anfield South in three weeks' time on the 5th May 2012.

We still have a couple of games to play before then and hopefully with the players now on a high we can look forward to reaching a better position in the league.

If not, it will not matter that Andy, Luis, Stevie and the rest of the team have found their form, because the day of the long knives may well happen once again.

Off the pitch matters also as I have said above take place in April and the most important one is the Hillsborough Memorial Service on the 15th.  This year it was as always attended by the relatives of the Hillsborough Victims, Liverpool Football Clubs first team and reserves, along with manager Kenny Dalglish, his wife Marina and Assistant Manager Steve Clarke, as well as the club's supporters.

It was a wonderful service and included readings from Ian Ayre and Dirk Kuyt.  The Hillsborough Anthem was sung as was You'll Never Walk Alone.  Margaret Aspinall gave a wonderful speech and I hope the young man in question actually takes note of what was said as he needs to learn several lessons.

This time next year hopefully the service will be in part a celebration as the results of the Hillsborough Panel should be known.  Results that will ultimately give the 96 victims, the peace and the justice that they deserve.

In January of last year things were looking very bleak for Roy Hodgson and Liverpool as their downward spiral continued and although the Kop had been calling for Kenny Dalglish to replace him, John Henry and Tom Werner had decided to stick with their manager in the hope that in the summer a younger man could be brought in.

With the fixture against Blackburn at Ewood Park everyone wondered if there would be a change in the team's fortunes or indeed would it be another wasted journey for those supporters who had bothered to travel.  It was the latter of course and as the team let the pitch after being beaten once more, it became evident that something had to be done and done quickly.

What none of us knew that evening was that three days later Roy Hodgson would depart and the man they call the King, Kenny Dalglish would return to his throne after being called home from a cruise.

But as is often the case, things never go to plan and Liverpool after a fantastic start, faltered in their assault on the league.  Their performances as we all know have been well below par, so much so that everyone had begun to compare them with the Roy Hodgson reign.   The football was good in parts but the lack of concentration and indeed effort from some of the players was a shock to the system.

Nobody knows why this happened but it appears that our victory in the Carling Cup Final seemed to give the players a license to stop doing what they were paid to be doing and coast along until the end of the season.  This attitude has led us losing games that we should have won and we are no longer in contention for a Champions League place.

Our league position no longer matters but after a massive losing streak and with an FA Cup Semi Final in front of us everyone wondered which Liverpool team would turn up, when we made this season's return visit to Blackburn, who under the managerialship of Steve Keane, have their own problems.  One of them, of course was to try and stop entering into the relegation zone and with Liverpool's confidence and form being so low, Blackburn believed that perhaps they could do the unthinkable and win the game once again.

Liverpool though with a team that consists of several changes, had other ideas and within minutes of the kick off, it became apparent that the Liverpool that wants to play a game of football turned up. What we did not know at the point was that we were all in for a roller coaster of an evening that would leave most supporters exhausted.

They had begun very brightly and it did not take long before Maxi Rodrigeux did what he does best when he is given game time.  He was on the receiving end of a wonderful pass from Craig Bellamy that had been started by captain for the evening, Martin Skrtel and the ball was in the back of the net.  Liverpool was in the lead and in control of the game.  The football was fantastic to watch and even Andy Carroll appeared to be having the game of his life.  He was here, there and everywhere and the Andy we were all watching was the Andy that we believed the club had bought in January 2011. 

We were of course going to see further evidence of that before the final whistle but with seventy seven minutes of the game still to go, there was the small matter of keeping the lead or indeed improving it.  It was improved upon of course three minutes later with another goal from Maxi who had picked up the ball after shots had been blocked from Andy Carroll and JonJo Shelvey, who having wormed his way through the Blackburn defence raced up the length of the pitch.

Liverpool were now two up and with a quarter of the half still to play, it would be case of ensuring that they played well enough to ensure a Liverpool victory, but where Liverpool are concerned, nothing is ever easy and suddenly things began to go very wrong, with young Jon Flanagan, nervously going into a tackle, which ended with him getting a yellow card.

Now he is very young and still learning but in hindsight perhaps Kenny should have taken him off the pitch there and then, because whether it was a case of him becoming even more nervous or indeed his immaturity on the pitch, he again made a mistake by sending a back pass towards Doni, who rather than let it pass him by, went out to collect and in doing so tripped up Junior Hoillett and was rewarded with a red card.

Liverpool was now down to ten men and with Kenny having to bring on Brad Jones, young Jon Flanagan was taken off.  Brad of course was called into action immediately as Blackburn had been rewarded a penalty.  Now the Yak was chosen to take the penalty, a penalty which you would normally expect to hit the back of the net.  It did not; it fell straight into the hands of Brad, who immediately became a hero. 

Yakubo of course was not very happy with this and with ten man Liverpool doing all they could to maintain the lead, he managed to find his way through the defence and after picking up a ball, sent a thunderous shot into the back of the net.

Liverpool went into the dressing room at half time with their lead now down to one goal and with only ten men on the pitch; it was going to be a battle of the fittest to ensure that they reached the ninety minute mark unscathed. 

Blackburn of course had the advantage and was certainly not going to lie down quietly and take what was being thrown at them.  The urgency that they began the half with suggested that they would at some point get the goal that would bring them level.  It happened after an incident involving Brad Jones smashed a goal bound ball against the Yak and whilst doing so managed to trip him up.

Now some would argue at this point that the ball was going away from the goal but for several minutes most of us sat wondering if we would see Enrique in goal once more.  Thankfully the card was yellow and the resulting penalty made the score 2-2.

It looked at this point as though Liverpool would either fold or indeed settle yet again for a draw, but to give credit where credit is due, they battled on and with Agger restored to the defence for the final quarter of the game, things were not looking good for Blackburn.  Liverpool had also stayed awake with some superb play from all those involved in the game.  They were doing all they could to get the ball towards Paul Robinson and with the game approaching its end, the improbable suddenly became possible.

Andy Carroll who had experienced the best game of his Liverpool career found himself looking towards Paul Robinson, when a long ball from Sebastian Coates, was picked up by Martin Skrtel and flicked towards him only to meet his head and find the back of the net.

Liverpool now only had around a minute and half to ensure the game was won and this they did ensuring that the confidence factor within the team had returned in time for the FA Cup Semi Final on Saturday.

The players have of course have now handed Kenny with a selection nightmare and we can only hope that those chosen do not revert to the Liverpool - I could not give a damn team on a day that could prove pivotal in their career not only of their manager but them as well.

It will also be the day when a dream comes true for stand in goalkeeper Brad Jones as he plays in a semi -final that two weeks ago he was nowhere near.  A day that I believe was meant to happen for him and I can only think that up there in heaven little Luca is doing all he can to help him dad fulfil a wonderful dream.

Last week I asked I asked if the players still wanted to play for Liverpool Football Club.  Yesterday was the day that two of them proved to me that they do not.

The first of course is Andy Carroll who was returning to Newcastle for the first time, since the events of the 31st January 2011.  Events that most of us know should never have taken place because as yesterday finally proved; to buy a player in panic is a total waste of time and money.

Andy as we know has never really settled in and there have been a plethora of questions hanging over his head from the moment everyone learnt of the extortionate fee that was paid for him.  £35 million for a player that is only worth around £8 - £10 million (if that) was very good business move by Mike Ashley.

He is as we all known a Geordie boy, and like Liverpudlians, their heart never leaves the city of their birth.  It has not and I know I will get slated for this, but no matter how much the lad has tried; his heart has never really been in it, hence his diabolical form.

Yesterday was the game that according to Kenny and several sports commentators where Andy could have proved that he had finally made the transition and his confidence was on the way back.  Sadly his immaturity got in the way and we watched a horror story unfold.

Andy had picked up a lovely ball and with an open goal in front of him, the obvious move to any well-seasoned striker would have been to score - but not to Andy who due to his hesitation found himself embroiled in a tackle that he simply was not going to win.  What does he do, he dives and was immediately given a yellow card. 

Now you would have thought, this would have indicated to Andy that he needed to rise above his stupidity and get the goals that Liverpool needed and to prove to the Newcastle supporters, that the amount of abuse being directed at him, did make an iota of difference.

But it did not and as we watched the afternoon unfold, it became clear that Kenny needed to substitute the player to try and rescue the game. This happened a lot later than it should have done in my opinion, but I am not the manager and Kenny knows best. 

It was what followed that proved to me; Andy does not want too and indeed should never wear the red shirt again.

He was taken off with eleven minutes to play and not only did he storm down the tunnel, he throw a tirade of abuse at Kenny as well as Alan Pardew whilst taking off and throwing his shirt to the ground.

The dive of course set the pattern for the game and seemed to signal to the Liverpool players that there was no point in playing for the points.  Their attitude and style of play immediately dropped and the inevitable happened with Newcastle finding the net through Cisse. 

Now Cisse is a player that has been brought for next to nothing and yet his goal tally since January already surpasses that of Andy Carroll.  It also proves that last summer; the scouting department led by Damien Comolli made some massive mistakes - primarily because they do not have a clue about what they are supposed to be doing.  Newcastle on the other hand, have a network of good old fashioned football scouts who have found cheap and wonderful players.

Players who proved yesterday that they were determined to try and get into the Champions League, whereas those bought by Damien Comolli seemed to think that because they have one medal, the league does not matter.  It does and something radical now needs to be done on both the playing and the scouting side - Players and staff need to be replaced and if it is not done this summer then Liverpool will find themselves in the wilderness for many seasons to come.

The referee of course did not help matters, by making several mistakes but the Liverpool players should have responded to this by fighting to win the game. They did not and in the end frustration (I use that word very loosely) got to one of the senior players that should have known better.  That senior player of course is Pepe Reina, who has actually acted as the team's captain when Stevie or Jamie has not been available.

Liverpool by that time had already lost the game and although the Newcastle player has to take the blame for his part in the altercation, what Pepe did was totally in-excusable.

Why he decided to head butt the Newcastle player only he will know of course, but it led quite rightly to a red card - and yes I know that replays of the incident have shown that there was no contact, but the intent was quite clear. 

This moment of sheer madness means that Pepe will miss the FA Cup semi-final because Liverpool has said that they have accepted the card.  A semi-final that unfortunately, is all but lost because we will need to use a goalkeeper who is unproven in the Premiership and we have a group of players, who simply do not seem to care about the club and what it stands for.

It has also led me to think about Pepe and his attitude this season.  There is definitely something missing from his style of play.  He does not seem to be putting the effort into saving as many of the balls that he used too.  Time and time again this season we are seeing goals scored by the opposition that would have been saved by him two seasons ago.

Is this just down to the general malaise that surrounds the team, or is it indeed down to the fact that perhaps in the back of his mind, he is thinking about moving on.  He is or was a goalkeeper that needed Champions League football and without that, his standing in his national team will be damaged and that is something that I suspect he will not tolerate.

The next thing we saw of course was Kenny going onto the pitch, I suspect to try and calm down the ensuing situation.  He was stopped by Stevie G and told to go back to his seat. In my heart of hearts I really hope that this was to ensure Kenny did not add the clubs woes by getting a 'Bringing the game into Disrepute' charge thrown at him.  Anything else would confirm my fears that all is not well within the dressing room.

There have of course been the usual calls from the uneducated for Kenny's head over the last 24 hours and of course the media are having a field day.  Unfortunately the blame for that lies fairly and squarely at the players feet and quite frankly, if they cannot step up  to the challenge of playing for a great football club, then they need to be shown the door. 

Kenny has Liverpool Football Club etched on his heart and I dread to think what he really feels because he is protecting his players.  A protection that must now be dropped because quite frankly they do not deserve it and Kenny is suffering because of it.  

His reputation has taken a battering because of mistakes made by the club's PR department as well as the players.  Now we all know that massive mistakes have been made, but Kenny must be given the chance to rectify these.

A lot of you will say, but the club is now in a precarious position.  That may be so, but if we all pull together that can be changed.  Yes our league position is not looking good and yes a lot of you want instant success which of course was never going to happen.  If you cannot accept that ask yourselves this, do you want to become a club like Chelsea who changes its manager on a whim.  A whim, which will ensure that, the Champions League and the Premiership may be some years away yet.  Because if you do, it will quite possibly be another 20 years before Liverpool get back to where they belong.

Is a question that I would ask each and every one of the players that took part in today's game, because we witnessed yet another horror story?

Something is very wrong within the team set up or indeed the training set up because their attitude and their work rate is totally wrong. These men are supposed to be athletes and should know what is expected of them but from what I have witnessed lately clearly they do not.

Now normally I would single out which of the players was intent on wasting the ninety minutes but today I will simply ask why Stevie was the only player who appeared to know that a game was taking place. A game which was taking place on the hallowed turf of Anfield and should have been one that Liverpool won with ease. 

That point though is now as far away as it possibly can be because this afternoon at Anfield, the team I watched, were not the team that Liverpool have proved they can be when it matters the most.  What we watched from the moment the game kicked off was eleven men surrendering to a team that were looking at relegation. 

There were a couple of bright moments, when the passing between Stevie and Luis Suarez gave us hope but they petered out as quickly as they had begun.  There was very little method or indeed fluidity in their play and it took a very bad tackle from Skrtel to get the scoring underway.  The first goal as we all know was the resulting penalty and it was the goal that instilled the winning mentality into the Wigan team.

A mentality, that appears to be missing from the Liverpool players.  We witnessed Luis Suarez up to his old tricks again.  His hands were above his head or he was on the floor trying to get referee Lee Mason to give us decisions. What he appears to have forgotten is that, he will get the decisions if he plays properly. Because of his previous history whilst there is a chance that he is playacting, then they will be passed by.

He did of course score Liverpool's first goal, after a good link up with Stevie G which brought the score level, but let himself down in the second half when he handled the ball as it went into the back of the net.  It was quite rightly disallowed and whether this added to the lethargy in the team but their play become even worse and in the end Wigan's captain ensured that they were the winners.

We also witnessed yet again that Jordan Henderson was totally out of his depth.  He was again a bag of nerves and I honestly wonder if he is indeed ready for the big stage.  I think the one move today that proved this point was the one where he picked up the ball, made a couple of good moves towards an open goal, then rather than turn and shoot, he carried on and found himself confronted by a wall of Wigan players. Any sensible person will tell you that if the goal is open - then shoot.

But Liverpool appears to have lost their ability to do that, so where are the club's coaches. Surely there are coaches that are qualified enough to teach the players how to score and how to approach an open goal.  If not Robbie could do with being kept busy and move Ian Rush from his ambassadorial role into a coaching role because believe me, give them both a pair of boots and shock waves may well go through the players we have today.

Something needs to be done because the team that plays on a normal match day is lacking the expertise that a premiership team should have and I would love to know why.

Which leads me to another question, which is of course is.  Why is a piece of silver more important to you all rather than ensuring that Liverpool are back where they belong.

Because that is the impression that I and most other Liverpool supporters appear to be getting at the moment. Put the same eleven on the pitch in a cup game and the change in work ethic is there for all too see. The players become the players that Kenny believed them to be when Damien Comolli handed over the extortionate fees for them. 

Stewart Downing admitted it himself before the Carling Cup Final. He had not been playing very well, but to ensure he was picked for the final, he played his heart out the game before.  It worked and although Cardiff ensured that Liverpool was given a hard game, he got his medal.

We then had the Merseyside Derby, although not a cup game, but because of the local rivalry involved they turned up again and the match turned into a classic.  It was our Captain Stevie G who stole the show that evening with a hat trick that will go down in history. 

Several days later came the quarter finals of the FA Cup and our opponents were Stoke.  Now Stoke as we all know can give the opposition a very hard game and they did.  But Liverpool's I want a medal team were in attendance and are now looking forward to a semi- final at Wembley.

Will they progress into the final, on today's form I would say definitely not, on their cup form, yes it is possible.  It should not be like that of course and I think it has now come to point where we have heard enough excuses to fill a child's story book.

This evening's was that they were too tired - 3 games in a week is too much apparently. Now these players are supposed to be highly trained athletes and should be able to cope with this.  There have been many seasons in Liverpool's past where the players have done this without moaning or indeed dropping their form.  They have worked extremely hard, earned their medal and brought the honours back to Liverpool Football Club.

The players need to look at themselves and if they cannot accept that they are playing for a major club, then I am sorry but they need to move on this summer.  If by doing that it means blooding more of the youngsters then so be it because this afternoon Jon Flanagan came back into the team due to Martin Kelly being injured and yes the Liverbird on his chest shone brightly.

We also witnessed the debut of seventeen year old Raheem Sterling.  He may well have only been on the pitch for eight minutes, but they were the best eight minutes of the game.  He immediately added some pace to the team and began to weave in and out of the Wigan defence and maybe I am jumping the gun here, but I suspect, if Kenny had been brave enough to start him, his name would have been on the score sheet.

Last night we witnessed what I can only describe as a horror story.  A story that needs pulling apart until everything has been gone over with an extremely fine toothcomb.

Why?

Because last night Liverpool were playing Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League and sensationally let the game slip from their grasp in the last 10 minutes.

But as we know Liverpool has a terrible habit of resorting to the "I can't be bothered, it's only an ordinary game" syndrome very quickly and last night was no exception.

The game itself had started very brightly and Queens Park Rangers looked as though they were there for the taking.  Liverpool's passing was superb and how they never scored, is one of those questions that still need to be answered.  There were certainly enough chances and the score line by the time Howard Webb blew for half time, should have been at least 5-0.

It was not and there were already signs that Queens Park Rangers were beginning to find their feet in the game.  Suddenly our defence was beginning to open up a little and they were getting more and more of the play.  This led to Charlie Adam and Armad Traore going in for a nasty tackle,  that saw both of them being substituted at the beginning of the second half.

Now Charlie Adam is an enigma to himself. He was one of the players that joined the club last summer and his form to start with was very good, as was his love of picking up yellow cards.  Lately though he appears to be suffering a crisis of confidence and has been left on the bench, rightly so of course going by what we witnessed last night and although a yellow card was not issued, it was not that far away, as he had been spoken too several times by Howard Webb.

The second half began with Sebastian Coates (Martin Kelly had been taken off due his injury flaring up once again) and Jordan Henderson as part of the team set up.  Would they help in our quest for goals was the question on many supporter's lips.  

It took a while but again with Liverpool playing some wonderful passing play, Sebastian Coates picked up a ball and after a short period of acrobatics, his first goal for the club had found the back of the net.  A goal that should have been last night and this morning's talking point across all spectrums of the media and us the supporters, but of course it was not.

Why that was, is what is bothering us all this morning because Liverpool continued to play well and it was not long before Dirk ensured that the game was well on the way to being won.  Liverpool were now 2 up and should have ensured that twenty minutes later a further three points was added to their total.

But they did not and why they decided to yet again rest on their laurels only they can answer? 

Within minutes of Queens Park Rangers, Joey Barton being taken off they looked a different team. Suddenly their twelfth man was behind them and their style of play began to get better.  So much so that the threat of them scoring became very evident, so evident in fact that our defence decided it was time to go home.  This of course led to their first goal and an extremely strange substitution by Kenny.

Now, I have nothing against Kenny and whilst he is the Manager of Liverpool Football Club, I will back him to the hilt but I cannot understand why he took off Luis Suarez and replaced him with Andy Carroll. Yes Andy is tall and is expected to stop the high balls going into the goal, but unfortunately Andy is another of those players, who simply refuses to do what he is capable off and it is a gamble that misfired very quickly.

Queens Park Rangers seized their moment and with two further forays into our defence they found the back of the net a further two times to everyone's amazement.

Our defence which appears to work so well in cup games let us down once again and quite frankly it simply is not good enough.  Yes I know that Daniel Agger is missing, but that should not have made an iota of difference.  The players in the squad are trained (and I use that word loosely) to ensure that they can simply slot in when someone is missing.  It has worked in the midfield with Jay Spearing replacing the missing Lucas, and last night he was in fact man of the match.

The sudden change and the lack of concentration has now cost the club the treasured fourth spot - there will be no Champions League Football next season and yet again we may need to rely on the cup competitions.

Those competitions are the Carling Cup and the FA Cup and they are what the players seem to be concentrating solely on at the moment. 

e have already seen what playing well can do by winning the Carling Cup.  Although saying that it was won on penalties against a team that we should have walked over.  It was one of those games that under a premier league setting we could possibly have lost. Why, because the "I can't be bothered" would have surfaced once again.  This was a cup game though and suddenly several players found the form that they should have had all season.  You see they wanted a medal to show off to their friends.

That also happened last Sunday when we played Stoke in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.  We had eleven players on the pitch, eleven players that ensured the game was won.  Everyone played their hearts out because another medal was at stake and could be added to their collection.  That medal if won and the Carling cup one can quite frankly be thrown away because they do not deserve them.

I have never seen a Liverpool team with such duel personalities and it has to stop.  The players have to realize that every game must be played with the will to win.  It is no good winning some and then deciding that they cannot be bothered.  The Premier League is as important, if not more so than any competition and I include the Champions League in that. 

Have the players realized I wonder that Liverpool are now on a downward spiral because of their total disregard for Kenny and whatever they are taught in training.  If they haven't, then when we hit the relegation zone (and it will happen if things do not change), they had better have some very good excuses ready.

They are at this present time, letting Kenny and everyone at the club down as well as us the supporters.  They are not playing as Liverpool should play and it sets a further set of questions in motion. Questions that surround the scouting staff and in particular Damien Comolli, because if by doing his job, he keeps recommending players that are not suited to Liverpool Football Club. Then there are major problems ahead.

It is also becoming very apparent that there is something very wrong with the way the team is prepared for each game.  Now I have no idea where the blame lies here, because from what we have been led to believe it is a collective effort from several members of staff.

Kenny has always said that each game is different, and as much as I admire and respect Kenny perhaps that is part of the problem. Football is a game and each match needs to be treated the same with a few tweaks here and there according to who the opponents are.

Several people have said to me over the last 24 hours that perhaps it is now time to introduce some of the youngsters.  I would have agreed with that several weeks ago, but having watched the Next Gen game against Ajax, they are not as ready as we believed them to be.  Which of course is a shame because, if their introduction meant that several of the senior players wake up, then it would be worth the risk?

Because if they do not Liverpool Football Club will find itself facing a crisis situation once again and quite frankly that is something that it does not need or want.

Picture © MirrorFootball - Trinity Mirror Newspaper Group.

Last night was one of those nights that will forever remain in the memory of Liverpool Supporters.  It was of course the 99th Merseyside Derby and it was the turn of Anfield to be the hosts, but would Liverpool find the form that had been missing since the Carling Cup Final.

It was also the evening before the 10th anniversary of David Moyes arrival into the Everton hot seat. A hot seat that has seen him work miracles with very little money made available for players.  Now up until last night David, had never won a Derby game at Anfield and winning the 99th would have been the icing on the cake, not only for his reign but it would also prove to the premiership, that when the going gets tough even without the funds needed you can actually get where you want to.

Question marks of course were hanging over the heads of the Liverpool team, who appear to have either let the Carling Cup go to their heads or quite simply had suffered a massive loss of confidence, because since that remarkable day three weeks ago, their performances have not been as good as they should have been.  Now I know a lot of people and I am including Kenny, stated that they played well during the Arsenal game, the end product was missing.  If you don't score then it cancels out the whole game.

All these facts put together of course meant that the Merseyside Derby would be used to prove a point by both managers.  Kenny, needed to prove to the watching football world that Liverpool were indeed improving and David, that the form his team had found over recent weeks was set to continue.

There was of course the small question of an FA Cup round in the future, which would have to be taken into account when deciding on who would play and who would be rested.

Everton took the precautionary route and left most of their best players on the bench.  Liverpool took the only route possible considering their faltering league position and played a full strength team. The form book of course goes out of the window whenever there is a Derby game with all the home grown boys playing for their city and the emblems on their chest. 

As with every Derby game, there is also the history of red cards and sending offs.  The latest player to be hit by this was young Jack Rodwell of Everton, who fell victim to an overzealous referee. Thankfully common sense prevailed and the card was later rescinded.  Would the 99th Derby be any different was down to Referee Phil Dowd.

What nobody knew before kick-off was that a certain young man would by the end of the evening, prove why in some quarters he is known as Captain Fantastic.

The evening itself started with the atmosphere building up several hours before kick-off as the supporters of both teams began to descend on the Anfield area of Liverpool. The pubs in the area were filling up fast with supporters of both teams and with voices in full flow the singing had begun. Singing that would transfer to the terraces once the entrance doors at Anfield were opened. 

It did and with the stadium in full voice the teams entered into the fray and within minutes you knew that you had a fantastic game on your hands. Now I can only guess at what happened between the game on Saturday and kick off last night, but the team on the pitch was playing with a totally different mind-set.

Players who people had classed as rejects had suddenly found their feet and it was as though they had been playing as a unit for years not just a year. The passing and the movement was fantastic, so much so that Everton quickly found themselves lost and wondering whether there was any point in them taking part in the game.

Andy Carroll is one of those that I would class as a reject for the simple reason; he simple does not seem to be able to settle into the Liverpool.  Last night though, I felt that I was looking at a different player.  He was moving better and with a massive improvement in his timing, he was picking up passes much better.

Jordan Henderson is another, and I have said many times that I feel a spell in the reserves would benefit him and for a while last night I felt that perhaps that would be the case once again, but twenty minutes into the game, the nerves gave way to some wonderful runs and his confidence seemed to have finally find itself for the big occasion.

Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing are both local lads, who have progressed into the first team from the academy set up and what a credit they were to the first team last night.  Now I know they have both been in the first team for a while, but how Martin Kelly never managed to find the back of the net on two occasions last night is one of those mysteries that will never be solved  His movement and his defensive runs were magnificent and he deserves to be in the team every week.  Jay Spearing last night also proved that he is improving by the game after having to step in and take the mantle from Lucas who is out for the season through injury.

The rest of the team played extremely well, but and again I don't know what has happened, but Luis Suarez seemed a lot happier last night.  He was able to weave in and out of the Everton players without being bothered more than a couple of times.  Yes he went down easily a couple of times, but so did several of the other players, so we will put that down to an overwatered pitch.

The game itself was played at an amazing pace from the moment Phil Dowd blew his whistle to start the proceedings.  Everton seemed to be rather shell-shocked as the Liverpool players began to weave their way around the players.  The speed of the ball and the way it was going was being determined by Stevie G who having returned to the midfield was showing everyone how it was done.  So much so, that it was not long before he sent a fantastic ball straight into the back of the net.

Captain Fantastic had marked his return to centre stage and with his name being sung in full voice all around Anfield, he continued to play  extremely well to ensure that Liverpool went into the dressing room at half time still in the lead.

It was at this point that Stevie gave us all a scare.  He was seen hobbling around the pitch during the last ten minutes of the game and as the players made their way towards the tunnel at half time, his sock has been pulled down and his shin pad removed.  Supporters and the media alike wondered if he would return for the second half. I have to admit tweeting one of journalists I know, and his answer was he felt perhaps Stevie would be taken off to ensure that he would be fit for Sunday.

But thankfully, Stevie appeared for the second half and for someone who appeared to be injured, his energy and his movement was fantastic.  So much to so, that six minutes into the second half, Stevie did what Stevie does best and another wonderful volley found its way to the back of the net.

Everton were now shell shocked and with David Moyes deciding it was time to use the last throw of the dice he used his three substitutes in one go.  Although the changes seemed to steady the Everton team for a while, they simply could not stop Liverpool who were now rampant.  The football was an absolute joy to watch and if Andy, Luis and Martin had managed to get their balls into the back of the net the score would have been amazing.

By now of course Anfield was in full voice and all you could here was several choruses of Stevie and Kenny's name.  Well-deserved of course because, we have a captain and a Manager who knows what Liverpool Football Club means to everyone.

With the match drawing to a close the usual last minute onslaught on the goal took place and Luis having picked up the ball passed it over to Stevie and the rest they say is history.

Stevie had proved that he will enter Liverpool Football Clubs history books, not only for his sublime football skills but for scoring a hat trick during the 99th Merseyside Derby.  A feat, that puts him alongside another Liverpool hero Ian Rush.

I will finish by saying that having spent several hours thinking about it, I simply cannot think of the right words to describe Stevie, so I have taken a paragraph from David Maddock's match report, because, as he is a Liverpool supporter, I know he means every word.

"Even words, never mind statistics, fail to do true justice to his sublime talent...his audacious, magnificent hat-trick destroyed Everton and their manager David Moyes' 10th anniversary celebrations...It would be churlish to deny the genius of Gerrard after the single greatest derby display from a midfielder in a red shirt here in the past two decades."

©David Maddock - Trinity Mirror Group Newspapers.

Having just watched the Sunderland versus Liverpool game, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that what we all witnessed was a horror story.  The players performances today were diabolical and it about time someone starting asking some very serious questions.  Those questions must also be directed at the Director of Football as well as the Manager and his coaching staff. 

I have to admit that I was worried about the result; the moment that the team was announced and it lead me to wonder, just as I did last week if Kenny has any input in the team selection.  There appear to me, to be too many hap hazard changes each week for them to be down to Kenny.  His knowledge of the game should guarantee that the right players are chosen each week. But within minutes of them being on the pitch, my fears were well-found because it became clear that the wrong eleven were on the pitch. I also do not agree with the captain being the goalkeeper, because it means that there is no leadership in the middle of field and that is the place where it should always be.

The game of course was always going to be a difficult one as Sunderland have improved since Martin O'Neill took over as manager, but I suspect even they did not know, they were going to face eleven men who simply gave the impression that today's game was just something that had popped up in their diary and they needed to get it out of the way.  It was as though the clock had been turned back to last year during Roy Hodgson's reign because the standard of football was diabolical.  I don't think I saw one complete pass the whole of the first half and I think in the second half they only happened once Stevie had come onto the pitch, if then.  I have to admit I started to concentrate on my knitting rather than watch the game to ensure I calmed down.

That rubbish of course was brought into the club by Damien Comolli, who religiously goes by that stupid money ball system.  A system, that apparently dictates that you buy in young players so that you get your monies worth in around 5 years' time, when they reach their true potential.  It is about time someone opened his eyes and made him realize in the English game, you buy players of quality no matter what their age is to ensure you reach the goals that are set by your owners.  Now as far as I am concerned, Damien Comolli is nothing more than a scout and certainly should be doing the job he is doing, because he simply does not have a clue.  I would have thought that having been sacked by Tottenham and Arsenal guaranteed that he never got a job in the Premier League again, but then when you are new to the game and he is recommended by Arsenal's owner I guess John Henry took him on after listening to some very well-rehearsed speeches.

In total since last January eight new players have joined Liverpool's ranks and three of them are simply not good enough to wear the Liverpool shirt.  They are Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson.  Three players, who were overpriced and quite frankly should never, have been looked at by Liverpool. Yes they played well for their old clubs, but in those clubs the standards set were different.  Charlie was supposed to help bolster our midfield and it is not happening and I think one of the youngsters would do so much better. Andy was brought in to score goals - please tell me how he can do that, when he appears to have forgotten what a ball looks like. Jordan, I think finds the big games too much at the moment and his nerves take over.

Sebastian Coates, is another example of a young expensive player which still does not understand what playing for Liverpool means, today his nerves took over and quite frankly we were lucky to escape with just the one goal against us.  Why Jamie was not on the pitch is another of life's mysteries.

Of the others, Stewart Downing is slowly beginning to find his feet and if he can begin to understand that you must play well every week, then yes, he may at some point in the future be able to stake his place every week in the team. 

Luis Suarez of course is suffering I believe from a lack of confidence at the moment, hence his lack of action in front of the goal.  I have my doubts as to whether it will recover by the end of the season or if indeed he will be a Liverpool player at the beginning of next season.

Craig Bellamy is the signing of the season and what did he cost nothing.  Here is a lad who is now in his thirties but his thirst for the game is second to none.  His energy and his enthusiasm is fantastic as is his love of the game.  This of course is the one example that throws that stupid money ball system straight out of the window.  Today he was let down by his team mates and simply could not get into the game.

Jose Enrique is another player, who has slotted straight in and has saved us on quite a few occasions. Again he is closer to the older rather than the younger player and understands what playing for a big club means. He did his best today but with his team mates not knowing whether to chase or pick up the ball, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

Now to the Manager and his coaching staff.  I have nothing against Kenny and I honestly do not believe the dire performances that we have witnessed lately are down to him.  Although he joins in the training sessions, they are mainly mapped out by his colleagues Steve Clarke and Kevin Keen.  Now we all know Kenny has a fantastic pedigree and at this moment in time it is probably like a noose around his neck.  As soon as the players do as they did today and play badly, he gets pulled apart. That has to stop because the buck lies with the eleven players on the pitch.

His assistants though, need to look at themselves and ask if they are training the players in the right way.  Steven Clarke came with a massive pedigree after being at Chelsea with Jose Mouriniho and knows all about winning, so why can he not get this into the heads of the players.  Kevin Keen came from West Ham and that should set some questions in motion, after all they have become a team that goes up and down between the premiership and the championship every other season.

I said last season before the changes were made that I had a feeling the training sessions were not as they should be and was proved right time and time again.  These season, although we see them doing some ball work and running, I would really love to know what the rest of the sessions are composed off, because they are not working

Something needs to be done and done quickly and I certainly don't advocate changing the manager. The club is as we all know in a period of transition and Kenny needs to complete the job.  What he does not need are players that have no intention of ensuring the club moves forward. These players are only there for the massive pay check at the end of the month and need to be moved on urgently once the window opens in the summer.

Until they are the club will continue to go backwards and to be honest I dread to think where we will be at the end of May.

Saying that though, there is a young man out there with Liverpool etched very deeply in his heart and not only is he a free agent, he is looking for a new club.  Who is this young man you may ask.  His name of course is Robbie Fowler and if anyone can solve our goal drought, he can.  He may also be able to join Stevie, Jamie and Craig in trying to get the message across to the players that playing for Liverpool Football Club is a privilege and not a drudgery that they need to get out of the way.

Having just watched the Sunderland versus Liverpool game, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that what we all witnessed was a horror story.  The players performances today were diabolical and it about time someone starting asking some very serious questions.  Those questions must also be directed at the Director of Football as well as the Manager and his coaching staff. 

I have to admit that I was worried about the result; the moment that the team was announced and it lead me to wonder, just as I did last week if Kenny has any input in the team selection.  There appear to me, to be too many hap hazard changes each week for them to be down to Kenny.  His knowledge of the game should guarantee that the right players are chosen each week. But within minutes of them being on the pitch, my fears were well-found because it became clear that the wrong eleven were on the pitch. I also do not agree with the captain being the goalkeeper, because it means that there is no leadership in the middle of field and that is the place where it should always be.

The game of course was always going to be a difficult one as Sunderland have improved since Martin O'Neill took over as manager, but I suspect even they did not know, they were going to face eleven men who simply gave the impression that today's game was just something that had popped up in their diary and they needed to get it out of the way.  It was as though the clock had been turned back to last year during Roy Hodgson's reign because the standard of football was diabolical.  I don't think I saw one complete pass the whole of the first half and I think in the second half they only happened once Stevie had come onto the pitch, if then.  I have to admit I started to concentrate on my knitting rather than watch the game to ensure I calmed down.

That rubbish of course was brought into the club by Damien Comolli, who religiously goes by that stupid money ball system.  A system, that apparently dictates that you buy in young players so that you get your monies worth in around 5 years' time, when they reach their true potential.  It is about time someone opened his eyes and made him realize in the English game, you buy players of quality no matter what their age is to ensure you reach the goals that are set by your owners.  Now as far as I am concerned, Damien Comolli is nothing more than a scout and certainly should be doing the job he is doing, because he simply does not have a clue.  I would have thought that having been sacked by Tottenham and Arsenal guaranteed that he never got a job in the Premier League again, but then when you are new to the game and he is recommended by Arsenal's owner I guess John Henry took him on after listening to some very well-rehearsed speeches.

In total since last January eight new players have joined Liverpool's ranks and three of them are simply not good enough to wear the Liverpool shirt.  They are Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson.  Three players, who were overpriced and quite frankly should never, have been looked at by Liverpool. Yes they played well for their old clubs, but in those clubs the standards set were different.  Charlie was supposed to help bolster our midfield and it is not happening and I think one of the youngsters would do so much better. Andy was brought in to score goals - please tell me how he can do that, when he appears to have forgotten what a ball looks like. Jordan, I think finds the big games too much at the moment and his nerves take over.

Sebastian Coates, is another example of a young expensive player which still does not understand what playing for Liverpool means, today his nerves took over and quite frankly we were lucky to escape with just the one goal against us.  Why Jamie was not on the pitch is another of life's mysteries.

Of the others, Stewart Downing is slowly beginning to find his feet and if he can begin to understand that you must play well every week, then yes, he may at some point in the future be able to stake his place every week in the team. 

Luis Suarez of course is suffering I believe from a lack of confidence at the moment, hence his lack of action in front of the goal.  I have my doubts as to whether it will recover by the end of the season or if indeed he will be a Liverpool player at the beginning of next season.

Craig Bellamy is the signing of the season and what did he cost nothing.  Here is a lad who is now in his thirties but his thirst for the game is second to none.  His energy and his enthusiasm is fantastic as is his love of the game.  This of course is the one example that throws that stupid money ball system straight out of the window.  Today he was let down by his team mates and simply could not get into the game.

Jose Enrique is another player, who has slotted straight in and has saved us on quite a few occasions. Again he is closer to the older rather than the younger player and understands what playing for a big club means. He did his best today but with his team mates not knowing whether to chase or pick up the ball, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

Now to the Manager and his coaching staff.  I have nothing against Kenny and I honestly do not believe the dire performances that we have witnessed lately are down to him.  Although he joins in the training sessions, they are mainly mapped out by his colleagues Steve Clarke and Kevin Keen.  Now we all know Kenny has a fantastic pedigree and at this moment in time it is probably like a noose around his neck.  As soon as the players do as they did today and play badly, he gets pulled apart. That has to stop because the buck lies with the eleven players on the pitch.

His assistants though, need to look at themselves and ask if they are training the players in the right way.  Steven Clarke came with a massive pedigree after being at Chelsea with Jose Mouriniho and knows all about winning, so why can he not get this into the heads of the players.  Kevin Keen came from West Ham and that should set some questions in motion, after all they have become a team that goes up and down between the premiership and the championship every other season.

I said last season before the changes were made that I had a feeling the training sessions were not as they should be and was proved right time and time again.  These season, although we see them doing some ball work and running, I would really love to know what the rest of the sessions are composed off, because they are not working

Something needs to be done and done quickly and I certainly don't advocate changing the manager. The club is as we all know in a period of transition and Kenny needs to complete the job.  What he does not need are players that have no intention of ensuring the club moves forward. These players are only there for the massive pay check at the end of the month and need to be moved on urgently once the window opens in the summer.

Until they are the club will continue to go backwards and to be honest I dread to think where we will be at the end of May.

Saying that though, there is a young man out there with Liverpool etched very deeply in his heart and not only is he a free agent, he is looking for a new club.  Who is this young man you may ask.  His name of course is Robbie Fowler and if anyone can solve our goal drought, he can.  He may also be able to join Stevie, Jamie and Craig in trying to get the message across to the players that playing for Liverpool Football Club is a privilege and not a drudgery that they need to get out of the way.

Today was the day that the magic of the FA Cup returned to Anfield and with a added bit of fun at the end, it was one that will be remembered for many years to come.

Brighton and Hove Albion were our opponents and having faced them earlier in the Carling Cup, everyone wondered if it was going to be payback time or indeed if we would beat them once again. Since the arrival of their manager Gus Poyet they have made strides in the Championship and are just outside the playoff places, so if fate is on their side they may find themselves in the Premiership next season.

For most of the players, today was the day that they would find themselves on the Anfield pitch for the very first time in their career and one that they hoped would see them progress into the next round where they would meet Stoke.

Kenny who has never taken any of the domestic competitions lightly chose a strong team, but left out Craig Bellamy and Daniel Agger who both took knocks in training on Friday (or did they - I suspect they are being saved for next weekend.)  It was also the first time that Stevie G, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez had played together and I have admit, it worked very well.

The tempo of the game was set by Liverpool from the moment referee Andre Marriner blew his whistle to start the game. Liverpool were in the ascendency from the beginning and with five minutes on the clock Martin Skrtel picked up a cross from Stevie G and headed straight into the back of the net. Brighton had been caught off guard by a moment's lack of concentration due to being more interested in the wrestling match between Andy Carroll and Adam El-Abd. 

This set the tone for the first half with Brighton being caught out several times, although it was Liverpool's badly set wall that saw the second goal of the game.  Brighton had won a free kick that was taken superbly by Lua Lua. He did what a good player does and sent a ferocious ball towards the wall which collapsed when Jordan Henderson moved away - it was unstoppable and found the back of the net.

With both teams now level, it looked as though the curse of Anfield had struck once again and we would be joining Chelsea and Tottenham in the replay queue.

But as the half edged towards the half time mark, the hand of fate decided to unsteady Brighton with what would be their first own goal of the game.  Luis Suarez had picked up a ball and was making some fantastic moves which ended with a shot towards the goal but it was stopped by Brezovan and sent towards Glen Johnson who picked up the rebounded and with the ball goal bound it was stopped by Sam Vokes.  Unfortunately his clearance then met Bridcutt and bounced back into the goal

Within ten minutes of the second half, Liverpool again stamped their authority on the game wihen Jordan Henderson picked up a badly placed shot from Stevie G only to see it saved by Brezovan.  But moments later the lurking Stewart Downing sent a ball straight across into the area which was picked up by Andy Carroll and the big man scored.  Now Andy, and the net have not met as many times as they should have this season, and hopefully this will help his confidence grow a little more. 

Liverpool was now winning and it was wonderful to see that Liverpool was not going to sit back and let Brighton take over.  The football on display was fantastic to watch and it was only going to be a matter of time before goal number four went into the net.

Unfortunately for Brighton, it was again an own goal by young Bridcutt who was in the wrong place when a low cross from Stevie G bounded off him and straight into the back of the net.  By now I suspect the young lad's confidence was dented so much, that he just wished the game was over.  But credit to him, he picked himself up and continued playing only to be injured in the final minutes.

Liverpool's fifth goal also came by virtue of a Brighton player when Dunk trying to defend got into a bit of a muddle and kneed the ball into the back of the net.

By now Anfield was rocking - the next round was in our sights and it was at this point that Kenny made three changes.  Maxi came on for Downing, JonJo for Stevie and Dirk for Henderson.

The afternoon was drawing to a close, but Liverpool now had Wembley in their sights and were determined to continue with the high tempo play until the end.

Then I guess, the only 'mistake' of the game happened.  Ten minutes from time Dirk was brought down in the area and with Liverpool awarded a penalty, came the decision of who was to take it.  Now I would have put my money on Dirk but Kenny signalled from the bench that is it was to be Suarez. Now Luis does not have a great history where taking penalty's is concerned and as expected he missed.

It was seen as just one of those things, but his day was not yet over.  There was some great action in the goalmouth when Andy picked up a ball which he normally would have sent goal wards, today though, knowing that Luis needed to stamp his presence on the game, he headed it softly to him and seconds later it was in the net.

Victory was now assured and with the George Sephton having announced that there would be two minutes of injury time, it was just a matter of running the clock down.  Liverpool being Liverpool though, these things never go to plan.  Young Bridgott went down injured and for a few minutes it looked as though it was serious but thankfully, it appears that other than a sore back, he is fine.

Play was restarted, but shall we say in keeping with the occasion, a streaker decided that today was the day, he was going to have a little fun.  He run onto the pitch and whilst everyone around him stood bemused, he sprinted over to Jamie Carragher and according to press reports shared a joke until the stewards took him off.

All I will say about that, is thanks for the laugh, but next time you decide with a group of your mates to do that, choose someone who is good looking and can cope with the cold, because it did not do you any justice.

The game finished with Liverpool now lining up against Stoke at some point during the weekend of 17-18th March in their quest for the second visit to Wembley this season.

We must not take anything away from Gus Poyet and Brighton, who played as well as they could and who also brought with them 6000 well behaved supporters who sang their hearts out. 

This time next week, we will be hopefully celebrating after our first trip to the new Anfield South.  A trip that will show how much Liverpool Football Club under the guidance of Kenny Dalglish have improved.

Over the last three days we have I believe all learnt several very important lessons and one of them was very humbling indeed.

The first and the most humbling one is what we have learnt about Craig Bellamy in the last couple of days.  Craig as we all know has a bit of a reputation on and off the football pitch.  A reputation that time after time has got him into unnecessary trouble.  But like everything else, sometimes it takes these things to happen in your life before you are either faced with or run into something that will trigger a change for the better.

Craig was going through a period in his life where he was between football clubs and a friend suggested that he visit him in a village called Kono in Sierra Leone.  Craig did this and was shocked to see the poverty and the suffering that was in front of him.  

Craig, who as a child, had parents that ensured his ambition to become a footballer was fulfilled. He also had a loving and comfortable home, a home that he himself, now provides for his wife and children and when he began to compare the two, he decided that he would like to do something to help the young of Kono.

Football is a sport that is worshipped, for want of a better word, the world over and this includes those countries that are devoid of the facilities that we have, if the boys can find something to kick that is the game they play.

So, here we have a premiership footballer and boys that would certainly benefit from an education and some proper football coaching.  Craig put the two together and the result was that he decided to build and start his own football academy in Kono, Sierra Leone. 

He has built an academy for 16 young men, who live in and who are being given a general education and taught to play football.  This is proving to be a success and he has also helped set up a football league, which has quite aptly been called The Craig Bellamy League.

It has become so successful that UNICEF has joined forces with him and they have begun to set things in motion so that a girls and amputees league can also be set up.  Craig now realises that he cannot do this on his own and is looking for sponsors to ensure that the project continues for many years.

To see the full extent of what he has done, if you have not already watched it, please go to the link below and what I will say, to the ladies in particular is have a tissue handy because the last ten minutes could see you in floods of tears.  Watching those young men, play football whilst holding a crutch and running on one leg is heart breaking and yet amazing at the same time.

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=304410

Craig also gave an interview to Oliver Holt of the Mirror, which is a must read as it ties in with the programme.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-exclusive-Craig-Bellamy-interview-on-Gary-Speed-anger-issues-charity-work-that-changed-his-life-and-lots-more-article859473.html

Craig as we know was also a great friend of Gary Speed and is still mourning his death.  Now as we all know Gary took his own life because something was troubling him, something that perhaps he felt he could not talk to anyone about.  His grief and respect for his friend led him to bottle things up and he was urged to sort the help of Steve Peters who is a Psychologist and it has helped him realise a lot of things about himself.  One of those things was to appreciate what football could do for him rather than about winning cups all the time.  The result of which, we are of course seeing at the moment.

Which also brings me to why I chose the title, I did for my blog.  You see Craig is 32 years old but runs around the pitch as though he is 23 and has so much enthusiasm for the game.

Enthusiasm, that has resulted in 6 goals for the club since his return on a free transfer during the summer of 2010.

Last night was the night that ensured the sixth hit the back of the net.  Craig was in the team that played Mick McCarthy's Wolverhampton and every one wondered if the team could continue on the rum they had set up by going into the Carling Cup Final and beating Manchester United in the FA Cup.

They did and on a very cold evening in the Moulineux the team gave us the supporters the kind of display that proved Liverpool are indeed on their way back.  It was enthralling to watch and Craig although booked for being a little over zealous, made some wonderful runs before outwitting several Wolves players and sending yet another wonderful strike into the goal.  There were also goals from Dirk and Andy - two players who themselves have been struggling so perhaps, whatever magic Steve Peters has worked on Craig is beginning to be spread around.

Craig in my mind was man of the match, for the simple reason he never stops working and you can see his pride in wearing and working for the badge on his chest.

So to the lesson's I believe we learnt.

Craig is not the out of control Footballer a lot of people thought he was.  He is a young man, with a very caring heart.  A heart that has led him to help people that are no as privileged as he is.

He cares very deeply about his career and will do everything he can to ensure that he gives the best he can.

And lastly.

That age and circumstances are not barriers.  If you have the strength and the energy to go out and do something, do it because in the end you yourself will benefit.