BLUE WATCH: The ball back is in Liverpool's court – for now

Mar 19 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

WE always knew that the margins for error were tight in the push for the fourth Champions League place.

The standings after the weekend’s games prove that, as the desperately disappointing defeat at Craven Cottage put the ball firmly in Liverpool’s court.

The Blues simply must beat West Ham on Saturday now and hope that the Reds take nothing other than a beating from Old Trafford. That would obviously leave the sides evenly poised going into the derby, although there is a feeling now that the momentum lies at Anfield, what with them hitting form while the strain begins to show on the Blues’ smaller squad.

The injury to Tim Cahill opened up an opportunity for Andrew Johnson, which he duly took against Sunderland and Fiorentina, so to see him limp off against Fulham was a big blow. Suddenly David Moyes’s options looked very limited – the Blues never look very creative when Phil Neville is pushed into midfield and Leon Osman struggled to support Yakubu up front.

The fact that Moyes was even bemoaning Andy van der Meyde’s latest ailment summed up just how thin on the ground attacking players are at the moment.

The sight of Joleon Lescott going up front for the last 20 minutes of Sunday’s game was hardly an edifying one either, bringing back desperate memories of the likes of Dave Watson and Mick Lyons trying to salvage games in the past.

All in all then it was a weekend to forget, and despite the fact that there are a number of ex-Everton players at Fulham, for the sake of the three points per season that we drop against them, there probably won’t be many Blues supporters who will miss them if they do fall out of the top flight.

Another ex-Blue, James McFadden, is doing his utmost to save his new club, Birmingham City, from the drop, and as long as they roll over when Everton go to St Andrews then most people will be wishing him good luck.

He took his goal well on Monday night and it was inevitable given Everton’s current problems that the question would be asked as to whether they were right to let him go.

At the very top of the league, the battle for the actual title seems incredibly open.

It looked a two-horse race for a long time but Avram Grant’s Chelsea now appear to be genuine contenders.

Everton know from painful experience in the Carling Cup that the men from Stamford Bridge, while not the most entertaining of the top sides, are still as tough and resilient as they come.

They are still in the Champions League as well, so it seems odd that their manager seems under constant pressure from within the club and also from the so-called fans who rumour has it have been making threats towards him.

We all get emotional about our football clubs but the instances of people making threats towards players, managers and referees appear to be coming increasingly common.

Now football fans are the first to get indignant whenever they are treated unfairly, but some clearly need to take a good look at their own behaviour and how they choose to display their ‘passion’ for their team.

It’s certainly a skewed sense of loyalty that leads anyone to resort to something like damaging cars, sending ominous packages through the post or assaulting the club’s owners’ offspring when they go for a post-match drink.

It's almost enough to make you nostalgic for the days of a bit of offensive graffiti on the training ground walls.