View From The Stands: Eerie echoes of Spurs debacle

Jan 14 2008 by Peter McCleery, Liverpool Daily Post

ANOTHER damaging draw for Liverpool at the hoodoo ground of Middlesbrough, and although we are back in fourth position, that is starting to look like our ‘glass ceiling’ for the remainder of the campaign.

It is patently obvious that Liverpool as a team are extremely low on confidence.

Of course we have seen similar situations before, just this season in fact. Last summer the general feeling amongst fans, pundits and the media was that Tottenham could finally impinge on their great North London rival’s success. However, after a shaky start the Spurs board panicked, the team imploded and Jol was soon humiliated and gone.

This is beginning to be mirrored at Anfield – a successful and coveted coach in Rafa Benitez is being undermined by the actions or lack of actions by his bosses.

The upshot is that the man is not able to carry out his job to the best of his ability.

Right now the team needs to offset this by repaying the contribution that Rafa has made to their careers.

If you had been told that Kuyt would have a total of three league goals (two of those penalties) by the middle of January, you would have though you were in a horrible dream.

The manager’s freezing out (rightly or wrongly) of Crouch has left Kuyt in a sole fight with Andriy Voronin for the striking berth alongside Torres.

It would be interesting to hear Craig Bellamy and Djibril Cisse’s view on these two front runners – or front joggers as some might say!

This team needs fresh impetus badly and my hope is that Daniel Agger can return soon.