Shankly spirit lives on where it truly counts

Sep 15 2008 by Nick Smith, Daily Post

THE torrent of abuse, the relentless insults and the scowling facial expressions all whipped up like a scorpion’s tail towards the directors’ box from the furious fans below.

But Gary Neville handled it all quite calmly in the circumstances.

A few seats to his left, however, George Gillett could rest easy. Yes, the supporters had swarmed towards Anfield in their latest attempts to nudge him and Tom Hicks closer to the exit door and it was the most passionate, packed and vociferous protest yet.

But what the Liverpool faithful deserve most credit for is abandoning such hostility once inside the stadium. Or at least switching it to those who had made a somewhat shorter trip to attend the prime fixture in English football.

Because the Spirit of Shankly lives on most prominently in the ground, not out on the streets.

The mythology surrounding the great man is still as oddly believable today as it was during his revolution – the Kop really do seem to suck in those late winners. How else could Ryan Babel scuff one into the turf yet still blast his shot past three men on the line?

So any ill feeling towards Gillett, any aggression, anger, exuberance – all had to be transferred towards inspiring Rafael Benitez’s towards what turned out to be surely the most significant Premier League victory of his Liverpool reign.

Dissatisfaction with a club’s regime undoubtedly stirs the passions and creates a groundswell of solidarity and raw emotion. But it needs to be channelled in the right way.

Allowed to fester on the terraces and the players can easily pick up on the negativity.

Newcastle fans staged an admirable rally against the ‘Cockney Mafia’, but in terms of supporting the team it was themselves they shot in the kneecaps – they lost 2-1 at home to Hull.

It was vital that Manchester United weren’t allowed to capitalise on off-field instability and uncertainty in the same way. And the fact that they failed to do so, even with the leg-up of a third-minute Carlos Tevez goal, underlined another starring role played to perfection by the home crowd.

In truth, however, that only tells part of the story. Benitez makes much of the ‘Anfied factor’, particularly when he has tricky Champions League second legs to navigate.

But he knows those supporters also demand that he sticks to his side of the bargain too, and that is something that, until Saturday, he had miserably failed to do against bitter rival Sir Alex Ferguson.

Until the 77th minute, the only two goals he had managed in league encounters against United hadn’t even been scored by Liverpool players. A miserable return punctuating a run of results that perfectly reflect the failure to seriously scare them on a domestic level.

Thanks to Saturday that could be set to change. The tide could be turning.

For example, who would have thought that problems over wide players would be the area that ultimately decided the contest in favour of Liverpool?

It’s this aspect that perhaps now gives Benitez valid reason to question Ferguson’s selection policies.

Raising eyebrows at the Scot keeping £70m worth of talent on the bench last season was fine in the context of the ‘war of words’ that is inevitably declared by managers of the top four sides when they come into direct combat.

But when you’re focusing on decisions that were made in a Premier League and European Cup double-winning season, it’s perhaps best to keep it buttoned.

Now? Well, after the line-up Ferguson sent out on Saturday, Benitez might as well become Frankie Boyle from Mock The Week.

The Spaniard had width that Mike Ashley would be jealous of. Yossi Benayoun was given a start in his best position and debutant Albert Riera was a revelation.

Even Neville was probably glad to be sat in the stands , where he was given only a mild battering compared to what Riera might have had in store for him – and for Edwin van der Sar’s liking for palming the ball into his right-back’s shins.

But Wes Brown was only in that position in the first place because he was tracking Riera’ s run from an area where, so far this season, Liverpool have failed to provide an outlet let alone a threat. The former Espanyol certainly didn’t merit being announced as the goalscorer but he deserved credit none the less.

As for Ferguson’s working of the flanks, he got it badly wrong, from the criminal waste of Wayne Rooney’s talent in his role of out-and-out right-winger, to Anderson looking about as much a top class left-sider as Mark Gonzalez.

By the time Ferguson remembered the Brazilian’s dominance of this fixture last year from the centre it was too late. Paul Scholes had been made to look like a severely fading force by the magnificent Javier Mascherano and even Ferguson – always one to credit Liverpool when it’s due – was forced to concede the awful errors that led to defeat came from being unable to handle Liverpool’s pressing.

And although he was without Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and, for most of the game at least, Steven Gerrard were also absent. All very, very encouraging in terms of an indication of title credentials.

All that talk is, however, misplaced at this stage of the season for two reasons.

Firstly, it’s still far too early. Secondly, leaders Chelsea already look streets ahead of both teams.