OF all the chants that rained down from the Goodison stands on Saturday, there was one that proved most pertinent.

Amid the din of Everton’s rightful indignation towards laughable referee Martin Atkinson could be heard a familiar refrain emanating from the travelling support calling for Steven Gerrard.

And that Kenny Dalglish was ultimately compelled to throw on his recovering skipper spoke volumes for how Liverpool struggled to grab a gift-wrapped victory in the 216th Merseyside derby.

It’s difficult to draw firm conclusions, certainly concerning Everton, from a match ruined by Atkinson’s disgraceful decision to dismiss Jack Rodwell midway through the first half.

Dalglish will no doubt claim the wheel of fortune simply turned in his side’s favour, with Liverpool wronged by officials on several occasions already this campaign.

But while millions have been spent on helping drag Liverpool back among the top-four challengers, the manager will be concerned it took the arrival of Gerrard and fellow substitute Craig Bellamy – who cost a combined total of nothing – to finally break Everton’s robust resistance.

The new-look Anfield outfit have yet to convince. Speaking last week, first-team coach Steve Clarke described their start to the season as being ‘average’, a level they seemed hell-bent on maintaining for much of Saturday’s encounter.

Money, as David Moyes always fears, did eventually talk, with Liverpool’s £58million strikeforce ensuring Dalglish made a winning return on his first Goodison derby as Anfield manager in more than 20 years.

Until the weekend, any comparison between Andy Carroll and Duncan Ferguson would have centred on his lifestyle, a litany of off-field scrapes and the propensity to pick up niggling injuries.

The striker will hope to have now added another. Ferguson forged his reputation in the Merseyside derby, and Carroll will pray his opening goal on Saturday can go some way towards kickstarting his spluttering Anfield career.