TWELVE matches in – almost a third of the season gone already.

Time enough to take stock, methinks, and assess the measure of this latest attempt to right the wrongs of the last 18 years and introduce the Premier League trophy to our otherwise bulging cabinet.

The league table makes impressive reading; Chelsea are setting a ferocious pace but we’ve not only stayed with them, we’ve beaten them on their own patch and convincingly to boot.

We’re four points up on equivalent fixtures last season, and although our goal difference is significantly worse, most of that is accounted for by the 6-0 hammering of Derby County early last season.

We’ve beaten United and staged more comebacks than Bruce Forsyth’s hair. Just one defeat blots our record, and that result of a bizarre travesty of justice.

So the stats stack up – but what’s the truth behind those notoriously fickle indicators?

Most Liverpool fans will, I think, declare themselves content while not exactly convinced by the displays of the team, and few would venture to assess our chances as greater than ‘we’ll be there or thereabouts’ or ‘we’ll be in the mix at the end’.

The thrilling comebacks have persuaded many that we have the spirit of champions, while the frailty that got us into those positions to begin with is a cause of frustration for others.

There’s no doubt we’ve seen come cracking matches this season, especially at Anfield, but Saturday’s comfortable win over West Brom was welcome nonetheless for its comparative tranquillity.