I’m not often motivated to write blog posts about football, but I’ve just watched Liverpool v Fulham today and witnessed the most ineptly mismanaged Liverpool performance I can ever remember seeing. So inept in fact, I just had to write about it.

And this is despite being a devout Arsenal fan, so I should really be quite happy seeing Liverpool’s decline, but strangely I’m not. (My day started rather well with the solid 3-0 win over Tottenham).

I’ve been watching football at all levels for about 25 years, and have today witnessed some of the most mystifying decisions by a manager and possibly the worst Liverpool team I can ever remember seeing.  To be drawing a pretty much must-win game 1-1 with Fulham, and take off the only player in the Liverpool team who ever looked like he might score (Torres, who was obviously as mystified as the crowd) is just beyond belief.

Rafa Benitez, undoubtedly under tremendous pressure from all angles, increasingly has the look and air of the sweating gambler who has lost a fortune and is desperately trying to win it back, only to find himself losing more as the evening progresses.

Of course having removed Torres, Fulham’s players seemed visibly bouyed and I remarked at the time that they fancied getting 3 points from the game - so it was almost predictable that Liverpool would concede a goal to go 2-1 down. Having conceded, things went from bad to worse with an equally farcical decision from Rafa Benitez - the substitution of Benayoun as Liverpool chased a goal to give them even a point. Both Torres and Benayoun were visibly displeased at being taken off.

After that, the Liverpool failboat was well on its voyage - the innefectual Degen was sent off for a pretty stupid wild lunging tackle that was never likely to win the ball, and shortly afterwards it only got worse as Liverpool were down to 9 players as the fading Carragher was red carded for being the last man. Despite his denials and protsteations and trying to blame everyone but himself, it was deserved. Liverpool went on to concede a nicely worked 3rd goal for Fulham, despite having 3 of their 9 remaining players versus 2 Fulham attackers.

Aside from the obvious substitution mistakes made by Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool team as a whole (with about 3 exceptions) is the poorest I can ever remember seeing. They look rather beaten and seemed to lack confidence in themselves and their manager from the moment the game kicked off. There are many players in todays Liverpool side both on the pitch and the bench who are simply not good enough to wear the shirt, and should never make the first team. The defence looks shakey and unsettled to say the least, the midfield somewhat missing in action and in the last third Liverpool seem to lack something. They lack an awful lot with no Gerrard or Torres on the pitch. Without those two, the whole team seems to be of mid-table mediocrity. A terrible situation for a team with such proud history. Benayoun in my opinion flatters to deceive somewhat and is made to shine by the paucity of talent around him.

Liverpool fans, you have my sympathies. Yours is a club with some major issues at the moment, and no easy way to solve them. Good luck. You’re going to need it with bickering owners and a manager who takes off the teams only likely goalscorers at 1-1, instead of trying to win the game and stay in the title race. You think Ferguson or Wenger would have taken that attitude or route in the same situation? Or Dalglish for that matter?

Thats my Liverpool fiasco rant over with…now unburdened, I’m off to bask in the relative glory of Arsenal’s 3-0 win over the old enemy.

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