The walking through treacle style of our play and the now commonplace conceding of a late goal had me 'shrugging' at the absolute expected nature of it.
I had a go about Gerrard's season long strop the other day and having got that out of my system I'm losing the will to get wound up about the situation. Why? Mainly because I can't see it being turned around, certainly not this season, and certainly not without some very big decisions being made. Wanting a season to end is something I've never felt, but that is how I feel at the moment. Not because I've given up on Liverpool, but because I feel they've given up on themselves. They're like a fighter hoping for the bell to save them, desperate to get back to their corner to mend their wounds.
Unfortunately I don't think there is a, "Cut me Mick, can't see, can't open my eye" type of temporary fix. The problems this season run deep, too many false dawns and a repetitive lack of discipline and spirit have led me to the conclusion that something big needs to be done at the end of the season. Where you lay the blame doesn't really matter. Benitez isn't a poor manager, his record proves this. Gerrard isn't a poor player, too many game changing performances testify to this, but something is indeed rotten at Liverpool at this time. Finding £100 million to keep the debtors from the door won't solve those ills, just like getting to the end of the season and saying better luck next year won't. If it means Benitez goes, so be it. If it means the club cashes in on Gerrard as he probably has three more top seasons left, so be it also, but something has to give. It appears Rafa may now be playing politic with his players aswell as his bosses, whichever side of the divide you come down on surely something has to be done for the club to move forward next season. Treading water is simply not good enough for a team like Liverpool.
What I saw last night was more of the same I'm afraid. The captain displaying his unwillingness to get stuck in, berating others again, Torres getting his knickers in a twist. Babel did show some encouraging moments and a couple of the others seemed to be up for it which I suppose is an improvement from Wigan but it didn't seem the sort of response the fans who'd made the journey to France would or should have been expecting.