When Barnsley's Brian Howard lashed his left-footed winner past Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje in front of a despairing Kop, the ripples of romance it sent cascading through the FA Cup were matched only by the ructions it fuelled among Liverpool supporters.
At no time in its history has Liverpool Football Club - whose culture was founded upon the socialist ideals of Bill "everyone working for each other, everyone having a share of the rewards" Shankly - had so many factions at odds with one another, each of them battling for the most prominent place on the Kop's soap box.
Groups of capitalists, socialists, the apathetic and the furious have been cultivated in a year on a terrace that had, until now, stood shoulder-to-shoulder for over a century through triumph and disaster. The Kop has never before resembled such a mish-mash of socio-political beliefs. There are the 'money-before-ethics' brigade waving '1 DIC IS BETTER THAN 3' banners; the Sons of Shankly, a trade union-style movement that want George Gillett and Tom Hicks out of the club and its traditional interests protected; Share 5000, Rogan Taylor's supporter-buyout group; Reclaim The Kop, who want the Kop's Scouse culture and tradition to return to something akin to the halcyon days of the 60s and 70s, and a singing section who would seemingly support Rafael Benítez if he took Liverpool into the Championship.
Vying for space among the squabbling hoards are the independents screaming a plethora of views about Benítez, Gillett and Hicks and Rick Parry, whose insincerity has been likened to that of Uriah Heep. It was Parry's shambolic oversight of ticket allocations for the 2007 Champions League final that gave birth to the simmering divisions as fans demanded tickets for reasons varying from locality to loyalty. The resultant chaos in Athens added to the wave of discontent, which agitated Liverpool fans have been only too keen to ride as poor form coincides with the groundswell of antipathy towards Gillett and Hicks.
Much of the antagonism is misguided - and the man benefiting most is Benítez. The Spaniard must thank his lucky stars for the chaotic backdrop, which has overshadowed Liverpool's spectacular domestic underachievement and would have cost him his job had Gillett and Hicks not been so frightened of a backlash from fans if they sack him. But when the Kop snarled at the American duo after their approach to Jürgen Klinsmann, the fans essentially tied Benítez to the club until new owners take charge or Benítez himself raises a white flag. Were David Moores still at the helm or the club's ownership not being in question, fans' views would be driven by events on the pitch - and with the challenge for a domestic cup ending in February and the quest for a first Premier League title ending long before, many might feel it was time Benítez packed his bags. But, until May at least, the manager is bullet-proof.
On Tuesday night, the rare underdog status that Liverpool will enjoy against Inter in their Champions League tie will offer the club's many factions a chance to unite. No matter which group Kopites belong to off the pitch, their backing for the team on it could go a long way to inspiring a win that would quell their own unrest - for the time being, at least.
