Liverpool: 'And Now You're Gonna Believe Us....'

On Saturday afternoon, we played host to a Fulham side with the worst away record in the league, and were fully expected to come away with all 3 points. Yet for the second time this season, we were held to a stalemate by an inferior side and it seems the end of the world is upon us. I think a few people need to realise that we're not going to win every game. No side ever does, no matter how good they may be.

Chelsea were a shorter price than us with bookmakers to win their home game this weekend, yet also failed to do so, being held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle. Yet we both find ourselves in identical positions as we did before the weekend's fixtures. So while our fans will be saying we've missed an opportunity to open up a gap between ourselves and the rest, Chelsea fans will be saying exactly the same. Just as United fans will be looking back at a missed opportunity to close the gap on the front two. Teams will drop points. That's football.

Last season United drew at home with Reading, lost home and away to struggling Manchester City, lost away at West Ham amongst others; yet they still won the league as they dropped less points than others and managed to beat the sides around them. All the top sides are going to drop points throughout the season; but in recent years, the title has been decided in the head to head games between the "big 4". United beat us home and away last season, and ended the season 11 points ahead of us. Reverse those results, with us beating them home and away, and they'd have finished 6 points worse off, with us 6 points better off, therefore finishing 1 point ahead of them. Those are the games that matter. The "6 pointers".

So far this season, we've beat United at home and Chelsea away; a vast improvement on our record in recent years against those sides, and the impact of that turnaround is reflected in the league table. We're sat joint top with Chelsea and 8 points clear of United, although they do have a game in hand. Yet in the aftermath of Saturday's goalless draw, you'd be forgiven for being mistaken that we're out of the title race already.

We've not played well all season really. We haven't moved out of second gear yet still sit joint top of the league. So why all the doom and gloom over one result and performance? A quick look back at the past few years highlights that we are consistently strong finishers to the season. So as long as we are in touch of the leaders at the turn of the year, we are in with every chance. It's about time that positive feeling expressed itself in the stands and on the pitch. Believe we can do it and it may just happen.

On Saturday afternoon, 43,000 home fans chewed fingernails for 90 minutes. It's only November yet the tension in the air is unbearable. For so many years now, we've seen false dawn after false dawn. Any hopes of a title challenge washed away before we pop our Christmas crackers. The crowd are nervous as we fear the same happening again, when we all know we've got the side to really challenge this season. It scares us. But that nervousness and fear of failure is transposing itself onto the pitch and into the minds and approach to the game of the players.

Lucas came in for Alonso on Saturday afternoon, and was onto a hiding to nothing before he'd even touched the ball. The side put out there was more than good enough to dispose of Fulham, regardless of how one player performed. Yet it looked as though the players were afraid to express themselves, afraid of failure. There's a severe lack of belief within the club and it needs to change before we self destruct. Believe we can win the title and it might actually happen. Go out onto the pitch believing you can do anything. But it's also up to us in the stands to fuel that desire for success, rather than producing a cautious state of mind for everyone through our nervous approach to each game. Instead of barracking a player for a mistake from the sidelines, encourage them. Isn't that what supporters do? Support?

Anfield is full of season ticket holders that have sat in the same seat for a minimum of 15 years. Since 1993/94, hardly any new season tickets have been issued due to the boom in football during that time and the demand for tickets reaching an all time high. The same bums are sat in the same seats today as they were back then, and all have witnessed the collapse of a title challenge in the year of the "two horse race". We've seen the side of Roy Evans play great football but lack any bottle to finish the job. We've seen the Gerard Houllier sides progress to finish second and be in a brilliant position to push on for the title, only to implode. We're all afraid of it happening again under Benitez. But that attitude is affecting our chances in a big way. We need to banish those memories from our minds and urge this current crop on and make them believe.

We beat Manchester United without Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard. We beat Chelsea away with Torres still missing. So while they are important players for us, we can do it without them. Last season they formed a lethal partnership through the backend of the campaign, and the best is yet to come for both of them this term. Once they get into top gear we'll be a completely different side. We're sat joint top of the league without either of them hitting anywhere near top form. If that doesn't whet the appetite then nothing will.

On Monday night we play host to West Ham. It's time for a change in approach; time to inject some belief into the side and the stands.

The nervous approach is understandable. You can feel the tension in the air, and until we try and change that, it's only going to get worse. The fear of opening ourselves for ridicule is there for everyone. Too many times now we've declared "this is our year" only to fall flat on our faces. This year however, the refusal to believe could contribute to our downfall. If we try and we fail, at least we've tried.


Source: timesonline.typepad.com