Rafa Benitez may not have lost the Liverpool dressing room, but it looks like the players have lost interest

By Richard Buxton in Liverpool Fans Blog

Published 10:14 14/01/10

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The conspiracy theorists amongst Liverpool's support will have no doubt attempted to conjure up a link between George Sephton's choice of post-match song and last night's performance against Reading.

Wax's 1987 hit Building a Bridge to Your Heart might not have been the ideal selection by Anfield's veteran match day DJ but if there was any correlation between the Reds' FA Cup exit and what was blared over the stadium's PA system at the final whistle, it wasn't as subtle as usual.

"Look what you're doing", the short-lived English pop group pleaded on a night where Rafael Benitez's side had spent more time looking to the dugout for answers as they came unstuck against Brian McDermott's valiant troops.

Whenever they were defending a set-piece, Liverpool's players looked to the touchline to see what ideas Benitez, assistant manager Sammy Lee and defensive coach Mauricio Pellegrino could offer and every time they came up with the same answer - nothing.

Some argue that the Spaniard has lost the dressing room at Anfield but based on this showing, the dressing room has lost interest altogether, regardless of Benitez's input.

Their body language and performance reflected the feeling of the 31,063 who had bothered to turn up when they could have been enduring the game from the comfort of their living room.

The half-hour of extra-time was as numbing as the winter chill that bit at the limbs of all inside the ground whose only real warmth on the night came from the parading of Maxi Rodriguez before kick-off.

Normally signings are given a grand unveiling to the media at Melwood before they acquaint themselves with supporters on their debut. Grand pitchside unveilings are usually left to the blue half of the city who are considering offloading a man they gloated five months ago was "the man who turned down Liverpool".

"We're just too good for you", the travelling Reading fans crowed to the Kop as their team raced into the lead in extra-time and you would be hard pushed to find anyone who would disagree with that statement.

The chorus of boos that rang across Anfield at the final whistle are more an indictment of how spoilt the club’s supporters have become under the current managerial regime rather than fickleness and knee-jerk reactions.

When Philipp Degen is the only real contender for Liverpool’s man-of-the-match award, it’s clear that the team who finished runners-up in the league last season have lost their way.

Benitez has vowed to battle on in the face of adversity but there are only so many questions he can dodge before the club’s owners consider his position. Unfortunately for George Gillett and Tom Hicks, however, the small matter of a five-year contract which they offered him last season has come back to haunt them as they risk a £20 million pay-off should they oust him.

With three trophies down and one to go, the winter of discontent swirling around Anfield looks set to hang in the air even after the big freeze engulfing the nation finally thaws.

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