Liverpool remain on course to be third among equals

By David Maddock

Published 11:49 09/02/10

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What did we learn from the Merseyside derby, apart from the now obvious fact that it is the most violent fixture in English football?

Well, for a start we discovered that Everton are still lacking that touch of quality in the area where it really matters... the forward line.

That should come as no surprise, of course, because the one position in a team where quality always costs real money is centre-forward, and when you don’t have any, then recruitment is verging on the impossible.

If Everton are going to take the next step forward towards challenging consistently for a Champions League place (and after finishing fifth for two seasons running that has to be their next aim), then they will need to somehow find the money to go out and buy an absolutely top class forward.

Liverpool have one, even if he is not playing much these days, and they also have a top class second striker in the shape of Steven Gerrard, and when it really comes down to it, that sort of quality in those positions is the difference between sides at the top of the league.

What we discovered about Liverpool too, is that when they dig deep enough there are the reserves of character still there within their team to overcome the deepest of crisis.

I watched the derby through my fingers at times, such was the ferocity of combat, and the paucity of the fare on show. I did so, too, because I feared what might be coming as the game wore on.

Too many times this season, Liverpool have got themselves in decent positions in matches through hard work and collective will, only to expose a soft centre at the heart of their team and give away stupid goals in the finals seconds.

Lyon (twice), Fiorentina, Arsenal, Reading and Stoke spring instantly to mind as examples of their surprising lack of resilience earlier in the season. So when they were forced to defend with 10 men in a desperate rearguard against Everton, in the back of your mind you still wondered, despite their recent run.

Yet when it came to it, the strength of character of the team was immense, the contribution from the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Lucas, not to mention the incredible Jamie Carragher, outstanding.

It was the Liverpool of old, the team that went to Turin to hold out against Juventus, the one that took everything Chelsea and Inter Milan could throw at them. The side that came from three goals down in a Champions League final.

It is that strength of character that has been missing at times this season, and that absence which has prompted so many questions about what is going on within the confines of the training ground at the Merseyside club.

That lack of character raised question marks about the position of the manager, so glaring was its absence. But it was there on Saturday at Anfield, flying proudly once more.

And if it is back for good, then there is no need to worry about a Liverpool future. That spirit, that collective will and sense of togetherness is what all top teams are built on. Without it, you can have all the talent in the world, and still win nothing.

With it, you can take a fairly ordinary side and achieve great things. Think Greece at Euro 2004, think Liverpool themselves in Istanbul in 2005.

Now it is clearly back within the current Anfield model, fourth place should be a doddle, and in fact, Liverpool should now be aiming higher. They can still easily catch Arsenal in third, and that would at least offer some recompense for a season that might have been, indeed a season that many say should have been.

I was ridiculed earlier in the season for suggesting Liverpool could still rally, could still challenge for second or third, even if winning the title was beyond them very quickly.

I have no reason to change that suggestion. With the spirit they showed against Everton on Saturday, Liverpool easily have the means to finish third in the Premier League this season, which will leave some interesting questions for the summer.

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