Crumbling fortress

'This is Anfield' no longer inspires fear

Deep in the bowels of Liverpool's stadium, there are three little words above a doorway.

"This is Anfield"

Three little words, but three immensely powerful ones, thirteen letters which, for decades struck fear, or at least a great deal of apprehension, in the hearts of opponents. They were about to step on the pitch with the legendary Reds, the most succesful club in the history of the English game.

This is the club which won more English titles (18) than any other, the juggernaut with four European Cups in its trophy room, a total surpassed only by AC Milan and Real Madrid.

Mailbag

If you'd like to submit a question to Gabriele Marcotti, please enter it below.

Your name: Your E-mail Address: Your Hometown: Enter Your Question:

Yet now, 12 years removed from its last English crown, those three small words no longer look so menacing.

As I write this, Liverpool lies sixth in the Premiership, a full fourteen points behind table-topping Arsenal and has already been eliminated from the Champions League and FA Cup.

Since its last English title, in 1990, Liverpool has never been closer than seven points away at the end of the season. In those twelve years it has managed to win two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup and two League Cups.

Simply put, it's the worst record among the continent's elite. The only top side which comes close to matching Liverpool's sustained futility is Inter Milan, which hasn't won a domestic title since 1989, but at least the Nerazzurri won two UEFA Cups and twice lost the title in the final two games of the season.

All this history, of course, carries responsibililty, which is why Liverpool's manager, Gerard Houllier, is now under pressure.

His supporters point to the fact that last season the club finished second in the Premiership and that, two seasons ago, Liverpool won five trophies.

It's an oft-quoted statistic by the Houllier camp, though a closer look reveals that perhaps it wasn't quite such a Herculean feat. To win two of those trophies (the Charity Shield and the European Super Cup) it only had to win one game and, in winning another (the League Cup) if faced just one Premiership side.

His detractors cite the fact that he has spent more than US$150 million on new players, including US$25 million on quintet of spectacular busts: Bernard Diomede, Jean Michel Ferri, Igor Biscan, Titi Camara and Daniel Sjolund.

While it's too early to pass judgment, he spent another US$30 million last summer to pick up the trio of Salif Diao, Bruno Cheyrou and El Hadji Diouf, none of whom has exactly set Anfield on fire.

Houllier defends himself with the same familiar litany of excuses: the club is moving the right direction, the players need time, etc.

Whatever direction the club is moving in, it's doing the ugly dance on the way.

The only thing Houllier's Liverpool seems to share with the slick passing sides of the late 1970s and early 1980s (or even the team that last won the title in 1990) is the club badge on the shirt. The brand of soccer Houllier¹s team plays is all about grinding down opponents with relentless defending and nicking goals on set-pieces (which makes sense for a team packed with six-footers) and counterattacks (exploiting a certain Michael Owen's blistering pace).

Critics complain that it's not pretty and they're right. Some Liverpool fans respond by saying that they don¹t care, as long as they're successful.

The problem is that such tactics are rarely effective. The spectacular failures of Italian teams in Europe over the past few seasons prove that old-fashioned Catenaccio -- defend and counter -- tactics simply don't work.

As a result, Liverpool is a one-dimensional unit. Sure, it defends well, thanks to the 3 H club ( Stephane Henchoz and Sami Hyypia at the back, Dietmar Hamann vacuuming up loose balls in front of the back four) and a top-notch goalkeeper (regardless of whether it's Jerzy Dudek or Chris Kirkland in goal), but it is totally devoid of creativity on the offensive end.

Jari Litmanen was the last truly imaginative passer Liverpool had, and he was turfed out after two lackluster seasons in which he was played out of position (usually, up front, rather than in midfield, so that Houllier could pack the middle with another no-frills ballwinner).

Cheyrou was billed as the second coming of Zinedine Zidane (which is as ludicrous as it sounds) and, predictably, he's been an after-thought this season, despite the fact that Houllier moved heaven and earth to sign him.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the side lacks natural width, apart from John Arne Riise, which means the gameplan is achingly familiar: send the ball up the middle for Owen to run on to.

By all accounts Houllier is a nice guy and his comeback from heart surgery proves his love for the game. But the facts are there for all to see.

This is a man who last won a league title (with Paris St. Germain) nearly 20 years ago and who failed miserably in his biggest job before joining Liverpool, failing to qualify France for the 1994 World Cup. That same team, four years later, would go on to become world champion under a different coach.

Liverpool's glorious history makes the coaching job one of the most coveted and difficult in the game. Houllier doesn't have much time left to change things around.

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK

Good week: Moral lessons and feel-good endings in the friendly between Iran and Denmark. Just before halftime, an Iranian defender picked up the ball in his own penalty box, after hearing a whistle from the crowd and mistaking it for the referee's. The official had no choice but to award a penalty kick, but Denmark's Morten Wighorst, showing great sportsmanship, intentionally kicked the ball wide. Iran went on to win, 1-0, but it was the classy actions of the Danes which stole the show.

Bad week: Leeds United, which saw another US$25 million worth of talent stripped in the form of Jonathan Woodgate and Robbie Fowler, who were sold to Newcastle and Manchester City respectively. What is worrying is that chairman Peter Ridsdale had promised that he would sell one or the other, but not both. The fans are angry, the manager, Terry Venables, is fuming and the club is sliding towards mediocrity.

Good week: Turkey's Besiktas, which remains the only European team unbeaten in all competiitions this season. Coach Mircea Lucescu, who arrived after winning the title with Galatasaray last year, is proving once again to be one of the sharpest minds in the game.

Bad week: Mauro Camoranesi, Juventus' Argentine midfielder, who announced that he would available for selection by Italy, by virtue of his dual passport. Cameronesi's decision was greeted with hostility, and rightly so. The only reason he made this decision is that Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa continues to snub him for the national team. It's a pretty cynical attempt at an international career and, we can only hope, Italian boss Giovanni Trapattoni won't call on him.

 

Related information

Stories

Previous Gabriele Marcotti Columns Crystal Palace knocks Liverpool out of FA Cup

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video