Roy Hodgson's job was hanging by a thread last night as his Liverpool side fell to yet another wretched away defeat, this time a 3-1 loss at former club Blackburn Rovers, where Roy was sacked halfway through his second season as one of the League's most expensive squads at the time went on to finish second bottom, condemning the Reds to their seventh defeat on the road and Hodgson to another barrage of fully deserved criticism from outraged supporters and media outlets alike.
A heartless, gutless and woeful display from a team completely devoid of confidence added to the pain already afflicted upon the fans following what has been one of the worst seasons in my living memory. Goals in quick succession from Olsson and Benjani left Liverpool with a mountain that they failed to climb in the second period as Benjani netted his second to seal the points for Steve Kean's side. A late fightback was almost inspired by Steven Gerrard when he scored with nine minutes left however he then squandered a great chance to lead a remarkable comeback as he fired a spot kick over the bar.
With a massive match at Old Trafford looming on the weekend it was quite surprising to see that neither Gerrard nor Torres had been rested as they both appeared in the starting line up. However, Hodgson must have considered an away victory as crucial to prolonging his stay at the club, hence the use of star players who he thought he could rely on.
Unfortunately this belief was utterly misguided. Torres headed wide from Konchesky's whipped cross after seven minutes however that was our only sight of goal during the opening stages as the hosts dominated. Pedersen fizzed a right wing free kick across the danger area before David Dunn volleyed over from 25 yards as Blackburn began to create chances comfortably.
Rovers then wasted the best opportunity of the match when Mama Biram Diouf failed to seriously test Reina when well placed only six yards from goal after Olsson's driven cross had evaded the Reds' defence and found Blackburn's number 41 in space. Liverpool responded by creating their best opening of the half as well when Johnson ran into the opposition half and slipped a pass through for Cole in the area. The Londoner's goal bound stab was deflected agonisingly wide of goal before a rapid counter attack from the home side almost caught the visitors out.
Benjani and Diouf staged a two-man breakaway that ended when the latter volleyed wastefully over the top to the relief of the Reds' retreating backline. Rovers didn't have to wait much longer to punish the flailing Liverpool defence though as Samba played Olsson in behind the hopelessly out of position Glen Johnson and in on goal after our centre backs had been caught stranded high up the pitch. The Swedish left-sided player made no mistake as he coolly eased the ball beyond Pepe Reina with just over half an hour played.
Blackburn almost doubled their advantage two minutes later when Reina was forced to gather Hoilett's low and dangerous cross before yet more terrible defending cost us dearly seven minutes prior to the interval. Pedersen clipped a pass into Benjani who turned the slipping Sotirios Kyrgiakos with unacceptable ease before firing a venomous strike superbly past the helpless Reina.
After a half bereft of goalmouth action and attacking intent from Liverpool, we had a great chance to half the arrears on the stroke of halftime when a corner dropped for Skrtel in the box. Disappointingly the Slovakian international hammered well over the bar to squander a brilliant chance to reduce the magnitude of our uphill task.
The supporters expected an immediate reaction after such a desperately dreadful first half, however this failed to materialise, as Gerrard's strike into the side netting was the only note-worthy moment prior to Blackburn's decisive third goal. After 57 minutes poor defending, this time from Martin Skrtel, combined with skilful movement and impressive determination from Hoilett allowed him to square for Benjani to tap home from close range.
With nothing left to lose Liverpool feebly tried to recover but an Istanbul-esque comeback was never on the cards. Cole scooped an inventive pass over the Blackburn defence for Torres on 66 minutes however Torres' lacklustre finish landed in the stands as the visitors frustration grew.
Cole then forced Blackburn's second choice keeper Mark Bunn into a good save with a shot from 25 yards before Gerrard lashed a stunning strike into the far corner to salvage what appeared to be a consolation goal with just under ten minutes remaining.
That goal nearly took on greater significance though when Salgado brought down the skipper in the penalty area. Although he had seemingly single-handedly dragged us back into contention for a point, Gerrard failed to set up a dramatic conclusion as he slammed his spot kick over the top of the bar to sum our miserable evening up perfectly.
Despite this the supporters were typically whole-hearted in their backing of the team, even defiantly singing our famous anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" with time slipping away. One man who certainly isn't receiving the backing of the fans though is manager Roy Hodgson, whose rocky tenure surely must be nearing a close.
NESV must have watched on with disgust last night as both the manager and the team displayed shocking incompetence in a dreadful night for the Merseysiders, however Liverpool's new American owners will also worryingly note that, for the first time in Premier League history, Liverpool failed to fill the away end at Ewood Park.
For the first time in my lifetime tickets for an away match, usually reserved for season ticket holders with a vast record of attending away fixtures, were available to the general public on matchday, reflecting the comprehensive strength of feeling against current boss Roy Hodgson.
With an FA Cup clash versus fierce rivals Manchester United next up surely the morale boosting return of Kenny Dalglish to the Liverpool dugout must be implemented immediately.
YNWA
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