Pools Title Hopes Deflated

Who would have thought that at the tail end of Autumn, with the evenings drawing shorter and the days colder, an inflatable beach ball in one of the coldest areas of England would have such an impact on not only this match, but conceivably the Premier League title race?

Darren Bent's effort, while clearly on target, looked to be on its way into the grateful arms of Pepe Reina when it hit an errant beach ball, altering its trajectory and, with it, possibly the destination of the title.

Liverpool entered this game knowing that they were embarking on a crucial period of 3 high profile games in a week. This was a potential banana skin even prior to Liverpool being robbed of their two key players in Torres and Gerrard as a result of injuries picked up on internationals. The game also came too soon for Mascherano to do more than take a place on the bench, at least initially. Sunderland have been rejuvenated under Bruce, with Jones and Bent proving a handful up front, Cana and Cattermole the bite in midfield, and the now slimline Reid the creative spark.

Without the aforementioned three, and the already departed Alonso, serious questions were asked of the Liverpool squad, questions that they failed to answer positively.

It seems certain that the solitary goal should not have stood, but credit to both Benitez and Carragher who failed to hide behind it as an excuse, instead accepting the limitations and limpness of their teams performance.

Indeed, it was the limitations of Liverpools squad that seemed to show through most of all. Forced to start with Lucas and Spearing (making his first league start), Liverpool looked toothless and certainly did not display the creativity for which they became accustomed in the closing ten or so matches of last season.

But whose fault is it that the squad is so weak? The managers? The owners? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. There is no doubt that the club is being run poorly, with reports over the weekend highlighting possible doomsday scenarios. Benitez seems to only have a war chest of 20million each summer, hardly the kind of lavish money affored to Alex Ferguson, Mark Hughes, and whomever happens to be in charge at Chelsea (when they are allowed to sign players).

However the finger must be pointed at Benitez for the departure of Alonso, who for so long last season dictated the play of Liverpools matches. One cannot argue that the preceding year Alonso had been poor, and hence Benitez sought to offload in favour of Gareth Barry. Last season seemed to indicate a lack of judgement on the managers part.

Regardless of where the blame lies, the fact is that the Anfield club has lost 4 of its opening 9 league matches, and while there is an argument that the title winning team may well be able to afford more losses than in previous campaigns, the room for manoeuver is rapidly dwindling.

Roll on Manchester United this weekend.....and a chance to re-inflate Liverpools wavering title hopes.