FC Utrecht 0 – Liverpool 0. 1 points earned.

Oh how the team needs you.

If there’s one sure thing to Liverpool’s game these days it’s how consistent they’ve become, and how lucky they are to get even a point.

Let’s not talk about how consistent the boardroom/ownership drama is getting shall we?

As always they start brightly, concede domination after 20minutes to the opposing team, allow a few scary moments in our own penalty box, and be really poor with our final ball to the strikers to make them look like they’re struggling to come back to match fitness and end the half abjectly.

So many times did Meireles, as did Joe Cole after receiving the ball in a good area, hopelessly flick it off or lay it to Torres neither with conviction nor direction, and both performed direly.

So many times did Liverpool’s midfielders dribble, dribble, and dribble for far too long when a simple lay off to a teammate, followed by a lung busting off-the-ball run in the hope of getting a return through-ball, was really all that was required.

On paper, and in the first 15minutes, Liverpool were a force to be reckoned, and I say this not just historically or via paper rounds, as FC Utrecht trotted onfield likened to a bunch of groupies in their idol’s presence.

But the magical dust from Liverpool’s players soon wore off, FC Utrecht played as brilliantly as they could, and Liverpool were subjects of a disallowed goal, a veritable (Carragher-induced) penalty claim and a showcase of football that plays to the tune of “The team’s only as strong as it’s weakest link”.

FC Utrecht’s attacking intent grew with every shot that’s denied by the visitors and their weakest link was probably the first few minutes of mesmerization, while Liverpool’s laboured and clueless gameplan was exhibited excessively by individual unforced errors, the proverbial weak link of the night.

If this was a game of Chess, Liverpool seemed intent on playing their pieces like a game of Checkers and if this was a University lecture they’d be working extra hard accomodating Murphy’s law over and over again — nearly everything was horrendously wrong.

Still Roy probably got the formation right, but alas, the personnel was a little bit off, as yet again the players don’t seem to really know when the other is making the runs or simply where they are.

It was too easy for me to name Dirk Kuyt as Liverpool’s outstanding player of the night for his extremely efficient possession play, positional runs into the channels and constant harrassing, as nearly the rest of the squad were as if they were on autopilot, devoid even of the basic space opening maneuver of a simple pass-return-pass play.

That Torres is still finding his feet on his own in a team where it’s midfielders are determined not to get the ball to his feet, and instead hellbent on either dribling the ball on their own before unleashing a weak longshot or attempting a half-hearted, meek layoff for the striker to chase wildly.

Liverpool would have to consider themselves as miraculously lucky if they were to get the opening goal, while Utrecht would have to consider themselves terribly unlucky to not get their first goal against an English opposition on an European night.

It wasn’t so much as 2 points lost by the so called superior visitors, but rather a fortuitous 1 point fetched, snatching 2 points away from the ambitious home team, led by the composed and immensely potential Wolfswinkle at the front, who really reminded me of a certain young Spaniard whom was made captain of Atletico Madrid when he was barely in his early 20s.

I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see the young man getting snapped by the likes of Bayern, Milan or Chelsea in time to come, because he is that good, where I reckon he’s possibly worth as much as 15 to 20 Million?

Laudable pricetag indeed, but his performance definitely warranted such a pricetag and Hodgson’s earlier interest on his head as his movements and teamplay was near perfect on the night, but having said that, Utrecht’s teamplay was near perfect for the night.

Teamplay, a vocabulary that’s probably missing from Liverpool’s training camp, and if this woe continues, even if it’s 1 point and it’s against newly promoted Blackpool next week, I’ll gladly take em with open arms.

The trip to Stadion Galgenwaard.

European nights are often enjoyable nights for any travelling Reds fan, and it’s somewhat given that Liverpool FC enjoys their European trips more than anything.

Make no mistake, this is a very important game, not just in terms of footballing and financial reasons but also in terms of personal vindication for Liverpool’s modest manager and modest attacking frontline.

Well, maybe mostly the manager’s.

12 games on, 6 victories, 3 draws and 3 defeats is an ordinary record for any manager to have on their CV for the first 6 weeks.

Indeed, it’s a slipshod indication that Roy Hodgson is turning out to be an ordinary manager after all.

In fact, he’s turning out to be an extraordinarily ordinary, with an extraordinary team that’s made to perform ordinarily.

Ton Du Chatinier mentioned that he’s not afraid, as any respectable manager would and I’d expect Roy to feel the same, but something about his previous’ intent on sticking to a defensive line-up in away games tells me that I shouldn’t be too optimistic for a 4-3-3 line-up that boasts of Babel, Torres and Kuyt upfront.

I’m probably dreaming if I ever see them three in a 4-3-3 forward line-up.

A dream that I’d long for, but one that FC Utrecht wouldn’t want to see.

Sure Celtic were disposed off clinically, but we’re talking about Liverpool here. Then again, if Northampton can do it (so what if it’s a second team then), then anyone can do it, and FC Utrecht will need no other motivation to do well in front of their 25,000  home fans and in their first ever European encounter with an English team.

As for Liverpool FC, I don’t know what motivates the team anymore.

It don’t seem to be the manager, it’s definitely not the owner, and it’s disappointingly not the new signings as well.

Oh heck, for the club’s sake, I just wish that the players will simply start enjoying the beautiful game itself, that is to pass smoothly, play with each other and simply run for each other.

It’s been a while since they’re seen enjoying a string of decent passes, running around their opponent’s camp.

That’s right, stop trying too hard, and instead enjoy your football tonight, dear Reds.

It’s an European night after all.