If Liverpool fans were hoping the 214th Merseyside derby would provide some relief from their club’s recent off-field problems, they were badly misplaced. The Reds can concentrate on putting things right on the pitch now the boardroom battle is settled, but that task is not easy, as was painfully illustrated at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Everton, struggling in the relegation zone alongside their neighbours at the start of play, were far superior. A derby clash does not always give a fair reflection of the teams’ overall form, but the hosts were such deserved winners that Liverpool fans must now be genuinely concerned.
If their team’s players cannot rouse the necessary passion to compete in a particularly crucial derby contest in front of new owners hoping to be impressed, then when can they? The away team let the game pass them by and whilst it is dangerous to comment on a manager’s standing in a dressing room from afar, this lack of commitment does not bode well for Roy Hodgson.
The new manager is presiding over the club’s worst league start in more than half a century, but there was little sign to those assessing the latest football odds of his players wanting to stand up and take responsibility. Perhaps the boss is worried about his authority over the players, which would explain his bizarre assertion at Goodison that his team were not outplayed.
Every Liverpool fan and football betting pundit supporting the Reds could see their team was second-best in every department, but Hodgson could not, or more likely, would not. The long-term future of the club might be secure, but its short-term prospects have not suddenly improved.
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