I have just seen Liverpool...and am not optimistic

Liverpool 1- 1 Arsenal

Let's make one thing ABSOLUTELY clear at the very outset of this post - I am an unabashed Liverpool supporter. I first was attracted to the red shirts, then to Kenny Dalgleish, then to Ian Rush, then to Robbie Fowler...well, I could go on. I used to love the club because right until 2001, the club was identified with a free-flowing style of football, passing the ball around and retaining possession, before breaking and scoring with a sudden burst of speed (stop grinning, Mr Wenger!).

Alas that style was consigned to the dustbin by Mr Long Ball Houllier and Mr Play in the Zones Benitez, and with it, Liverpool's domestic fortunes have plummeted. Yes, we did win the UEFA Champions League in 2005 but let's be honest, fellas, it was one of those freak things that happen once in a lifetime. Yes, I am glad it happened in MY lifetime, but I am not holding my breath for the next time we overcome Italian opposition after trailing 3-0 at half-time in a major tournament final.

There was a loony optimist in my heart that was hoping that with a new manager would come a return to the football that made the club great in the league and not just in tournaments which have two-leg matches at every stage. Well, he has packed his bags and is preparing to head somewhere distant from the TV set for the rest of the EPL season. For, what we saw from Liverpool in their opening fixture of the EPL was the same staccato, disorganised football that has plagued the side. There was far too much reliance on Gerrard for creative inputs and while the team certainly worked hard, there was nothing to suggest that this was a side that would be challenging the likes of Spurs and Arsenal, let alone the royal troika of the Two Manchesters and the single Chelsea.

If anything, the only time the team really seemed to be in some kind of command was in the period after Joe Cole's rather unfair sending off. But even then, the likes of Samir Nasri were given far too much freedom to roam around relatively unbridled. Arsenal, ironically, often shot themselves in the foot with their penchant of trying to pass the ball right into the net, but honestly looked the better team for most of the match. No, this is not a team that is going to challenge for the league - it is instead going to be content with draws against the big sides and wins against the weaker ones.

And ah, that is so unlike the Liverpool I know. Fellas, you are testing my loyalty now.