Hands up those who honestly believed we would get something out of this game? 

No, us neither.

To be truthful, with the taste of defeat still in the mouth from Saturday, our expectations were of a draw at best and our best chance of anything positive disappeared when the lights flickered back on shortly after 8.10pm.

In this season of valiant performances on the road, this just seemed like a game too far for us and unfortunately a number of the players seemed to share this opinion.

As they had been at St.James', Liverpool were effective without being too impressive. A team with good players and an air of confidence will always play well when they grab the initiative, and from an angled view in the Anfield Road lower tier the home side seemed to have done this within a few moments. 

That's not to say we were overrun, just that the tide seemed to inexorably rise against us until the goal went in and once they'd scored that was thank you and good night from us.

A similar thing happened at Highbury, but we rose above it and hit back. Aside from the comedy Clarence Acuna miss and a Jermaine Jenas run that evoked memories of the Steve Watson wonder goal though, we failed to test Jerzy Dudek - never a good sign.   

The scoreline and the sight of a jubilant Phil Thompson at the end may have conjured up memories of the 1974 final, but if anything this game was reminiscent of our last two final (non) appearances, when we just seemed to lack conviction and were there to be beaten in what was almost a routine manner. 

That's what hurts the most, the fact we were ordinary almost to the point of ineptness.

Regular sufferers/readers of this section will know often the only relief from the repetition of ideas and theories from previous waffles is when I start to contradict myself. Well, plagiarism isn't an offence when it's something wot you wrote, so have a gander at this:

"we struggled to break down a well-organised defence and always looked prone to a lapse that would end the contest."

"Although it pains me to say it and thus concur with those clever football writers from the home counties who say we've been lucky and are over-achieving, they aren't too wide of the mark. We got to the top of the league with a modicum of luck and a welter of effort, unfortunately we won't stay there if we rely only on those components."

The first one is from the Liverpool (h) report, the second from the Man U (a) report. Lest ye forget that Bellamy played in both games, and a fat lot of good he did in either, at least according to the record books.

Both quotes are equally relevant to the Anfield game - we just didn't have that extra intangible something to really hassle Liverpool. 0-0 at half time might have changed the complexion, but there was never that spark, that turning point that comes along from time to time. Robert falling over at Highbury and getting a penalty, a fortunate handball at Leeds seen by Mr Winter, or remarkable saves from Given in too many games to mention. 

The usual mood of the toon fans as they trudge past the Arkles after the final whistle was been slightly crestfallen for as long as I've been coming here. We may have scored more goals and shed more tears on other nights, but we've left empty-handed just the same. 
Like the similar Old Trafford scenario, we now travel with zero expectation.

Maybe that's not the right attitude, but long ago it became logical to just remove those six potential points from the possible list and celebrate a draw at either ground like the lottery bonus ball had just turned up trumps. Whether the players do the same is not for me to say, but unlike them the fans ain't getting paid for this - you could certainly never accuse your correspondent of being professional.....

Positive bit: 

We may have lost three points in this game, and lost them to a Champions/Champions league rival but that's all. What's important now is where we go from here. 

Put aside the Cup game, and we have nine league games, five at home. Aside from Fulham the other eight sides have already been beaten at least once by us this season (Ipswich having already gone down in Tyneside in cup competition) and none bar Derby have shown anything like a sustained improvement. 

If we're to be anything other than plastic pretenders a' la Leeds and Chelsea, the sleeves have to be rolled up and serious damage meted out to sides we've already shown no mercy to. We can justifiably sigh while watching superior outfits beat us as we have done twice this week, but once the Arsenal cup game is over that excuse is no longer valid.

Disregard the Cup game, that's a different world. Ipswich have to be the first team to feel the backlash - it's time to get angry, mean and nasty. A Champions League place is there to be earned, let's get out and just do it, as the advert says. No more "we'll get it right" stories in the Chronicle, just do your talking on the field.

Biffa