THROWING IT AWAY

Jeez, it was frustrating tonight.
Yet again we were easily kept at bay by a lower half league side who hardly had to break into a sweat to keep us scoreless.
It's not as if we should be surprised at their tactics. Everybody knows by now that if you come to Anfield, sit deep, keep the ball efficiently, and defend willingly against our narrow attack, a 0-0 is definitely on the cards.
We can't keep making excuses for some players in the Liverpool team and squad who are failing to deliver on a regular basis.
Kuyt and Riera have enjoyed good starts to the season, but the two are struggling at the moment, the Spaniard in particular today turning in a woeful showing.
Alonso tried manfully to keep us moving with his passing, encouraging our so-called attacking talents to go for West Ham's throat.
Trouble is our weapons were not sharp enough to draw more than a mere nick of blood from the Hammers' necks.
And to make matters worse, our heroic and oft reliable captain - who came to our rescue against Marseille on Wednesday - had a stinker himself.
His desire to lash in Hollywood 35 yards from every angle was baffling, but probably wan't helped by a total lack of options whenever he looked up.
It was difficult to understand the mentaility in the first 45 minutes. Here was a golden opportunity to spint away from Chelsea at the top, yet the attitude seemed lazy, uninterested, half-arsed.
Players ambled about like they were training. They seemed to be saying, 'you can pass it to me if you must, but I'd much rather you give it to somebody else.'
Where was the famnous Liverpool tradition of pass and move? It was pass and stand, admiring your uninspired square five yard pass.
The lack of closing down was chronic, we simply sat and watched as mediocre West Ham ferried the ball around us.
Even Kuyt was finding it difficult to achieve his usual harrying standards.
The temperature and urgency typically rose in the last 30 minutes. But why must we wait till panic stations to bring on the Alamo?
Surely 65 minutes of that kind of altitude would have brought about the one goal that would have seen off the Londoners.

With players out of form across the board, it hardly helped that Benitez was doing his best to baffle the fans with his formation and substitutions.
I have to admit, I thought Mascherano being benched was the right move. He stunk on Wednesday, and it seemed sensible to swap the defensive abilites for the supposed craft of Benayoun.
He's a lovable kid though Yossi, isn't he? Apparently he's unhappy at his lack of starts, so he wastes a stellar chance to impress the manager by drifting aimlessly in and out of the game.
The number of times he stood alone on the right wing, arms by his side, almost in a sulk...he was rightly the butt of a lot of frustration on the Kop.
I've usually defended the Israeli, particulary as he excelled at Upton Park in central midfield.
But he seems to only shine when he comes on as a sub for half an hour.
Similarly, Riera flitted about as if the result didn't really matter. The lad's had a good start to his Liverpool career, so he doesn't deserve too much criticizm. But perhaps we are now starting to see why he only cost £7m.

Where everyone seemed agreed in the stands was the decision to withdraw Keane after 66 minutes.
The lad wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. It was his typically bright but average display.
But when a goal was desperately needed it beggard belief for Benitez to take off our £20m signing and replace him with 19-year-old Ngog.
The teenager might come good one day, but he's not even ready for the bench, let alone playing for the first team.
It was a massive slight to Keane and there was shake of head of disbelief which I had a lot of symapthy with.
The Irishman's hardly going to become the hitman we want when he only plays two thirds of the game.
True to form, Ngog was anonymous, his control massively waywayd. But it's hardly the lad's fault.
Rather the manager who decided to shell out £1.5m for him and insists and giving the very raw youngster 30 minutes to turn a game that could be the difference with us winning or losing the title.
As for Babel, he's not a favourite of mine, but what's the lad going to do with 15 minutes off the bench?
If he's going to have an impact he needs to be brought on after 60 minutes. Not told to change the game when he'll only touch the ball a couple of times.
The run and fixzzing shot which hit the stantion shows he has got ability. But we might as well chuck £11.5man down the drain if we're not going to give his talent a fair go.

There weren't a great deal of positive to be had. But it was heartening that the back four generally played well.
Dossena, for all the stick he's taken, had a good game. He got some dangerous balls in and provided a decent outlet.
Arbeloa was much the same and Hyppia was coolness personified against a blunt Hammers attack. Plus the big Finn caused havoc at almost every corner.
Ok, so we're top of the league. But are we all confident that we'll get the wins and draws against Man Utd away? Arsenal away? Chelsea at home?
Chelsea may have lost at the weekend. But at least it was to a side who can play champagne football when the mood takes them.
The big winners out of the weekend fixtures was obviously Man Utd. They are busy chipping away at the frontrunner's lead as we both splutter and wheeze are way on top of the pile.
Still, it's good to BE top of the pile. It's just that everyone knows how tough it is to win this league.
There are much, much tougher games to conquer in coming months. That's why it's criminal to be faltering during the 'gimme' games.
And what's more, reflecting back on the West Ham and the Fulham games, you can hardly say we were unlucky.
Yes, it seems churlish to be so negative when we're one point clear. But we've never had a better chance to win that damn pot.
And with teams beating each other towards the top for the first time in many a year, we could never have a better opportunity.
It's just time for the players to realise that.