Perhaps, on reflection, the most dispiriting aspect of their draw with Blackburn Rovers is that no one is shocked when Liverpool drop points any more. That is what tends to happen when your slide towards mediocrity picks up pace and appears to become irreversible.
In some ways, it would have been better for the Anfield club if their latest setback had been accompanied by a sense of outrage and been the cause of media inquests into their decaying cadaver of a season. At least that would prove that they still mattered. That may have happened a month ago but not now. There is nothing sensational about a team who have been victorious in only three of their previous dozen fixtures again failing to win.
The graveyard slot on the Match of the Day running order was more than this mind-numbingly dour match deserved. Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn manager, could argue that a goalless draw at home represents some progress. His team were, after all, comfortably beaten by Liverpool in both league fixtures last season. Rafael Benítez, his opposite number, could make no such claims, though, and the Spaniard must be wondering how and where it all went so wrong.
The first and most obvious place to look is Benítez’s squad. On Saturday’s form, it would not be stretching credulity to suggest that up to half a dozen of the players who were involved for Liverpool would not be good enough to stand out in the Blackburn side. That is why when Benítez examines the Barclays Premier League table this week he will see Birmingham City only three points behind and Chelsea, the leaders, 12 points ahead.
That in points terms Liverpool are closer to every team below them save for Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth than they are to Chelsea tells its own story. As does the fact that on the corresponding weekend last year they recorded a 3-1 win at Ewood Park, a result that confirmed their status as league leaders and helped them to their highest points total in the Premier League era.
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Liverpool’s goals for the season this time around are already much more prosaic. Reality is biting at Anfield and so much so that Pepe Reina, their goalkeeper, cannot bring himself to set any aims higher than winning the Champions League dead rubber against Fiorentina on Wednesday.
“Our target is simple — to win the next game,” Reina said. “When we get to May, we will be able to talk about what we have or haven’t achieved; that is the time to talk.”
This isn’t just football-style clich? speak, it is a wholly underwhelming verdict on how Liverpool’s hopes for the season have gone from challenging for the title to guaranteeing a top-four place to merely putting a string of wins together — and all before five months of the campaign have passed.
The tail-end of September marked their most recent back-to-back league victories and even the boost of having beaten Everton the previous weekend could not inspire them here. David Ngog, the Liverpool substitute, came closest to scoring a decisive goal when his close-range effort cannoned back off the crossbar. But Blackburn had chances of their own and, had Franco Di Santo or Nikola Kalinic shown more poise when through on goal, Liverpool could have lost.
Benítez had spoken beforehand of the significance of Steven Gerrard, his captain, making his 500th appearance for the club. It was also the end of a week in which Liverpool celebrated the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Bill Shankly as manager. When not even such clear causes for celebration can rouse Liverpool from their slumber, the question that must be asked is, “What will it take?”
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An injection of cash and the urgently needed bolstering of a threadbare squad in the January sales would be the most obvious answer, but, given their ownership problems, this is about as likely as the first Christmas card on Benítez’s mantelpiece carrying Allardyce’s name.
Mediocrity is staring Liverpool in the face. They can see it and so can the rest of football, and until this changes, their poor form will continue to surprise no one.
Blackburn Rovers (4-4-2): P Robinson 6 — P Chimbonda 6, C Samba 8, R Nelsen 7, G Givet 6 — B Emerton 6, V Grella 7, S N’Zonzi 6, E-H Diouf 6 (sub: D Hoilett, 72min) — F Di Santo 6, B McCarthy 6 (sub: N Kalinic, 77). Substitutes not used: J Brown, J Roberts, M G Pedersen, K Andrews, M Salgado. Booked: Diouf. Next: Hull City (a).
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina 6 — G Johnson 8, J Carragher 6, D Agger 6, E Insúa 6 — J Mascherano 7, Lucas Leiva 5 — Y Benayoun 4 (sub: N El Zhar, 72), S Gerrard 7, A Riera 3 (sub: D Ngog, 52 5) — D Kuyt 5. Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, M Skrtel, S Kyrgiakos, A Dossena, A Aquilani. Next: Arsenal (h).