Rafa Benitez has been falling over himself to praise Steven Gerrard in the run-up to his skipper's 500th Liverpool appearance, but having seen Blackburn Rovers hold his side to a tepid goalless draw at Ewood Park, the Spaniard may now cast his eye at the rest of his squad as he looks to inject some consistency into his side's season.
Gerrard did his utmost to unpick the lock which Blackburn had placed across their backline, but was let down badly by his support cast as Sam Allardyce's men - watched from the stands by their manager, following his recent heart surgery - picked up a relatively comfortable point against a Reds side lacking conviction and confidence.
Indeed, were it not for the wayward finishing of Rovers' substitute - and midweek League Cup hero - Nicola Kalinic, it might even have been worse for Benitez's side. A defeat would have been harsh, but Liverpool would have had only themselves to blame.
As it stands, a third successive clean sheet, and sixth game unbeaten, should not be underestimated in a season which has promised so much yet delivered so little, but Liverpool fans will traipse away from Ewood Park ruing a lack of cutting edge in their side.
With Fernando Torres ruled out of this trip to Lancashire, Liverpool were always going to need someone to step up alongside Gerrard. Dirk Kuyt, selected at centre-forward in preference to David Ngog, provided little in a first half for which the term 'insipid' may have been invented.
The home side's sponsor - Crown Paints - was apt. It was like watching paint dry in an opening 45 minutes in which quality and incision were in desperately short supply, from both sides. A couple of forays down the inside-left channel from Gerrard were the sum total of Liverpool's attacking raids as the wide players - Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera - offered next to nothing by way of service.
With Riera so anonymous he lasted just six minutes of the second half before being replaced by Ngog, Liverpool's attacking play was disjointed and lacking any sort of consistent threat, despite a few near misses.
Too often Gerrard's efforts were not matched by the awareness of his team-mates, as a series of dangerous balls in from the skipper were not met by a Liverpool shirt. One piece of skill in the second half should have opened Rovers up, but no colleagues were able to get themselves on the end of his inviting cross.
The same, it should be said, goes for Glen Johnson. The England international full-back grew in confidence as the game wore on, and should have provided the key to the door for Ngog with a bold, imaginative raid down the right. Unfortunately, the young French striker's finish on the six-yard line was wild, and crashed against Paul Robinson's cross bar.
As for Alberto Aquilani, another game passed without the Italian being spotted. Benitez has, quite rightly, spoken of the need to be patient with the £17 million signing as he works his way towards full fitness, but the sight of a creative, powerful shooting, attacking midfielder sat on the bench as Liverpool toiled here was puzzling.
Lucas and Javier Mascherano are playing well both individually and collectively, yet there is a nagging feeling that when wins are needed, one of the pair must surely be sacrificed.
Aquilani will surely start against Fiorentina in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Torres is likely to be involved too. Yet Liverpool desperately need points in the Premier League and, despite a much-improved second-half display, there were few signs here that they had the werewithal to pick up all three.
With Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa all picking up wins, a draw here was always likely to be two points dropped. That was the certainly the case, and Benitez will be hoping that Torres and Aquilani can return to add some purpose to the Reds' attack. And quick.
Gerrard did his utmost to unpick the lock which Blackburn had placed across their backline, but was let down badly by his support cast as Sam Allardyce's men - watched from the stands by their manager, following his recent heart surgery - picked up a relatively comfortable point against a Reds side lacking conviction and confidence.
Indeed, were it not for the wayward finishing of Rovers' substitute - and midweek League Cup hero - Nicola Kalinic, it might even have been worse for Benitez's side. A defeat would have been harsh, but Liverpool would have had only themselves to blame.
As it stands, a third successive clean sheet, and sixth game unbeaten, should not be underestimated in a season which has promised so much yet delivered so little, but Liverpool fans will traipse away from Ewood Park ruing a lack of cutting edge in their side.
With Fernando Torres ruled out of this trip to Lancashire, Liverpool were always going to need someone to step up alongside Gerrard. Dirk Kuyt, selected at centre-forward in preference to David Ngog, provided little in a first half for which the term 'insipid' may have been invented.
The home side's sponsor - Crown Paints - was apt. It was like watching paint dry in an opening 45 minutes in which quality and incision were in desperately short supply, from both sides. A couple of forays down the inside-left channel from Gerrard were the sum total of Liverpool's attacking raids as the wide players - Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera - offered next to nothing by way of service.
With Riera so anonymous he lasted just six minutes of the second half before being replaced by Ngog, Liverpool's attacking play was disjointed and lacking any sort of consistent threat, despite a few near misses.
Too often Gerrard's efforts were not matched by the awareness of his team-mates, as a series of dangerous balls in from the skipper were not met by a Liverpool shirt. One piece of skill in the second half should have opened Rovers up, but no colleagues were able to get themselves on the end of his inviting cross.
The same, it should be said, goes for Glen Johnson. The England international full-back grew in confidence as the game wore on, and should have provided the key to the door for Ngog with a bold, imaginative raid down the right. Unfortunately, the young French striker's finish on the six-yard line was wild, and crashed against Paul Robinson's cross bar.
As for Alberto Aquilani, another game passed without the Italian being spotted. Benitez has, quite rightly, spoken of the need to be patient with the £17 million signing as he works his way towards full fitness, but the sight of a creative, powerful shooting, attacking midfielder sat on the bench as Liverpool toiled here was puzzling.
Lucas and Javier Mascherano are playing well both individually and collectively, yet there is a nagging feeling that when wins are needed, one of the pair must surely be sacrificed.
Aquilani will surely start against Fiorentina in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Torres is likely to be involved too. Yet Liverpool desperately need points in the Premier League and, despite a much-improved second-half display, there were few signs here that they had the werewithal to pick up all three.
With Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa all picking up wins, a draw here was always likely to be two points dropped. That was the certainly the case, and Benitez will be hoping that Torres and Aquilani can return to add some purpose to the Reds' attack. And quick.
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