Rafa Benitez's "crazy, crazy" rant was pinpointed last night as the most obvious symptom of the infection that threatens to kill off Liverpool’s title dream.
The Anfield boss appeared to be losing his marbles as he launched into his meandering and bizarre explanation for Liverpool’s third successive draw which saw them overtaken by Chelsea and drop into third behind leaders Manchester United.
It followed his needless verbal rucks with Sir Alex Ferguson and the act of public contract brinkmanship with his own board, coinciding with the slump that has left the Kop fearing their worst nightmares - of gift-wrapping the title to old Trafford - coming true.
And two of the members of the last Liverpool side to conquer the country believe Benitez and his players are simply succumbing to the pressure of expectations.
John Aldridge and Glenn Hysen played for Kenny Dalglish in the 1989-90 campaign, which ended with Liverpool crowned for the 18th time in all and 10th occasion in 15 seasons.
And while the pair are both desperate to see their former side satisfy the cravings of the red half of Merseyside, both of them fear the Spaniard is exhibiting the distress signals of a drowning man.
Aldridge, who scored 50 goals in 83 league appearances before leaving at the start of that last title campaign, insisted the seeds of disappointment were sown before the New Year slump - but that Benitez has done himself few favours.
The former Republic of Ireland striker said: "I honestly don’t know what all that was about on Wednesday but after dominating the first half they lost control completely and I’ve never seen them give the ball away so much.
"You can’t blame the rant he had at Fergie. That’s nothing to do with it. In fact, what Rafa said about Fergie was right but it put him under pressure if things went wrong, and they have.
"After the Newcastle game over Christmas I was really hopeful, although perhaps we all failed to see how bad Newcastle were.
"But since then the problems have become more obvious and it looks as if it’s started to fall away."
He added: "People will draw their own conclusions and look at the team selections and the substitutions. He knew Stoke would be a physical game but went with Yossi Benayoun and Lucas.
"Too many draws all season have cost them, not just the last three games.
"Before Christmas there was Stoke, Fulham, West Ham and Hull. That’s eight points dropped at home, points that would’ve put the side six clear of United even though they’d still have a game in hand.
"What Rafa has to do now is show his character and get things back on track. United have had the sort of run everybody feared and expected and Chelsea on Sunday is a massive, massive game.
"If things don’t improve soon, then it’s really possible to see Villa breaking in and that would make it a real danger for Liverpool to not be in the top four at all and we all know what that would mean on the money side."
Benitez’ post-game gibberish has already drawn parallels with Kevin Keegan’s "I would love it" blast at Fergie in 1996, while Arsene Wenger also lost control as the title slipped from his side’s grasp to the Scot in 2003.
And Hysen, who joined Liverpool at the start of that glory season, is even more convinced that Benitez and his players cannot cope with the burden of giving the fans what they want.
The Swede said: "They shouldn’t be fixating on the league so much but they are and it’s something that is now stuck in the heads of the players.
"They’re reminded that it’s 19 years and counting every day, in training, after games, hearing "you’ve dropped two more points again" and if that is inside your heads it’s hard to shift it.
"Benitez doesn’t want to be affected by it but something is obviously not right and hasn’t been for a couple of months.
"I thought before Christmas that this was going to be the year they’d make it. But it’s all about the league. That’s the only thing anybody in Liverpool is talking about and it’s got to them, including Benitez.
"When I spoke to him on Tuesday he wouldn’t give me any real answers, just 'yes/no'. When you see that you have to say he is a big part of what’s gone wrong and the way he’s behaved recently proves it."
Israeli midfielder Benayoun, whose first half goal looked to have been enough to secure the points at the JJB Stadium, admitted that Liverpool are paying the price for becoming their own worst enemies.
"We have drawn four in a row so we have to try and play better and also try to finish games off when we are winning 1-0," said Benayoun.
"Again we were ahead and we wanted to get a second but the goal didn’t come. We expected to win these games and to be on top of the league but we have made things more difficult for ourselves.
"All we can do is remain working hard to try and turn things round. We will do it, I’m sure but Chelsea is a very important game for us. We have to start winning if we want to have a chance of taking the league."
Hysen, however, fears the lack of title-winning experience in Benitez’ ranks will prove the final nail in their coffin.
"Between them they don’t know what it takes to win the league because they haven’t done it," he added. "You have to be consistent over the long trip.
"When we won it in my first year, most of the other players had been at the club long enough to have already won five or six titles. They knew what they had to do.
"If someone had told me in 1990 that it would be the last title Liverpool would win for two decades, I wouldn’t have believed them. It seems amazing still and I don’t understand it.
"But this season it’s obvious they don’t know how to finish games off. Against Everton and Wigan they’ve been 1-0 up and not been able to put the second one away, or keep it tight at the other end. And then you look at United and that consistency is frightening."
And Aldridge was equally pessimistic. "Looking at it now, I can’t see Liverpool winning the league unless they can beat Chelsea, Villa and Arsenal at home and United away," he added. "And that’s a big task.
The Anfield boss appeared to be losing his marbles as he launched into his meandering and bizarre explanation for Liverpool’s third successive draw which saw them overtaken by Chelsea and drop into third behind leaders Manchester United.
It followed his needless verbal rucks with Sir Alex Ferguson and the act of public contract brinkmanship with his own board, coinciding with the slump that has left the Kop fearing their worst nightmares - of gift-wrapping the title to old Trafford - coming true.
And two of the members of the last Liverpool side to conquer the country believe Benitez and his players are simply succumbing to the pressure of expectations.
John Aldridge and Glenn Hysen played for Kenny Dalglish in the 1989-90 campaign, which ended with Liverpool crowned for the 18th time in all and 10th occasion in 15 seasons.
And while the pair are both desperate to see their former side satisfy the cravings of the red half of Merseyside, both of them fear the Spaniard is exhibiting the distress signals of a drowning man.
Aldridge, who scored 50 goals in 83 league appearances before leaving at the start of that last title campaign, insisted the seeds of disappointment were sown before the New Year slump - but that Benitez has done himself few favours.
The former Republic of Ireland striker said: "I honestly don’t know what all that was about on Wednesday but after dominating the first half they lost control completely and I’ve never seen them give the ball away so much.
"You can’t blame the rant he had at Fergie. That’s nothing to do with it. In fact, what Rafa said about Fergie was right but it put him under pressure if things went wrong, and they have.
"After the Newcastle game over Christmas I was really hopeful, although perhaps we all failed to see how bad Newcastle were.
"But since then the problems have become more obvious and it looks as if it’s started to fall away."
He added: "People will draw their own conclusions and look at the team selections and the substitutions. He knew Stoke would be a physical game but went with Yossi Benayoun and Lucas.
"Too many draws all season have cost them, not just the last three games.
"Before Christmas there was Stoke, Fulham, West Ham and Hull. That’s eight points dropped at home, points that would’ve put the side six clear of United even though they’d still have a game in hand.
"What Rafa has to do now is show his character and get things back on track. United have had the sort of run everybody feared and expected and Chelsea on Sunday is a massive, massive game.
"If things don’t improve soon, then it’s really possible to see Villa breaking in and that would make it a real danger for Liverpool to not be in the top four at all and we all know what that would mean on the money side."
Benitez’ post-game gibberish has already drawn parallels with Kevin Keegan’s "I would love it" blast at Fergie in 1996, while Arsene Wenger also lost control as the title slipped from his side’s grasp to the Scot in 2003.
And Hysen, who joined Liverpool at the start of that glory season, is even more convinced that Benitez and his players cannot cope with the burden of giving the fans what they want.
The Swede said: "They shouldn’t be fixating on the league so much but they are and it’s something that is now stuck in the heads of the players.
"They’re reminded that it’s 19 years and counting every day, in training, after games, hearing "you’ve dropped two more points again" and if that is inside your heads it’s hard to shift it.
"Benitez doesn’t want to be affected by it but something is obviously not right and hasn’t been for a couple of months.
"I thought before Christmas that this was going to be the year they’d make it. But it’s all about the league. That’s the only thing anybody in Liverpool is talking about and it’s got to them, including Benitez.
"When I spoke to him on Tuesday he wouldn’t give me any real answers, just 'yes/no'. When you see that you have to say he is a big part of what’s gone wrong and the way he’s behaved recently proves it."
Israeli midfielder Benayoun, whose first half goal looked to have been enough to secure the points at the JJB Stadium, admitted that Liverpool are paying the price for becoming their own worst enemies.
"We have drawn four in a row so we have to try and play better and also try to finish games off when we are winning 1-0," said Benayoun.
"Again we were ahead and we wanted to get a second but the goal didn’t come. We expected to win these games and to be on top of the league but we have made things more difficult for ourselves.
"All we can do is remain working hard to try and turn things round. We will do it, I’m sure but Chelsea is a very important game for us. We have to start winning if we want to have a chance of taking the league."
Hysen, however, fears the lack of title-winning experience in Benitez’ ranks will prove the final nail in their coffin.
"Between them they don’t know what it takes to win the league because they haven’t done it," he added. "You have to be consistent over the long trip.
"When we won it in my first year, most of the other players had been at the club long enough to have already won five or six titles. They knew what they had to do.
"If someone had told me in 1990 that it would be the last title Liverpool would win for two decades, I wouldn’t have believed them. It seems amazing still and I don’t understand it.
"But this season it’s obvious they don’t know how to finish games off. Against Everton and Wigan they’ve been 1-0 up and not been able to put the second one away, or keep it tight at the other end. And then you look at United and that consistency is frightening."
And Aldridge was equally pessimistic. "Looking at it now, I can’t see Liverpool winning the league unless they can beat Chelsea, Villa and Arsenal at home and United away," he added. "And that’s a big task.
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