48 hours: Liverpool supporters face ignominy of walking alone

It's time to spare a thought for those within our ranks who made the admittedly dubious decision to support Liverpool Football Club.

Not only were they coming to terms with the chilling realisation that their team had lost at home to arch-rivals Manchester United, they also had to stomach the fact that the winning goal was scored by former Everton convert Wayne Rooney.

For the loyal and slightly unhinged Kop, he might as well have been the guy who shot John Lennon.

To make matters worse for that besieged band of hardy supporters, the only goal of the game was the product of a ham-fisted error from Jerzy Dudek, the Liverpool keeper who seems to make a habit of turning to stone against United.

Not that Reds fans would need any reminding, but wasn't it Dudek who squandered two goals against Diego Forlan a couple of years back, and again against Ryan Giggs last season?

You get the feeling that if the Pole tried to throw himself in front of a bus, it would pass underneath him.

Yesterday morning's North England showdown was the best of an enthralling round from the English Premier League, which now seems almost certain to be won by Chelsea after another hiccup from defending champions Arsenal.

In the parallel universe of the EPL (best viewed live in the wee small hours to ensure no distractions), the traditional Liverpool-Manchester United match lived up to its considerable reputation, with drama, crowd disturbances and ejections.

However, for New Zealand-based Liverpool fans, yesterday morning's proceedings at Anfield might have come as a bitter pill - and not only because of the intense rivalry and their hatred of all things Evertonian.

No sir, without doubt the biggest ignominy for them would have been the revelation that, included in the cascade of debris hurled at Rooney after his rather tame 21st-minute goal, was a cellphone.

Yes, that's right. A cellphone.

Now, throwing mobile communication devices might be commonplace at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge or Tottenham's White Hart Lane, but it's not the case at Anfield, where Scousers are expected to be respectably blue-collar.

Empty beer cans, leftover steak-and-kidney pie and the occasional worn-out work-boot maybe, but it must be hard for the Kop to keep its dignity when some ponce lets fly with the latest Sony flip-top.

What now of their hard-working, no-frills reputation?

By the same token, praise must be heaped on Manchester United's anger management division, which has had its hands full for the past few years, first with Roy Keane, then Alan Smith and now with Rooney.

Smith was sidelined with injury at the weekend, but all three now seem to play with a slightly exaggerated sense of composure, as if they've all been fitted with electronic stun collars.

For all that, Rooney seems to have the most fragile temperament, as he demonstrated yesterday when he deliberately goaded the Kop after his goal and later had an angry exchange with the referee.

That was just one of the talking points of a passionate exchange, in which 10-man United were forced to defend for the last 25 minutes after losing defender Wes Brown to a second yellow card.

It was a gritty, if not top-drawer effort from the visitors, which left them just one point behind Arsenal, but still 11 adrift of Chelsea.

In the meantime, if you know of any Liverpool fans, go easy on them, will you?

High Point

* Frank Lampard's two goals in Chelsea's win over Tottenham yesterday morning, which left his side within touching distance of its first English Premier League title in 50 years. Talk about a chip off the old block.

Low Point

* The ICC's pointless exercise of fining England cricket captain Michael Vaughan 100 per cent of his match fee (reportedly £5500) ($14,718) for making critical, but considered and measured comments about an umpiring decision in the fourth test against South Africa. Sooner or later, the venerable body will start treating its players like grown-ups.