England expects as Rafa goes sabre-rattling

IT WAS a week of yawn stifling. Should Liverpool players make the supreme sacrifice for St George? The media huffed and puffed, pretending anyone cares if Carragher doesn’t want to play sixth fiddle to a gaggle of stretcher cases and lightweights.

And how dare Gerrard think a game with Chelsea carries more significance than England’s friendly? Dungeons in the tower apparently awaited these treacherous northern monkeys.

Liverpool fans have long stopped listening to the last refuge of scoundrels.