No need for talk of title doom and gloom... yet

OH WELL, it was nice while it lasted.

After a week of squabbling over club v country, how gratifying it was to see Alonso earn a ludicrous red whilst Voronin picked a needless fight with his coach.

Now that’s how you get along with the supporters.

I know you lot won’t be pleased with Finnan’s convenient recovery. Diplomacy isn’t my forte so I’ll just say it plain: Liverpool Come First.

I received a few catcalls on the internet regarding last week’s column about Gerrard. Not enough genuflection, clearly.

Unlike my Chelsea colleague, I don’t actually enjoy getting on Liverpool fans’ nerves so it made me examine what was written in closer detail.

Using Bryan Robson for contrast got pretty short shrift. Okay, so what about United selling Van Nistelrooy and buying Carrick? United scored more goals than ever. I defy anyone to claim they knew that was a title-winning strategy.

The previous year’s champions added Shevchenko and Ballack. How many of us gave up there and then?

Suggesting Arsenal dump Henry a year ago would have had a fresh straightjacket delivered ahead of schedule, but look where they are.

Sure it’s early days but I really don’t think it’s madness to discuss the good of the team and question the cult of one undeniably gifted individual.

How ironic then to see my fellow countrymen seriously discussing the idea of Heskey replacing Rooney full-time and the restoration of Michael Owen as the main man before whom all others must bow.

Four or five years ago the satellite, aka Liverpool FC, did not orbit around Planet Gerrard. It was Owen who was our first, last and everything.

His sly defection to Spain brought numerous predictions of our decline. You could say they were somewhat wide of the mark, and while Steven’s played a big part in that, it still gets under your skin when suggested he carries 10 others.

We’ve got some good players here, it’s about time the media showed them a little respect.

That said, their attempts to display their independence on Saturday left something to be desired. They were hampered by Rafa’s latest squeal about the insidious plot to deny us our true greatness, and a teamsheet seemingly designed to labour the point.

Internationals precede three of our longest journeys and all have earlier starts than everyone else but that involved three separate bodies: UEFA, the Premiership and Sky Sports (TV schedule).

They seem to have been very busy colluding to do us harm.

It must be a gigantic pain in the posterior but we just have to get on with it. Sport is all about overcoming adversity, not whimpering over the slightest incursion into your preparations. You can’t spend TV’s money then tell them to butt out of the schedule.

Beating Sunderland was the perfect response to this so-called injustice. Portsmouth are made of sterner stuff and we ought to be content with the point, especially since we didn’t play well.

Something about the team selection triggered off more than a trickle of muttering. Was it so cynical to suggest the Porto game took priority, despite several pre-season promises that the title was target number one?

The presence of Crouch made sense since he was fresher than the rest but his touch was understandably awry and there was little of the speed on the break that sliced through Villa and Sunderland.

And let’s not start on the long ball that made such an unwelcome reappearance. Heskey was not only back in the England team he was at Fratton Park in red-shirted spirit. Late substitutions gave us straw-clutching hopes of all three points. It would scarcely have been deserved and but for Reina, it could have been worse.

The table still looks encouraging and the result wasn’t calamitous. In keeping with my chirpier countenance of late, let’s wait for real strife before mongering the usual doom.