Anfield magic brings us back to life again but sinking feeling lingers on

SO TO recap from last week: UEFA don’t have an agenda against Liverpool, Agger is class on the ball, internal politics are being kept quiet and Rafa is a lucky general.

Well, one out of four’s not bad I suppose. Just don’t ask me for lottery numbers.

The incompetence of the continent’s hierarchy hardly qualifies as a shock. These are the good folk who gave us European finals in a crumbling ruin (Heysel), the middle of nowhere (Ataturk) and a stadium without turnstiles (Athens).

Moving a fixture 300 miles away a week before it’s due to be played is a logistical masterstroke by their standards. It’s the mark of how bad an idea it was when even UEFA admit it’s unfeasible. Those in power usually dig their heels in and let the innocent suffer the consequences.

Spain is now our adopted country, of course. In my youth it was Scotland, I need hardly say why, but there’s no denying our amigos had a bad press of late.

England’s last visit to Madrid was a scandal swept under the carpet. It also turned my stomach to watch Luis Aragones strut in triumph during Euro 2008.

Our own authorities may be clueless and buried beneath cobwebs, but at least they dealt stringently with Hoddle for less heinous remarks.

With the Madrid police also putting far too much zest into their work, UEFA decided enough was enough, albeit with extraordinarily bad timing. Bolton took a pasting there last season which barely caused a ripple of disquiet.

Was that down to the two-tier system that discriminates against clubs without the stature, and thus the wealth, to cause a furore about such trifles as customer safety, or the xenophobia we English assume men like Platini suck in with their mother’s milk? The pervading air of triumph after this bizarre U-turn should be tempered though, as UEFA will no doubt wash their hands of the matter should anything go wrong tonight.

Rafa had his inevitable whinge about internationals, in marked contrast to Scolari’s shrug of the shoulders. By Friday he was downplaying the loss of Torres, insisting we had the strength in depth to take such hardship in our stride and keep challenging Chelsea.

Those words seemed hollow when the score came in from the Riverside. By half past four, with Wigan’s lead looking fairly comfortable and only Benayoun, El Zhar and Ngog on the bench to change the pattern of an increasingly frustrating match, they seemed naïve in the extreme.

Valencia is now the fourth player this season to have been sent off after a poor challenge on Alonso. Some say our man makes a meal of such things, but once the slow-motion replay rolls, they have all looked pretty nasty.

The original yellow card may well be deemed harsh by the media, if only because one player bore the brunt of the ref’s exasperation with Wigan’s wall flatly refusing to move back 10 yards, something most hacks conveniently left out of their accounts.

Having praised Agger last week, he was bound to screw up big time. Carragher may be limited but he’s an outstanding defender because in such situations you just “get rid” and leave sophistication on the back burner.

Or better yet, don’t try anything so stupid in the first place.

The boy did show character in creating the equaliser. It’s the kind of resilience that’s been evident all season. We’ve more points from losing positions so far than we’ve won in the previous two years.

It might suit our purpose better to start playing when the game begins and not just when our backs are pressed firmly against the wall.

We were shockingly complacent on Saturday and Wigan fully deserved their lead.

There is thankfully still something magical about Anfield and a Liverpool side attacking the Kop end. Had Wigan continued in a positive frame of mind, they might have won, but the urge to protect what they had proved too tempting, as it always seems to.

The luck continued with Kuyt’s mishit winner. We pessimists still can’t shake off a feeling of dread, that this is all eerily reminiscent of Houllier’s title charge in 2002. Back then, we opened up with nine wins and three draws, but there was something missing and you couldn’t explain what. Now we head into two big matches amidst reports of a squad revolt if Rafa’s future isn’t sorted soon. That hardly comes under the heading ideal preparation does it?

Tick, tick, tick…