Sleeping Reds need American dream

THERE wasn't an American flag in sight at Anfield on Saturday, but the sooner the USA takeover is complete the better for Rafa Benitez.

Liverpool’s prospective new owners, George Gillett Jnr and Tom Hicks, are expected to fly into Merseyside today to submit a formal bid worth about £470m for the five-times European Cup winners.

Whatever suspicions supporters may have about the duo’s long-term plans for their club, two things are crystal clear. Gillett and Hicks are extremely rich sports fans and Benitez, on the evidence of one of dullest Merseyside derbies in history, clearly needs a lot more money than the current Anfield board can afford if Liverpool are not to be left way behind by Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Nine wins from 10 previous Premiership matches had rekindled talk of Benitez’s side clawing their way back into the title race yet Everton, stubborn and gritty from the first kick to the last, proved that Liverpool are still well short of making a serious challenge for the championship.

Kop legends Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hanson, who know more than most what it takes to win championships, sat side-by-side in the directors box but sensibly left well before the end of a tedious encounter as Liverpool’s old problems came bubbling back to the surface.

Benitez moaned that ‘small’ Everton had made the short distance across Stanley Park to grind out a point by spending 90 minutes with nine men behind the ball. So isn’t it the job of teams chasing championships to wear down defensive-minded opponents until they are at breaking point?

From Jermaine Pennant, unwilling or unable to take on a makeshift left-back in the shape of the excellent Joleon Lescott, through to captain Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, whose sloppy distribution from midfield helped the visitors grow in confidence, Liverpool had too many players off-form.

A repeat performance against Barcelona later this month and Benitez can forget about the Champions League. “We gave the ball away too easily sometimes and, afterwards, we had plenty of possession and we could win the game possibly from a free-kick or a corner, or even a throw-in,” said Benitez.

“In these kind of games, small details make a difference. We had some problems when Everton played counter-attacks.

“They had plenty of space because we pushed up, and Andy Johnson might have scored when he got behind the defence.

“We knew it might be like this, but sometimes you need to be more precise with your passes when you’re confronted by a lot of players behind the ball. You have to find the right passes. Sometimes, if you give the ball away too quickly, it frustrates you. It has to be a perfect pass to open them up.”

At least there was one positive for Liverpool. Gillett and Hicks weren’t around to witness this performance otherwise they might have changed their minds about wanting to take over.

There have been more than 200 of these Merseyside skirmishes and it is fair to say that 200 of them must have provided better entertainment than this, unless, of course, you can find glory in a backs-to-the wall struggle.

Yet Everton deserve credit — not criticism — for executing the job they came to do. Inspired by the outstanding Alan Stubbs, a cancer survivor and an Everton fan all his life, they sucked the life out of their neighbours while Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta dominated midfield.

Had Andy Johnson scored as he should have done after an hour’s play then Everton would have celebrated their first league ‘double’ over Liverpool since 1984-85 season. Yet David Moyes, the manager, still found satisfaction from taking four points off Benitez.

His captain, Neville, gave the Everton game plan away when he said: “Battles like these are always won in midfield. We wanted to get in their faces because we have been rolled over in the past. We knew we were going to get men behind the ball and hope to get a break. The lads at the back were terrific.”

Opta Fact: This was Liverpool’s eighth Premiership clean sheet at home in succession.

Opta Fact: Everton have the best away defence in the Premiership outside the big four sides.