Liverpool rout spoils Houllier’s Anfield return

ON a night when so much must have been familiar for Gerard Houllier, worryingly for the Aston Villa manager, the main reason for his déjà vu must have been because his team played like the Liverpool sides that book-ended his six years at Anfield.

There was Rigobert Song being given a standing ovation for chasing back after going forward for a corner in a 2-2 draw with West Ham shortly after the manager took sole charge, to the miserable trudge towards fourth, which was not enough to keep him in a job in 2004, the performance of his team was every bit as lifeless.

With David Ngog and Ryan Babel putting Liverpool ahead with a little over a quarter of an hour gone, Maxi Rodriguez added an impressive third shortly after half time