Liverpool fans becoming Zombies, says St John

Former Liverpool striker Ian St John claims Anfield boss Gerard Houllier is turning fans into “zombies” by failing to excite the fans.

Yesterday’s FA Cup defeat at Portsmouth turned up the heat on the Frenchman and prompted frustrated fans to call for Houllier’s head on radio phone-in shows last night.

And St John, who scored 118 goals in 426 games in a 10-year career at Anfield, believes Houllier has let down the fans.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re having the same conversation now we had a year ago.

“It would make me so happy to say I was wrong then and that things are so much better now – but they’re not.

“Liverpool have had a shocking year. Have we moved forward? The answer is no.

“For years Liverpool fans have been proud of their teams, who played attacking football with fire and aggression.

“But fans now don’t get turned on by his team – they sit there like zombies and boo them off at the end.

“The fans are so disgusted – and I think if there was a change tomorrow they’d be happy.”

Houllier has struggled to steer Liverpool to success since their success in four cup competitions in 2001, less than three years after he took sole control of team affairs.

And St John, a former Scottish international who moved to Anfield from Motherwell in the summer of 1961, believes they have fallen so far off the domestic pace it is time for change.

The 65-year-old continued: “Five years is long enough for everyone - especially when you have a so-called five-year plan.

“That plan was to win the league, not the FA Cup – but you need binoculars now to see the teams at the top, they are so far away.

“We have slipped, certainly in the last five years and to be beaten by Portsmouth yesterday was unacceptable.

“Well done to Pompey – Harry Redknapp had 15 players injured supposedly – but a year ago Crystal Palace did it to us.”

The Merseysiders are still in the UEFA Cup, with Levski Sofia providing the third-round first leg opposition at Anfield on Thursday.

But St John believes the key to the club’s future is securing fourth spot in the Premiership – and ensuring they do not slip up in their bid to ensure Champions League qualification.

He added: “The board have hinted they need fourth place – that is the least they can expect – and if they get that then they may set another year (for Houllier).”