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STEVEN HOWARD - Chief sports writer
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Published: Today
WE were gathered together for a very public execution.
A bit like the toothless crones of Paris who broke off from their knitting only when the guillotine blade came crashing down on the unfortunate aristocrat below it.
Except this time no blood was spilled and there was no nasty thump in the basket.
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Instead, Rafa Benitez walked away, the roar of the crowd in his ears and his head still very firmly on his shoulders.
Shoulders that, once again, proved broad enough for the enormous burden thrust on them.
The only sign of the battle royal that had seen Liverpool hand Manchester United their second defeat of the season was a slightly crumpled suit and a bit of sweat on his upper lip.
How these managers cope in the exploding pressure-cooker atmosphere of football these days is beyond me.
How, when it's all over, they look as if it has barely touched them is a tribute to their enormous physical and mental strength. And Benitez appears to have the enduring power of a Pamplona bull.
"In Rafa We Trust" has long been the mantra of the thousands who gather on the Kop.
Yet that trust had been stretched to breaking point over a run of four consecutive defeats that sent Liverpool into a match against their oldest enemies needing to avoid a fifth so as not to set a record of incompetence not matched in 53 years.
Round Benitez's neck weighed the heavy responsibility of having spent £230million on 76 players in five years at the club - £70m on a staggering EIGHTEEN strikers alone.
Then there was the small business of having to provide the Champions League and title-contesting football that enables Liverpool's American owners to service the club's £250m debt.
And it was all going decidedly pear-shaped.
Up in the directors' box, Tom Hicks and George Gillett stood side by side, expecting the worst and with a decision on Benitez's future looming nearer by the day.
Then they looked over at the Kop and got their answer as, once again, a huge explosion of "You'll Never Walk Alone" rocked the ground.
The capacity of the Kop may now be half the 26,000 of old.
But the stalwarts who stand there walking on through the wind and rain make as much noise as ever.
And there was no escaping their continuing loyalty to their Spanish manager.
And vice versa.
While Hicks joined in half-heartedly towards the end of the Liverpool anthem, Benitez sang along with his stormtroopers on the terraces.
These are men who unashamedly let their hearts rule their heads.
The rest of football said Benitez was shot, the team was heading in only one direction and it was time for a parting of the ways.
The Kop begged to differ. As they always do.
They stand by their man until it proves impossible.
Even then, a loyal respect endures down the years. Yesterday their remarkable loyalty was rewarded once again as Benitez pulled another rabbit out of the hat, conjuring a third successive league victory over the old foe from up the East Lancs Road.
It was also the most unexpected.
No Steven Gerrard, a half-fit Fernando Torres, their £20m summer signing Alberto Aquilani still not even on the bench, deep unrest in the boardroom and a sequence of results that included defeat at Sunderland the previous weekend and a stunning home loss to Lyon on Tuesday.
And a team that looked as poor as any Liverpool have mustered in the last 40 years.
Yet they rose to both the occasion and Benitez's incessant demands from the touchline to record a victory that says so much about both teams.
That Liverpool, while seemingly tottering round the rim of the volcano, still have the heart and character to pull back at the last minute.
That United, despite their position tucked in behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, are not as good as the position suggests.
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Until they launched a late blitz following Torres' magnificent 64th-minute opener - a superb lesson in balance and finishing power under pressure - they had managed just one Wayne Rooney header on target.
This despite having, in Paul Scholes, the best player on the pitch until his substitution in the 72nd minute.
And yet, in the end, they were deservedly beaten by a Liverpool side whose midfield has been the subject of the most intense criticism all season.
Yet Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun produced their finest performances when it mattered.
Even Lucas had a half-decent game.
As Scholes headed for the dugout, so Michael Owen arrived at the moment he had, in private, long dreaded.
His Anfield return.
As he warmed up, those very same fans who had worshipped at his feet during the seven successive seasons he was Liverpool's top scorer, made their feelings known.
"Where were you in Istanbul?"
Followed by the most damning chant of all - and the final cutting of the umbilical cord - "Once a Manc, never a Red".
In a dramatic finish, both Nemanja Vidic and Mascherano were sent off.
Antonio Valencia hit the bar and Liverpool sub David Ngog sealed his side's win with a breakaway second deep in stoppage time.
As delighted Scousers made their way home, many would have passed the famous statue of Bill Shankly.
With the equally famous inscription: He made the people happy.
It was a condition in which they found themselves once again yesterday.
How long it lasts remains to be seen with a vital Champions League trip to Lyon coming in nine days' time.
But another famous victory over United will once again put hope in their hearts.
Email the author
Published: Today
WE were gathered together for a very public execution.
A bit like the toothless crones of Paris who broke off from their knitting only when the guillotine blade came crashing down on the unfortunate aristocrat below it.
Except this time no blood was spilled and there was no nasty thump in the basket.
ltbx2698483
40
0
/sol/
1
Instead, Rafa Benitez walked away, the roar of the crowd in his ears and his head still very firmly on his shoulders.
Shoulders that, once again, proved broad enough for the enormous burden thrust on them.
The only sign of the battle royal that had seen Liverpool hand Manchester United their second defeat of the season was a slightly crumpled suit and a bit of sweat on his upper lip.
How these managers cope in the exploding pressure-cooker atmosphere of football these days is beyond me.
How, when it's all over, they look as if it has barely touched them is a tribute to their enormous physical and mental strength. And Benitez appears to have the enduring power of a Pamplona bull.
"In Rafa We Trust" has long been the mantra of the thousands who gather on the Kop.
Yet that trust had been stretched to breaking point over a run of four consecutive defeats that sent Liverpool into a match against their oldest enemies needing to avoid a fifth so as not to set a record of incompetence not matched in 53 years.
Round Benitez's neck weighed the heavy responsibility of having spent £230million on 76 players in five years at the club - £70m on a staggering EIGHTEEN strikers alone.
Then there was the small business of having to provide the Champions League and title-contesting football that enables Liverpool's American owners to service the club's £250m debt.
And it was all going decidedly pear-shaped.
Up in the directors' box, Tom Hicks and George Gillett stood side by side, expecting the worst and with a decision on Benitez's future looming nearer by the day.
Then they looked over at the Kop and got their answer as, once again, a huge explosion of "You'll Never Walk Alone" rocked the ground.
The capacity of the Kop may now be half the 26,000 of old.
But the stalwarts who stand there walking on through the wind and rain make as much noise as ever.
And there was no escaping their continuing loyalty to their Spanish manager.
And vice versa.
While Hicks joined in half-heartedly towards the end of the Liverpool anthem, Benitez sang along with his stormtroopers on the terraces.
These are men who unashamedly let their hearts rule their heads.
The rest of football said Benitez was shot, the team was heading in only one direction and it was time for a parting of the ways.
The Kop begged to differ. As they always do.
They stand by their man until it proves impossible.
Even then, a loyal respect endures down the years. Yesterday their remarkable loyalty was rewarded once again as Benitez pulled another rabbit out of the hat, conjuring a third successive league victory over the old foe from up the East Lancs Road.
It was also the most unexpected.
No Steven Gerrard, a half-fit Fernando Torres, their £20m summer signing Alberto Aquilani still not even on the bench, deep unrest in the boardroom and a sequence of results that included defeat at Sunderland the previous weekend and a stunning home loss to Lyon on Tuesday.
And a team that looked as poor as any Liverpool have mustered in the last 40 years.
Yet they rose to both the occasion and Benitez's incessant demands from the touchline to record a victory that says so much about both teams.
That Liverpool, while seemingly tottering round the rim of the volcano, still have the heart and character to pull back at the last minute.
That United, despite their position tucked in behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, are not as good as the position suggests.
Advertisement
//Retrieve Blue Lithium & Bull frog Cookie Valuevar blueLithium = "No";blueLithium = get_cookie("BL")==null?"No":get_cookie("BL");var RStag = "";try{RStag = segQS;}catch(e){RStag = "";}document.write('');
Until they launched a late blitz following Torres' magnificent 64th-minute opener - a superb lesson in balance and finishing power under pressure - they had managed just one Wayne Rooney header on target.
This despite having, in Paul Scholes, the best player on the pitch until his substitution in the 72nd minute.
And yet, in the end, they were deservedly beaten by a Liverpool side whose midfield has been the subject of the most intense criticism all season.
Yet Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun produced their finest performances when it mattered.
Even Lucas had a half-decent game.
As Scholes headed for the dugout, so Michael Owen arrived at the moment he had, in private, long dreaded.
His Anfield return.
As he warmed up, those very same fans who had worshipped at his feet during the seven successive seasons he was Liverpool's top scorer, made their feelings known.
"Where were you in Istanbul?"
Followed by the most damning chant of all - and the final cutting of the umbilical cord - "Once a Manc, never a Red".
In a dramatic finish, both Nemanja Vidic and Mascherano were sent off.
Antonio Valencia hit the bar and Liverpool sub David Ngog sealed his side's win with a breakaway second deep in stoppage time.
As delighted Scousers made their way home, many would have passed the famous statue of Bill Shankly.
With the equally famous inscription: He made the people happy.
It was a condition in which they found themselves once again yesterday.
How long it lasts remains to be seen with a vital Champions League trip to Lyon coming in nine days' time.
But another famous victory over United will once again put hope in their hearts.
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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