LIVERBORE ARE CRAP

PHIL THOMPSON will march Liverpool into a New Year campaign that is resembling mission impossible.
With the glow of a wonderful 2001 - in which five trophies were stashed away in the Anfield trophy cabinet - slowly but surely fading, assistant manager Thompson knows that the next few months will be as much a test of his own skills as the team's unquestioned ability.
In the wake of boss Gerard Houllier's heart operation in October, Liverpool were swept along on a flood of affection and under Thompson's leadership threatened to take the Premiership by storm.
Those heady days are a fond but distant memory as their challenge, clearly weakened by the sale of Robbie Fowler to Leeds, has started to falter and the Champions League looks a lost cause. Last season, as sidekick to Houllier, Thompson inspired Liverpool to unprecedented success. This time he will walk the touchline alone as the much-loved Frenchman continues his recuperation.
At the back of his mind is the nagging worry that they could finish without a single trophy and he is well aware that the time has come for the real managerial Thompson to stand up and prove himself.
Thompson himself prefers to reflect on the good times of 2001, which he describes as the greatest year of his professional life. From February to August, the Reds took their fans on a magical voyage that more than made up for six trophy-less years.
And Thompson, 47, could not suppress a smirk yesterday as he said: "It has been an incredible year by any standards, including Liverpool's standards of the past. We were used to winning when I was a player but this team came out of the blue - if you'll pardon the expression." Now their over-reliance on Michael Owen, as highlighted at West Ham on Saturday, is in danger of undermining their title challenge.
Fowler's determination to fire Leeds to the championship and prove Liverpool were wrong to dump him, plus the gaping hole in his old club's armoury that his departure left, has threatening implications for the Reds.
And with their Champions League hopes left hanging by a thread by Barcelona's masterclass at Anfield in November, this year could prove to be as gloomy as the last one was glorious.
The prospect of Liverpool finishing the season without adding to the Charity Shield and European Super Cup they collected in August looms large.
But despite Thompson's desire to look forward rather than bask in past glories, he allowed himself a moment to reflect on a momentous year for the club.
The successes of the class of 2001 were put into context when he insisted: "I have no doubt that this has been my best year at Liverpool, including my time as a player.
"I've had some fantastic times here, including winning the European Cup, but what the current team did surpassed all of that.
"To win what we did was astounding, especially as it happened so soon after coming together. Myself and Gerard Houllier were together for three years in November, so we'd only been here for 18 months at the start of last season.
"There's always pressure at Liverpool because of the history of the club. All Liverpool Football Club is about is winning trophies, so credit must go to the players for rising to the challenge. Of course we believed in what we were setting down at the club, but maybe what we did amazed us.
"You've got to forget what has gone and kick on - but if you're reminiscing it was a truly remarkable 12 months and some of the trophies were superb."
Liverpool have picked up just six points out of a possible 18 after another uninspiring game at home to Bolton. Although the Reds' response to the absence of Houllier following his health scare saw Thompson pick up the November manager-of-the-month award, their current dip has seen them slip back to fourth place.
Liverpool's New Year's resolution must be to recapture the form that saw them top the Premiership until just before Christmas, and the imminent return of Houllier should provide a much-needed fillip.
Thompson said: "The biggest downer of the year was Gerard's illness. But the operation was a complete success, and he'll be back soon to give us that push towards May."
I wonder though if Robbie Fowler will score a decisive goal against his old team?

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