Reds cannot be judged at home yet - Carragher
Will Kewell and Gonzalez have an impactCan Cisse play up front by himeslf? Would you agree that Gonazelez and (old) Kewell are MUCH better for a 4-5-1 than Riise or Garcia or Finnan? 4-2-3-1 is not inherently a bad...
Oct 19 2005
By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
LIVERPOOL had two faces last season. The beauties in Europe contrasted with the ugly mugs of the Premiership.
After seven league games, there are tentative fears this campaign may adopt the same make-up.
Jamie Carragher has been torn between celebrating heroic deeds on the continent and blushing at the underachievement at home, but as he prepares to skipper Liverpool in Belgium tonight, he insists it's far too early to start dusting down the cliches about a Jekyll and Hyde team.
blessed tidings... Kewell is backwith hair-do like a faggot wrestler..... or a "kansas city faggot" if you prefer......... 77 mins: Liverpool have made a substitution: Djibril Cisse has gone off, while Harry Kewell has set up...
"Obviously our form in Europe last season was much better than the Premiership," he admits.
"The question why? came up a lot last year, although in the end there was good and bad in that being the case.
"Obviously I'd rather we were considered good in both, but being excellent in Europe and inconsistent in the Premiership is also better than being bad in everything and winning nothing.
"Maybe some of our players were more suited to European football in their first year at the club, but I don't think that's a factor now. There's no difference in our approach to European games compared to Premiership matches.
"It's just the way it worked out that our results have been a lot better in Europe recently, but I'm confident that things are going to pick up in the Premiership as well."
Such are the expectations at Anfield, even the title European Champions doesn't act as a deterrent against criticism in the modern game, although Carragher is always quick to put the more damning observations into perspective.
"I was asked while I was on international duty if I was worried after our start to the season Liverpool would be also-rans like we were last season," he said..
"I pointed out we were European Champions, so if that's what you call being an also ran I'd settle for the same again and so would a lot of other clubs. Obviously we want to be doing better in the league, but I don't think it's true to say we've had a bad start.
"We've only lost once, against the team at the top, and if you look at all the games, I'd say we should have four more points. We should have won against Birmingham and Middlesbrough.
"The fact we've played two games less has also been a disadvantage which explains our position. You can't say we'd definitely have won those games in hand, but it would give the table a much better look for us if we did."
That said, Liverpool won't be able to shake off their reputation as European rather than domestic specialists until they're threatening the top three.
And if the last few months have proved anything, the honeymoon following Istanbul is well and truly over.
"We're always going to be judged on our league form, and even though we won the Champions League, I don't think many people expect us to do it again, " said Carragher.
"I said at this stage last season the best team in Europe doesn't always win this competition and that's why we had such a good chance. It's the same situation this time.
RAFA HAILS EURO STAR CISSEMark Platt in Brussels 19 October 2005 Rafael Benitez hailed the goalscoring contribution of Djibril Cisse in Liverpool's...
"I know Arsene Wenger went even further and tried to compare our win to Millwall reaching the FA Cup Final. I wouldn't go that far, because I don't remember Millwall having to beat a fantastic side of the quality of Juventus or Chelsea to reach the final.
"In fact, I don't think they played a Premiership team until the final that season, so that wasn't a fair comparison.
"But it shows that even though we are European Champions, it's the Premiership form which matters to most people."
Tonight is all about maintaining the Reds' glowing reputation abroad, however.
Liverpool's players performed on Belgian soil last night for the first time since appearing in the notorious Heysel Stadium 20 years.
The Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, with a capacity of 21,845, isn't haunted by the same ghosts, although clearly there is added poignancy in Liverpool's return to Brussels.
Anderlecht must win to maintain slim hopes of qualification following defeats to Betis and Chelsea.
A draw would maintain Rafa Benitez's advantage, although Carragher hopes the Belgians' desperation could work in the visitors' favour.
"When we went to Real Betis, if we'd been offered a draw before the game we'd have taken it, but that didn ' t influence the way we approached t he match, " said Carragher.
"We played to win and attacked them from the start, which is why we got such a great result.
"It's a similar situation now. A draw would be a good score, but our intention is to win the game and get to the ten point mark as soon as possible."
