The Premier League game between Liverpool and Wigan Athletic at Anfield on Wednesday Dec 16 2009.
There are times when, even at Liverpool, the past can be an unwelcome guest. No club cherishes its heroes to such an extent, and a moving tribute to Bill Shankly was a fitting way to remember the man who built the club. For Rafael Benitez, though, the strains of Amazing Grace may have been an uncomfortable reminder of where Liverpool should be, and where they are not.
The game itself, won thanks to an early goal from David Ngog, a late one from Fernando Torres and despite the best efforts of Charles N‘Zogbia, was eminently forgettable, not fit to grace an occasion such as this. In truth, though, the action was an afterthought.
This was a day for looking back at Anfield. Few clubs are so in tune with their history, but then few clubs have the history Liverpool do. In some quarters, it is seen as a yearning for better times, in others the respect due to English football’s most decorated name.
The Kop, as so often on these occasions, were at their best, unveiling a huge “Shanks the Legend” mosaic before kick-off and opening an out-of-print edition of their songbook to give voice to those ditties which regaled Shankly as he prowled the touchline. As pipers played Amazing Grace, the Scot’s favourite piece of music, and Kevin Keegan, Chris Lawler, Tommy Smith and the rest stood proudly on their old stomping ground, a small band solemnly intoned Shankly’s name.
The past is Liverpool’s greatest strength - in an age when club means brand, fan customer, their unique selling point - yet it remains their Achilles heel. All present incarnations are, of course, compared to those who went before. The standards are high. Impossible to meet.
Yet, as Benitez mused on the eve of this match, while it easy to say Shankly would not approve of what has been done to his legacy over the last two decades by a succession of managers, it is rarely pointed out that Shankly would simply not have recognised what football has become. Benitez is hardly cast in the tradition of the Boot Room, but then Shankly never had to contend with merchandising, PIK loans or capitalising a global fan base.
Instead, he existed in an era when a good manager could turn honest professionals into world-beaters. His main rivals did not earn an extra £2 million every home game - £38 million at least a season - because of their greater stadium capacity, overpowering him in the transfer market.
That fact, though, provides little solace for an Anfield faithful, either raised on a diet of glory or constantly reminded of it. Whatever their gate receipts, this season has not been good enough for Liverpool. It may be an easy assumption, but it is also true. As with this performance, Shankly would not have approved.
Seeing the hosts, having taken the lead after just 10 minutes when Ngog beat the onrushing Chris Kirkland to Fabio Aurelio’s free-kick, cede the initiative in such limp fashion, certainly, was not in the Shankly handbook.
Liverpool’s nerves are clearly frayed. It is understandable, given their run of form, but they do not help their cause. Within 60 seconds of the young Frenchman’s strike, Paul Scharner should have equalised for the visitors, heading tamely at Pepe Reina when he had time to control the ball and pick his spot.
Benitez’s side’s attempts to procure a second were patchy at best. Dirk Kuyt saw one effort cleared off the line and another turned away brilliantly by Kirkland before the break, while the former Liverpool goalkeeper produced an even better save almost immediately after the break to deny the Dutchman again.
Wigan held their ground, though, and gradually established a foothold in the game. They created little of note, but then that is hardly a requirement against Liverpool at the moment. Simply having opponents appears to be enough to unnerve them.
Only Javier Mascherano offered any real resistance. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher - both played out of position here - are often, rightly, seen as Liverpool’s heart and soul, but in recent weeks it is the Argentine who has been their lungs, their legs and, increasingly, their brain.
He snaps into every tackle and, despite his lack of stature, largely dominated the imposing Hendry Thomas, Paul Scharner and Mohamed Diame in the air. Shankly, who famously added red shorts and socks to Liverpool’s kit to make them look taller, would have definitely approved of their big little chief.
He could do little, even then, when Reina, under pressure from Scharner, failed to claim a hopeful N’Zogbia free-kick and presented Jason Scotland, six yards out, with an open goal. The Trinidadian somehow hit the bar.
Gerrard blocked a Hugo Rodallega header just moments later. Torres, off the bench, added the second almost immediately, latching on to Boyce’s poor header, rounding Kirkland and bundling home at the second time of asking. So much for unlucky Liverpool.
N’Zogbia added an injury time consolation, jinking round most of the home defence, Shankly, of course, would remark that the result was all that mattered. Despite the grumblings of discontent from an Anfield crowd used to better, they probably agreed. For now.
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