On the evening that Gérard Houllier guided Aston Villa through to the fourth round of the Carling Cup in his first game in charge, Liverpool were knocked out of the competition that their former manager won twice during his six years on Merseyside by Northampton Town of League Two. Houllier’s return to English football and Liverpool’s surprise defeat were just two of the stories that an entertaining set of cup ties threw up on Wednesday night – Chelsea conceded at home for the first time since 27th March and eventually lost 4-3 to Newcastle, West Brom knocked out Manchester City, and Wigan scored twice in the last five minutes to beat Preston 2-1 – but, even with Everton losing to Brentford on penalties the previous night, events at Anfield stole the midweek headlines.
The BBC were obviously so sure of a home win that they chose not to send a commentator to the game. Highlights of the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time before Northampton won the resulting penalty shoot-out 4-2, were broadcast about an hour and a half after Abdul Osman’s decisive spot kick with only a retrospective voiceover to describe the action. Roy Hodgson had named a side with a smattering of first team players and it took only nine minutes for Milan Jovanovic to give Liverpool the lead. However, Northampton remained competitive regardless of the three-division gap between the sides and equalised just after half-time through Billy McKay. With extra time eight minutes old, Michael Jacobs finished in front of the Kop to send the 4000-strong away support at the other end of the stadium into raptures. A David Ngog header on 116 minutes served only to postpone Liverpool’s humiliation.
The season is only a month old but Liverpool have already been deprived of the chance to win a trophy that their new manager must certainly have coveted. History counts at Anfield and the League Cup, throughout its many incarnations, has resided in their trophy cabinet more times than at any other club. Roy Hodgson will be aware of that and, with Premier League success far beyond the reach of this Liverpool squad and the Europa League an arduous competition to win, a Carling Cup triumph at Wembley would have been both a feasible and a fitting target to set for the campaign.
Defeat to Northampton is also a case for the record books, because it is only the second time that Liverpool have been eliminated from the League Cup by lower league opposition at home. The manager that night in 2001, when Grimsby Town came to Anfield and knocked out the holders, was none other than Houllier. The defeat came just a few months after the Frenchman had completed a cup treble, adding to League Cup success by securing the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup that May. As much of a shock as defeat to Grimsby was, Liverpool’s embarrassment that night was tempered by the fact that they were in the Champions League for the first time (since the European Cup was re-named as that, of course) and were genuine contenders for the Premier League title too. Houllier ultimately guided Liverpool to second that season, behind Double-winners Arsenal but ahead of Manchester United, while the best that Hodgson can realistically hope for this year is sixth place.
Liverpool’s fortunes have waned dramatically since Houllier first made them a top four side again and then Rafael Benítez continued the work, but it must be remembered that Roy Hodgson was employed to address errors made before he joined the club. He cannot control the financial restrictions that he is working under while others squabble over the ownership of the club, nor the fact that Benítez turned a side that probably should have won the league in 2009 into one that a year later failed to secure Champions League qualification for the first time in a decade. This latest setback has happened on Hodgson’s watch but defeat to lower league opposition is a relatively meaningless aberration alongside the club’s greater problems.
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Woy don’t blame the players. You picked a poor side of players who were not used to playing as a team, you are to blame, you should have played the first team, they are the ones who need match practice, you have also changed the defence from a zonal marking side to a man marking side something none are used to. You are a prat and should resign while we have time to get a real manager.
I like how you mention Houllier’s achievements, plus the narrative resonance of his former club’s most recent loss, considering just how muted his reception at Villa has been. I don’t really know what to make of Liverpool’s situation or how Hodgson would like them to play. At this stage I maintain it’s far too early to castigate a new manager. But Agger’s comments this week are ominous, if they are to be believed.