It was as one sided an affair as a monologue. The monologue though lacked any conviction of a great orator and the speech only rebounded off the walls of the room and never got past it. And throats got sore, lozenges got available in the shape of corners but it was it was like presenting water to a goldfish in an over flown bowl. Twenty of them and hardly one proper treat to break the deadlock off anyone of them. Probably Liverpool did more corners in this match than they did in a whole week at Melwood, if their execution is anything to go by.

Widening a bit the argument though, Steven Gerrard did execute a perfect set-piece as early as the second minute when he curled a beautiful shot in, metres away from the corner flag. But the referee seemed to have taken pity of Stoke and just disallowed the goal apparently for offside. It was a costly mistake as that most important and hard first goal to get was unjustly disallowed. It didn’t seem to bother the reds much then as with eighty-minutes left there was more than ample time to replicate the trick. It just didn’t happen though and two points were lost forever.

The aplomb I was hoping and believing to get in Liverpool’s play never really materialized. The determination was always there but Stoke were equally as determined and defended in double digits. The class of Fernando Torres never shone through, and at the moment the bounce of last year is more of a knee bend. I am not getting too worried about it though. Torres had one busy summer and his latest injury can’t have helped things. He tried to burst through every now and then but that fractional advantage he used to get over his defenders to open up his route to goal has so far alluded him. It is only a matter of time though for the lad to get back to his usual self. Next to him though the situation is getting a bit more worrying as Robbie Keane is still looking for his first goal. He got close at one time yesterday but the breakthrough he probably prays for every single second of the day is still unsighted. With Crewe coming up next Tuesday, it might be the best opportunity for Rafael Benitez to play him and ask the other chosen ten to just simply try to pass the ball to Keane even when through on goal with latter having his back to goal.

It is maybe now ideal for Liverpool to face Everton next in the league when it is determination rather than panache that usually win derbies. A bit of sleekness will still won’t hurt any chances of getting three points at the soon defunct Goodison Park.