ROBBIE FOWLER
Silva’s slick side will paint Merseyside Blue if Liverpool don’t turn up at Anfield
I KNOW Everton haven’t won at Anfield since September 1999 and, as a Liverpool fan, I hope things aren’t going to change this afternoon.
But, as an ideal preparation for the Merseyside derby, you wouldn’t have chosen a trip to France and a Champions League game against Paris Saint-germain.
Yet, after losing in Paris, there will be nothing better than bouncing back with a win against the neighbours.
As a player, I couldn’t wait for the next game, no matter who it was against – it was there to be won.
But I have to admit that, when the fixtures came out in the summer, I did look out for when we were playing Everton and Manchester United. The truth is that, when you are competing for the title, every game is important.
You would soon be in trouble if you took some games lightly – that’s when you can slip up and wave goodbye to any hopes of silverware.
There’s no chance of anyone not being at it for the visit of Everton.
It’s bragging rights time for the fans and no one wants to be responsible for letting them down.
They are the ones who have got to go into work the next day and take almighty stick from their rivals if they have lost.
And that, for a Liverpool or Everton fan, will last until the beginning of March when the clubs are due to meet next in the Premier League.
That places some real pressure and responsibility on the players to come up with the goods on the day. Safe to say, you won’t see any goal celebrations like my infamous one in an Anfield 3-2 victory back in April 1999 (below, right).
I still get a bit of stick over it now, but it was just payback time for the Everton fans who had been giving me a hard time over accusations – completely unfounded – that I had been taking cocaine.
I pretended to sniff one of the white lines in the goal area which landed me in trouble with the football authorities because not everyone saw the humour.
Everyone appeared to love Paul Gascoigne’s “dentist chair” celebrations after his goal for England against Scotland.
Again, Gazza was poking fun at his detractors, just as I was, but emotions can suddenly get the better of you when you score important goals.
I hit the net twice in that game, allowed my heart to rule my head and landed in bother. Would I do it again in the heat of a derby game? Probably!
There’s no doubt Liverpool enjoy a huge psychological hold over their neighbours because of their long unbeaten sequence at Anfield.
But, after the management change, a few important recruitments and decent results, Everton are probably coming into this game with more confidence than they have enjoyed for some time – possibly since 1999.
So Liverpool need to turn up and anything less than 100 per cent will see Everton capitalise on that. What Everton boss Marco Silva (left) will ultimately achieve is open to question and I’ve got to reserve my judgement.
Without a doubt, Everton right now are easier on the eye – but it’s where they finish in the Premier League in May which is the determining factor of his reign.
If they don’t finish any higher than eighth – as they did last season under Sam Allardyce – is that success?
I felt the way Big Sam was pilloried was out of order. It was obvious that the majority of fans didn’t want him at Goodison Park in the first place. So the new manager couldn’t lose. It was the opposite of the situation at Manchester United when they had to replace Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s been a nowin situation at Old Trafford. At Everton after Allardyce left, it was a win-win scenario for Silva.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion about how football is played, but I felt Sam didn’t do a bad job, especially considering where they were when he took over, around the relegation zone. So what do fans want? To play great entertaining football, but finish in the bottom half of the table? Or to play more pragmatic football and finish in the top half ?
What is certain, though, is that they all want to see their side win the Merseyside derby in whatever manner.