Millstone not a milestone for Liverpool

Almost a year ago to the day, Liverpool were giving Manchester United a mighty beating – leading the world and his wife to suggest the Merseysiders were ready to end their long title drought. Oh how things can change and Patrick Barclay in the Times points this out all too well.

Whatever you say to any pals who support Liverpool this weekend, there is one phrase to avoid. “Happy anniversary” would not be appropriate, for tomorrow it will seem a lot longer than a year since Rafael Benítez’s team went to Old Trafford and, having given Manchester United a goal start, won 4-1.

Was it really only 364 days ago? Everything was so different. The refereeing, for instance: if Nemanja Vidic committed a “professional” foul, he was sent off. Other sepia-tinted memories are of Steven Gerrard performing with a swagger, Fábio Aurélio bending it like Beckham and Andrea Dossena lording it with a late lob. Nor (though United were less emphatically outplayed than the score might suggest) was this a freak result. Liverpool beat Aston Villa 5-0 next and the only points they dropped in the rest of the Barclays Premier League season were to Arsenal in a 4-4 draw majestically dominated by Andrey Arshavin.

Had they promptly sold Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina and Javier Mascherano without buying replacements and supplanted Benítez with Lily Savage, who appointed Harry Enfield’s Scousers as his assistants, put David Ngog in goal and announced that the new central midfield partnership would consist of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the decline in their fortunes could hardly have been more radical.

French flair is the business
The Six Nations is heading dow to the business end and Brian Ashton in the Independent is convinced France have what it takes to claim glory in Europe and quite possibly in the World Cup as well.

Last month, just before the first round of matches, I expressed a particular interest in the various centre partnerships, because it seemed that if there were to be any signs of an expanding mindset in the European game, these were the people most likely to be responsible. Who would have the wit, the confidence and the courage to ask different questions of defences by shifting the first point of attack to the No 13 channel?

We've seen flashes of inspiration from a number of midfield players. Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll of Ireland have had their moments, albeit individually rather than in partnership. Gonzalo Canale, the Italian centre, made the decisive play in his team's victory over Scotland, while James Hook of Wales has demonstrated genuine footballing ability, frequently when his team have found themselves miles behind and in dire need of a spark.

But the most potent partnership has been forged by Yannick Jauzion and Mathieu Bastareaud, the French combination, and their success has largely been down to the performance of Morgan Parra, the young scrum-half from Clermont Auvergne whose contribution has been among the most striking features of the championship. He, of all the half-backs on view, has shown the best understanding of what to do when – whether to kick, to run, to feed his forwards on the drive with a short pass or release his backs.

It boils down to this: Jauzion and Bastareaud have found themselves in the happy position of receiving the ball precisely when they want it, at moments when their potential to cause real damage is at the optimum. Time and again, they have broken the first line of defence as a result of Parra's intelligence at No 9. For a 21-year-old, he has quite a head on his shoulders: it's a while since I've seen a relative newcomer at international level blessed with such awareness. He kicks goals, too, from all over the field. When you think the French also have Dimitri Yachvili, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and Julien Dupuy in contention for World Cup places, it is difficult to imagine any side travelling to New Zealand next year with a stronger group of scrum-halves.