By Tom Williams
FEATURE PARIS: Struggling in the league and dumped out of the League Cup by lower-league opposition, Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton have both endured worrying starts to the season.Liverpool's loss on penalties to Northampton Town on Wednesday, albeit with a weakened side, was one of the most humiliating defeats in the club's rich history.
Northampton are currently 17th in League Two -- English football's fourth tier -- and went into the game 69 places below Roy Hodgson's team on the league ladder.
Hodgson was brought in to steady the ship after Rafael Benitez led the Reds to a dismal seventh-place finish last season.
The experienced 62-year-old was billed as the perfect candidate to restore the club to an even keel, but recent results suggest the malaise may run much deeper than even the most pessimistic fans could have feared.
Going into tomorrow's match with Sunderland, Liverpool are 10 points behind leaders Chelsea after claiming just one win from their first five matches.
Their last outing saw them fall to a 3-2 defeat at old enemies Manchester United, despite having rallied from two goals down to level the score with 20 minutes remaining.
The despair of losing in such agonising fashion to a hated rival was then compounded by the meek surrender to Northampton, but Hodgson says this is not the time to panic.
"Everyone predicted the start of the season was going to be difficult looking at our programme, players leaving and coming in and discussions about the future of the club," he said.
"That is how it's proved to be. We've had some good moments, with five straight Europa League victories, but also some bad ones, like the (3-0) defeat at Manchester City and the one in the Carling Cup.
"It's been pretty much a mixed bag but we'll live through the bad moments and over the course of the season we'll do well."
Continuing uncertainty
Polluting the atmosphere around Anfield is the continuing uncertainty surrounding Liverpool's future.
Unpopular American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are desperate to find new buyers but their efforts to date have been thwarted.
Liverpool are shouldering the burden of a 280-million-pound (RM1.4-billion) debt and reports in the British media say main creditors the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are likely to acquire control of the club next month.
Everton, too, have cash-flow problems, but they were expected to mount a strong challenge for a European place despite the limited resources with which David Moyes customarily has to work.
Liverpool's second club have long been praised for the shrewd manner in which they are run and Moyes has developed a reputation for plucking gems such as Tim Cahill and Phil Jagielka from the lower leagues.
Everton's start to the season, however, has been even more disappointing than Liverpool's.
Defeats to Blackburn, Aston Villa and Newcastle have left them second-bottom with two points, despite a thrilling comeback to earn a 3-3 draw at home to Manchester United two weeks ago.
The Toffees lost on penalties to League One outfit Brentford in the League Cup on Tuesday.
United riding high
Seeing Liverpool exit the competition in even more embarrassing fashion a day later may have softened the blow for the Toffees' supporters, but nerves remain frayed prior to tomorrow's trip to Fulham.
"Let's not beat about the bush, Brentford are a team we should be beating," skipper Phil Neville told the Everton website.
"They are struggling in League One, so no excuses -- we need to give ourselves a kick up the backside and start playing winning football."
Deepening the Merseyside gloom is the comparative prosperity being enjoyed by their north-west rivals Manchester United and Manchester City.
United are riding high in the Premier League, having equalled Liverpool's record of 18 English league titles in 2009, while City appear on the brink of a major breakthrough thanks to the huge financial support of Sheikh Mansour.
Second and eighth respectively in the all-time English first division table, Liverpool and Everton suddenly seem at risk of being left behind.
- AFP
