The worst thing about Stekelenberg is he doesn't necessarily makes obvious mistakes, he just doesn't seem capable of saving anything beyond the orthodox stuff. You're never left wondering about that "amazing save". It doesn't happen. Fraser is a class above.

Caulker had his big chance last night and royally blew it. He got made to look like a Championship player by a less than top form Sturridge.

So then back to Villa. How crucial is a win in that one?

THIS TIME LAST YEAR I was in Sheffield enduring an equally miserable evening at the same stage of the competition and it was cold and wet and I was 200 miles from home in a right old dump of a city. Whats' more, look what happened after that, and where we ended up in the league! So chin up chaps, things can only get better. However, I need to make the point that Saint Mark puts his finger right on the button with his comments about Yoshida. Yes, I know he makes one mistake per game but its only one. Last night there were mistakes by the back four (three) every time Liverpool attacked. The fans around me were yelling "Bring on Yosh" and they weren't kidding. So, next time he makes an error, get off his case! Rant over.

I have never once come on here and slagged a player off but CAulker should hang his head in shame. The first two goals were poor defending but he should have blocked a later goal, bottled it, and the way he barely waved a leg at the winger making a cross for the final goal was quite frankly embarrassing. 4 of the goals were preventable due by him. Selling Chambers always felt like a mistake and that has really become apparent since Clyne left.

The other thing that really worried me was the way we started so well and faded completely. We did exactly the same thing against Man U and other games. The match is not 20 mins long. Is this an ongoing trend?

I've had my rant... At least Ron has accepted that he and the team got it wrong so something may be done about it.

Say we beat Villa (which we really should do...), other results go our way, and we move up to 6th. Our next 4 games to get us to the end of 2015 are Palace (A), Spurs (H), Arsenal (H) and West Ham (A). If we keep playing this way - noting our squad depth for the busy fixture list - how many points can we realistically expect to get, and where do we see ourselves on the table then? Villa, and the first 3 games of 2016 against Norwich, Watford & West Brom, could have a huge bearing on our season.

This lost is humiliation to second line team.the seven shots,liverpool had were in from the box ,and after they had to much space to score.another misatake was,that after the lead,the players should have been more concern on defending more instead of attacking and leaving gaps behind.swamseaanage to defend very well against them and the same should have been here but this team is too commited to atack amd has a problem,so far to recover from being behind.the first liverpool goal was avoidable,if fonte was instead of the heavy caluker.when you have rivals like this you should always be carefull and responsible.mybee enforcment in the coming transfer wimdow should be considered.

I already mentioned that we have not replaced MS or NC; another gaping hole has been left by Lallana's departure. Whatever we think of the manner of his leaving, he is a player who can make space for himself, and others. Tadic, whilst an excellent controller of the ball, and a first class deliverer, does not create space with his turning - and he is often too wide to open up defences for other players. He also goes missing at times. You can usually play only one 'stopper' in midfield, and as both of ours, VW and Romeu frequently get booked early, we need to play one and have the other on the bench. Romeu, at least can pass, but he is not as effective as VW. JWP can pass, but he never imposes himself. I think we are crying out for more options in midfield - why not give Reed and/or Hesketh a chance. Up front, surely Seager would be hungry enough to come off the bench, when Long and Pelle are being ineffective? Lastly, how poor must Martina be when Yoshida is preferred at right-back when Cedric is out? Yoshida is a committed player, but he's not a right-back! So if Martina is apparently not good enough, why is he on the bench?