Liverpool fans, it’s going to be a long season.

By Saf Hossain, writing from London.

Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool

So much for that feel-good factor surrounding Liverpool. The new manager has brought a welcome change, they said. New players have been signed & existing players have been kept, they said. A buyout is imminent, they said. What was proven last night on that rain-sodden Eastlands pitch was that Liverpool’s current state of cataclysmic decline can’t be faulted on any manager - past or present. Simply, being Liverpool manager at this time would be difficult for anybody under these conditions.