“THE Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club,” shrieked John Motson after Liverpool were humbled by Wimbledon in the 1988 FA Cup final.
There may not be any silverware at stake at Anfield on Sunday. But the clash of styles will be similarly pronounced.
Arguably the ultimate test of Brendan Rodgers’ much-chewed-over philosophy comes with the visit of Tony Pulis and Stoke City.
The Potters have proven hugely effective – earning mid-table respectability since promotion to the Premier League in 2008 and reaching the FA Cup final last year – with a brand of football that relies heavily on pace, power and aerial prowess at set-pieces.
That would seem the antithesis of the ‘tiki taka’ approach Rodgers is striving to drum into teams across the board at Liverpool.
Stoke, of course, have proven a thorn in the side of previous managers, with Rafael Benitez, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish all left disgruntled at some point after encountering Pulis and his players.
Sunday, though, will be more revealing than any other recent meeting.
Certainly, Stoke have lost none of their obduracy. While having lost to only Chelsea in the top-flight this season, their first four games resulted in draws with their last outing a 2-0 win over Rodgers’ former side Swansea City.
The style of their opponents is one thing with which Rodgers must contend on Sunday.
The other, though, has proven far more long-term and debilitating.
‘This Is Anfield’ says the sign in the tunnel. And too many Premier League visitors in recent times have walked out having seen that message and thought ‘Good, we’ll have a chance today’.
Defeat to Manchester United in their last outing should have been hard to take, yet many home supporters numbed by almost 18 months of Anfield underachievement merely shrugged their shoulders and trudged out the stadium.
Liverpool have won only six of their last 23 home league games. And with their next four outings coming at Anfield – Stoke’s visit follows the Europa League clash against Udinese, with Reading and Anzhi Makhachkala to come after the international break – it’s a shortcoming that will be given a severe test in the next few weeks.
Indeed, only FC Gomel have been beaten at home under Rodgers, who was at least buoyed by a first Premier League win in the 5-2 romp at Norwich City last weekend after the Capital One Cup triumph at West Bromwich Albion.
“I love being at Anfield,” says the Northern Irishman. “There is a real excitement every time we play here and we are given tremendous support.
“We went to West Brom and Norwich and the away ends are packed out, but there’s nothing like playing at home.
“We want to gain momentum and build up a winning streak. October was always going to be a great month in terms of not so much travel and giving us a real opportunity to play in front of our fans and show the development we have had as a team.”
Luis Suarez’s hat-trick at Carrow Road can’t disguise the fact that Liverpool, thanks to their clumsy handling of the final few days of the transfer window, remain light on options in attack.
That point will be underlined at the weekend when they could conceivably come up against two of their former forwards.
Peter Crouch’s match-winning brace against Swansea City underlines the 32-year-old has lost none of his awkward potency, while Michael Owen, rescued from the free agent wasteland by Pulis last month, will be desperate to appear, albeit most likely from the bench.
Neither seemingly fits into Rodgers’ template, so their fortunes on Sunday will make for intriguing viewing. So too Charlie Adam, who will hope for an outing having been moved on to the Britannia Stadium during the summer.
Andy Carroll’s loan to West Ham United has left Fabio Borini, a £10.4million summer signing from Roma, as Liverpool’s only other available senior striker.
While no player has appeared more for Liverpool this season, the Italian has netted only once – on his Anfield debut against Gomel in the Europa League qualifying rounds.
But Rodgers, who signed Borini on loan while at Swansea City towards the end of the 2010-11 campaign, has every faith the forward will prove a long-term success.
“Fabio was brought in here for the present and the future,” says the Liverpool manager. “He’s a young player I know very well and over time he will only get better and better.
“He is a strong character. Over time he will prove himself. To come to a massive club at 21 is a big ask. But I wouldn’t have brought him here and paid the money for him if he couldn’t do it.
“He probably hasn’t scored as many goals as he would have wanted to. In fairness to him, I’ve been playing him in his number two position, he is better playing through the middle.
“My project for him coming in was more for the cup competitions and to then grow himself in the Premier League, but because of where we are at, I have had to push him in that wee bit quicker.”
One criticism of Borini is that his small physical stature will be to his detriment in the hurly-burly of the Premier League against opponents such as Stoke.
But Rodgers says: “I don’t think he is lightweight. His power and his pace and strength are his good points. But as a striker you are judged on your goals.”
Borini himself is convinced the goals will eventually flow and revealed he has already gained a reputation for being something of a slow starter each season.
“It’s just a matter of time for me,” says the Italian. “The same thing happened last season. I scored one goal before October, then got injured for three months and after that I scored my second goal in January.
“From January until March I scored 10 goals. I know from past experience that the goals will come. In Swansea I scored six goals from March until May.
“I am always late. But the goals do come! Suarez is the centre-forward for us and he has scored five goals in six games. I know I have been bought to score goals but I don’t feel the pressure. I know it will come.”
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