Liverpool shut the door of Merseyside comment

What we saw yesterday was the death of the boot-room. I think it is unfortunate that Roy Evans, a decent, hard-working man, will be remembered as someone who precipitated Liverpool's slide towards mediocrity, because the origin of that decline can be traced back to the departure of Kenny Dalglish.

One of Liverpool's greatest assets has always been their facility to prepare, to ground new managers smoothly, and they simply weren't ready for the sudden abdication of Kenny. He was begged to take just a few months and return, but Kenny had to leave, for health reasons, basically.

Even so, things were far from drastic. Graham Souness returned to Anfield having fashioned a terrific record in the Scottish League with Rangers. It seemed a perfect solution: a proven manager and Anfield old boy.

I believe that Souness tried to replicate the system he used in Glasgow - surrounding four or five genuinely class players with journeymen, which was enough to win then in Scotland. Out went the likes of Steve Staunton, Peter Beardsley, Ray Houghton, all of whom had a tremendous amount left to offer the club and who were never adequately replaced.

Souness never really tried to depart from the traditional Liverpool passing system; it's just that the players he brought in were not really good enough to utilise the system properly.

When Souness left, having brought just one FA Cup title to Anfield, no one would have believed that that may well become the sole bright moment of the Nineties.

When Roy Evans took over, it again seemed like a logical move. This was someone steeped in Anfield tradition, a man nurtured by the great Liverpool managers. Unfortunately, he displayed the same fatal flaw in judgment when it came to buying players.

There is a list of players who have arrived at Anfield from 1991 to the present day who I feel never really solved any of the on-field problems: Julian Dicks, Neil Ruddock, Mark Wright, the lad Kvarme, Bjornebye and the two goalkeepers there now.

The list is quite extensive. And then you have lads like Steve Harkness, Dominic Matteo, and Jamie Carragher, to a degree, who are all much of a muchness.

Ironically, Evans contributed greatly to the Liverpool tradition of raising players, supervising a system which yielded Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Carragher, and contributed greatly to the development of Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp.

BUT it became glaringly apparent over the past few years that Liverpool have been crying out for a goalkeeper and at least one dominant centre back. This was a club who have always built from the back . . . suddenly, we were witnessing a Liverpool team trying to create from the front.

With the arrival of Gerard Houllier, there was a perception that, between them, the managers would rectify Liverpool's defensive frailties.

Obviously that didn't happen, and Houllier will now go through the so-called honeymoon period. It's interesting that Phil Thompson has been brought in, though. Houllier let it be known he wanted his own man beside him. Thompson's appointment - without being disrespectful to him - smacks of a wistful attempt to maintain tradition and is something of a safeguard if Houllier's tenure turns sour. At least Thompson is there to pick up the pieces, another Liverpool old boy.

Yet, while an essential lack of judgment in terms of player purchases accounts, in part, for the current dilemma, the club's slide cannot be viewed in isolation.

Dalglish's departure in 1991 could not have been more untimely from an Anfield perspective. English football was on the cusp of a financial revolution with the dividends reaped from the Sky TV deal and the fall-out from the Bosman ruling transforming the transfer market.

In the Seventies and Eighties, Liverpool had the clout and an attractive pay system to attract quality players to complement those reared through the system. Now, here was the club suddenly in management turmoil, and suddenly smaller clubs had the financial and business acumen to attract top players.

English football reinvented itself during this decade and Liverpool Football Club have been reluctant to accept that. The acid test of that conservatism will, I believe, ultimately be reflected in their failure to lift a league title in the Nineties.

But the decline is far from terminal. The structure is still there and it will be no surprise if Liverpool are again consistently challenging for all major honours in two years.

While Liverpool have foundered in recent years, Manchester United have, of course, thrived under this new, financially buoyant system. That has rankled with the Liverpool fans who for two decades were used to welcoming in silverware while all was quiet just 30 miles down the East Lancs road.

The contrast between the two clubs is at the heart of the matter. Manchester United have gladly become a PLC while Liverpool have tried to sustain success based on an ethos where the management staff literally sit down in the bootroom after training and just chew the fat.

I think that yesterday, those at the club realised that sadly, that time has passed.