If this is what life without Momo is going to be like, then its going to be a long three months. To say he was missed on Sunday would be an understatement of epic proportions, but the fact is he is unavailable for some time now and we have to find a solution. The most obvious one is to move Gerrard back into the centre, and more than a few eyebrows were raised when he was asked to play on the right again against Arsenal. I would have played him centrally, but I can understand why Rafa chose not to. If we had a half decent alternative to play on the right, then Im sure Benitez would have no hesitation in moving Gerrard into the centre. We dont have any other decent alternative, as Pennant has been very disappointing, and Garcia is a passenger in most away games (and was injured

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Thats why Gerrard was asked to play out there even though Momo was missing. As it turned out, we may as well have started with Pennant, or anyone else for that matter, as Gerrard played everywhere except on the right flank. We know he has licence to roam, but f*cking hell, at least spend some time on the right wing and try to beat the full back at least once. Is that too much to ask? Well it was at Old Trafford, and it was again here. When Pennant eventually came on, he ran at Clichy and created a goal for Bellamy that should have been allowed to stand. If Gerrard put his mind to it, he could have been doing that almost at will. Instead, he spent most of the game centrally playing one twos with Alonso in his own half.

I dont want to single him out for criticism, as there were plenty of others who are equally worthy of flak. However, its really annoyed me the way he has been absolved of any blame for our performances by the media justbecause he isnt playing in the middle. Whatever the rights and wrongs of that decision, Steven Gerrard can skin any left back in the world when he puts his mind to it, and thats what he should be doing. He isnt doing it though, but thats his fault not Rafa Benitezs.

Not that Rafa is blameless for our horrendous away results. Hes made mistakes, and his summer signings have not made the impression we all hoped for. Gerrard is having to play out wide because Pennant hasnt been good enough. On the other flank, Gonzalez is struggling big time, and Aurelio has been average at best. Up front Bellamy is having a bad time, and as a team were looking completely disjointed any time we leave the comfort zone of Anfield.

There are numerous reasons for it, and thats the most disturbing thing. If it was just one thing, itd be easy to fix. Our dismal away form can be put down to various factors, such as key players not performing to standard, newsignings not making an impact, the fixture list giving us all our tough away games one after the other, a lack of confidence and belief stemming from the poor results, and negative tactics and strange team selections.

Bad luck has also played a part (at least it did initially), things like hitting the post (twice) at Goodison and also at Stamford Bridge, and we didnt get much help from referees either. Evertons first two goals were questionable, and there was the ludicrous free-kick against Reina that led to Boltons opening goal. Luck had nothing to do with what happened at Highbury and Old Trafford, but the misfortune the team suffered in earlier defeats has certainly contributed to the lack of belief they have when they go behind now. You can visibly see them feeling sorry for themselves when they concede a goal away from home.

Ultimately though, you make your own luck and the players have to put all that behind them. Bad luck has been a factor, but only asmall one. If it was just bad luck we wouldnt have a problem as that would eventually turn itself around. Im far more concerned about the dire performances â“ collectively and individually - than the odd bit of misfortune.

We can analyse it all we like, but the bottom line is the only way out of this slump is for the players to show some character and grind out a result somewhere. It seems with us that the first goal is all important. If we get it, we usually win. If we dont, we usually lose. It was like that under Houllier, and its become the same way now.

Maybe a win will change all that, as confidence obviously plays a big part. If we go to the Riverside, score early and win well, it would make a massive difference to the rest of the season. The players could look forward with great anticipation to what is a relatively easy remaining fixture list, knowing that theyd ended the awayday hoodoo. If they lose at the Riverside, well I dont evenwant to think about what effect that would have on the rest of the season. Defeat next week just isnt an option.