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• Kenny Dalglish says Liverpool must learn to finish teams off
• Grant Holt comes on to secure point for Norwich

Screams from the front row of the directors’ box told of a torturous finale for Delia Smith and the Norwich City board. Then, once Andy Carroll headed wide from six yards and John Ruddy foiled Luis Suárez once again, came euphoric release and handshakes with the Liverpool supporters whose ear-drums she had assaulted. One year ago Blackpool were the newly promoted entertainers accepting the congratulations of Anfield. Norwich may not have emulated their success but nor do they look on course to repeat their ultimate failure.

Kenny Dalglish spoke of an all-too-familiar hard luck story for Liverpool on Saturday and he had a point. Up to a point. His side created 29 attempts on goal, struck the woodwork three times and Suárez endured the kind of game that shows even the finest strikers are not immune from despair. Yet if fortune favoured Paul Lambert’s team, which is questionable as the only attempt Liverpool managed to convert owed plenty to a deflection, then it was earned.

Ruddy, the former Everton reserve goalkeeper, was inspired. Bradley Johnson and the outstanding Wesley Hoolahan formed a midfield axis reminiscent of Blackpool’s heartbeat of David Vaughan and Charlie Adam last season. The relentless movement of Suárez and Dirk Kuyt may have stretched the Norwich defence to breaking point at times, as that pairing can do to most Premier League teams, but a combination of strength, spirit, luck and quality kept it together. Most impressive, however, was Norwich’s composure and adventure in possession throughout, traits that did their manager no harm during his European Cup and title-winning days at Borussia Dortmund and Celtic.

“There is a belief in this group,” said Lambert. “We have a team of very good players. They were lower league players but they are earning the right to play in this league. They’ve got ability, that’s for sure. They are not lower league players now. They were two years ago but they are not now. They have to sustain that, though, and not take anything for granted because football has a habit of coming back and biting you. There is an awful long way to go but if they stay humble and keep their desire then these lads will hopefully make names for themselves.”

Few epitomise the rise better than Grant Holt and Ruddy. Lambert responded to Craig Bellamy’s first league goal for Liverpool since his return on deadline day, converted after Suárez had beaten Russell Martin to a long ball and via a deflection off Marc Tierney, with a bolder second-half display and the introduction of the former non-league striker. Three minutes after his arrival, Holt beat Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson and José Reina to provide a true centre-forward’s header to Anthony Pilkington’s perfect cross, and Norwich had the reward they had threatened on their visits to Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford.

“I’ve never played at Anfield before and it was an incredibly special moment to score a goal like that, especially at the Kop end,” said the former Workington, Halifax and Barrow striker. “The manager has instilled in us the idea that we have to go and get wins to do well in this division, so we’ll try that, even at places like Anfield and Old Trafford.”

Ruddy twice denied Suárez superbly, leaving Lambert to press the England credentials of a goalkeeper who made just one substitute appearance in five years at Everton but who, at only 24, is on his 12th club following nine loan moves while on the books at Goodison Park. The first permanent, first-team spell of his career is paying clear dividends but only added to the frustration for Dalglish.

Seven days previously a 1-1 draw at home against a team managed by a European Cup-winning Scot – Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United – was seen as a mark of progress. Not this one. Anfield was bewildered by its team’s profligacy and the manager’s substitutions, with both wide men, the dangerous Bellamy and the disappointing Stewart Downing, withdrawn before Carroll appeared with 10 minutes remaining, sufficient time to add his name to a catalogue of damaging misses.

The Liverpool manager reflected: “We’ve got to be careful we don’t get into the habit of saying we are playing well but we’ve got a point. We’ve got to start finishing teams off. The reason why we didn’t get three points was in our own hands.”

Premier League 2011-12LiverpoolNorwich CityPremier LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

Defeat to Manchester United will never be met with a shrug from Liverpool, but they need not be in despair over this result in the FA Cup third round.

With Kenny Dalglish in charge after the dismissal of Roy Hodgson, they persevered despite a sending off for the captain Steven Gerrard in the first-half. Jonny Evans almost added to the Ryan Giggs penalty, but his header came back off a post on the verge of the interval.

Given the woe this season, it was natural that Dalglish should think of turning back the clock and the lineup was almost entirely composed of players who were on the books before the appointment of Hodgson. The difference, even so, was not dramatic and the opening to the match left them just as beleaguered as they had been of late.

The match had barely begun when Daniel Agger made a needless challenge on Dimitar Berbatov near the corner of penalty area and byline. There was a pause before the Bulgarian fell to earth, but an offence had been committed.

Giggs converted the penalty firmly to the left of Pepe Reina in the second minute. Liverpool needed to steady themselves, but their captain added to the handicap by getting himself sent off after 32 minutes.

Instinct is often a strength for Gerrard, but he is old enough to know that there is no sense in making a two-footed challenge in an innocuous area of the pitch. However, he did so anyway and connected with Michael Carrick. The red card from the referee, Howard Webb, was inevitable. Adversity did at least bring out the best in the visitors after the interval as they strove to recover and involve the United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak,

The away support responded strongly, warming to the endeavour and pride of a depleted side. United, nonetheless, were methodical. This tie would have been a trial for Liverpool at any time. Dalglish’s main task is to get the side back into a respectable area of the Premier League and morale should be sound regardless, even after this defeat to United.

FA CupManchester UnitedLiverpoolKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk

Defeat to Manchester City last night showed the club is already struggling to keep up, despite their manager’s best efforts

The distress of Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City lay in the fulfilment of the worst suspicions about the state of the club. Those who took part in the game itself were not really the culprits. The centre-half Daniel Agger, for instance, has scarcely been pleading for the left-back post, yet he is stationed there.

This is no lapse either from Roy Hodgson, a manager whom Liverpool are lucky to have. The CV shows that he has worked in eight countries and that confirms not just his adaptablity but also a standing in football that is beyond dispute. Even he, however, can run into insuperable problems.

His appointment, indeed, was partly a reaction to the risks Liverpool run. Onlookers wonder whether a deal is feasible that will meet the asking price of Tom Hicks and George Gillett so that new owners can revitalise Anfield. While Liverpool, in that regard, are in a state of suspended animation, the challenge of the Premier League is constant.

Hodgson’s side was freakishly unlucky on the opening weekend as the goalkeeper José Reina bundled the ball into his own net in the 90th minute when Liverpool were leading 1-0 against Arsenal. Their fortunes were only slightly better in the next fixture and Joe Cole’s missed penalty means they are ahead by just a single goal in the Europa League qualifier with Trabzonspor that resumes in Turkey on Thursday.

The programme allows little time to work at length with players who need the sort of organisation that might compensate for limitations. Fragility has been predictable. The core of the midfield began to disappear when Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid and it will have gone entirely if Javier Mascherano’s move to Barcelona proceeds as anticipated. Some of the income from the latter deal must surely be put at the manager’s disposal.

It is, after all, critical for Hicks and Gillett to see the valuation of their asset sustained and events on the field have a bearing on that. There were many reasons for appointing Hodgson but Fulham’s run to the 2010 Europa League final may not have been the key factor. Liverpool will have taken at least as much note of the 2008-09 campaign when his Fulham side finished seventh, ahead of clubs such as Tottenham and Manchester City.

Hodgson looked then as if he had the secret of levitation as his team resisted the severe pull of gravity that affects such clubs. It is, of course, galling for Liverpool supporters to see a Champions League spot turn into a distant target. All the same, there are modest developments.

Cole, who has collected a red card as well as faltering with that penalty, will catch the eye for better reasons and introduce some guile. Milan Jovanovic, a Bosman signing, has swiftly become popular. At 21, the striker David Ngog is starting to look more mature. Ryan Babel, two years older, has generally been a disappointment since the £11.5m move from Ajax in 2007, but there was a glimmer of hope when, as a lone striker, he took the only goal of the home game with Trabzonspor.

Hodgson will still not suppose that the answers to his concerns are already on the books. There is trading to be done. The transfers of Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun brought in around £10m. Emiliano Insúa’s departure may take place in the near future although he could not agree personal terms with Fiorentina last month after a £5m fee had been negotiated.

No one even pretends that there can be a grand vision for Liverpool while circumstances are unaltered. In a moment of candour, the chairman Martin Broughton explained last month that Hodgson had been appointed “to steady the ship.” Stability is welcome, but a club with Liverpool’s heritage cannot treat that as their real ambition in the longer term.

Hodgson will still accept the tranquility that comes with a victory or two in the League. Such results would come more readily if Fernando Torres was at all reminiscent of the forward Liverpool knew before his knee surgery in April. The Spaniard featured in every match of a glorious World Cup campaign but did not score.

The club will truly be on the rise when no single player matters so much. For the time being, all the same, Hodgson seeks demonstrations of the impact that Torres or Steven Gerrard can have on Liverpool’s fortunes.

LiverpoolKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk