IT HAS been obvious since the departure of Kenny Dalglish a couple of

years ago that all was not well within Anfield, that theatre of

footballing delights and dreams.

Initially, the decline of Liverpool was not obvious, but these days,

signs that the empire is crumbling no longer can be disguised, and the

most revealing clue of all is the absence of fear among opposing teams

when they arrive.

Suddenly Liverpool are vulnerable.

Inevitably, manager Graeme Souness is shouldering the bulk of the

blame and voices were heard against him after Saturday's latest

embarrassment, a 4-1 defeat by Blackburn Rovers, now led by Dalglish,

who is still revered on Merseyside. The same cannot be said of Souness.

People, including hacks he has crossed, move in sensing a kill. Few

have offered him a kind word or a shoulder. Those he damaged and

verbally abused or dismissed from his presence with that infuriating,

nonchalant flick of a wrist, are perfecting their sneers as his career

appears to move to the verge of collapse.

Souness's brusque manner, his arrogance, and perhaps even his

willingness to believe the hard-man image created by the media, have

left him with few friends in the football community. He will find hardly

a door open to him in these, his days of need.

Of course, taking into consideration the money he earned as a player

with Liverpool and Sampdoria, and then manager of Rangers, and now

Liverpool, he does not need sympathy, but strangely enough his bank

account will be of little consolation to him just now. He has

accumulated enough wealth to walk away and live in peace for the rest of

his existence, but he cannot do that while his talent is being doubted.

There have been times when his reasoning appeared flawed -- his

dealing with the Sun newspaper, taboo among Liverpool's supporters after

the tabloid's coverage of the Hillsborough disaster, didn't present an

image of someone in tune with his followers -- and although he managed

to survive the effects of what we might be justified in calling peculiar

logic, it remains to be seen if he can overcome the current problems at

Anfield.

Until now, Souness has never really been tested or doubted. Lauded as

a player, and held in awe as manager of Rangers, he considered himself

destined for greater things. When Liverpool called, he could not resist.

Perhaps they offered him a passport back into Europe as one of the

Continent's high-profile managers.

That may have been part of the reasoning behind his decision to leave

Ibrox, but it seems now to have been an unwise career move, and he finds

himself a man alone on the brink of the unthinkable. Failure is surely

only a few more defeats away.

If he and his team are to survive, Souness faces a massive task in

trying to restore the pride and passion which have epitomised Liverpool

since the day Bill Shankly took over and transformed the club into

something to be feared and admired in equal measure. If the degree of

ill-will towards Souness counted for anything, he would fail miserably

and the rejoicing would be widespread.

However, there will be no cheering in this column should he buckle

under pressure. Despite his foibles, is there not something to be

respected in this person?

It is not necessary to like someone before those characteristics which

set him apart from the pack can be appreciated. Indeed, Souness can be

put into sport's rogues gallery along with the likes of John McEnroe,

who for years was the bete noir of tennis and, in fact, makes the

Liverpool manager look something of a novice when it comes to provoking

anger and dislike among the masses and authorities.

Souness loitered in tunnels, but McEnroe scorned the establishment on

centre courts around the globe. However, the one thing both have is a

desire to win which borders on desperation. They have an inbred fear of

second place.

This is one of the reasons I hope Souness emerges from his current

crisis and proves his worth as a manager. Apart from the fact that he is

a Scot working in England -- it does not do anything for the rest of us

when one of our kind fails down there -- there is always something

terribly sad about the sight of a born winner being brought to his

knees.

All sportsmen say they won't have to be told when it's closing time,

but it rarely works that way. Few get out when it suits them and sport

is littered with once-great performers' memories.

Souness, of course, is far from that stage and will require all of his

intelligence and determination to extricate himself from his current

plight. It will be interesting in the coming weeks, provided he is given

them, to watch how he copes, but he should not be willing to pay any

price to prove himself.

Souness has undergone major heart surgery, and contrary to what one of

his Anfield predecessors said, football is not more important than life

and death. It is a game, something to be enjoyed. It isn't worth dying

for.

It would be dreadful irony indeed if Souness's powerful desire to be a

winner were to reduce his prospects in the greatest contest of all, that

for life itself. I hope he and Liverpool survive.