You can punish Ngog, but where's our 3 points?

First and foremost, I would like to point out that if you think this article is biased, then you are probably right. I will try not to let my heart rule my head on this one, as I feel that if this had happened to any club in the lower reaches of the Premier League, where a win is so frustratingly difficult to come by, then I would feel equally angry and upset at an an act so blatantly intended to cheat the opposition. But, diehards being diehards, there will be an element of 'we woz robbed' creeping into this article, I fear.

Birmingham came to Anfieldwith a gameplan, which worked. Of course Liverpool were going to have 75% of the possession, and the vast majority of shots on goal. They were the home team, with a team that (even without the brilliance of Torres and a fully-fit Steven Gerrard) looked far superior to the team that Birmingham had to offer. The Blues could not have played expansive football, or else they would have been picked apart. To get anything out of the game, Birmingham had to turn the game into a scrap, and pray that they took their chances when they came along. Like Greece in Euro 2004, Birmingham did not succeed through playing 'rubbish' football. It may have been dour, but it worked to perfection.

However, when David Ngog tumbled over in the penalty area, all that hard work could have been wiped out. If Liverpool had scored straight from the kick-off to make it 3-2, and later grabbed a fourth goal, then Birmingham's gameplan would have been undone, essentially through an act of cheating. My first reaction when I saw that Lee Carsley had made no contact with Ngog was anger. This quickly gave way to sadness, and a sense of 'what's the point?' We will never know whether Birmingham would have held on to their lead on another day, when a more honest striker than David Ngog was playing up front. I don't feel that Ngog merely cheated Birmingham out of what could have been a famous win, I feel that he cheated Cameron Jerome, whose strike was more than worthy of winning any game; I feel he cheated those who reportedly collectively wagered £11m on the game; I feel he cheated the millions of neutrals watching the game on ESPN, who were keen to see whether Liverpool could arrest their slump through fair means; and perhaps most appallingly of all, I feel he cheated the 42,000 inside Anfield. This may seem laughable and very naiive, but if Ngog hadn't have dived, then the last 20 mins would have provided fantastic entertainment for both the Liverpool and the Birmingham fans. Instead, David Ngog finished the match as a contest when he decided to show absolutely no respect to Birmingham City, or any of the groups of people I've just mentioned.

Speaking to some Liverpool fans, I get the sense they think their draw feels a little bit hollow. There was an almost apologetic tone in Rafa Benitez's voice as he conducted his post-match interviews. For me, David Ngog can have no excuse. On Saturday, I was prepared to give Darren Bent the benefit of the doubt- Heurelho Gomes did make contact, and at any rate, would have brought him down anyway- in a sense, Bent jumped before he was pushed. With Ngog's dive, however, nothing can save him from the ire of Birmingham City fans. Lee Carsley was nowhere near the striker. I don't blame referee Paul Walton either. My first reaction when Carsley dived in was 'penalty'. The attack moved at such speed, the referee didn't stand a chance. Referees are heavily reliant on the honesty of players. If a player goes down with what looks like a serious injury, they have to trust that they're not simply feigning to get the game stopped. The same thing can be said with divers. There is no hard and fast rule to spotting a dive, and I believe Walton is 100% blameless.

Just as a child who cheats at Monopoly needs to be reprimanded by their parents, David Ngog needs to be given a stern talking-to by Rafael Benitez. Unfortunately, I doubt that it will happen. I've learned today that no action can be taken by the FA against Ngog, as Walton dealt with the issue at the time. To me, this sounds lame. The only way of changing the ways of the cheats is to punish them. And even if Ngog is banned for life, and Darren Bent hung at dawn, Birmingham will hope and pray that they're not relegated by two points at the end of the year.