By NEIL ASHTON
After taking baby steps in his first few months in charge of Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers is beginning to talk of a revival.
There was mention of momentum after this impressive comeback, settling into a rhythm as they string together a decent run of results. Liverpool’s manager is breathing life into this great club, restoring Joe Cole to the matchday squad and filling Jonjo Shelvey with self-belief.
Without their leading goalscorer Luis Suarez, who sat this one out through suspension, the fear was that the visitors would come up short. Instead they relied upon some of Rodgers’ tactical wizardry, promoting Shelvey to the position of the false nine and watched it all take effect during a stunning second-half recovery.
‘There are two types of No 9 in this country and one of them is the big man up front,’ said Rodgers. ‘The other is the player who can drift across the back line and offer something different.’
Shelvey offered an alternative to Suarez, switching play with his neat touches and fizzing the ball back in to the feet of Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen. There was something very real about Liverpool’s stubbornness at Upton Park, with a tingling sensation spreading through their impressive away following stationed in the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand.
This win is big, a message for the teams with pretensions of finishing in the top four of the Barclays Premier League that Liverpool have staying power.
They had to live with Sam Allardyce’s side in the first half, particularly as the driving runs of Mohamed Diame in the centre of midfield threatened to break the away team’s resistance.
He was awesome until he succumbed, regrettably, to a hamstring injury in the 73rd minute when West Ham were still 2-1 in front. Allardyce spoke of a grade-three tear — as good as 12 weeks on the sidelines to you and me.
If his bursting runs had continued, West Ham would surely have followed up last Saturday’s stunning victory over Chelsea by seeing this one home.
Instead they can consider themselves very unfortunate to have been beaten by Cole’s equaliser in the second half and a winner that was put through his own net by James Collins.
Cole had class, stifling the enormous temptation to celebrate his first goal in the Premier League since a 5-0 win over Birmingham in April 2011.
He had been applauded on to the field by 32,000 West Ham fans when he replaced Jose Enrique after 27 minutes and an East End old boy was not about to forget his heritage.
It took an age for him to adapt but when he did, it was classic Cole. His equaliser was a reminder of the times when he ran the show for Chelsea, operating on the left and playing a full part in three Premier League title triumphs and as many FA Cups.
He read the runs and quick feet of Shelvey and Raheem Sterling for his goal, making his way into the box and beating Jussi Jaaskelainen with a deceptive finish.
Until then, West Ham had the pace, energy and the exuberance of a team who have been re- invigorated by Allardyce. The Hammers recovered after Glen Johnson’s muted celebrations following the exceptional 25-yard strike that put Liverpool in front in the 11th minute.
West Ham fans do class and were respectful — yet again — of one of their own after the full back scored in his third successive game against his former club.
He has been gone more than nine years but Johnson is a reminder of the talent that comes through Tony Carr’s incredible academy.
There were lessons for Liverpool, particularly after Allen was punished for handball when Guy Demel blasted the ball at him inside the area.
Mark Noble tucked away the penalty and then it was all about West Ham as they launched themselves into ceaseless attacks in search of another.
They got it, deservedly, just before the break when Matt Jarvis swung the ball towards the Liverpool penalty area.
Gerrard, perhaps unnerved by some uncharitable abuse from a section of the home fans during the first half, inexplicably headed into his own net.
West Ham is a hot spot right now, their team thriving in the Premier League only seven months after winning promotion via the play-offs.
They are Olympic standard, winning the bid to move into a thumping 60,000-seat stadium just up the road at Stratford in August 2015.
Allardyce is already planning for the future, but he has every right to be annoyed about the present.
The fans are a demanding bunch and instead of encouraging the players to put their foot flat to the floor again, they should have settled for a point.
Instead they were vulnerable, opened up from the right as Jordan Henderson sent in a cross and Collins put through his own net under pressure from Shelvey.
It was a touch fortunate, but Liverpool are beginning to move in the right direction.
