Luis Suarez's return from an eight-match suspension failed to inspire Liverpool as they were held to a goalless draw by Tottenham at Anfield on Monday. Suarez received a rapturous reception from Liverpool fans when he came on in the 66th minute - his first action for six weeks - after serving a ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
But the Uruguay striker was left frustrated as third-placed Tottenham secured a point in the absence of their manager Harry Redknapp in a scrappy contest. All the hype surrounding the game had been about the return of Suarez following his lengthy ban after an FA board found him guilty of making a racist comment towards Evra. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said he had never planned to start him.
"I'm delighted that the wee man is back," said the Scot, who along with the club were heavily criticised for their defending Suarez even after he was gound guilty. "He should never have been away but we've taken the punishment and we've moved on. It would have been unfair to start him, he's not played since Boxing Day." In the end, Suarez's return was third billing on a night that saw Redknapp forced to abandon his flight to Anfield due to technical problems having earlier appeared at Southwark Crown Court in the closing stage of his trial on tax evasion charges.
Redknapp might have failed to make it but England manager Fabio Capello, fresh from publicly criticising the Football Association's decision to oust John Terry as captain, did make it to Anfield. With Terry having been stripped of the armband pending his trial in July over alleged racial abuse of Queens Park Rangers's Anton Ferndinand, Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has been tipped to lead England at Euro 2012.
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