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The fans crammed into Wembley's East stand knew. They knew it was over. They knew their side had blown it.

Dejan Lovren had just let fly with the most speculative of speculative efforts. Thirty-five yards out, a rolling ball. Men in the box, seconds on the clock. The Croatian's effort summed up Liverpool's afternoon. Needless to say, it landed among the Reds fans.

Seconds later, Michael Oliver's whistle put them out of their misery. And boy was it miserable.

The M6 is a rather joyless place at the best of times. By Sunday night, it will have felt positively morose. North of Birmingham, at least.

Wembley is no place for losers, and no place for performances like the one Liverpool turned in here. Abject doesn't even begin to cover it.

A day which had begun with such promise, such hope, ended in despair for Kopites. 'Anfield South' they used to call Wembley, but this was to be no happy homecoming.

The supporters didn't hang around to watch Aston Villa's wild celebrations, and who could blame them? Plenty didn't even stay to give their own yellow-clad players their gratitude. Again, who could blame them?

They'd done their bit, but their team, their heroes, let them down under the spotlight. You don't get clapped for that, sorry.

Make no mistake, Liverpool supporters have been spoilt down the years. Spoilt by success, by memorable afternoons, memorable nights, unforgettable moments, unforgettable games.

They won't forget this one in a hurry either. It'll take a few pints to wash this one out of their minds. Given the runaround at Wembley by Aston Villa. And Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa, at that.

There will be embarrassed Liverpudlians tonight. Angry Liverpudlians. Liverpudlians looking for answers, looking for scapegoats. They'll have plenty to choose from.

Let's not sugar coat this; they deserve better than what their team gave them here. They deserved a performance of energy, of hunger, of belief, a performance befitting the reputations and salaries of their players (and manager). They deserved the kind of performance Villa gave their supporters.

These are people who are passionate about Liverpool, people who give up their time, money, energy and emotions to follow their club across the country, across the continent, across the world. They have a right to be upset and angry tonight. They have a right to wonder what the hell they have just witnessed.

They have a right to ask questions of the players, questions of the manager, questions of the club. They have a right to pull apart this performance until it can't be pulled any more. They even have a right to wonder whether things have to change, to say things they don't mean, to argue among themselves long into the night. Like it or not, it's what supporters do.

In the meantime, their players and management must find a way to lift them. Brendan Rodgers says there is “an obligation” to keep on fighting through their final six league fixtures, but it is hard to escape the feeling that Liverpool's season is all but over. And how painful is that?

The fans have pulled this club through enough difficult moments, but they are broken hearted today. It will take a while to get over this. They deserved more. They deserved better.