FOWLER DROPPED FOR CHARITY SHIELD

Fowler did not even earn a place on the Liverpool bench after not being named as one of the seven substitutes available to Houllier.

With England boss Sven Goran Eriksson watching from the stands, Fowler was denied the chance to impress and watched on as Gary McAllister and Michael Owen gave the treble-winners the first piece of silverware of the new season in a 2-1 win.

Fowler had little to say about the decision but confirmed that he was left out by simply saying: "I was dropped."

The move is sure to rekindle speculation of Fowler's departure from Anfield, as there was when he was left out of the starting eleven for the FA Cup and Uefa Cup finals.

Reds officials, however, have already begun contract talks with Fowler and negotiations are said to be going smoothly.

Houllier, who has always maintained that he wants four strikers at his disposal, confirmed that he had decided not to include Fowler by saying: "It was my decision, it is an internal matter".

Reds midfielder Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, could be a doubt for England's vital World Cup qualifier against Germany in September, after damaging his ankle.

Houllier confirmed that Gerrard would be missing for about a fortnight, but that does not given him too much time to regain fitness for the clash in Germany on September 1st.

"Steven is out of the national team this week," said Houllier. "I hope the problem only lasts for one or two weeks."

Sir Alex Ferguson has reflected on his side's defeat and claimed that referee Any D'Urso suffered from nerves during the game.

D'Urso was the official involved at old Trafford when he was surround by United players after awarding a penalty against them, and Ferguson believes that was still in his mind during the Charity Shield.

"I felt sorry for the referee, I must say that. No matter how much training you give a person in football, management or anything, you have to have a temperament to deal with situations," said Ferguson.

"I just think that the lad was too nervous for that situation today and I felt sorry for him.

"I felt sometimes with the way he was performing that he still had the Middlesbrough game in his mind when the players harangued him, which was wrong of them.

"He's a decent referee and a decent person but I just think it was a big game for him and his nerves got to him."