Shanks is perfectly correct, of course. If you're not going to support your club during the tough times then you're not a true supporter. It's about being proud of your club even when they're at the bottom of the table, because without that pride in the eyes of the fans the players lose heart and then the whole club is screwed.
As to whether it applies now or last season, obviously it does. But that doesn't mean that the manager or the players have an excuse to pitch up and play badly. They have a duty to show us they can win, particularly during those games we might lose or draw. Cue some diatribe on how Steven Gerrard has epitomized this, but how we lack that ability to dig deep when he's not there. Yes, we still play good football without him, still win a lot of games without him, but we're not so good at duking it out when the chips are down and he's absent, and this season's task of finishing in the top 4 is going to be about winning ugly the whole way if need be. But maybe that's for another post.
Shankly's point remains: even when the team drops points support the team. There are a lot of people on this forum (and others) who seem to forget this very principle. Only when it is clear to all that an individual has compromised the standards of the club is it acceptable to call for his removal, and at 1.7+ points per game [on a par for a 4th placed finish each year since 2001] Dalglish has not compromised anything thus far. He could do better, certainly, but that doesn't mean he needs replacement.
A draw counts as a loss, essentially, and some losses are more catastrophic than others, but that doesn't mean the current squad and management team is happy with their performance, nor does it mean our support should become tepid or hostile.
