The Lexicon of Liverpool

THERE is a chance that I’m geared up! It could well be the thumping tones of “2×4” by Metallica currently filling GTS HQ, it could be the fact that we haven’t written for an absolute age – mostly I think it’s the fact that Manchester United play Liverpool this weekend. 

I have heard nothing but gloating from my Liverpool friends, about how this is their season and how finally they aren’t taking their eyes off the ball. Of course a great deal of that came before they were put to the sword by Reading. Despite what the red side of Merseyside may say, their season has been up and down at best. They have at times done the job, and Torres has looked like the decent player I hoped he wouldn’t be when he joined. Liverpool have also managed to mess up as well, in Europe as well as maintaining their usual inconsistent domestic form. Add to that the fact that their manager has at times been showing the strain in press conferences and the American owners that have shown they are far from happy, and it looks like a good time to be going to Anfield. 

That’s exactly why it isn’t.  United are playing well, the early season patchy form has given way to something that looks more like the machine we’re used to. Rooney and Tevez are gelling, and all is ticking along nicely (let’s not mention the fact that if you believe the stories we have yet another defender in a contract debate).  When everyone seems to be looking in United’s direction for victory, it never works out that way.  

Rumours of splits and all of the negative news seemingly coming from those at Anfield, may well have a positive effect on the Liverpool team. Despite doing nothing in the league since Noah built the ark and putting all his eggs in the European basket Benitez commands the respect of the Liverpool fan base, so much so a friend of mine told me his Anfield season ticket would be returned if Rafa the Gaffer got the sack-a.  

For that reason and that reason only I say faster red devils, kill kill!  

For ninety minutes it will be all out war and it should be. It’s the same three points at stake and I dare say it is too early to count in the story of the league – it’s not even really about local pride because they are hardly next door neighbours. 

Liverpool v Manchester United is about shutting the scousers up, silencing the Kop, celebrating each tackle on one of theirs a little more than usual. It’s about everything that everyone reading this thinks it is, the history and the now. It’s about Wayne Rooney getting booed for each and every minute except the one where he sticks that ball in their net, its about Ronaldo and whether he escapes the attentions of their back four and it’s about which Torres turns up for the game. 

Other games can be about more sensible things, this one can just be about beating Liverpool because we don’t like each other. Vidic and Ferdinand v Crouch and Torres is nice scenery for the neutrals and ‘Nice Guy’ Jamie on the TV but this game can be more basic than that – win, leave Anfield with victory and enjoy the silence from the Kop! 

Avanti!

Never Mind Official…We’re All United

 

MANCHESTER United is a term that baffles me sometimes. It means so much to so many people, and it means different things to each of them. If I was to ask a season ticket holder what he likes about supporting our club he may well give the same answer as someone from farther a field. Both answers may be different, but both would be equally valid.

Continue reading “Never Mind Official…We’re All United”

Never In A Month Of Saturdays: September

THIS was the month of the header and the 1:0 victory. It seemed that in September we progressed, if only a little, from a spluttering start to one that was consistent whilst still not being the most fluent displays ever.

Yet while everyone was moaning about our lack of fire power, our defence emerged as one of the strongest. Everyone had been focused on the fact that we often had only a 1 in the goals for column, while forgetting the fact that week after week this month we constantly had 0 in goals against. 

We did enough against Sunderland at the beginning of the month, Danny Higginbotham played like a man possessed, perhaps looking to prove a point against his old manager. Anderson ran his socks off, as Anderson seems to do, and the points headed for United courtesy of Louis Saha’s head. 

Nemanja showed the way for the strikers when he broke Everton with a bullet header at Goodison to record the third of our 1:0 score lines, before an emotional return to Sporting Lisbon for Ronaldo who scored the only goal of the game against his former club, with another header. 

The Chelsea game came and went, or rather Jose went and Chelsea came to the home of the Champions looking completely lost. Manchester United benefited from some key decisions, largely the sending off of Mikel. That may have been fortunate but in this game of swings and roundabouts there were unpunished incidents against United players elsewhere in this game so you could say it all evens out, if the referee tries to even it, that is.

The Saha penalty is a non debate in my eyes, no I don’t think he should have done the dying swan after contact was made but the fact of the matter is contact was made. Nowhere does it say in the rules that a penalty award will be reversed if the fouled player makes an idiot of himself with his reaction.

The drama of the referee display was all we had to focus on in this match that lacked the usual spark from this encounter.

United’s only blip this month was a rather catastrophic performance from our youngsters against Coventry City. A lot of the team that night were young and inexperienced but this was their big night and many of them got stage fright. I hope they can recover from the disappointment of their individual displays because from what we have seen in other games, at least some of the players on show that night do have ability. The school report for these lads reads ‘can and must do better’.

So we end the month as we began, with a 1:0 score line in favour of the Premiership Champions. Premiership champions is what we are, and though we have not yet played like them we are certainly going in the right direction.

Our goalkeeper and defence should be praised, Ronaldo is looking good and Michael Carrick has impressed me also. We are managing to mask some fairly average performances by still getting the results. 

So while we are getting the results we cannot complain. It could be worse, we could be Chelsea supporters!