There has been a lot happening since my last blog, going to be hard to comment on everything but i’m nothing if not a tryer....
The run began with an abysmal peformance away to bottom of the table Bolton. There was nothing much good to take from the game, other than the fact that (with hindsight) it seemed to prove a catalyst. The players on the field that day let the shirt down, and where King Kenny had made it a point to defend his players through thick and thin during the season so far, he took this opportunity to publicly state that performances needed to improve. Of course this public statement was, i’m sure, much more cordial than what was said behind closed doors.
The first game following the public criticism was the second led of a Semi-Final versus top of the league Manchester City. The first leg was as close to a smash and grab as you are ever likely to see. Once we got in front we hung on and dug in for dear life eventually going home with a goal advantage.The second leg was a much more confident display. I must say the atmosphere that night was the best I have to experienced in my time going to Anfield. From before the game until well after, the red faithfull shouted and lifted their team over the finish line. We went behind during the game and many may have thought this game was over at that point. But the mighty Kopites have seen some dramatic turn arounds over the years and never let their spirit drop. I honestly believe this transmitted to the field where a heroic effort brought the equalising goal which won the tie. A first cup final since Athens 2007 (a game i also attended by the by) and a first appearance at the new Wembly for the red men. It actually annoyed me in the coverage of this game, people kept making such a big deal of our first appearance at the new wembly, like as if all those appearances at the Millenium Stadium didnt count, even though we appeared there so frequently it was dubbed “Anfield South” by many.
After a strong performance in such a big tie, it can sometimes be hard to keep the intensity up for a lower profile game against a smaller side. There was no chance of this after the city game though. Next up was a 4th round tie against the old enemy, Man Utd. Of course the Reds looked tired at times in this game, there were some mistakes and we were not crisp enough in possession at times, but we had enough to win the game 2-1 to keep our cup momentum going. All the talk prior to this game had been around the Suarez-Evra controversy. Inevitably Evra was booed throughout the game by the Anfield crowd. Its was painted in the press yet again as if this means Liverpool fans condone the alleged racist remarks that Suarez is accused of making. I just want to make it clear, Liverpool fans (on the whole, i’m sure there a lot of A-Holes in the bunch too) are not defending racism, and we are not racist sympathisers. The booing and protestations at the punishment meted out to our number 7 are because we do not believe the accusation and do not believe that the FA panel proved Luis Suarez to be a racist! I know its a bit “broken record” here but i honestly cannot believe how some people (journalists and opposing fans) cannot get this into their heads. A quick analogy, if a member of my family is accused of murder, and I do not believe they did it so I protest their innocence, does this mean I am saying murder is ok? of course it doesnt! There was also some revolting, but not surprising, songs sung from the away end. In fairness i’m sure there were some songs sung back at them and I will never condone it from either end. I wish we could ever just get to a point were death and tragedy is not used as a stick in this immature baiting.
Anyway, rant over, back to the football! These two highly impressive results were followed up by a strong performance, against a poor Wolves performance which resulted in a fairly pedestrian 3-0 victory. Following this run we were confident going into a very important game against one of the league’s strongest sides, Spurs, at Anfield. Unfortunately it was back to service as normal in the league and a return to “Copy, Paste and Repeat” where we dominated the game for large parts, rarely looked in danger but were somehow unable to find the winning goal. Of course, out of context this is a decent result. Spurs are a very stong side and still involved in the title race. But having watched the 90 minutes it was hard not to be disappointed at only achieving the 1 point when it would not have take much more to achieve the 3.
While our League form has continued to frustrate, I don't think anyone would say that things aren't looking rosier than they were this time 3 or 4 weeks ago. As well as what I've written above we've also had a number of other positives. Andy Carroll has bagged a goal, a couple of assists and his performances have improved to a level where many are starting to believe that we might actually have a player on our hands. Bellamy has been a revelation and he has seemed in better shape to start games more frequently which has been a bonus. Dirk is back amongst the goals too and maybe making people who wrote him off think twice. Lets not forget that this run has also coincided with Luis Suarez’s ban, imagine what we can achieve with him back in their side. We are still without Lucas meaning Kenny still wont have a chance to name his strongest 11 until next season at least but on the whole Spearing has looked an able deputy in the hard running defensive mid role. We have another huge game coming up at the weekend. this time an away trip against United. I think all in all were are sitting quite well in the league. There is no doubt we need to improve our chance conversion rate if we want to get into the top 4 but with Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle all looking like they will drop more points there is no reason to stop believing that we can make it. Were already in 1 cup final and who would bet against us making it 2? As transitional seasons go... its not bad is it?
