Christmas went very well, met everyone I wanted to meet and had several brilliant nights out, football wise things could have been better. Liverpool went into crunch games top of the league but faced two daunting trips to Man city and Chelsea in the space of three days. The first game was at City with Liverpool having to make do without Lucas, Enrique, Gerrard, Sturridge and Flanagan. The game began well with Philippe Coutinho scoring a well worked goal but by half time City were in front thanks to goals from Vincent Kompany and Alvaro Negredo (the second of which was very avoidable certainly from the viewpoint of Simon Mignolet). The reds were further disappointed when Raheem Sterling had a goal chalked off incorrectly as he was deemed offside even though he was at least 5 yards on. In the second half Liverpool pushed hard and created chances but just couldn’t force an equalizer and were also robbed of at least one penalty and we lost 2-1.
3 days later it was more of the same as we went to Chelsea. Poor refereeing again cost us as we again lost having lead, Martin Skrtel scored the opener but Eden Hazard drew Chelsea level not long after with a wonderful strike. Just before half time Samuel E’too scored the winner as Simon Mignolet narrowly failed to keep the ball out although he really should have saved it, Martin Skrtel’s poor marking didn’t help. In the second half Liverpool tried their damndest but couldn’t force an equalizer with the soon to be injured Mamadou Sakho heading against the bar and Suarez was again robbed of at least one penalty following a bizarre foul by E’too that went unpunished. E’too could easily have been sent off in the first minute but then again it was Howard cheating c*nt Webb refereeing, the same cheating c*nt that always seemed to screw us over, how the cheating c*nt is let referee is us beyond me, his bias was so blatantly obvious it just took the absolute piss. Oh, did I mention he’s a cheating c*nt? Well he is.
We lost 2-1 again, then again there was only so much a threadbare squad could do given youngsters like Brad Smith and Jordan Rossiter were on the bench, Smith was deployed late on out of position and looked lost, why Luis Alberto was ignored here I don’t know, a 7m signing dumped in favour of a reserve left back playing left wing, then again Alberto was largely ignored most of the season.
The two defeats dropped us to 5th and 6 points off top but we would go unbeaten for a very long time and gradually clawed our way back, the long road started with a new year’s day win over Hull City, Daniel Agger headed home the first and Luis Suarez made it 2-0 just after half time, and that took us back into the top 4. The FA cup then took over as for the third year in a row Liverpool played Oldham, goals from Iago Aspas and an own goal from James Tarkowski put us into round 4, I had spent most of the day in Donegal, it was about 2 hours from the house. As I was in work the next day the last thing I needed was a late night, and when the call came to go home early I wasn’t too disappointed but that soon evaporated when some genius decided to call into an Aunt (that they had only seen the day before I might add) for 5 minutes. 5 minutes my fucking hole, we arrived at 5.30 and didn’t leave until 8, just what you want when you have to drive 65 miles to work the next morning.
A week later we had a tricky match at Stoke, it was a fixture we always seemed to struggle in although nerves were calmed when Aly Cissokho scored the opener via a massive deflection off Ryan Shawcross and soon after Luis Suarez made it two taking advantage of some terrible defending. But by half time time our 2-0 lead evaporated with old boys Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam equalizing. This was a game in recent years that Liverpool would normally have crumbled but this was a different Liverpool, perhaps not just because of Brendan Rodgers but maybe sports psychologist Steve Peters.
The reds didn’t fold their tent and came back to lead again when Raheem Sterling was brought down in the penalty area and Steven Gerrard converted the resulting spot kick, Luis Suarez made it 4-2 and restored the two goal lead following good work from returning sub Daniel Sturridge, it seemed game over again but when Jon Walters shot squirmed under Mignolet to make it 4-3 it was game on again. Liverpool continued to fight fire with fire and attacked relentlessly whatever the opposition and this was rewarded when Sturridge coolly kept his head to make it 5-3 near the death. It may have had negatives but Liverpool’s desire and will to win and the fact they did under difficult circumstances shouldn’t have been underestimated.
There were many calls for Liverpool to strengthen in January particularly in defensive midfield, Steven Gerrard filled in there for now but at times looked ill at ease and when Liverpool hosted Aston Villa the cries and demands only got more intense. Rodgers tried to include Coutinho, Gerrard, Sterling, Henderson, Suarez and Sturridge all at once and it just seemed to completely unbalance the team. It was a match you would expect us to win easily but Liverpool suddenly found themselves two goals down with Andreas Weimann and Christian Benteke giving the visitors a huge lead, it could have been even bigger as Ciaran Clark struck a post for them.
Just before half time we finally woke up as Daniel Sturridge blasted home and all of a sudden things didn’t look so bad, Lucas displaced Coutinho at half time to balance the team better and in truth Coutinho’s performance had been poor, Gerrard was now able to get forward more and equalized from the spot after a foul on Luis Suarez but Liverpool failed to force a winner. It seemed fitting they would given it was my birthday and I had friends up from Dublin for a great night but such is life, it ended 2-2 and to be honest given the god awful first half it was perhaps a fair result.
The FA Cup took centre stage the following Saturday and Liverpool overcame Bournemouth 2-0 with goals in either half from the largely forgotten Victor Moses and the brilliant Daniel Sturridge. Moses had literally done nothing up to this point since his debut goal and would pretty much do nothing again for the rest of the season, had Liverpool had the required depth then surely Moses would have been sent packing in January back to Chelsea.
As we prepared for the Mersey derby we continued to wonder if we were going to go into the transfer market, Lucas had been injured shortly into his return against Villa, Joe Allen had niggles and Steven Gerrard wasn’t fancied in this role, it seemed like we needed to beef up the area with names such as Yann M’Vila mentioned. The players we were linked with seemed to lean more towards attacking options with Basle’s Mohamed Salah and Dnipro’s (Ukraine) Yevhen Konoplyanka both linked heavily.
I was seriously dreading the Mersey derby, Everton were hard to beat all season and arguably in better form than us. Liverpool however have never needed any motivation to up their game for the Blues and deservedly took the lead thanks to a crushing header from the captain Steven Gerrard, it was a double whammy for Everton as their main striker Romelu Lukaku was injured in the build-up. Liverpool were simply relentless and although Everton attacked they left themselves prone to a ruthless counter attack, and on 33 minutes Daniel Sturridge raced clear to make it 2-0. 2 minutes later Sturridge sent the crowd wild again with a brilliant lob over Tim Howard and it was 3-0 and game over, Liverpool just couldn’t be stopped. 5 minutes into the second half it was 4 when Luis Suarez beat the offside trap and counter attacked himself and ran half the pitch to make it 4-0. I was simply euphoric and it seemed a case of how many but 4 was all it was and Daniel Sturridge should have had more, Sturridge was withdrawn having shown selfishness in some build ups and also missed a penalty but his goals helped us back to third as January ended although some teams around us had games in hand.
Having failed to add to the squad in the January transfer window (most notably the failure to sign Yevhen Konoplyanka) the knives were out when we limped to a 1-1 draw at West Brom, it was not a good game but it appeared to be one of them heading for a boring 1-0 win when Daniel Sturridge scored from a Luis Suarez assist but a horrendous error from Kolo Toure allowed the former Everton man Victor Anichebe to score and the game ended 1-1, it was just one of them games you could have seen out but as unexpected as the mistake was, nothing could prepare us for the following Saturday.
Liverpool were to host Arsenal who were top of the table, and I just had a god awful feeling about it as I hadn’t forgotten the victory they had over us earlier in the season and it was a fixture Liverpool hadn’t won in 7 years. Within 10 minutes the fears were turned into utter disbelief and for all the right reasons. Martin Skrtel prodded home a Steven Gerrard free kick after just 33 seconds and less than 10 minutes later it was two when Skrtel’s flying header doubled the lead.
Arsenal were simply like rabbits in headlights, Sturridge missed a great chance to make it three while Suarez nearly smashed the Anny Road end goal to pieces with a thunderous volley off the inside of the post, Kolo Toure couldn’t react in time to turn it home. The third goal was surely only a matter of time away and it arrived when Jordan Henderson mugged Mesut Ozil, and in the ensuing break Raheem Sterling arrived to make it 3-0 and this all after just 16 minutes. Daniel Sturridge remarkably added a 4th after just 19 minutes. It was the most brutal first round assault anyone had seen Apollo Creed got his ass handed to him by Ivan Drago. I was leaping all over the house like an absolute mad man, at this rate it could be any score. Half time came and went, 8-0 would have been a fair reflection but when Sterling added a 5th in the second half it was to be the last of the day for us, Mikel Arteta did score a penalty for them but the 5-1 win gave everyone notice, Liverpool were a force and the force had blown the league wide open. It was probably the finest performance I’d ever seen from a Liverpool side.
4 days later was to be another win but against a relegation candidate in Fulham, we struggled to get going and fell behind early thanks to a calamitous own goal from Kolo Toure. Liverpool levelled on half time thanks to a wonderful assist from Steven Gerrard and a fine finish by Daniel Sturridge. Kieran Richardson restored Fulham’s lead somewhat undeservedly but now Liverpool were beginning to motor as Philippe Coutinho’s fine finish made it 2-2. Our chances to win came, although a rather sickening collision with Martin Stekelenburg and Luis Suarez meant Fulham relied on reserve keeper David Stockdale to mind nets for the final 11 minutes. In injury time a penalty from Steven Gerrard saw us scoop a massive 3 points and a 3-2 win, with most of the big teams around us slipping up; the result put us 4th but just three points off the top spot. Chelsea and City did have games in hand in third and second but still had to visit Anfield.
Next up though was the FA cup as Arsenal hosted us, I was not in a good mood as we arranged to see our wedding band, It mightn’t sound like much but they were a very good band If I may so, having arranged this all week we ended up being so late we didn’t get to see them play, this was because my Mrs decided to start hoovering and ironing instead of getting out the fucking door (yet of course she somehow figured out it was my fault).
The match itself wasn’t great either, shambolic defending allowed Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in to score the opener and early in the second half Lukas Podolski added a second. Liverpool fought back thanks to a penalty from Steven Gerrard but couldn’t force an equalizer, thanks once again to Howard wanker Webb not giving us another blatant penalty. We lost 2-1 and I was not in a good mood, particularly when my Mrs just moaned at me all day despite her being in the wrong, more fool me for marrying her I guess.
The following Sunday was a home match with Swansea and it was to be goals galore, Daniel Sturridge got things off to a flyer with a goal inside two minutes and Jordan Henderson added a second after 19 minutes with a superbly taken goal. Swansea did pull it back through Jonjo Shelvey and a Martin Skrtel own goal but Sturridge scored another to make it 3-2, although things were still on a knife-edge and just after half time a Wilifred Bony penalty made it 3-3. The match could have gone either way but another from Henderson gave us a 4-3 win against Rodgers former club, I had unfortunately missed the game due to the funeral of my dad’s friend Joe, lord rest his soul.
In a late Saturday evening kick off our next game was against Southampton, the only team to have beaten us at Anfield all season, nerves were settled when Luis Suarez scored the opener although Southampton should have levelled when Adam Lallana hit the post from close range. In the second half Raheem Sterling scored within seconds of coming on as sub for Phil Coutinho and with just seconds left on the clock, a foul on Luis Suarez allowed Steven Gerrard to convert a spot kick and make it 3-0. The result put us second and ahead of Arsenal who not so long ago had been 8 points clear of us, Chelsea were a point ahead but with a game in hand while Man City in 4th were 2 behind us with 2 games in hand, that said something made me send this to my brother that night,
“You don’t actually think we could win the league do you?,,,,”
We were like a formula 1 driver, we would have taken a podium at the start, we were running in the top 3 but there was the leader just ahead, lets fucking have them!
The next game was against Manchester united at Old Trafford but this was not the daunting match it once was, United were struggling for Europe never mind the league, the appointment of David Moyes had been pretty much ridiculed and for once Liverpool were favourites, we did start much the better team but a penalty was all that separated us at half time as a handball by Rafael was punished with a Steven Gerrard penalty conversion. Just after half time United’s day got worse when Joe Allen was bundled over and Gerrard converted again, it was rare a team got one penalty at Old Trafford let alone two but one more was en route although replays indicated Daniel Sturridge appeared to dive when challenged by Nemanja Vidic who was furious with the decision, remarkably for the 4th time Vidic was sent off against us. Gerrard had a glorious chance from the spot to make it 3 but he hit the post and the united fans lapped it up, SIT THE FUCK DOWN YOU’RE SHITE, yeah there’s more coming you shitehawks, Luis Suarez added a third and Liverpool recorded a handsome 3-0 win at Old Trafford, we meant business. We were just one point behind Chelsea in second after they had lost at Aston Villa the previous day.
The following week I hauled myself out of bed for Liverpool’s trip to Cardiff, I wasn’t hung-over, as a matter of fact I had decided to go off the drink for lent and that included Patrick’s week, I found it hard to cover my mortgage, I had a car falling apart and I was trying to save for a wedding so a few bob needed to be saved plus I just needed a break from it, I wasn’t really overdoing it but I just was fed up of hangovers and given I was doing a fair bit of training I didn’t see the harm.
The reason for my lateness getting out of bed was I was dying with a cold but given I didn’t have setanta at home I hauled myself to a bar, I didn’t drink of course but I just wanted to see the game which had the potential to be a banana skin, it looked that way when Jordan Mutch put Cardiff ahead after 8 minutes. It took Liverpool a while to get going but they responded just 7 minutes later thanks to a well taken goal from Luis Suarez. Cardiff did take the lead again and certainly gave as good as they got in the first half, Frazier Campbell put them back in front. Their second lead didn’t last much longer than the first and that was thanks to a header from Martin Skrtel which gave a half time score of 2-2.
The big Slovak added another early in the second half, although Cardiff felt aggrieved given they had 2 players off the field injured by referee’s orders as Skrtel got his second headed goal of the game to give us a 3-2 lead. You got the feeling it could end up any score, Suarez added his second just before the hour mark and Daniel Sturridge added a brilliant 5th, it was game over although Cardiff still pushed on and three minutes from time Jordan Mutch made it 5-3, you just didn’t know if this was going to be one of them days with us but in added time Suarez rounded off his hat-trick to give us a 6-3 win. It was all well and good scoring more than the opposition although you did wonder if the defence would ultimately cost us.
The big teams all went goal crazy, Chelsea had earlier smashed 6 past Arsenal, whilst Man City put 5 past Fulham, we were just one point off Chelsea in second but City in third was just three points behind us and had two games in hand. As for finishing in the top 4? Well we were now 11 points clear of 5th placed Everton, so the targets were revised, Liverpool were going for glory.
The following Wednesday we had a chance to go top as we hosted Sunderland at Anfield, they did their best to stifle us but just before half time a wonderful free kick from Steven Gerrard gave us the lead and two minutes into the second half Daniel Sturridge added a second via a small deflection. It appeared as if we may go crazy but the introduction of Sunderland subs Adam Johnson and Ki Sung Yeung changed their approach and both subs combined for Ki to score with 14 minutes left. It was a very nervous 14 minutes, particularly when an Adam Johnson free kick flashed across Simon Mignolet’s goal in the 88th minute but we managed to hold on, it was encouraging, not every game can be a 3-0 or a 5-1, sometimes you just have to dig deep and hold on for your life, champions do need to win ugly too and this was the 7th win in a row. I didn’t celebrate, it was just relief and I honestly can’t recall too many games where I was that relieved to hear a final whistle.
Our next game on Sunday, we had suddenly got it all in our own hands, the previous day Chelsea lost at Crystal Palace whilst City drew 1-1 at Arsenal, there was still a long way to go but crucially it meant that with 7 games left of the league season we would be champions if we could win every game, you take one game at a time but to have the destiny in your own hands is a bonus, this does add pressure but Liverpool exploded out of the blocks against Spurs and rose to the pressure magnificently.
Younes Kaboul turned the ball into his own net to give us the lead inside two minutes and a mistake by Michael Dawson was punished to the full by Luis Suarez who gave us a 2-0 half time lead, Spurs rarely threatened, one chance really for Christian Eriksen but that was about it, Suarez had also seen a header pushed against the bar by the brilliant yet overworked Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal. It was one of them you swear is in, you jump up and shout yes, and then sit back down scratching your head hoping no one noticed.
But if anyone did laugh at me (and no one did) then it was me who had the last laugh, Liverpool are always encouraged to play out of defence and when the excellent Jon Flanagan sold his opponent a dummy we had successfully began a move starting at the back which ended with a superb finish from Phillippe Coutinho who drilled home Liverpool’s third goal, and we did add a 4th when Jordan Henderson’s free kick evaded everyone and nestled into the Kop end goal for a fine 4-0 win, we were now 4 clear of City who had two games in hand, 5 ahead of Chelsea who had one game in hand and had played the same amount of games as Arsenal but were now 7 clear of them. April’s 5 wins meant Brendan Rodgers was deservedly manager of the month with West Ham up next.
The Hammers were never going to be easy and it was again a case of digging deep, in truth our performance was nothing spectacular and both sides cancelled each other out until a handball by James Tomkins allowed Steven Gerrard to score from the spot. The home side were level in controversial circumstances as Guy Demel prodded home from close range when Simon Mignolet failed to deal with a corner although he was clearly impeded by former Liverpool man, Andy Carroll. The Liverpool players protested big time and even though it’s not allowed a replay was screened in the stadium but the referee chose not only to ignore that, but also the decision of his linesman (who wanted the goal disallowed). The goal stood with it being clear that Carroll had practically shoved his hands in the face of Mignolet.
There was to be more controversy when with 20 minutes left, Hammers keeper Adrian was adjudged to have fouled Jon Flanagan, West Ham weren’t happy although it looked to me as if there was contact and Gerrard again stepped up to score his second penalty of the game, it would finish 2-1 to us and it as was as you were at the top of the table.
A lot was going to hinge on the next game, it was Man City at home, a win would really drive home just how serious our challenge was, it would be our 10th win running if we could do it, or it could be all over, with the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough that week we knew only a win would really do.
That weekend I had invited my folks up to my house so they could spend some time with us and see the wedding venue, unfortunately I had arranged this weeks in advance (it was the hotel’s wedding open day) and completely forgot it clashed with the game. I had to sneak out, the wedding was over a year away, that could wait for now, Liverpool winning the league was something that did happen in my lifetime, but it wasn’t something I’d ever seen as a fan, I’d just missed the boat but this felt like my time, in previous failed challenges I felt there would be always next year. I didn’t think so this time, next year with the champion’s league we would have our hands full, this year it was just a case of concentrating on the league, and this was an opportunity we couldn’t let pass, was this finally our time?
Here we go, we decided to miss the first half and watch the second, the phone reception was utter shite but what reception I did get saw scores filter through, the excellent form of Raheem Sterling continued with the young man scoring a well taken opener where he practically took the piss out of City inside 5 minutes. It was going our way big time and after 25 mins a flying header from Martin Skrtel made it 2-0, City were falling apart and we were like rabid animals, Yaya Toure was also gone off injured and surely we were on our way.
Just 5 minutes into the second half City withdrew the hopeless Jesus Navas and replaced him with the hardworking James Milner, this galvanised city who looked a different team. David Silva pulled one back and it was game on again, just after the hour mark a Glen Johnson own goal levelled the scores. I really felt sick, I was bursting for a shite as nerves had got to me and I just couldn’t see us getting back in front, it wasn’t going to end 2-2 and they were in the ascendency, Silva narrowly missed a chance to put them in front and I just had that horrible sinking feeling that this was the day it would all slip away, we had been 2-0 up but that fucking defence was fucking killing us again.
Liverpool’s attacks became rarer and rarer, but right out of nothing Vincent Kompany wildly swung at the ball to try clear a throw, he made a complete hash of the clearance and it was seized upon by Phillippe Coutinho who rifled a shot low and hard into the Anfield Road end net. The roof threatened to blow off Anfield, was this the goal the title race would depend on? There was still 13 minutes to go, 13 hours as Dad put it. Jesus would the match ever end?
In the several minutes added on we sat back, Martin Skrtel somehow got away with a blatant handball, we fought time and again to repel every attack that bypassed midfield and prodded away at a leaky defence. We tried for the counter attack, substitute Victor Moses had a chance for this with his pace but a mis-controlled ball saw us lose possession, Liverpool won it back through Jordan Henderson who also failed to control it and lunged wildly at Samir Nasri resulting in a straight red card, Henderson would be banned for three games and we were going to miss him.
An eternity later the final whistle blew and finally I could now believe we were going to win the league, it felt like Chelsea in the semi-final of 2005 all again, this surely had to be it? The nerves were gone, I was shaking and yes the toilet couldn’t come quick enough as I’m sure you wanted to know. Steven Gerrard seemed to be crying, he immediately rallied his team roaring
“This doesn’t fucking slip, it’s gone, we go to Norwich, exactly the same, we go again!”
The captain’s war cry, was this to be finally his crowning glory?
We were now 7 points ahead of city in third who had two games in hand, Chelsea’s 1-0 win at Swansea meant they were second having played one game less but they were 5 adrift, 4 more wins and Liverpool were champions.
The following Wednesday City could only draw at home to Sunderland whilst Sunderland again did us a massive favour on the Saturday with a surprise 2-1 win at Chelsea, the beauty of this was the winner was scored by Fabio Borini who was on loan from us, that was the Saturday and I felt like it was a moment, that moment that you know the title is going your way! A win over Norwich would put us 8 clear of Chelsea who would have one game in hand and 9 clear of City who would have two. It would also mean that we could draw a remaining game.
Norwich away was the Easter Sunday and a rocket from Raheem Sterling opened the scoring inside just three minutes, and a further 7 minutes later Luis Suarez made it two, remarkably it was his 12th goal against Norwich in just 5 games. Norwich did fight back to their credit and one wonders would they have found themselves in a relegation dog fight if they showed that commitment all season? Gary Hooper brought Norwich back into it following a defensive shambles but Sterling restored our two goal lead with a fine run and a shot which took a wicked deflection. There was still time for Norwich to fight back and a header from Robert Snodgrass brought it back to 3-2 and gave us a nervy last 13 minutes, Norwich did come close to levelling when a header from Ricky Van Wolfswinkel was stopped on the line by Simon Mignolet. Liverpool just about held on although it would have been easier if Lucas hadn’t have missed a simple chance in injury time, that said the win was Liverpool’s 11th in a row. We were 8 points clear of Chelsea with just three games left although they had a game in hand; city would defeat West Brom the next day and were 6 behind us with a game in hand.
I was now 100% convinced we had it, I was looking forward to a good end of season party, I wondered would it be the Palace or Newcastle game we would do it, I wanted it to be the last day of the season, I had already a day off booked after it, I had the same for the day after the palace game though that was more by coincidence. A cruel twist of fate was just waiting around the corner.
That Sunday we were to play a Chelsea side missing several regulars through injury, they were there for the taking it seemed and I didn’t for one second envisage anything other than a win, I never for a split second thought we would lose, as the team bus arrived at Anfield, crowds lined the streets, songs were sung, flares went off, it was like a cauldron, there was no way we wouldn’t win it.
Chelsea began and set their stall out early, this was a game sandwiched between their two legged European cup semi-final with Atletico Madrid so their focus was elsewhere too, but from the first minute it was clear their tactic was to just sit back and they pretty much had 8 defenders from the get go. We for once couldn’t break them down but with the way the season went you just felt it was only a matter of time, I even text my brother closing in on half time
“Well score any second now I can feel it”
I knew I was tempting fate but I hit send, my belief was somewhere around 99%, I kind of got that feeling but what the hell, we were going to win the league cos were the best team in the fucking land, then it happened.
I think you all know, deep into first half injury time Liverpool continued to push for a goal that they didn’t really need, in a defensive midfield role that he had settled into after a nervy beginning in January, Steven Gerrard received the ball inside his own half, Liverpool’s attacking instinct saw full backs push up and centre backs spread out wide and this would allow us space to find passes with Gerrard dropping deep almost as third centre back. Mamadou Sakho passed the ball to him at which point the skipper infamously lost his footing and allowed Demba Ba to run in and give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.
Wrestling commentator Jim Ross would have said “this match can’t end this way, no no no”
No way, we had come this far, surely this wasn’t how it would end?, that would be just too cruel, Chelsea’s defence stood like a wall, chances were few and far between, a Joe Allen volley went close but it seemed like maybe a draw would be the best we could hope for, the belief and faith was still there for me, I fully believed going into the 91st minute we would at least equalize, Gary Neville even predicted a United- Sheffield Wednesday type match that morning from 1993 (you should know what that is). A Luis Suarez volley was tipped over in the 91st minute and I just knew that was the last chance, and to make matters worse Chelsea would score again when Fernando Torres set up Willian to make it 2-0, this game was up.
The destiny of the title race was no longer in our hands, later on that day Man City won 2-0 at Crystal Palace, and the following Saturday they took the lead on goal difference with a 3-2 win at Everton. Their goal difference was a good deal better than ours so with two games to go both teams were level, Chelsea were soon out of it (in theory anyway) after a 0-0 draw at home to Norwich so it was us vs. City, though City’s last two games were at home to Aston Villa and West Ham, easily winnable whilst we had Palace away and Newcastle at home. We would need a massive goal haul realistically, the only positive I could take was if we beat palace then we would go into the final day, worst case scenario, level with city and anything could happen but in truth after the Chelsea game I was physically sick, from feeling we had it won I could only feel it slipping away.
Palace away was the bank holiday Monday and we lead at half time through Joe Allen, the avalanche of goals wasn’t materialising it seemed (in the first half) though it did appear Glen Johnson had been fouled for a penalty whilst he also missed another chance and we did have chances prior to Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez scoring two in two minutes, it was 3-0 and palace looked dead and buried while we finally threatened to run riot. There was just over 10 minutes left on the clock when Palace defender Damien Delaney picked the ball up some 30 yards from goal and his shot took a wicked deflection of Glen Johnson to make it 3-1. The goal difference wasn’t going to get much better but suddenly just 60 seconds later as we pushed forward, Palace burst down the left, I think it was Bolasie who made the run, I’m not arsed looking this up on YouTube for obvious reasons but he took off like a fucking bullet. Philippe Coutinho thought about bringing him down but either thought better of it or just couldn’t catch him and sub Dwight Gayle made it 2-3. Jesus Christ, from running the show to a shambles, we had simply just caved in.
I was starting to spew like a volcano, I was waiting to erupt, I was like a fucking demon, I knew now that there was no way this was ending 3-2, we were going to blow it, our defence had simply crumbled and when Gayle made it 3-3 I was seriously so fucking pissed off I probably could have taken on both Klitschko brothers and won inside one round. I just wanted to smash up something, I was fuming, we had just thrown this away. We did have a chance in injury time but Victor Moses missed the ball completely and the game ended 3-3, we had wasted many chances, before 79 minutes no one could have argued if Liverpool had scored 6 or 7 but in going for the big win they had forgotten the basic principle of getting three points, it was like taking on a huge gamble in a casino, you have won £100,000 but you decide to keep going until you get a million only to lose it all.
I just went to bed at 1030, I had the next day off but what was the point in getting hung-over now, I just wanted the night over, how had it come to this? We were top with one game to go yet I felt like my world caved in. A few nights later City trounced Villa 4-0 and they were now two points clear of us with a much better goal difference so they just needed a draw on the final day.
When Sunday came I prayed like mad to God, one last divine miracle please, I woke up thinking that we had done so well to take it to the final day and I was going into a day we could win the league, a new experience if nothing else but it was unrealistic. The game started with a great atmosphere against Newcastle but within 10 minutes the crowd seemed dead and the players nervous, it was as if they knew their chance was gone and it was. 20 minutes in and Martin Skrtel turned the ball into his own net for Newcastle to take the lead (just after a disallowed goal from Luis Suarez). Liverpool looked shaky and in truth it was probably their worst 45 minutes of the season, meanwhile at City a goal from Samir Nasri had given them the lead against West Ham and it seemed game over.
In the second half we did manage a comeback as Daniel Agger scored from a Steven Gerrard free kick after 63 minutes and just two minutes later Daniel Sturridge did the exact same, Newcastle were immediately reduced to ten men as Shola Ameobi was sent off for dissent and two minutes from time a foul by Paul Dummett on Luis Suarez saw him go for an early bath too (later rescinded on appeal) but regrettably by this stage City were 2-0 up (Kompany) and that was the end of our challenge, full time at the City of Manchester stadium meant we had to settle for second best even if we did win 2-1.
There is no doubt we had a fine season, we played some outstanding football that was probably the best ever seen from a Liverpool side, to score over 100 league goals was phenomenal and in truth I would have taken 4th even when we were top at Christmas, never mind in August. It was an outstanding achievement to blow United into the weeds, overhaul Arsenal and finish ahead of Chelsea but the way the season ended just left a bad taste in the mouth. I really just felt this was our time, it was everything I ever wanted, I stopped worrying about weddings and money cos I was just so psyched, I really felt it was meant to be, that slip will haunt more than a few fans all summer.
For me next season the club is in good shape, between TV deals and lucrative sponsors the clubs finances are in excellent shape, there is money there and it’s a long way away from the days of Hicks and Gillett. I just feel that with the champions league thrown in we may struggle slightly with the extra demands on the squad, we do need to add some excellent quality to give the side options and cover inevitable injuries, the first 11 can match any but when you need a game changer you look on the bench and see Iago Aspas and Victor Moses and that just doesn’t do at all.
If Liverpool can add 4 quality signings then we can do it, there will be extra demands on the squad but it’s not like we didn’t have players injured this season, I don’t know who we will buy, we could end up with a dream team or utter shite, for various reasons the last three times we finished 2nd we followed it up with no better than 5th.
Brendan Rodgers may well win the title one day, he proved this season he is capable of it, his style of play is sensational but he needs to see where to make the tweaks, it’s often the case that the final step from 2nd to 1st is the hardest but for now there is no doubt he is the right man for the job. It is easy to say the defence that conceded 50 league goals cost us and it did, but a lot of that is tactics, we could easily just concede 30 next year but its finding the right balance. When Liverpool attack the way they do they will concede goals by over committing themselves, we could just sit back and concede less but that could stifle the attack to score maybe 65-70, it’s all about finding the right balance.
The champions league will cause extra demand but it also has its plusses, not just playing in it but we can now have a greater chance of finding us players that will not only keep us there but help us to take that final step, all we can do in the summer is wait and see. There are many positives this season, and I never expected to be in the top 2 in August, the fact we took it to the final day speaks volumes and it was just a pity how it all ended but like Manchester united in 1992 this is an experience we must now draw on and not make the same mistakes, if we don’t make the mistakes again then we head to a bright new dawn but if we do then number 19 will be just as far away as ever.
So near yet so far.