« on: January 1, 2024, 06:57:00 pm »
Liverpool FC vs Newcastle United
Premier League: Round 20
Venue: Anfield
Officials:
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn.
Fourth official: Andy Madley.
VAR: Stuart Attwell.
Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
Managers:
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp
Newcastle United: Eddie Howe
Team Selection:
Liverpool: TBD
Newcastle United: TBD
I am tired. Not as tired as our lads and nowhere near as exhausted as the lads playing for Newcastle.
It is the first day of the New Year and I am tired. Life has been coming pretty fast as of late, which is one of the reasons why I have taken a rather large step back from RAWK. However, I am here now, and my love of the Reds has not diminished in then the slightest. It is the new year, and that is supposed to mean newly renewed energy and anticipation of great things ahead as we enter 2024. In regards to football however, it is nearing the end of the festive period in which the Reds played ten times in last 32 days days, a rate of about one game ever three days. A grueling schedule to be sure. Our record over the past month has been quite good, two draws, seven wins, one loss and one to play still. Scoring 21 goals in all comps and conceding 8, and securing our place in each competition we were in at the start of the season. In contrast things have not been so merry and bright for the Barcodes who have also had a grueling holiday schedule, playing ten times but with vastly different results than the boys in Red. Two wins, two draws (one became a loss in the League Cup, being knocked out on pens to the London Plastics), and six losses (not counting the League Cup Loss). Eddie Howes boys have scored 9 goals but have conceded as whopping 15, and have since been knocked out of the Champions League and the League Cup, leaving them just competing in the league and the FA Cup.
Earlier this season we had some rough luck at St. James, our captain was sent off and we played down a man for 70+ minutes. Enter our hero for the day, Darwin Nunez, coming off the bench and smashing two near identical strikes and securing us the win. I know Darwin divides opinion of even our own supporters, and I am aware that he has had a decently long stretch without scoring (I would have hated be around some of the doubters when Crouchie was having his drought...) but that is all behind us now. He netted our first against Burnley on Boxing Day, and there will be more to come, much more.
What does all of this mean for the league, for this season and beyond? Well the rise of the state owned clubs had left many questions unanswered about stability in football, ethics, and breaking/bending rules. Putting that aside can be difficult, so I wont, I have not forgotten nor shall I in the future. Watching these slip down the table after their meteoric rise last season has been great to observe. What the future holds regarding these state owned clubs, their ethics, and the total future of the sport remains to be seen. We can only just play whats in front of us, and win what we can.
When the call for match write ups went out, I had long been away from RAWK, but I decided to lend my hand yet again at writing a bit for the site and in support of the club I love. I opted for this match for a few reasons, not least of which was the fact that we have a long history with these and I love beating them, especially at home. One of the other reasons I chose this one is I have an old mate who is a massive 'Toon fan, he has been bigging his boys up for a long while now. Loads of talk about them finishing above us last year, being in the CL and we are not, having money to spend, being on the up, Liverpool being old... and so on. Words can not adequately express the joy I had when our number 9 smashed that brace into the back of the net at their place. Bliss. Seeing them fall apart over the past weeks, knocked out of both the Champions League and League Cup, injuries stacking up... (we have our own I know, I a proper devastated that Kostas is out for a long while now. What a player he has been!).
Lets just say that the WhatsApp has been quite as of late, especially after Luton.
I am relishing the opportunity to send more that a few jibes his direction post match.
Jurgan, Redmen, don't let me down. Bring on these and lets smash them and take these points.
« Last Edit: January 1, 2024, 09:46:58 pm by TepidT2O »
Logged
“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
“Generosity always pays off. Generosity in your effort, in your work, in your kindness, in the way you look after people and take care of people. In the long run, if you are generous with a heart, and with humanity, it always pays off.”
W
