Topic: 19-18: now it's your turn.

[tommy LFC]

So that's it. Here we lie, freshly knocked off our perch. If Man united get one point against Blackburn or Blackpool they will win a 19th title. 19-18. To them. Manchester United; the most successful English team in terms of league titles in history.

I never thought I'd see the day. Even as United racked up title after title, I believed in every false dawn more than the last and was sure that "this year is going to be our year". As United got closer and the media started hyping it up, I will admit it got to me. I was watching every United game in their title run in willing them to loose, while we were nowhere to be seen. I hate to admit it but I had become an "anyone but them" fan. I didn't just concentrate on Liverpool's fixture, it was also United and Chelsea's. I know people may criticize me for this but when you are being chased so ruthlessly it's hard not watch your back instead of looking forward.

The record of 18 league titles is something I was hugely proud of. And I still am. This club is about winning trophies, and we haven't done that recently and I doubt there is anyone out there who thinks United don't deserve this. If we had won one title in the last 20 years, I wouldn't be typing this. I won't go as far as congratulating them, but they do deserve it.

Well now the roles are reversed. No longer are we sitting ducks. We don't have a giant bullseye on our chests anymore; now we are doing the shooting. No longer do we have to worry about watching our backs and worrying about them catching us. Now we can look forward and worry about catching them. We can worry about Liverpool FC. I think it's symbolic that we have been overtaken now. This is the start of a new dawn; new owners, new manager, new staff structure and new, hungry players. This is a new Liverpool. One that will not be burdened by achievements of past teams and worrying about giving away a sacred club record. Instead they will be given all the encouragement they need to catch United, and become peers with the great teams gone by. 20 years worth of Liverpool players have buckled under the pressure of playing for the most successful (in terms of leagues) team in England, now lets see how they deal with it. I know Kenny is hurting today. As is Stevie and Carra. Well now the objective is very simple: knock Alex Ferguson the fuck out before he skips off into the sunset.

You can read this how you like; a post which smacks of desperation, maybe a post that rambles on without a point. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I'm looking forward to becoming the hunter.

Gentlemen, the race to 20 begins now.

[CraigDS]

Who cares what they've got - we are Liverpool.

[AlphaDelta]

Mark my words, Kenny wont just knock him off his perch.....he'll boot him off it!

[Stussy]

There's nothing to say, except - heads up, and forward, Redmen!

[itsgunnabebarnes!]

I just hope the players understand the pain, and rise to the fight that is required. A good shop in the summer, with players eager to wear the red shirts may just see us rise again. Having said that i quite like going into next season with limited expectation, the underdog may suit us.

[PaulF]

Gentlemen, the race to 20 begins now.

I'm just glad, that we have got a car to race in.  The fact that our driver is a legend, and the owners will make sure we will have a decent set of wheels makes me look forward with hope. I believe we are at the end of the storm now.

[dionj]

Mark my words, Kenny wont just knock him off his perch.....he'll boot him off it!

steel toe capped

[Ultimate Bromance]

I know they mean well, I really do, but can't say I'm looking forward to the inevitable bout of "inspirational perch reclaiming bollocks" threads about to crop up in the next few weeks.

[Rafette]

Look how long it took them to catch us and pass us. They are only 1 ahead of us, and they will NEVER get as far away from us as we did from them. Have faith....

[Caeciro]

Great post. Nice way of looking at it. YNWA

[reddd10]

I would be arsed, but we've got Kenny.

[koptommy93]

I think this could be good for us. For too long now we have been obsessing over our league record and now it's gone. We're not the best, we havent been for a long time and perhaps a few people will realise that now. We have a chance to build something really great at Liverpool and I hope we take that chance. We've all waited far too long for this

[tommy LFC]

The night is darkest just before the dawn....

Damn, wish I had of got that in the original post!!

[Twelfth Man]

Monkey on our back. Not belittling the achievements of the players and manager's who got us 18 league wins but I felt for too long we have been complacent not just on the pitch but off it happy in the knowledge that we were English football's most successful team. For United they have always had an easy motivating factor, aim and goal, beating our records domestically and in Europe.

Now we have no reasons for complacency, we are the ones playing catch up, and we will need to be hungry, if we are ever to get 19, 20+ to equal and topple United from their domestic perch. Yes we hate them but no denying the fuckers have been very consistent under whiskey breath a man singularly driven by our achievements. I believe them winning 19 will make it that little bit easier to motivate our side/club to pull together and get 19.

[gazzathered]

Its time to look forward and not backwards with them chasing us as theyve now overtaken us. Just hope they dont get near our european titles.

[Liver4pool Rubberbandit]

the race  to 21 22 23 etc it will never end...you either won the most leagues or not...at the moment we havent

[Sir Capon of Debaser]

steel toe capped

Doing the Maradona 7 first, and then wellying him into the fucking Mersey

[Bob Loblaw]

18-7. How did we let a lead like that slip?

[reddd10]

We are still the most successful club in the country.

[Dish shhh]

Brilliant post Tommy, my sentiments exactly.

[Twelfth Man]

18-7. How did we let a lead like that slip?

Complacency, on and off the pitch.

[jaffod]

Sick of all this 19-18 shit, Sky will be banging on about it for evermore. Don't recall the mancs or Arsenal ever having our 18 titles rammed down their fucking throats with the same regularity.
 Likewise, I never used to give the mancs or Arsenal a moments thought when we were racking them up. They can all fuck themselves, all I'm bothered about is how we get our 19th.

[Agger]

Comeback when you have 5 european cup titles.

[MKelly34]

Aside from the bullshit we will have to hear from the United supporters - I don't care. We have a bright next season/future, let's look after ourselves now, fuck them.

And we still have 5. They have 3. 

[jaffod]

18-7. How did we let a lead like that slip?

Why do we have to compare ourselves to the fucking mancs? The only questions we need to ask are why haven't we won it for 21 years and how do we win the next one.

[Stussy]

I know they mean well, I really do, but can't say I'm looking forward to the inevitable bout of "inspirational perch reclaiming bollocks" threads about to crop up in the next few weeks.

hehe, yeah I know what you mean.

I might start one mentioning half time in Istanbul, then cut and paste YNWA lyrics underneath.

Christ, let summer be over fast.

[helmboy_nige]

I'm looking on the bright side.  We are LFC and we look at ourselves rather than the opposition.  Let Man U have their day.

As for knocking Fergie off his perch, I figured he'll possibly retire now, particularly if he wins the CL.  May have to settle for just knocking Man U in general off it!

[bailey90]

lets be honest it's been coming for a while now. Maybe now the pressure of not letting them overtake us will be off our shoulders and we can just go out and do our thing.

[Alan_X]

the race  to 21 22 23 etc it will never end...you either won the most leagues or not...at the moment we havent

Correct.

[AK47]

Monkey on our back. Not belittling the achievements of the players and manager's who got us 18 league wins but I felt for too long we have been complacent not just on the pitch but off it happy in the knowledge that we were English football's most successful team. For United they have always had an easy motivating factor, aim and goal, beating our records domestically and in Europe.

Now we have no reasons for complacency, we are the ones playing catch up, and we will need to be hungry, if we are ever to get 19, 20+ to equal and topple United from their domestic perch. Yes we hate them but no denying the fuckers have been very consistent under whiskey breath a man singularly driven by our achievements. I believe them winning 19 will make it that little bit easier to motivate our side/club to pull together and get 19.

Good post, losing the crown could be a good thing in the long run. If the players can't respond, we need ones with better mentality.

[GODS LEFT BOOT]

Well now the objective is very simple: knock Alex Ferguson the fuck out before he skips off into the sunset.

Gentlemen, the race to 20 begins now.

Lets av it!

[Alan_X]

hehe, yeah I know what you mean.

I might start one mentioning half time in Istanbul, then cut and paste YNWA lyrics underneath.

Christ, let summer be over fast.

[Bouncer]

No bother - well put them back in the grit where they belong - an old managers dying wish and the shittest team to have won the league in decades - a poor team that depends on aging players past their prime full of cheats and gobshites with a fanbase of clueless plastic gurning gimps with hardly a decent unplagiarised song between them with a penchant for leaving early to avoid the traffic especially after a 4-1 pasting - we OWN the muppets they are and always be in our shadow.  I thank God I and my best friends are not among that vermin classless crew.

[S.Red please]

Just took a little peek on redcafe to see what the mancs are saying and noticed a thread all about RAWK with something like 5000 posts? What the fuck is that all about?

Anyway, they have 19 and fair play they probably have deserved it over the past few years. We haven't challenged at all really but if there was a time when we can go and challenge for the title without worrying about owners, transfer funds, managerial problems then it is now. I dont mean next year, getting back into the top 4 is what we need but in the future.

[Filler.]

Gentlemen, the race to 20 begins now.

Is it a race? Was it a race for 19? I just thought it was the desire for it.

I was always proud of having amassed 18 league titles and thought I'd be much older than I am to seeing it being bettered, but it's been on the cards for a good long while now, so much so that when they scored after 30 seconds I had a wry smile.

I've never been one of those gloaters about it tho so maybe that's why today isn't so bitter. I've never once for instance shouted or even knowingly said stuff like 'Eighteen times mate... eighteen times.' Hate all that shit. 'Liverpool mate... Liverpool' always did it for me.

Thing that has to be remembered too is it's not about number 19, it's been about number 19 and number 20 and number 21, and the hope is of course that we may be showing one or two signs that that is a future we can possibly look forward to. That's all that really matters to me anyway.

[Upinsmoke]

I thought i would be more angered/annoyed that they got 19. I just accept it for what it is, they've been the most successfull club since the PL began. We didnt/haven't done enough have we, been complacent, had the attitude that this day would never come..."it wont happen to us" attitude.

Regardless i hate that fucking football club and everyone associated with it, whether they had just won 1 league, 10 or 19. The fans, the playing staff, coaching staff and that horrible horrible twat that manages it.

[DutchRed]

It was a proud record and it was a bit surprising that we even were able to hold on to it for the past two decades if you see which idiots have managed or directed the club in the process.

The FSG does look very promising and with Kenny there's a manager who is up to the giant task ahead of him.

[koptommy93]

18-7. How did we let a lead like that slip?

We got careless and the club was run badly. Credit to united in the way they have created a real dynasty in the last decade and a half

[Chivasino]

18-7. How did we let a lead like that slip?

How long you got mate?

[itsgunnabebarnes!]

Lets just hope the foundations are layed next season for season upon season of challenging fot the league. like united we can then build year on year.