TERRY’S header hits the net and Steve Graves turns to me and says: “What next?” What next indeed. What the hell next? What could be next? A wrecking ball sweeping through the boozer. A personalised rainstorm like in The Truman Show following you around. What next?
I have the most enormous respect for the Reds who have travelled to today’s game. Astonished by their indefatigably. I am defatigabled. The most defatigabled I can ever remember being. Cap doffed. Forelock tugged. Well obviously forelock tugged. It’s the in thing.
By the time Terry’s header hits the net on five minutes we’d already had the trademark Chelsea first-minute leg breaker, this time from Fabregas on Sterling. My favourite thing was Mikel saying to the referee it was only his first tackle. Yep. Hard for him to have two or three in his back pocket, Obi lad.
It was also dangerous and part of an undoubted pattern. It’s a tactic. It’s a choice. I’d like someone from the club to come out before this game next season and emphasise the recurring pattern here. It was a red card tackle but there isn’t a referee in England who does the correct thing in that context.
What next? What was next in the first half was that some of The Reds were good some of the time and some of The Reds were bad some of the time. Chelsea were impressive — Hazard in particular was terrifying. Yet Liverpool had their chances and things that should have led to chances. Henderson’s lovely curved pass to Lambert on around the half hour where the number nine was unable to react to and/or reach the ball could probably be an entire article in itself. It told you more about this Liverpool side than I’ve managed with all the words this season. It should be on the end of season DVD. It could be a book: The Ghost Of Daniel Sturridge.
Gerrard heads it in with sense and aplomb from Henderson’s excellent ball and for the first time since Thursday you don’t feel like you are about to collapse. Football doing some of the business again.
Second half The Reds started much the better side but we’re short of cutting edge against a parsimonious Chelsea back line. They were great until the 18-yard box and then short of ideas and options. Chelsea got back on top in a ding ding affair. Chelsea’s games against Liverpool this season while low scoring have been oddly more open than their games against City, United or Arsenal.
It might be that they fancy it more but I think it is because of Coutinho and Sterling, both able to take Chelsea players out of the game in twos and threes. This ability those two have — supplemented by Ibe, Markovic and Lallana — make positivity about next season possible.
Never has the task in a window been as clear. Two forwards of significant quality with pace and energy, ideally able to play wide too. Just wait until the meltdown I have when we sign the clearly capable Danny Ings. Ings would be fine in a universe without Origi. But when you now probably need Sturridge to be three of four, Ings can’t be two.
Regardless, next season aside The Reds acquitted themselves well and I thought they dropped off only when Lallana went off. He’s a funny one Lallana. He’s clearly making the lads around him better players while not really doing enough himself. Elsewhere, Johnson is determined to leave this club as a self parody. Perhaps even an art project. Turning lads with backheels one second, just passing to them the next.
The game finished with a fair result. Gerrard brilliant post-match obviously. It’ll be hard next weekend. But hard seems to be the way of it at the moment. I’d quite like the season to stop now but then England will start and have you ever fucking despised England more in your whole life?
We’ll plough on. Hopefully see more of Sinclair against Palace, have a great day out against Stoke. See it out with six points because why not? Still, what odds will it make?
Liverpool. By far the most fifth-placed team, the world has ever seen. And it’s Liverpool. Liverpool FC.
LISTEN: Post-match ‘The Pink’ show
[rpfc_recent_posts_from_category meta=”true”]
Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda-Photo
Stevie’s after match interview was fucking brilliant. We’ll miss him.
Couldn’t believe the leg breaker from that cheating cunt hardly got a mention on Sly Sports. Absolutely diabolical.
And those plastic twats can keep their ovations. False in the extreme.
Oh, and please, pretty please FSG buy a couple of goalscorers for next season.
Parsimonious? Fucking parsimonious? Come on mate, it’s been a shite enough week as it is without you auditioning to be the new Russel Brand.
*Russell
Oh my god, did I accidentally leave one l out of the name Russell? Holy shit, well that’s certainly me told. I would go and edit the post but there doesn’t seem to be the ability to do that, perhaps that will be added if I buy you a pint, sign up to your casino partner or give you a fiver a month.
No plans to do that. Sorry, mate.
Is it that time of the month mate?…….you know, when you’re a complete cunt!!
@dejan vu Surely you aren’t a real person? I suggest a nice can of Magners, a Tommy and you’ll be golden
Thanks for the offer but i’ll pass.
‘Elsewhere, Johnson is determined to leave this club as a self parody. Perhaps even an art project’ – genius. And spot on. If he ever got his head right he’d be a remarkable player.
What did we learn today?
That Emre Can isn’t a right-back.
That Lovren might yet prove a decent squad player (he’ll always have a blunder in him though).
That Mignolet must be one of the most improved players in the PL.
That Glen Johnson is mad (but we knew this already)
That, and this is a suspicion, I hope he proves me wrong, Adam Lallana is lightweight, temperamentally and physically.
That Jordon Ibe and Jordan Sinclair aren’t ready.
That cheering ‘what a waste of money’ at a striker you hope to sign is both foolish and cheap.
That Loftus-Cheek (?) looks a player. Great balance, composure and positioning.
The Dennis Franz is a predictable bore (again not a lesson – Guardian readers will know what I’m talking about).
That Chelsea are a bunch of dirty, cheating, whining twats, carved in the image of their manager.
Speaking of whom, he was quick to give the ball back today wasn’t he? You’re fooling no-one Jose.
That Chelsea fans are amongst the dumbest, most unpleasant fucks you could ever hope (not) to meet, see or hear.
That life goes on despite the wretched election and the attack of the killer Blair zombies.
I don’t get the Can as right back thing at all. Or the point of giving Johnson a game anymore thing. Or the oh my god did we just decide to leave Manquillo in Istanbul in February thing.
Not having that Chelsea lad either. The ridiculous/brilliant name. The fact that he’s supposedly a Chelsea youth product and he’s getting a start. Any of it. All a trick of the London sunshine.
“That life goes on despite the wretched election and the attack of the killer Blair zombies.”
Oh fuck me, paul. Can’t actually wait to see just how bloody ‘prime ministerial’ that Tristram fella or whoever looks in 2020 for all the vacuous Middle England voters. Gonna be swell…
That match sums up well all LFC’s deficiencies throughout the season. Glen Johnson gave his most schizophrenic performance of the last few weeks almost single-handedly scoring early on, and then ruining it with the rest of his performance. I’m sorry to say this but that team was again carrying Stevie G, and although he scored he didn’t do much else (I won’t harp on about the failed clearance – that Mignolet let in). I thought the cowardly refereeing put the icing on what was a thoroughly frustrating game, which we should have and DESERVED to win. I don’t agree with Neil that a draw was fair. I am so frustrated with this season I could burst, and yesterday’s ManU result did nothing to help. I have no idea how such a bad team could be in fourth but then THEY have goal scorers…bugger.
Stevie’s interview was the best Chelsea needle since Benitez basically called Robben a cheat. What a guy. And yeah, I got flashbacks of Eto’o on Henderson too. Wasn’t as much at stake as then obviously, but it looked so close to breaking Sterling’s ankle I couldn’t help being outraged. Jose, you’ve won the league mate. Have a day off will you. Doesn’t Fabregas end up putting in the corner for their goal after that as well? At least with Dawson’s twat of a tackle on Coutinho before scoring the Hull winner, you could at least justify it by saying he’s just a big dope rather than endlessly cynical.
Can see why Gerrard would be hesitant to after getting sent against United and with his last ever Liverpool games coming up, but Henderson’s the captain in waiting and it never so much as crossed his mind to get near Fabregas after he did that. Jordan, the time to have worried about diving in would have been when we were going for the league. Allen or Lucas will be alright to play the next two testimonials like.
For a game that meant fuck all, that wasn’t the only time Marriner was doing his best to get me emotionally invested. 1) why are you in the guard of honour, Andre? It’s not your place to show reverence to whoever just happens to be champions before the match where you’re getting paid to be objective. You weren’t part of the process of actually competing against them over 38 games so you should be acting as an independent agent. I’m not particularly arsed, but it just might be a bit awkward if say, one of the players you’ve just clapped on throws a red card tackle in just after kick off. 2) same player just cynically pulled someone down which is usually a blatant yellow but of course, because he’s already on a yellow it’s not deemed a second bookable offence. Right. No, it’s fine. Nothing to play for anyway is there, so you carry on…
Lots of positives today. Just need to sign 2 x 35 million pound stars. Yeah, unlikely I know but as bad as we’ve been at times this season we’re not far from top four football. If we had a Sanchez, a Costa or an Aguero we’d have walked it.
FSG – stick your neck out, bite the bullet and sign Jackson Martinez, Christian Benteke and Marco Reus. Big money, proven quality, proven goals. I reckon we’d win the league with those 3. Add in Pirlo as well. I’m dreaming I know but I just wanted to put a smile on everyone’s face.
Potential team
Mignolet
Can Skrtel Sakho Flanagan
Pirlo
Hendo Coutinho
Reus
Benteke Martinez
Bench:
Lucas
Sturridge
Lallana
Ibe
Sterling
Goals Goals Goals Goals Goals
Can you imagine. Please God?!? Fuck it lets risk doing a Leeds
BR says Fabregas have been sent off, well I say what would you expect with Mariner officiating? he’s as bent as a nine bob note.
An even better idea would have been to pay Suarez £400k a week to stay. He’d have paid for himself with all the CL money we’d have earned.
I like Brendan and I’m 100% behind him but it’s a pretty simple equation. Money = Goals = Success
If the owners aren’t prepared to spend £100 million plus on 3 worldies or if Brendan isn’t able to attract them then we might as well settle for Thursday night football for ever.
We’re never gonna compete for £50-£60 mil players but there are plenty of 25-35 mil range players we should be in for such as:
Benteke
Martinez
Cabaye
Reus
Higuain
Benzema
Scneiderlin
Tevez
Par for the course surely?! It’s not even breaking the bank any more to pay that much.
United spent 110 mil + on Herrera, Fellaini and Di Maria, none of which were particularly good signings and they’ve scraped in. Fuck me, Everton spent £28 mil on Lukaku. Everton spent £80 mil on Ozil and Sanchez.
We need to compete in the money stakes and fuck this money ball approach.
Was wondering which one of their players would give probably Coutinho some red card challenge inside the first 10. Didn’t expect it to be Fabregas and didn’t expect it to be Sterling instead on the end of it
Happens everytime we play Mourinho, like. None of them gets sent off though
Parsifuckingwhatla? Swallow a dictionary for your breakfast did ya la?
No. I read books, I don’t eat them. Dickhead.
A reminder of the type of divvy that drove me out of Liverpool in the 90s, along with those who moaned about Steven Gerrard’s ‘tin-tin’ quiff. For a city the prides itself on its radicalism Liverpool can be very conservative and intolerant at times. Glad to see its improved in recent years but there’ll always be a few bellends eh?
Once again, a game we could have won if we’d tried harder.
We seem content with fifth best and being nice guys.
Show some passion fer gawd’s sake Liverpool … this benign, supine stance isn’t the Club I grew up with or the Spirit of Liverpool itself (with a nod to Karl Coppack’s excellent Friday piece.)