HUNG on at the whistle. Hung on to give one more ‘is right’ and one more ‘cop for that’ and one more ‘up the Reds’. Hung on to see the manager and the captain in the middle of the pitch and to see them give it the big one, and I hung on to give it the big one back. Bit of a tear in the eye, being honest. Adrenaline coursing through me, being honest. We’ve all had a pint so we can all be honest. Late finish last night, early start today. Being honest, Liverpool weren’t very good but, being honest, I am buzzing more now than I was after Watford and Hull.
Liverpool were good enough. That is the key thing.
It’s a day to give it the big one. The Reds aren’t going anywhere. Twenty-five more hurdles and they will all take some crossing and some surviving — it is outrageous it remains November — but Liverpool aren’t going anywhere and that is the most important thing.
There is a lot to be said about Liverpool’s patience today. At times some would wonder if there was too much. Liverpool kept going one more diagonal rather than more direct, but when they did try to force it, they would give the ball away cheaply.
For me, I would rather watch Liverpool be patient on days like today. I love goals, but I hate shots. Shots are a throw of the dice. There is no such thing as a sure thing when shooting and it allows rest and solace for the opponent. The worst hasn’t happened, another attack fended off. Goal-kick. Liverpool couldn’t get themselves into a position where those dice were loaded in their favour. They couldn’t get in front of the goal and so Liverpool would find themselves throwing the dice.
The opening goal made a mockery of all that, passed deliciously into the corner from an unlikely angle. Divock Origi stamping himself on the game and possibly on the season, given the circumstances. It was a day where the subtlety and cleverness looked likely to fall short, an introduction to an English winter where frozen doors sometimes have to be forced open. Locksmiths falling short; sledgehammer encouraged.
We’ll see about that over the course of the next few weeks. It’s now clear how hard sides intend to make it for Liverpool. Southampton forced back when Sunderland deliberately fell back but this is our reality. We create it by cutting loose as we have. Philippe Coutinho will be a loss but it won’t be terminal for Liverpudlian hopes. Far from it. As long as we believe and hope and urge, urge, urge.
The manager fronted things during the game. He wants a crowd to whip up a frenzy. Urge, implore, scream and shout. Let it all out. He knows that some days we need 12. We need 12 when the referee is a dope and it is cold and it isn’t quite there. We need 12 because 12 is the point and we need 12 because we need to collapse into Saturday nights, feeling like it was everything.
Because it is everything. This challenge for a league title is here and is now. It isn’t “see where we are in March”. It isn’t “don’t want to get my hopes up”. It isn’t “a marathon not a sprint”. It’s an 800m race. Two laps as fast as you can and imagine not roaring them on, roaring them home. Imagine not taking the essence of every marvellous second. Imagine letting it pass you by and waiting for the season DVD. Imagine not feeling like this, this great swaggering, sweating cold/hot mess, heart pounding to the rhythm of Jordan Henderson’s passing, needing more than wanting, wanting for all time. The process is everything for this manager. It’s everything for me. It’s not a big party if it is won. It’s 38 parties. Thirty-eight celebrations of Liverpudlian wonder, wherever you are in the world. Thirty-eight times to make such a racket in a ground where the players know exactly what it means.
They know that anyway. Look at the celebrations again. Look at them post-match. I hung on to take that in. Manager and captain. Giving it the big one. It’s frozen in my mind. I’ll hang on to that all week. They know.
It’s started Reds.
Let’s go Liverpool.
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Nice Wichita Lineman reference.
I found myself reading this at a ‘Neil Atkinson’ tempo’ (always a sprint, Never a marathon!). Good stuff mate. Up the ‘we’ll bloody find a way’ Reds. Great stuff Big Divvy!!
They say title hopefuls find a way to win that’s what we did today did I say anything yes I did also 2 weeks ago I said the clean sheets start we have two in the bag roll on the next game like the pig I like everything – the pig said the only thing it doesn’t like is what it has not seen – clean sheets frustration over thinking it overdoing it injuries goals cominini I’m taking them all off to bed now with a grin and a pic of a double decker moysey lol effing lol
You could sense anxiety in the crowd today but there was still a sense that the goal would come. You just knew. Been a while since you could genuinely say that about a Liverpool side. Loved it when Klopp went mental at the crowd. They certainly responded and so they should have.
Walking out after it was good to see Sunderland managed to get that bus out of the stadium and onto the road so quickly.
Watched it on an unintelligible Croatian stream but I can’t remember being so utterly delighted, relieved, enthralled and involved in a game. Even shouting at the Croatian commentators on my phone made me feel like the 12th man. Favourite game of the season.
Can’t believe he didn’t bring sturridge on. Everyone’s injured and he brings on a kid from Belgium who scores. What a piss take. Who is this klopp guy?
Sturridge has a calf injury
Yeh, just a bit of banter. Aimed at the whole fiasco that goes on around Studge’s bench warming faces etc really. Shame he was injured today though as it would have been good to see him get a good run out. Maybe klopp would give Origi the nod ahead of Studge anyway. Who knows.
Seriously though, at least 2 blokes near me thought it was Sturridge coming on!
Wtf! That’s a bit strange. Hope Studge isn’t ‘injured’ for too long though as he will be needed fit and ready should it be bad news for coutinho.
loving the “Divock Origi” song, almost as good as the “Adam Lallana” song we’ve nailed, good times
Emre does heads in. I get that. He does my head in as well, but, he will have Rolls Royce moments. It will click for him in front of the goal as well, whether its this season or next. He is finding himself in better areas from which to score from, than Gini is. Then again Gini, you feel, has a 25 year curler in him – just needs to set his body right, find that bit of space.
Talking about doing heads in, and by no means am I having I go here at Can, another Red comes to mind. For me, thats Clyne. He’ll always do his bit, Nathaniel Clyne will invariably score a 7. But what has become more apparent this season, is how “easy” it would be for him to score a 9. Not once or twice a season, but on a surprisingly regular basis considering the position he plays. That 9 really isn’t far off at Southampton. I mean, we’re talking about a matter of inches. Considering where Clyne gets the ball – which today was more in the offensive than defensive half, as it tends to be most weeks playing for Jurgen’s Reds – he should look to pop up on the stat sheet more.
I want to think that as for Emre, for Nathanial the assists and goals are there, there to be had, scored and passed. Start cutting inside, going round your man on the outside and ask one of the Brazilians for a few tips on beating a man. Make Kyle Walker look worse than he actually is.
This however, is the “Glen Johnson” conundrum do you want a player that is solid at the back or maybe “ok” at the back but can add goals/assists but at the same time leave you vulnerable at the back?
Albie screams this conundrum yet Milner starts…..
I wonder if we change our shape yknow. Coutinho’s out for the foreseeable, and its becoming harder for us to break teams down. It took a moment of individual brilliance today.
I wonder if it’s time to double up out wide. Not sacrifice our play on the D but stretch teams a bit more. We don’t need Can & Wijnaldum in these games. We can make do with Henderson +1. Add a bit of pace to our left side and I think we could be a bit more dangerous. He’s converted Milner into a fullback. Can he do the opposite on everyone’s favourite blonde-haired Spaniard?
Were you pissed when you wrote this? Seriously?
I thought that was the point
Wasn’t the first goal he’s scored like that. Scored one almost identical last season v Stoke.
If anyone wants to know why Klopp is a class above this game showed it. Even before his gesticulating the crowd actually believed that a goal would come. Once he asked for more it was really only a matter of time. He has turned a very cynical bunch of doubters into believers. Ignore the nonsense about Munich, he’s here for the duration and if we double his salary tomorrow he’s still worth it.
Klopp (former Dortmund boss) going to Bayern would be like King Kenny being the next Manure manager. Ain’t going to happen. More worried if German national team come calling.
I’ve been going to the match for 50 years and seen this game countless times. The team battering the meek opposition but meeting a brick wall. The crowd begins to get restless and the same player starts to irritate the f*ck out of certain sections: Boersma, Whelan and now Henderson. That is until the manger, Shankly or Klopp tells the crowd to do its job, and we are glorious victors. Thank God we have Klopp.
Too right Frankie. See this as well. Klopp articulated (or rather gesticulated) what Shankly said about supporting the team through thick and thin.
The Kop and all of us watching in the stadium, on the telly, on the web, realized our mistake what our job was!
It was frustrating watching the lads bounce off the double-decker bus each time they went in with the battering ram. Can, Henderson, et all trying their best. Klopp sensed that and knew that from his urging on.
Individual brilliance is needed, was needed. It is desperately needed going forward. Chelsea won their game yesterday because they have that in spades — we don’t. Not sure what Klopp will be doing for this, but I wish he finds a solution sooner as we have some tough games piled up in December without Coutinho, Lallana, Sturridge, and we need the Red Machine in full effect.
Leeds is next. They may not park the bus, but they are going to come to try and force an outcome. We’ve got to respect them and take them on.
One game at a time.
Up the Reds!!!
these are the games Liverpool in their pomp would win and they would win them in exactly the same way
Nice article Neil. I like the comment about shooting. I hated it every time they had a goal kick in the second half. It was 30 seconds when we couldn’t run them around. Except for the one after Degsy shot, where I spent the 30 seconds thinking about just how hard he belted it. Gets one of those on target, it is taking the bus with it.
Everyone else can see where they are in March. Us. Let’s be over the horizon.
It’s easy to forget, just how good big Div was playing towards the back end of last season,
He seemed to just burst onto the scene out of nowhere.
He’s got some turn of pace for such a unit hasn’t he, fucking freaky at times,
The only upside of the Phil injury is that his replacement scored a crucial goal, looked bright from the off and might have the bit between his teeth after so little game time recently,
The team sheet for the Leeds game will be interesting.
Great result on the back of a orrting looking injury to the magician, , hopefully only missing 4-6 weeks, best case scenario, we have to stay positive over December and the amount of games we have, 2 clean sheets on the bounce is massive, it’ll give us the confidence to win a few 1-0 or 2-0 rather than having to score 3 or 4, we have enough to stay up there, although with Mane off in January and Coutinhos injury, A new signing may come in, either way, exciting times