CAN I tell your congregation how a resurrection almost feels?
There was something about that little cup run combined with Sunderland combined with everyone else winning football matches for what felt like forever which hurt. Which dented. Which made you wake nights and wonder if what we wanted could be brought about.
What did we want? I’m quite clear. A proper interest with five to go. That’s it. The Reds to be the greediest Reds and a proper interest with five to go. My heart ablaze with five to go. In or near to our hands with five to go. Give me that across the next three or four seasons and I’ll die a happy man. Important to specify the dying happy part, because I probably won’t survive it. Nothing that happened today damages that.
It’s the nature of this season, a season which feels like three in one, a season which has become stupidly intense early that the mildest setback — like the one both Liverpool and Manchester United have theoretically suffered today — feels terminal. Everything that goes mildly wrong becomes a hammer blow. Possibly because it could actually be a hammer blow.
The lads leading the league have played 21 games and won 17 of the bastards. Don’t tell me to relax and take it easy — I don’t set the pace. A point at Old Trafford should always be alright. For that matter a point against Liverpool should always be alright too. The feeling persists it might not be.
Regardless we had no Sadio Mane, Joel Matip in administrative darkness, Jordan Henderson on one leg, Liverpool suddenly looking light and looking slow, and another win for the London three. Hopes dented all over the show and not unreasonably.
But then The Reds happened. Liverpool were a long way from great at Old Trafford but they also showed massive balls and the desire to fight to the death for one another and for this greater cause. Through key moments in the game they were the better side. They reacted to almost every potential setback brilliantly, the captain leading by example in an era where that sort of thing supposedly doesn’t happen.
Trent Alexander-Arnold played well but made the odd error under pressure. So did all the seasoned pros on the pitch. They spent 95 minutes putting one another under pressure, 95 minutes of one more. Georginio Wijnaldum stood out for Liverpool. Emre Can frustrated again but he’s played five in a row in a run where no-one else has.
James Milner took another fantastic penalty and battled away. Took a terrible tackle too. But battled away. Because it is Manchester United v Liverpool. Because this is what you do for this manager.
When the final whistle went it was noticeable that players from both sides went on their knees, on their haunches. Players from both sides gave everything and were exhausted. It’s what it means. Remember this the next time someone tells you football isn’t what it used to be, that the game’s gone, the players are mercenaries. I didn’t see a single mercenary on either side. I saw lads who gave the most fucks.
In the greater scheme it was almost as important Liverpool didn’t lose this as that they won it. No wins in four. If this is the blip that’s sound. We’ve blipped worse, blipped harder.
Up the giving the most fucks Reds. This thing of ours belongs to them too tonight.
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Robin crimes ultras!!
What does that mean?
This. All of this.
The Hold Steady? Very nice!
We played a weakened side, against a form team at their pit, whilst not in great form ourselves and suffered from a clueless linesman and a ref who enjoyed seeing the Mancs foul whenever they wished. We came away disappointed with a point, not bad in my eyes. The future is bright for our Reds.
We’re gonna win the treble.
That is an excellent excellent point. Off a bad run, key players missing, 18 year-old in at right back (how good is he), probably as tough a match as we have left, and playing a tactical masterclass – 800 million quid of lump the ball to the big man, following on from an 800 million quid bus. Dickhead. It’s the type of point that wins league, maybe not this one but if not it will be for days like West Ham and Sunderland and I have already mourned them.
Today’s result ain’t for mourning. Though I do feel sorry for the mighty mighty Mig – he deserved all the points today. Bobby F for the push, that dickhead initially holding his face and then maybe realising that simulation is not a good move on a yellow, TTA showing their 30 million pound wonderboy the way to go home, Can and Hendo taken turns to take the ball of Pogba and Phil Coutinho – at one point he has the ball, some Manc lunges into to get it and he just rolls it away from him without even looking, as you would do to a kid. Up the not being a bunch of dickheads managed by a dickhead reds
Absolutely spot on.
The work rate in central midfield was phenomenal, working across and back to cover, to snuff, to calm. First to so many second balls. Had we just worked a couple of those counterattacks with a steelier heart we’d have had the vital second.
We looked gassed, and only able to put a few things together in fits and starts, frustrating match if I’m honest. Just some things that, right or wrong, bothered me.
1) Giving up a goal that late, always feels like a loss, especially since it started with a missed offsides call;
2) Seeing Coutinho getting hammered to f–k in their penalty area while Oliver swallows his whistle, then 30 yards down the field (I can’t remember which manc) gets bowled over by a stiff wind to win a dangerous free kick;
3) Rooney could have seen red for his tackle on Milner, I argue he should have because, well, he’s a tosser and someone should have f—ked Pogba up for that rugby tackle on Hendo;
4) Ander Herrera should be sent off, I know plenty will disagree (professional foul and all that), but that tackle was so cynical, if we want to root rubbish like that out of the game it needs a stiff penalty, in my mind a sending off and penalty kick would have been justified considering we were in a mad break (it’s a high crime that the tackle will essentially go unpunished);
5) Fellaini and Valencia, as a general matter.
I fucking loved that performance tonight. If we miss out on the league by 1 point I won’t hear a word of criticism of our lads tonight. I was sat in the pub with a crowd of Mancs convinced they would easily score 2 or 3 goals even after we scored the pen.
This was a massively weakened starting line up with 3 of our 4 best players missing. When the game was over I said straight up to the Mancs “You must be pissed off with a point considering we were missing most of our best players and we still had more of a go than your cowardly performance at Anfield”. They said fuck all in return cos whatever you might say about Man U supporters they know their football and they know they probably know they should have won. Our lads were resolute though and I couldn’t be more proud. Forget Everton away or beating Man City this was the performance of the season. This is a good United side. I’m convinced they will tonk Chelsea but they weren’t getting the better of second string Reds.
You can do what you like Chelsea we’re winning this league!
giving the most fucks ?? If you can’t give fucks in this fixture you must be dead.It’s the absolute minimum requirement
But away from home, can can give more of fuck than the opposition.
* you can give more
Since when does handball for a penalty not get the offender a yellow card?
Not that Pogba could have done much worse than he did, but might have done his head in even more and got a red…….
Yeah we did go there with a very much weakened team, shorn of half it’s defence, it’s skipper in his first game back on almost two legs, their most creative player only fit for a twenty minute cameo and without their top scorer. And yet, the BBC Sport, (Sport my arse) narrative this morning has Moronoi claiming we were ‘defensive’ and the ugly Neville penning an article on, I quote, ‘How Moronio’s changes countered Klopp’. This is LFC ‘defensive’ despite the stats saying the opposite and manure resorting to two target men in their second half Wimbledon hoof-fest. Plus the fact that Gini and Bobby between them should have buried the feckers twice in the final 10. They got off lightly, as did Huyton’s turncoat baboon following his stamp on Milly. Get in there you Reds, now for a strong second half of the season with all the likely suspects still to come to the Holy City.
Mourinho was going to say this regardless of how we played. He will have been waiting ever since he got panned for his team’s cowardly performance at Anfield. He is a very boring man indeed.
What boils my piss is that McNulty and co didn’t challenge Mourinho’s “Liverpool were defensive” claim.
The narrative was there for the media to stick the knife in after his squeamishly sedate Anfield set-up:
Hoof-ball at home?
Play it 19th Century, Sam?
Yeah I noticed nobody challenged his assertion. He was desperate to get it in there, despite it being blatantly untrue. We showed so much more ambition than his lot did at Anfield. Hey, we even scored a goal and had several other attempts on goal! Mourinho’s abomination at Anfield was one of the most gutless I’ve ever seen.
Mignolet probably stopped us loosing all three points there. And the referee probably stopped us getting all three. I know on the pink you guys didn’t seem to think he’d done much wrong but jesus, you missed quite a bit.
Pogba’s WWE move on Hendo, Rooney’s shin-raker, simulation, The offside (granted, thats the linesman’s call). Plus a general home bias involving most fouls and 50/50s that gave them dangerous freekick after dangerous freekick for seemingly not a lot – at one point even Utd’s cheerleader, Martin Tyler, failed to explain why decision had been given in the mancs favour.
Proud of the lads for not lowering themselves to the same standard and trying to beat them with football. Would’ve taken a draw beforehand. But not like that.
I didn’t expect much from Martin Tyler. He had spent too long writing what he hoped would be an immortal line about Rooney breaking Utd’s scoring record to notice any other goings on. He settled on ‘is it written in stars???!!!!’ The poor fellow was crestfallen when Rooney couldn’t even get a shot away.
I said to my old man when they brought Fellaini on”Is Gomez on the bench. If he is we need to get him on cos they’ll start lumping it up big time now.” ” Who would you take off then?” ” Er, probaby Trent” (even though he’d done well up to that point). Left the room when they equalised fearing a late winner by the Roo – copyright Martin Tyler.
A late equaliser is always a kick on the bollocks, but I’d have taken a point at kick off when I saw our depleted team so, yes, it’s a point closer.
Can anyone explain the non-appearance of Sturridge? Was half expecting him to start truth be told. Surely, it was worth throwing him on with 20 mins to go at the very least?
Lot of games coming up, in a short space of time. The players on the field had the chances on the break to finish the opposition off. Bobby and Gini just missed out but they were both EVERYWHERE, ALWAYS.