Well, this is pretty much old news. Very old news in fact. But I just wanted to go back to the days when Liverpool won things, Stevie and Xabi were very much in love and all was right in the world.
Ok, so when I did the Valencia post, I promised I would do a Liverpool one too, and this is it. First off, we can start with a recent bit of skill, because it is practically orgasmic.
I don't even know how many of the most recent posts I've done have had something to do with Valencia in some way or another. I guess it's just because I haven't been seeing so many Liverpool games lately. I miss the CL, it needs to hurry up and come back so I can watch them play and remember what I'm missing out on. The last time I saw a Liverpool game live on the telly/internetz was Boxing Day, which is way too long ago. I know that I spend a lot of time ranting about Valencia on this blog, and this is because I see them play almost every week. Although it may not really seem like it sometimes, Liverpool are and will remain my first team. It's just that lately, I've been thinking about what would happen were they to play Valencia at any point in the future, and I think I can safely say I would not know what to do. I don't want either team to lose, but I want them both to win. Impossible, huh?
Anyway, seeing as I haven't really paid much attention to them lately, I figured I'd do a post on all my recent (and not so recent) memories of Liverpool just to let them know that I still love them and I'm still very much a fan. I guess the best place to start on this post is the beginning. I first started watching Liverpool when I was 11 years old. It feels strange that I have been following this team for nearly half my life. It all began with Michael Owen, as you will most probably remember from this post. In fact, it was so long ago, the Liverpool site doesn't even give results back that far. It starts from 1999. I became a fan in 1998. Back then, I didn't understand much about football. I think it's pretty safe to say, I understood nothing. It was just this sport I watched from time to time, but the more I watched, the more I fell in love. I don't even remember too much of my first few years as a Liverpool fan, I was still learning about the game and the players. All I seemed to care about back then was the looks, the talent didn't even cross my mind. I'll be the first to admit that when Steven Gerrard first made it into the Liverpool line up, I wasn't particularly a fan. It wasn't until the 2000-2001 season I finally started seeing past the looks and to the talent. That was the season Liverpool won the UEFA Cup, Worthington Cup (now the Carling Cup) and the FA Cup and it's probably one of the first memories I have firmly embedded. Michael Owen was still my favourite player at that time. Steven Gerrard became my new favourite the season Rafa came to Liverpool and Owen left for bigger things. The Real Madrid subs bench mainly. I never did understand that decision :(
I went to my first live game at Anfield at the start of the 2002-2003 season. Well, I say start of the season, it was actually the pre season friendlies against Lazio on 30th June 2002. I still remember the game (sadly), Lazio won 1-0. I was sat right near the match control room, and saw the goal really rather clearly. I think I swore, but that may just have been the Kop letting the Lazio players know what they thought of that scoreline. This was the season Liverpool beat Manchester United to lift the Worthington Cup. I remember watching that final, I went crazy screaming when Owen scored the second. Sadly, that year, Liverpool finished 5th, just outside the Champions League places, meaning they had to be content with a place in the UEFA Cup for the following season.
The 2004-2005 season is the next one I have big memories from. Rafa B arrived at the club from Valencia (and I think that's another reason I like Valencia so much, they gave us Rafa) and performed miracles to get Liverpool to the CL final. Who could forget that? It had everything. Drama, goals, lucky breaks. At half time, 3-0 down, I really thought that was game over. A small part of me still believed they could do something, ANYTHING to lift the cup, but I didn't think it would actually happen the way it did. I was ready to put my pyjamas on and go to bed when Gerrard got the first. I decided to sit and watch a bit more, and when Smicer got the second just minutes later, I just KNEW that cup was coming home to Liverpool for good. In a crazy 6 minutes in the second half, they got the score back to 3-3. Since then, I don't think I have been as nervous about any game. The FA Cup final the following year came close, as did the Spain-Italy shootout in the Euros in 2008, but Liverpool-Milan tops them all for me. I got so drunk that night, I think I turned up to my exams the next morning with more alcohol in my bloodstream than I had blood. Probably why I failed them really...
They finished 5th in the Prem that year, and only the CL win gave them entry to the competition the following year, on the condition they played from the very start and qualified. Everton weren't best pleased of course, but who gives a shit? They got knocked out of the first qualifying games of both the CL and the UEFA Cup. There's only two teams in Liverpool boys. Liverpool and the Liverpool reserves. The great man Bill Shankly said so himself.
Rafa's second season at Liverpool brought more silverware, this time in the form of the FA Cup. The final that is now known as the Gerrard final because our captain was immense. Say what you like about the man, but his heart and soul goes into every game he plays and you can see how much each win means to him. I would say something cliche along the lines on 'cut him open and he'll bleed Liverpool red' but er...duh! We all do. If you don't, go to the doctor. Seriously, there's something wrong if your blood is not red. The game was again, full of drama. It had many similarities to the CL final the previous season, and the scoreline was the same come the final whistle. Two seasons in English football, two trophies. Not bad going for a newbie.
The 2006-2007 season saw Liverpool once again reach the CL final, where they would once again meet AC Milan. Sadly, this game didn't quite end the same way as their previous meeting. In all fairness, Milan deserved to win the 2005 final and Liverpool deserved to win this one, so justice was served. Over that summer, the boss was busy in the transfer window and the start of 2007-2008 saw a new arrival at the club. Fernando Torres. His first season in the Prem was an absolute blinder. He was easily the best player for me personally that season. He became the highest foreign scorer in his debut season, an honour which had previously belonged to Ruud van Nistelrooy. Had it not been for Cristiano Ronaldo and his many free kicks and penalties, Torres would have been player of the season. He was outstanding in every way that mattered. And then, to top off a great season with Liverpool, he went on international duty with Spain and scored the winner in the Euro final, giving Spain their first major trophy in 44 years.
And so we get to the present season. The closest run race for the title I can remember in years. It's not just a two horse race this year. And the best thing of all...Liverpool are one of those horses. Sitting pretty at the top, they've had some memories to be proud of so far this season. Beating Man U and Chelsea for starters. This is the most points Liverpool have gotten against the other teams in the big 4 since Rafa B arrived, and there's still 3 more games to go! Fingers crossed it all goes well, and this IS the year we win #19. I know I can't wait to see how this will all pan out. Despite all the frustrations against the likes of Stoke and Fulham this year, it's the best I've seen Liverpool play in a long time. They're more confident, it's the strongest team I remember watching in my 10 years as a fan and they're hungry to win things. Ok, so that last point is not much different from other years, but this season, they're showing that hunger on the pitch and (mostly) getting the results when it matters. And when they don't, the other contenders (mostly) slip up too.
I realise this post is about 55000 words long, feel free to wake up now. I just felt the need to get all this off my chest because see for yourself how much attention Liverpool have been getting lately. Ever since I started working weekends, it's basically been...none. I promise I will try to change that.
It may not be the most appropriate pic considering the recent events, but it makes me laugh, and it's not even real. Like our Stevie would do anything of the sort. Having said that, I do feel partly responsible for this. I mean, just a few days ago, I post a pic of our Captain Fantastic looking like a mob boss of sorts, and then this happens. Still, I'm not going to comment on the incident itself. I am still refusing to believe he would do such a thing without some form of provocation at the very least. Right now, I am so pissed off with this whole situation, I'm just going to bite my tongue or I will say something I may regret later on. It just seems out of character for him, so there's something not quite right about this. Wonder if Liverpool being top of the table has anything to do with it...
I don't care about all the haters, he's still my captain and I still love him. One mistake doesn't make him a bad person, and had it been any regular guy, I doubt we'd even give a shit. I'm not in any way condoning what he did, there's never any excuse for using your fists, but I think the media are making a little too much of this. He got drunk, he allegedly assaulted someone. It happens. Deal with it. (I still think it was Lampard in disguise :P)
So here it is. The first post on a Liverpool player, and who better to start with than Steven Gerrard. Our Captain Fantastic. The man who gives 110% for his team every time and never says never. He's already making a name for himself as a Liverpool legend, and he still has so many years to come.
I could say that he was the reason I started supporting Liverpool, but I'd be lying. That honour goes to Michael Owen. However, he is the reason I have continued to support them and my love for the team has grown over the years. I love his dedication to the team, the way he leads from the front. The mark of a true captain. He is capable of leading without being overpowering, and I know that when the team are down and out, in desperate need of a lift, he'll be there to motivate them. The proof of this lies in many games over the years, but perhaps the two that stand out most in my mind are the CL final of 2005, when Liverpool came from 3-0 down at half time and won the whole thing. Yes, it was nerve wracking, and yes, they never do things the easy way, but my love for Stevie soared on that night.
The second game - the FA Cup final the following season. Seemingly, all was lost, West Ham were leading with just minutes remaining on the clock. Liverpool fans had their heads in their hands, they couldn't watch. And then...then the miracle happened. A goal out of nowhere, and it was that man again. Steven Gerrard. He had such an influence on the game, it was to become known as The Gerrard Final. An honour not many players have recieved in their lives, but very much a deserved one for the Liverpool midfielder.
Some may argue that he's still got a lot to learn, that there are better midfielders out there, and to them, I say pish. Considering his age, he is currently - in my eyes - already one of the best midfielders in the world. Certainly the best in England right now at any rate. There should be more footballers out there like him, fiercly loyal to their teams and not willing to leave at any cost.
Yes, he may have his off days sometimes in an England shirt, but for Liverpool, he has never let the fans down, and lets face it, that's what I really care about. There's none of this diva bullshit, and if he's injured, he lets his body heal. Unlike John 'the bionic man' Terry, who seems to think it's a sign of how hard he is playing with concussion and god knows what else wrong with him for Chelsea, but gives up thechance to captain his country because he has 'a sore back'. Stevie's not willing to risk his career for the sake of playing a few extra games, never lets club or country down if he can help it and he's alway ready to give everything to ensure his team wins. That there - signs of a footballer who's in it for the love of the game, not all the perks that come with it.
After watching the England game last night, it only went to further cement my belief that Lampard and Gerrard simply cannot play in the same midfield. They are both world class footballers, but together, they just don't gel. They're too similar. In the Kazakhstan game, Lampard was the better of the two. In the Belarus game, he was anonymous, Gerrard taking the central role and making it his own. He scored one, and made an assist for the other, yet the debate rages on. Can they play together? I personally think not. The question then becomes, which one do you leave out?
Lampard is a player who likes to get forward, has many shots on goal, and has more England goals to his name. However, his defensive duties are lacking and he is not versatile enough to play out of position should it be required. Gerrard is Liverpool's saviour on many occasions, but he's not always able to reproduce his Liverpool form in an England shirt. Yet still, he remains my first choice for the England midfield. If you ignore the statistics and simply watch a game with your own eyes, you will realise for yourself that Lampard has been far from his best for England for many years now. The few games he missed through injury in which Barry partnered Stevie were a vast improvement, but once Lampard regained match fitness, he was back in the squad. It worries me that the managers have not yet been able to see what the fans see, and if this carries on, England will never be able to mount a serious challenge for any competition they play in.
Of course, my opinion on this is totally biased on the basis that I am a Liverpool fan and will always think Gerrard is the better player. His goals come from open play, rather than penalty kicks and deflections, he is better at defensive duties and is overall the better of the two in my opinion. I'll leave it down to you to decide which you'd rather have in your England midfield.
