It seems that no matter what Liverpool do these days, we don't seem to get the credit that we deserve. We win the Worthington Cup, and we're branded 'lucky' because we were taken to penalties by a first division side. We beat Barcelona and Roma and are branded 'boring' because we weren't naieve enough to become involved in a 4-3 thriller. When we did then beat Alaves 4-3, we're described as being 'poor defensively.' We won the FA Cup and were branded 'lucky' once again, because Arsenal were the better side for 80 minutes and it was claimed that Henchoz should have been sent off for 'handball.' Then we have the Charity Shield. We deservedly take a 2-0 lead, and defend well enough to hold onto it despite being put under intense pressure in the second half, but is the credit forthcoming this time? Not a chance. "It was the refereee's fault".... "United weren't taking it seriously"... "United should have had two pens"... "It was only a friendly".. the list of excuses goes on. To hear some of the reaction on 5 Live on the way home from Cardiff, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the mancs had won. I heard one summarisor come out with: "United sent out an ominous warning to the rest of the Premiership with an awesome second half display..."
In addition to all the putdowns we seem to receive, there always seems to be a story which will make more headlines than the result itself. After the Worthy Final, the big headline was that Owen didn't play. After the FA and UEFA finals it was Fowler, and this time Robbie was once again guarenteed to be all over the back pages after apparetnly spitting the dummy when he was told he was only on the bench. I'll deal with that later though.
There's been so much hype about how United are so far of everyone else, and that their new signings would make them untouchable, and how they will win it all because it's Sir Brown Pants' last season, that it was only fitting that they were brought down a peg or two. Beckham's boast that they wanted to go the whole season without losing a game is looking a bit silly now, although no doubt his sympathisors will say that the Charity Shield doesn't count. Wonder what they'll say if Fulham spring an upset next week.
The facts are these: 1) United fielded the strongest side they possibly could, and were desperate to win this game to prove a point to us after our treble. 2) Houllier used the game to give a few of the squad players a run out, leaving Carragher and Berger on the bench, and not taking a chance with Gerrard (who would have played had this been a vital game I'm sure.). 3) That's three times in a row we've beaten them, and that's not a co-incidence.
Fergie says that Chelsea are the biggest threat to them this season, but he doesn't really believe it. He's scared that we might ruin his last hurrah, and so he should be. This game means nothing in terms of the title, but it means a hel of a lot to the confidence of our players who must be starting to think they're unbeatable in big games. If we can start diposing of the lesser sides with a bit more ease, then the title is a very distinct possibility this season, despite what GH says to try and play down our expectations.
I must admit that I expected us to win this game, and when we went 2-0 up I thought we could go on to get four or five. We started like an express train, and the mancs simply weren't up to it. Owen was irresistable, and showed their defence up for what it really is. Stam apart, they're shite. If only the rest of the country would wake up to that fact and start having a go at them instead of just trying to keep the score down. The penalty was blatant, and you know that Gary Mac won't miss. The perfect start that was, and shortly after it was to get even better.
The seat I was in was crap, and that's putting it mildly, so my view of Owen's goal wasn't the best. I had no idea how the ball ended up at his feet (I've obviously seen it on TV since) but when I saw him one on one with Gary Neville it was fairly obvious that a goal could be on the cards. Michael took it brilliantly, and if Van Kneestillsore is worth £19m then what price our Mickey? So 2-0 and the mancs were all at sea.
Giggs was doing his best to drive them on, but was getting no change out of Markus yet again, and they were hardly posing a threat at all. Sander pulled off a brilliant stop fron Keane' sheader, and then saw a shot from the Irishman thunder back off the bar, but aside from that a looping header from the cross dresser, our goal was realatively untroubled. Hamann was fantastic in the first half, and our midfield was generally on top in that opening 45 minutes. That all changed after the break though, as Murphy and Barmby disappeared, and Hamann and Gary Mac started being bypassed with some slick passing and movement. Let's not kid ourselves, we were outplayed in the second half. However, would that have been the case had the score been 0-0? I doubt it. The problem was that we slipped into a negative mindset, simply trying to protect what we had rather than just carry on playing as we had in the first half.
Ferguson had obviously torn a strip off his players at the break, and they were a different side. Had it not been for Sander, we would have lost this game. He was superb, and fully deserved his man of the match award. United can moan all they want about the referee, but their so-called 'blatant penalties' were no more than 50-50 decisions. The second one struck Henchoz's chest, and had a pen been awarded for that then it would have been incredibly harsh. The first could have gone either way, but the ball struck his thigh first and then bounced up onto his arm, so it was certainly not deliberate. However, I would have been calling for that had it been at the other end I must admit.
What needs to be considered here though, is that if the mancs have been given a raw deal by Andy D'Urso, then who's fault is that? Remember when they chased him the length of Old Trafford for having the temerity to award a blatant penalty against them (the first one given against them there in the league for over seven years by the way)? They'd also been harrassing the guy right from the first whistle in this game, with Giggs, Beckham and Scholes in his face at every opportunity. Now if you're Andy D'Urso, and there's a 50-50 decision to be made, are you going to give them the benefit of the doubt? I know I wouldn't.
So although this game means nothing in terms of where the title is headed, it was still an important game for both sides, and you know that Ferguson will have been seething to lose to us for the third time in a row. The real business starts next weekend of course, but it's good that we have kept up our winning ways, and confidence in the squad has to be sky high right now. But every silver lining has a dark cloud as they say, and the situation regarding Fowler certainly cast a bit of a shadow over the day.
Firstly I want to stress that I believe Robbie SHOULD have been selected to play in this game, and feel that it was unfair that he wasn't. Gerard talks about rotating his strikers, but there is little doubt that his first choice partnership is Owen and Heskey. Having missed out on both cup finals at the end of last season, and having been on the bench for the game in Finland last Wednesday, Robbie could be forgiven for expecting to start this game. On the surface, it seems like he is being given something of a raw deal. However, I don't know what has gone on behind the scenes, and it could be that Robbie's attitude in training hasn't been the best, I don't know.
The rumours seem to suggest that Robbie reacted when Gerard told him he wan't playing, and that is why he was left out of the squad altogether. If this is true, then Robbie is a fool. As I said, I can understand his feelings because on current form I'd pick him ahead of Emile and it does seem like he's being treated somewhat harshly, but he should know by now that the one thing you don't do is cross Le Boss.
Robbie has done that on more than one occasion, and the fact is that if he wasn't "Robbie Fowler" he'd have been booted out of the club by now. A lesser player could not have behaved in the same way and gotten away with it. Robbie's reputation and popularity amongst the fans has meant that he has been given chances that others would not have (look at the way Camara and Ziege were dumped), but with his contract negotiations in full flow, this latest bust up could not have come at a worse time. Hopefully Robbie and Gerard can sit down and sort out any problem they may have, because none of us wants to see Fowler leave, and he's be stupid to want to go given that we are on the verge of something very big.
TEAM: Sander Westerveld; Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz , John Arne Riise (Jamie Carragher); Nick Barmby (Igor Biscan), Dietmar Hamann, Gary McAllister, Danny Murphy (Patrik Berger); Michael Owen, Emile Heskey:
