Scousers And That Game Called Football

It also did not help that Liverpool were going through a very hit and miss period towards the end of the 2010-2011 season although the King had returned. It had got to the point where with injuries mounting up amongst his first team squad he had to make some really hard decisions involving the youngsters from the reserves.

The day itself passed fairly quickly until the early evening, when rumours began to fly around saying that Kenny would give a start to young John Flanagan.  Twitter in the end came to everyone rescue when young Adam Morgan, told the world through a tweet that he would definitely be in the starting eleven.  Would he be able to handle so a massive game was the question on everyone's lips.  The answer by the end of the evening was an emphatic yes.

The game started with a minutes silence for the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Disaster, A Fallen Merseyside Soldier and Jan Fairclough, wife of Super sub David Fairclough who had died on the previous Saturday after suffering a brain aneurysm.  It was impeccably observed as usual by both sets of supporters and was a credit to the club.

The match then began and it was a marvel to watch from the moment the ball was touched for the first time.  Liverpool took command very quickly and it became evident that whatever people say about money buying the best players, Manchester City were diabolical. I don't know whether they were tired or whether they simply could not be bothered but they certainly did not have any heart in the game.  

With Liverpool, though it was a totally different story.  The team seemed to be all over the place and the pace of play was something that I have not seen for many years. How everyone at Anfield followed it, I don't know but trying to focus on one player on the television was extremely hard.  Suarez and Kuyt were all over the place.  In fact during the post-match press conference, a reporter asked Kenny if there were two Dirk Kuyts on the pitch because his work rate last night was simply amazing.  Suarez well, what can I say about him apart from the fact his footwork and his turns were fantastic and the way he read the game was a lesson to many players out there.  It was just a shame in the end that he did not score a goal.

His striking partner Andy Carroll was also on the pitch causing havoc amongst the Manchester City defence and it was only right that he scored his first goal for the club.  This of course sent Anfield into a frenzy and the noise was fantastic. It was like a European night at the club and from that moment Manchester City seemed lost.  They simply did not seem to know what to do with the ball.  Every time they tried to pass it, the Liverpool team fought to take it back and won.

So much so, that ten minutes later, Dirk Kuyt found an opening and goal number two hit the back of the net.  Liverpool were 2-0 up and the number 5 suddenly began to appear in people's minds again. If they could hold onto this lead, it would certainly help in the pursuit of fifth place in the Premier League, thus opening the door to Europe once more.

Anfield had not really recovered from this, when with all hell going on in the box Andy Carroll seized the ball and he had scored his second of the night.  Now we all know what Kenny is like when his players score a goal and last night's celebrations were just as good if not.  It is fantastic to see a manager, show his appreciation of his team's efforts in such a great way.  I was also told this morning that the Liverpool supporters in the press box went a little mad as well. Now I wish I had seen that.

Liverpool went in at half time as the leaders and the worry then of course, was would they hold on to it.  Would young John Flanagan manage to keep his composure for a further 45 minutes was another worry but being a young Scouser, he did not let us down.

The second half itself started slightly slower than the first, but Liverpool were again all over Manchester City.  It did not matter what they did, they simply could score a goal.  There were a couple of close shaves but nothing that Reina could not handle.  Liverpool tried to score the fourth but it was not to be and as the game drew to a close, Andy Carroll who went off to a rapturous applause was replaced by David Ngog. The final minutes of the match were played out very quickly and an amazing evening had come to an end.

What I will say and I suspect I will upset a lot of people here, but having Scouse lads back in the team does seem to make a difference. Jay Spearing and young John Flanagan, who on his debut had a fantastic game, know what it means to play for the badge and last night they did exactly that.  In fact people were saying after the game that perhaps we have  another Carra and Stevie in our mist. If that is so, then as Liverpool Supporters, we can be rest assured that the dynasty will continue.