The Unstoppable Miracle

Now the game today proved that the miracle called Kenny Dalglish was still on the march.  The sun was beating down on Anfield for the early kick off as the teams come out onto the pitch.  It was then clear that ex Newcastle man Andy Carroll would start on the bench having recovered from his knee injury.  The only main change to the team that won their game at Birmingham was Glen Johnson returning to replace the young Jack Robinson

I don't know whether Newcastle were resigned to defeat before they even stepped on the pitch but for the first 25 minutes Liverpool dominated the game.  Newcastle could not put a string of passes together and seemed to unclear as what player they were marking. It was of course during this time that Maxi scored the first goal after a mix up in the penalty area. A lot of people are saying that it was technically a Newcastle own goal, but I think that we can safely cast that aside because the important person was the man in red. 

Liverpool appeared to lose their way for a short time, but suddenly Newcastle took the initiative and it looked as though Liverpool could be in trouble.  They were having a lot of luck with corners and set pieces. Thankfully though our defence led by Jamie was rock solid and kept the balls at bay.  The only downside here was that young John Flanagan managed to get himself a yellow card for being too enthusiastic if anything.  There is no harm in a player tackling; he simply has to time it right.  We got to the half time whistle thankfully still in the lead and although there was an air of uncertainty around, everyone was sure that Liverpool get the three points they needed.

Now there were reports of a shouting match in the Newcastle dressing room at half time.  This time though it was not Joey Barton - it was their manager Alan Pardew, who I suspect was telling them they needed to play football rather than just have a game of kick about.

It didn't happen though, Liverpool regained their superiority and the play became very fluid once more with young Jay Spearing running the show in midfield. He has definitely been a revelation since coming in to replace the injured Stevie G. Kenny had switched Jack Robinson and Glen Johnson to opposite sides and I think this upset Newcastle a little.  Suddenly the player they were determined to get sent of, had been switched and his replacement was more than a match for Jonas Gutierrez. 

Suarez who is a major part of Kenny's miracle had begun well but went very quiet only to awaken again in the second half.  He began to cause problems which eventually led to Williamson tripping him up. Referee for the afternoon, Peter Walton immediately awarded a penalty and duracell man - Dirk Kuyt stepped up and the ball was in the back of the net.  Suarez did not stop there though.  Liverpool were still dominating the play, when Suarez got hold of the ball, some crafty footwork and moments later it was in the back of the net.  Liverpool was now 3 up and cruising to yet another victory.

With the match now in its closing quarter, Kenny made several changes, Andy Carroll came on to rousing applause for Maxi. Now although he touched the ball a couple of times, he did not really make an impact on the game, but I guess that is to be expected after a period of injury.  Johnjo Shelvey came on for young John Flanagan and immediately made an impact by making some very good moves. The last substitution was Joe Cole on for Suarez.  This I suspect is not only to give him some game time but to also put him in the shop window.

The game finished with Liverpool winning and the Kop singing Kenny's name.  It was the end to a perfect afternoon.

An afternoon that saw Jamie Carragher play his 665th game and catching up with Liverpool legends Ray Clemence and Emlyn Hughes in the club's appearance table.  This is a fantastic achievement for any player and Jamie deserves all the credit he gets for sticking by the club he loves. 

It was also an afternoon that saw smiles on the faces of ex- players, Ian Rush, Tommy Smith and Ron Yeats.  They know the same as us the supporters, the miracle that began in January is now unstoppable and the man responsible for this needs to be placed permanently on this throne.

Liverpool Football Club is back and Europe is beckoning once.  This is down to one man and one man only and his name is Kenneth Matheson Dalglish.