LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL FANS

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has criticised both Andy Carroll and Pepe Reina after the 2-0 defeat suffered at the hands of Newcastle United during the weekend. Following the loss, Liverpool now trail Newcastle United in the sixth place by a massive level 11 points with only seven games remaining in the season.

A lot of indiscipline was displayed by the Liverpool players during the match against Newcastle. As a result, Dalglish has criticised both the players who were the chief culprits in the match – Andy Carroll and Pepe Reina. Former Newcastle striker Carroll received a caution in the first half after a dive, while Pepe Reina was sent off in the match following a head butt of a Newcastle player.

Andy Carroll was substituted in the 80th minute after a very poor performance, but it brought out the worst in the striker after this apparent displeasure over the substitution. The striker angrily remarked at the bench while going down the tunnel. Reina also was involved in an altercation with Newcastle United player James Perch, which left the Liverpool goalkeeper with a red card to his name. As a result, he will be missing the next three matches for Liverpool including the huge semi-final clash with Everton in the FA Cup.

“We have not got a problem with people showing desperation or disappointment or frustration but we need to channel it better than we have done. It ended up with a lot of frustration and disappointment and I think the frustration and disappointment was a result of the actions that Pepe took. He got a deserved red card, and then Andy came off and went up the tunnel,” said Dalglish. Dalglish has come under criticism for the poor run of Liverpool, which has been their worst in more than 50 years.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that Liverpool still remain the biggest test for him and his club. Manchester United have come a long way since Sir Alex Ferguson famously proclaimed that he would knock Liverpool off their perch.

They recently overtook the 18 record league titles Liverpool have been having for more than two decades. Manchester United currently have 19 league titles to their name, which is the current record. Liverpool do not seem to be in a position to reclaim their title anytime soon because of the dominance exerted by Manchester United and the arrival of Manchester City as a real player within the English football divisions.

Hence, there have been suggestions that Ferguson does not regard Liverpool to be the fiercest rival for him at this stage in his career and also with respect to the club’s position. However, Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed such rumours by saying that Liverpool still remain a great team and it is always a pleasure to beat them. The two clubs will be making each other on the fourth round of the FA Cup. Liverpool had an easy way into the fourth round, but Manchester United came into this position after beating Manchester City 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

“You cannot dismiss the progress City are making completely, but at the moment the Liverpool game is still the one. The atmosphere at Anfield is terrific. You can work all your life to a point where you are challenged. Our results at Liverpool in the last two or three years have not been great, but both clubs will always have their moments, but it is such a great rivalry,” Sir Alex Ferguson said. Manchester United will have the opportunity to prevent another top four team from getting into the latter stages of the FA Cup.

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Wow yes, what a season 1983/84 was! Strangely – in spite of their achievement – I always remember that team as a really good team, but suspended between the greatEST teams of 1978-79, and 1987-88. The first of those just needed Rush and Lawro to be the greatest ever in British football, while the second had seen King Kenny draw to the end of his playing career, and otherwise only lacked the creative bite of Souness.

What I remember most was watching the European Cup Final in our local Birmingham Working Mens Club in Smethwick. It was packed out, full of Villa-hating Baggies fans to a man, and I got a lot of stick! “You’re going to get scalped in Rome” was the verdict. They changed their tune somewhat during the game, and by the time Brucie went into his wobbly leg penalties routine, they were cheering us on. I got bought a lot of drinks! (I should explain that I lived in Birmingham by then, after being brought up in Liverpool till I was 15).

To all those Man United fans who say that our treble wasn’t as good as theirs, I would only say this : Is the League Cup any easier to win than the FA Cup? No, it isn’t. And if you had to give up just one of those three trophies, which would it be? Certainly not the League, or the European Cup, that’s for sure!

Phil Rigby
Devon

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