Well there you go. Our undefeated league record has now gone. And gone in some emphatic way in fact. Let’s be honest, our 3-0 thumping at Watford could have been much worse. That comment in itself may be a bit of a worry to some. The 3-0 defeat could quite easily have been 5 or 6. Make no bones about that. But, to quote the old cliche, you can’t win them all. So, that being so and quoting another cliche – we go again.
Can’t Win Them All
I was talking to a fellow Liverpool fan yesterday and I was mentioning a similar ‘surprise’ result back in the 70’s. By the way, was Saturday’s defeat really a surprise?
The ‘surprise’ result was in the 1976/77 season when we were absolutely hammered by Aston Villa by five goals to one. Yes, 5-1 against The Villa. At the time we were on a great run. We were reigning champions and were top of the league by some distance. Going into the game we had only conceded 5 goals in the last 8 games.
We were 5-1 down at half-time in fact. Luckily we either picked up in the second half. Or, maybe Villa took their foot off the pedal. Even so, Villa still had more chances in the 2nd half. But 5-1 it remained.
I remember listening to the game on the radio and couldn’t believe what was happening. We were Liverpool, the best team in the country by a mile. Probably the best team in Europe and possibly the world. And we were getting absolutely smashed by Aston Villa. No disrespect to Villa but this wasn’t supposed to happen.
Like Saturday against Watford wasn’t supposed to happen. But it did happen. And why? We were taken apart by the skill, speed and determination of our opponents from the very first whistle. Sound familiar?Saturday night as well by any chance? Watford were exceptional to be fair and thoroughly deserved their victory. So, let’s not just make this about a poor Liverpool performance.
In short and quite simply, we were crap on both occasions. No other reason. But, these things happen. As already said, you can’t win them all.
Can’t Win Them All – Post Aston Villa Drubbing
The mauling against Aston Villa saw many fans and pundits go into meltdown. A bit like after Saturday really. So, how did it effect us back in 1976/77?
Not at all really is the short answer. We went on to clinch the title that year. In the 23 league games that followed the Villa battering, we kept 11 clean sheets and conceded one goal in 9 of the other remaining games.
For good measure we also went on to win our first European Cup in May. So, not a bad response to our ‘season defining’ hammering against Villa. Oh, by the way. Who finished second in the league that season? Correct, you’ve got it. Manchester City.
Will we bounce back in similar fashion this season? I can’t say. No one can really at this stage. But the important thing to remember is not to overreact.
Yes, Saturday was disappointing. But that’s all it was. As one of our mottos says – We Go Again!! The players will no doubt be trying their hardest to do their bit and bring number 19 home. Let’s hope that we will also do our very best and get behind the players. Now is not the time to conduct witch hunts on players. No matter how indifferently or badly they played on Saturday. Let’s remember how well we’ve done and what potentially lies ahead.
We can’t win them all that’s a fact. But let’s do our best to win the remaining four we need to win the title. Let’s all aim towards that. Stay positive folks. Roll on Chelsea tomorrow night and Bournemouth on Saturday. At least we have an early opportunity to try and bounce back.
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