Happy New Year Everyone

Happy New Year Everyone

A Happy New Year everyone. In non footballing terms, won’t we be glad to see the back of 2020 and herald the start of 2021. Obviously in a footballing sense it was a great year for we Liverpool fans. Ending our 30 year drought for the title and, ending the calendar on top of the Premier League. A footballing year to look back on with pride and joy.

Happy New Year Everyone

Happy New Year Everyone
Happy New Year Everyone

Just to pick up on that last point I mentioned. Finishing the calendar year on top of the Premier League. It would seem that to so many fans, the last two games spells nothing but doom and gloom. Total disasters according to some. Drawing to West Brom and Newcastle United were not ideal results. Nor were the performances ideal in some respects. I must admit I was moaning and groaning myself a fair bit during last night’s 0-0 at St James Park. Very disappointing in the end.

Does it send a message to our challengers that we are creaking a bit? Possibly. But, more realistically, are we really creaking a bit? And they not all creaking themselves by the way? If they aren’t, then how come we’re top?

Let’s be clear here, in matches we are looking at fine margins at times. So many fans at times offer a knee jerk reaction at a result. As many did last night on the forums and Social Media. But when we look at the fine margins, if it wasn’t for the Newcastle keeper, Darlow, we would have picked up the three points with something to spare. Credit to him for making some fantastic saves. No problem with that. After all, that’s what he is there for.

Fans Overreaction

But putting that aside, many fans did not even consider his MOM appearance. No, it was all doom and gloom. Individual players were ripped apart. Klopp’s use of substitutions was criticised. Mo Salah has his mind elsewhere. The team selection was wrong. The tactics were wrong. We’ve blown the title.

These are just some of the season defining comments bandied about last night. To be fair, there may be some justification in some of them. Or possibly all of them. But any justifications (if it turns out to be so) will not have settled our season’s fate last night. This game wasn’t a season defining moment at all. Not in the slightest.

Or, to put it another way. Do we not think that, if any of the above issues were correct, we have the right team in place to address any of these issues? I don’t know about you but I think if our problems were of the magnitude as purported in the forums, then I would rather rely on Jurgen Klopp and his staff and players to put things right, rather than take the word of a forum poster declaring, “that’s it, the title is gone!!”

Yes, last night was disappointing. As was West Brom. But looking at last night, if Darlow didn’t have a worldie, would the doom merchants have stayed out in force on the forums with so much relish.

The Forum Doom Merchants

I don’t know if any of you visit the forums. The one I visit in the main is the club’s own website’s official forum. But when we aren’t winning you can visit any page on the match day thread and it will be littered with so many negative comments. If say there are 20 posts per page, you would not be surprised to see anything between 16 to 18 posts being negative. Stay on there long enough and after a while you can guess who has posted a certain post if you refrain from checking out the poster’s username first. There are many of them. Certainly not the only one, but a poster with the username of “AllMyTyRed” or something like that is easily identified. I can’t remember one positive comment and he (or she) is always bashing certain individual players. So, you can blank out the usernames in the left margin and, more often than not, recognise posts as being their’s.

Of course, there is the case of it is all about opinions. And that’s quite right too. But after the last few years we’ve had and being top of the table, no positive or encouraging opinions? Really?

Put it this way, I’m glad these moaners are only in the forums. If any of them managed to get a season ticket and were sat next to me in The Kop and they acted true to form, I’d ask to swap my seat.

Anyway, enough of the negative stuff.

Happy New Year Everyone – Onwards and Upwards

Yes indeed, a Happy New Year everyone. Even to the moaners, although many of them may have already written this season off!!! Let’s put things into perspective. We’re top of the league. We have had a terrible first half (ish) of the season in  terms of injuries to key players. And we’re still top of the league. Where would we be if we had VVD, Gomez, The Ox, Thiago, Keita, Matip, Becker, Milner (to a lesser extent as these last two weren’t out long), Jota, Tsimikas all available throughout? The real answer is, nobody knows.

What having those available gives us is options. The greater the options the more Jurgen can be flexible. Flexible in his team selections, tactics and substitutions. So, cut the guy a bit of slack. We’re in the right hands. And, let’s not forget, if any of the doom merchants prophesies were deemed to be accurate and now that the transfer window is open, don’t you think Jurgen and Michael Edwards are already on the case if the in house solutions aren’t there?

If all those were available last night, would it have prevented Darlow making some great saves? Of course not. So, as disappointing as the last two games have been, let’s add a little perspective here. In “Jurgen We Trust” and all that. We’re in great hands. Great hands to guide us through the rest of the season.

Oh, and one ray of light that none of the hardened doom merchants could extinguish from last night. How good was Thiago when he came on? Hopefully much more of that to come in the months ahead. Stay positive folks and a “Happy New Year Everyone”

Let’s Look Forward

Let’s look forward to the rest of the season and let’s hope we are as back to normal in everyday life as soon as we possibly can be. Stay safe everyone.

Fields Of Anfield Road Blog

Thanks for visiting my Fields of Anfield Road blog. Much appreciated. To see all of my other blog posts, head on over to HERE.

Fields Of Anfield Road Website

For more information on Liverpool FC, then why not head on over to my main website by clicking HERE.

Please Note

I earn commissions from Amazon for any qualifying purchases made from my Fields Of Anfield Road website.

So by clicking on any of the Amazon links or images below you will be taken through to Amazon where you can search for your Liverpool gifts and much more safely and securely. Thanks for visiting.

Shop Safely And Securely From Amazon

Champions Flag

Champions Scarf

Signed Photo

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Previous Post
Story So Far-Sadly Not Exactly A View From The Kop Though
View From The Kop

Story So Far Halfway Through The Season

Next Post
Merry Christmas To One And All
View From The Kop

Merry Christmas To One And All

Leave a Reply