Well there you go. Oh thee of little faith. Did we, or did we not say, we can still do this? If you don’t remember that particular post, you can read it here. Basically it was saying that we still had a chance against Barcelona. And as we all now know we have just battered Barcelona 4-0 to reach another European Cup (aka Champions League) Final. As if we didn’t know already, thereby further confirming our status as footballing European Royalty. Of that there is no doubt.
Footballing European Royalty
I’m not referring to my article of last week to gloat. Far from it. It’s just another message to our fan base to never write us off. How many times have we seen it? Olympiakos, AC Milan in 2005, Borussia Dortmund in 2016, Barcelona the other night, Auxerre in 1991 to name just a few. Even in the league, what about our comeback against Manchester United in 1994. We were 3-0 down in that game and came back to draw 3-3.
As I say, do not write us off. Mo Salah’s t-shirt on Tuesday summed it up – “Never Give Up”
To a man they did us proud. Proud beyond belief really. Exactly what do they feed them on at Melwood on a match day!!! However this season concludes we can all be so proud of this squad. Of this manager and his coaching staff. And the owners. And just as importantly, proud of ourselves in the role we have played. Yes the fans as well.
We Can And We Do Make A Difference
I’ve said it so many times before, we can and we do make a difference. Just ask our players. Or, just look at the looks on the faces of our opponents. The looks of amazement and dazed expressions are not uncommon.
Ask the owners, or listen to the media pundits. So many of our ex-players and ex-opponents have felt the force and know exactly what it is like to play in that. Did Barcelona underestimate our input? Maybe so, maybe not. Only they can answer that. Suffice it to say, there can’t be many teams in the world that have made them look so ordinary and insipid.
Not wishing to take the proverbial, but we saw so little of Messi and Suarez comparatively speaking. Of the two, Messi showed a few flashes. But he certainly wasn’t the Messi feared by one and all was he.
What Of Our Former Players
Suarez? He certainly didn’t look like the player he was when he was here.
Ignoring the histrionics and the imaginary card waving – both issues were of course a disgrace – his overall play wasn’t as effervescent, or as aggressive I seemed to remember we used to experience when he wore our Red shirt.
And as for Coutinho, what’s happened there? I turned to my mate when he was subbed and said, “I forgot he was playing”. That’s not a mickey take. I was serious. He had that tame shot in the first half, but after that? If that’s the level of his performances since moving to the Nou Camp then it’s not hard to see who have got the best out of that particular £142m deal. Just seeing that number now….£142m….makes you think how well Mike Edwards did in negotiating that deal. Well, done Eddie!!!
Heroes Every One Of Them
Who was man of the match? Not even going to try and answer that. In short they all were. To a man, they were head and shoulders above their opponents in the fluorescent shirts. Incredible levels of performance from every one of them. Without a doubt every one of them can rightly claim they are now European Royalty. Thanks again lads.
It’s all very well for cynics to say that footballers get paid silly amounts of money so the bare minimum of trying should be taken as a given. But, given the levels of money they already earn, how do you explain that extra level of performance? They’re still going to get the silly money so money can’t be the sole motivating factor. In short, Jurgen Klopp has got this squad of players running through the proverbial “brick wall”
Just look at the rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at the end of the game below.
That is one whole club in total unison. The only things missing was an FSG presence on the pitch in the shape of John Henry for example (not to worry Mr Henry, next time if you can’t make it yourself, by all means send your missus out instead!!!) and the other shame is that The Kop isn’t big enough to accommodate all those fans that contributed.
Yes, The Kop did their bit as they invariably do. But so did all the other Red parts of the stadium. The Main Stand, Annie Road and even The Centenary were bouncing!!! Great effort by one and all.
I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday and he was telling me that his son lives about a mile and a half away from the ground and he couldn’t even hear his telly. The noise, he said, was so loud he gave up on trying to listen to the telly. The Fields Of Anfield Road were certainly rocking to say the least.
Madrid Here We Come
And, as we now know, we will be playing Tottenham Hotspur. Congratulations to them and a big well done on their own amazing comeback performance. Would we have preferred Ajax? Not really. Being realistic, getting to a European Final means you are going to play a quality side. And, make no mistake, Spurs are a quality side. They caused us many problems at Anfield recently and are full of goal threats.
But are they any more intimidating an opponent than Bayern Munich or Barcelona. They can also be described as European Royalty by the way. No, Tottenham are certainly not to be underestimated, but again, they are certainly not to be feared either. With or without Harry Kane.
An exciting three weeks ahead. No, I’m not forgetting the small matter of a title decider this Sunday. Full steam ahead and focus on Wolves for our last league game. And, as we know, it will be what is meant to be. If City beat us by one point (I won’t use the phrase of “if we fall short by one point” – simply because we haven’t fallen short. Not with a total of 94, or 95, or 97 points), then congratulations to them. Let them enjoy the fruits of their ill gotten gains.
European Royalty
Let’s for the moment enjoy what Tuesday brought us. A truly incredible performance by one of the true clubs worthy of being recognised as European Royalty.
Thanks again to all those involved. Not only on Tuesday, but throughout the whole season as well.
Fingers crossed for Sunday – but come what may, we will still give the team the ovation they undoubtedly deserve and give them a rousing send off to set them on their way to Madrid.
Fields Of Anfield Road
With yet another European Final appearance in the bag, you will need to get kitted out in the latest clobber for the final. Have a look at our main page here and see what we have on our Amazon store.
Fields Of Anfield Road On Twitter
Twitter is the social media site I use more than any other. Take a look at my Tweets there – some great videos to have a look at. Here’s the link HERE.
