SOMETIMES, I feel like I can’t even sing.
When they get their first corner in injury time this thing hit me — I’d been stood in the away end watching the game and I suddenly wondered if I could manage to defend the corner. My legs were jelly.
My head had gone. I mean, I’m old — 36 — and weigh far too much, but I am 6’1″ and hadn’t run around. But my legs had gone. My head had gone. Everything had gone.
Liverpool, the 11 lads who add up to Liverpool in these core moments, cleared the corner. They should probably have scored on the break if we are all honest, if I have remembered the last five minutes correctly; if the chaos isn’t out of order in my mind.
But focus on the clearing of the corner. Of their legs being there. Their heads being there. Focus on what they gave, what they did, what they showed — not what they didn’t do.
Because you can argue they didn’t play well. Argue your face off. Like I care.
They gave everything. They did everything. They showed everything. Like they care.
They care. This is the thing. They care. They probably care more than me, more than me eating my curry in The Vine post match because my legs might be jelly but my life gets to be easy where this shit is concerned.
I panic and sing and shout though sometimes I feel like I can’t even sing, late spring, drifting off. But Liverpool, Liverpool battle and work and shout. These pampered multi-millionaires, they care — they care about each other and they care about this club and they care about getting their collective just desserts this season.
They care about getting into Europe’s elite club competition because it’s where they will really prove themselves. They care because this has been their everything for the last nine months.
This has been their everything.
West Brom want to make football matches an endless running battle. The thing to say is to rise above, the thing to think is play your football.
Yeah, right. If this season has shown Liverpool anything it has shown that rising above isn’t that easy, that rising above is easier said than done — that winning the right to play doesn’t just lead to simply playing, that winning the right to play can become an all consuming task.
Liverpool got their goal today through Roberto Firmino and spent the rest of the game trying to win the right to enjoy it. That that right only came at the final whistle made it all the sweeter. Simon Mignolet makes the finest save second half and keeps Liverpool ticking, keeps Liverpool able to win the right.
11 – Roberto Firmino has now surpassed his @premierleague goal tally from last season (10 last season, 11 in 2016/17). Haul.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 16, 2017
Across the pitch footballers devoted themselves to their battle. Both sides. West Brom are a good football team. A horrible one, yes, but a good one. They know how to do their thing, clever players like Darren Fletcher, who can make a game work the way their manager wants it to. Fletcher and Yacob, experienced footballers. Old and wise footballers who have brought their side to where they need to be.
Liverpool are a side who are broadly young and who are becoming old and experienced. They show that in Gini Wijnaldum and Nathaniel Clyne, two footballers who bring energy and nous to all they can, holding lads off like nobody’s business; waiting for players to join.
Everywhere is ugliness. Everywhere is one more second ball, one more thing to hoof clear, one more shuttle run, one more time to show and get yardage and send. One more channel to run.
Everything is beautiful. Liverpool are beautiful. They are so young and old. The Reds have taken another three points they needed to take. One more step.
Up the win-on-your-terms Reds. May they remain less jelly-legged than me.
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All of the above and Bobby showed he can deliver from the right too.
We won a lot of battles today. Chapeau.
Bobby in particular tracked back and won many tackles today.
Jurgen’s mad Reds are learning. Brilliant. Maturity. This type of gnarly shit will be a godesend in the CL next season.
Can’t agree that West Brom are a good team Neil. Truth is they’re only good at doing a couple of things. And we stopped them doing those things today. So we deserved to win, and in the end we won well.
Great 3 points.
They’re literally 8th in the league. That makes them a good team.
I don’t think they are good either.
I think the way they play removes all skill from the game and leaves you with 50-50’s and 60-40’s constantly all over the pitch. Because they do it every week, they think they will win more than their fair share of the 50-50’s and end up getting chances because of it.
Fair play to the Reds. They didn’t let Albion win anything today, one mistake aside.
They are good in what they are good at…hardest match of the season. Wrote that somewhere two months ago, that West Brom & Ham away and Palace at home will be the toughest remaining games.
(Obviously with Bournemouth this was part of the Ibe deal, or else, why would they pay this ludicrous sum for him? ;P )
Klopp called for patience before the game and that’s what his team gave him today. Not going gung-ho and getting caught out. Keeping solid and waiting for the opening then defending properly.Finding out that it’s not really that difficult to defend a corner/ throw-in/ free-kick. Thriving in the face of injury adversity . Hopefully a corner turned.
As Klopp said , we don’t have to be Liverpool every week. That can wait until we get a fit , reinforced squad next season. Just imagine what a couple of good, attacking full-backs who can go past a defender could add to our game.
I was amused to hear that Liverpool had been training on how to defend against the aerial threat-just who stands in for the big,bruising opponents at Melwood? Coutinho and Woodburn? The word was that we were going for a back three again so the timing of Klavan’s injury raises an interesting question on how well-prepared the defence was. Lucas was excellent again
I’m not so sure WBA are a good football team Neil. Feel sorry for the poor souls who choose to watch them every week .Thirty-nine goals in thirty-three games. Like Moyes at Manu I think Pulis would flounder if he had to abandon the blueprint at a bigger club.
Great result. Saw the game out like a Benitez team for the second match in a row. And some nice REM references for good measure.
Brilliant to get over the line again showing the “great character” Brendon would have had a hard-on about for weeks if not seasons!!!!Gini, Can and Lucas battled so hard for that win. Up the Red men happy easter!!!!!
Had my vine experience pre game and it was good! After the game central brum had a water leak which meant moving from pub to pub!
As for the game, apart from one chance in the first half I thought we were well solid. Haven’t seen our defence win so many first headers in a long time. Absolutely excellent.
They kept on working the angles, winning soft free kicks, corners, anything to be able to knock a ball into the area. Never troubled us.
The Ming- did what he had to do. The reds thoroughly pragmatic. Was it beautiful? No. Do I care? No.
Me and my brum based hangover will be just fine tomorrow.
Up the R.E.M Reds. Felt as though my stomach was digesting itself in that second half, but 3 more points is all I care for. A race for 4th isn’t what we were dreaming of in pre-season. But if we can just find a way home from here – and keep Arsenal & United out – it could be Liverpool getting themselves on the right side of one of those sliding doors moments we’ve usually ended up on the wrong side of so far this century (0-1 at Bradford on final day, 1-2 at Chelsea on final day, insert your own if-only moments from 08/09 and 13/14, Sevilla last May). No more if-onlys, please, Liverpool. Find a way. The past month suggests that they will.
“My head had gone. I mean, I’m old — 36 — and weigh far too much, …”
Neil and Gibbo, stay off the chipper! Apart from that, master piece to write something that interesting after such an average game. You remind me of the commentators of the dressage reports on the olympics: The stuff is so utterly boring, but they manage to make it really appear to be interesting. Respect, Sir!
WBA are about average. They reflect the manager.
The Reds did what they were supposed to do and get on with it.
Migs came through as did Lucas. Wish Moreno would have passed to Bobby, but can’t fault the guy for trying.
Bobby went above and beyond.
Palace up next. Benteke might still be looking to prove his point at Anfield. They will be harder to beat than WBA.
Up the Reds!
Hi Sash, what’s your view if managers like Pulis, Warnock and Big Sam were given a squad like current Liverpool side? I always wonder if they would mold the players to play the usual long balls and set pieces or will these managers change their life long styles and start playing in the ground?
I think, our current side is better programmed to beat Palace side (as compared to stoke and wba), in my opinion. Millie and Clyne will shut down the supply lines from Townsend and Zaha. While Can and Gini will out muscle Cabye in the middle. And I think our defenders are well trained to mark Benteke out of the match as they did during away match in London. Cheers
Don’t get the amount of Albi fume…
How can so many of you say WBA are not a good team!? There are many ways to win football matches and surely the fact that they’re in the top 10 shows they are good at collecting points!?
The new age football fan who thinks that defending deep in numbers and organised is ‘parking the bus’ and that long diagonal balls and winning 2nd balls n 50/50’s or playing percentage balls in the channels is anti football need to remember that the mindset and character needed to do these things will stand any team in goof sted and are the fundementals of the game. EVERY team has to do them at some stage in most games or in some games throughout the season!
Very good write-up conveying the mental strength the Reds needed to show to see that game out.
It was also very satisfying to beat a Tony Pulis side with a setpiece goal while out-battling them all over the pitch. Good times.
We are ace
We are cream
We’re the best you’ve ever seen
Na na na na, na na na, na na!