Liverpool losing to rivals should rarely be accepted. Winning games is supposed to be hard, but you don’t lose like that…
I can’t really win with this.
It’s about twelve hours after the game and the most pointless sending off ever and I was hoping that the intervening hours of sleep might have calmed the mind and given a bit of perspective.
Not even close.
I’m angry with everything and I’m angry with everyone. Certain players, the FA, the reasonable, the unreasonable, people being zen about it, people rightfully claiming that the league game is more important, people saying that Utd are still shite and if it keeps him in a job for a bit longer then …
Nah. None of that works. You don’t lose there and accept it blithely. You don’t lose there like that. You certainly don’t have the game won twice and do that.
Yes, but they’re our lads and they’ve given us miracle after miracle and the injuries and the fixture congestion and …
It doesn’t stop it hurting.
And it should hurt. It’s Old Trafford. It’s them and it’s not alright to throw away a game there.
But I can’t win either. Shout myself purple about the 5-on-2 chance or sending everyone up for a corner in the last minute and you get accusations of being spoiled or not supporting the team. Go the other way and …
I’m not going the other way.
I don’t care about the FA Cup. After what that ‘Association’ did in 1989 (giving the bigger club the smaller end of a ground with no safety certificate and with a history of overcrowding and injury) we shouldn’t be in it anyway. They didn’t receive the slightest sanction for the part they played and I’ve never understood why we play in their competition anyway. That’s not a common or popular opinion but it’s mine.
Still, thanks for ‘strongly condemning’ the usual tragedy songs, lads. They won’t be doing that again now …
It’s not even about the quadruple. It’s about them. Losing to them. There. You can have your City and Chelsea and what have you but they’re the main rivals. That should never change.
So bad.
Worse. I sat through it with Matterface and Dixon. I don’t watch England games so I’m usually spared them, but that was excruciating.
The former claiming that Jürgen doesn’t have a good record in the competition that he actually won a couple of years ago. Lee Dixon blabbering on about keepers wearing caps with all the charisma of a decorative cake stand. He even had the gall to claim he was a neutral. An odd remark from the Manchester born former full-back.
But they’re side issues. It’s us I’m angriest at.
The lack of game management in particular. To lead twice with sod all on the clock only to throw it away. Just take it to the corner flag for a minute. Take penalties at 3-3. Not everything has to be gung-ho.
But, I suppose gung-ho got us here. We didn’t settle for pens at Wembley so why do it against a side with Fernandes at centre back? Hindsight is 20/20.
There’ll be positives from this. Defeats – even stupid ones like this – keep you humble, keep you honest. They’ll all learn.
It’s supposed to be hard. There’d be no glory if it were a cakewalk every week. The tension makes the good times great and the bad times … well, here we are.
There will be positives, but not yet. I’m still at the shouting stage and will be for a week or so. I’m not prepared to move on.
They did the same to us there in 1999. Two goals in the last minute that time. It took me till 2001 to clear the decks.
It’s supposed to be hard. That’s the point of this, but it’s harder still when we’d already won it twice.
Jesus, lad, just play a better ball than that.
No, I’m not going to demonise individual players – Jürgen loves them after all – but fucking hell!
No, I can’t win. Just smoulder through the international break and batter Brighton. Then take it out further on Sheffield United. The team talk for Old Trafford should already be written. That should be merciless.
We go again? Of course we will but the dog’s going to have to endure some furious walks before I’m at that stage.
Wonderful writing. Just how I feel.