Inside Left or Left Outside?
It was the 26thMay 1989. A warm early summers evening and prior to the saturation of football on our tv screens which there is today. I was 11 years old, it was a Friday evening, so homework could wait. What could not wait however was the help that my father wanted me to give him on the family farm. There was always jobs to do on the family farm. What was a boy to do? After all, in my short time supporting Liverpool football club, this was their biggest game to date, and lo and behold, RTE were actually showing the game live. Everything else would have to wait!
“Its all up for grabs now” the commentator said and with that, 25 seconds of injury time remaining, Michael Thomas breaks on to a through ball from Alan Smith, evades the would be challengers and plants the ball past the despairing Bruce Grobbelaar. Arsenal win the First Division title on goals scored. This wasn’t how it was meant to be. The tv cameras had shown Steve McMahon growling at his teammates that there was only one minute remaining as the clock ticked in to overtime. My beloved Liverpool had been denied at the death the opportunity of winning a second historic double of League championship and FA Cup only weeks after the tragedy of the Hillsborough disaster. The significance of that was not hitting me at the time but it was the first crushing blow that I had received in my sports following education. And with that the call of duty came once more from my father and maybe now any job to be done on the farm was a form of escapism that was needed to cure the heartache of the previous 93 minutes action.
Fast forward to the 1992 FA Cup Final with Sunderland and captain Mark Wright stands on the steps of Wembley and lifts the trophy aloft. I may not have been able to watch the game on tv that day but by listening to it on the radio it was able to give me the first glimpse in my mind of Steve McManaman, the youngest player on the pitch that day, and his ginking runs down the flanks. It was the only trophy won by Graeme Souness in his Liverpool managerial career. The winning team were even mistakenly given the losers medals when collecting the trophy and which they had to rectify with the disconsolate Sunderland players on the pitch after!
Neil Ruddock! His dramatic headed equaliser in the 3-3 spectacular with that Utd lot in January 1994 will be impossible to erase from the memory.
The 1995 League Cup Final victory over Bolton Wanderer’s will always be remembered as “the McManaman Final”.
Birmingham City, Arsenal and the might of Alaves! The 2001 Treble. Robbie “God” Fowler’s spectacular goal v’s Birmingham and Andy Johnson’s penalty miss. Michael Owen’s two goal salvo v’s Arsenal and the roll over celebration! Delfi Geli’s dramatic late own goal and the Golden Goal Rule.
2005 Champions League Final, Istanbul. Where were you when Jerzy Dudek did his spaghetti legs impression and Shevchenko missed the decisive penalty? Behind my couch in my sitting room actually, unable to watch as the tension became unbearable. Steven Gerrard lifts the cup, Liverpool are champions for a record 5th time.
Gerrard is again the saviour in the 2006 FA Cup Final with his 30 yard injury time equaliser against West Ham. Liverpool once more go on to triumph on penalties and lift the trophy for the 7th time.
And King Kenny’s League Cup Final success in 2012 against Cardiff City where Stewart Downing won the man of the match award and at last it seems that his Liverpool career is about to take off.
The memories of all these victories came flooding back over the past week while watching the present Liverpool team succumb to Swansea, yes, Swansea, in the League Cup at Anfield and then watch them toil against Newcastle in the league, once more at Anfield. Joe Cole in the starting line up against Swansea and withdrawn at half time. Not a bad three quarter of an hours work if you can get paid what he is getting paid for it. Samed Yesil also withdrawn with lingering question marks. Oussama Assaidi once more demonstrating that he has a box of tricks but how many tricks are actually in the box is very much open to debate. Is he another Aidan McGeedy in the making?
Jose Enrique hits that forty odd yard pass, Suarez controls magnificently with his shoulder, one touch and he has taken it around the despairing Krul, a further touch, Liverpool are level and Suarez is scurrying back to the half way line with matchball for the resumption. Was it the quality of the ball or the genius of the first touch and control? I find it hard to agree with the former. Fable has it that Samson lost his strength by cutting his hair and I cannot bring myself around to believing that matters are going to get any better now for the Spaniard with his shaven head. John Joe Shelvey should also follow developments with interest. And, unfortunately, it seems like Stewart Downing’s Anfield career is not about to take off. Coming on at a time when Liverpool had just equalised and had all the momentum of playing in to the Kop End, I waited with expectation for Downing along with Gerrard to whip in the quality of ball that Suarez would gobble up and finish with glee to give the home side the 3 points. Instead, I looked on with increasing frustration as cross after cross, and corner after corner, failed to clear the first defender. I was left wondering how professional players, on such inflated salaries can fail so badly on such fundamental and basic elements of the game. How can we, local district league players get barracked for failing with such basics of the game, and these professionals, on monopoly money, can carry on safe in the knowledge that even though they may warm the bench next week, their bank balances will warm the cockles of their hearts during the long winter ahead.
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