Skip to main content

Lady Luck Where Art Thou?


Liverpool lost again last night, this time to a team struggling to stay in the 2nd division, Reading. Reading FC have played 24 games this season and only won 4. That's the quality of the Liverpool team we have this season. In a reversal of fortune, last season when at one point Liverpool actually reached the peak of the Premier League, before a string of draws thwarted a run that ran shivers down the spine of opponents, this season, the fact that this "big four" club is laying 7th is in itself an amazing feat, considering the appalling state of affairs both on and off the pitch.

Before the start of this season, Sir Alex Ferguson said that he did not see Liverpool as a threat and thought, Chelsea, with new manager in Carlo Ancelotti, will be the biggest threat to Manchester United's bid for a four in a row League title.

Ferguson said that all the other teams would have found Liverpool out, how they play and how to subdue them. Benitez, responded that there are only so many ways to play foot ball and people will figure you out.

In another irony, through out 2008/09 season Liverpool struck fear in the hearts of opponents, so much so that they resorted to rough tactics. All season long, Liverpool sent opposing players off the field, while was not shown a single red card. This season, Liverpool already had 4, 2 in one game at Craven Cottage.

Stoke manager, Tony Pulis, has declared that Liverpool is not a team to be feared, ahead of Saturday's game at the Britannia. Last season, such statement would have sounded like a whistle in the dark but this time, he is stating the obvious.

Of the "big four" Liverpool is the only team which haven't won the Premier League, despite having an illustrious history. And, it is history that have kept the fans waiting patiently for the last 20 years. But, 20 years have eroded much of the fans enthusiasm, if not loyalty, and this season will be a test for both.

Should Rafa Benitez be replaced? Many, in utter frustration will want to. But, since the first division was named the Premier League, Benitez is probably the highest achieving Liverpool manager. Some argue that he had 5 years to prove himself, and he hasn't done so. Many says had made bad aquisitions of players in the past. But, he brought in Torres, Benayoun is not so bad, perhaps Garreth Barry would have been a good buy, too, if there was money to spend. Robbie Keane wanted to play more, so he went back to Spurs.... Glen Johnson too was a good acquisition. Unfortunately, everytime he bombs forward, Lucas who covers for him was just not good enough for the fast paced, hard tackling English Game. I have, admittedly, called for his resignation, but now I say give Rafa one more season to make amends.

Why? How is this season's team different from last season's. If Alonso had stayed, would it have been any different?

I think not. Last season, Lady Luck was a Liverpool fan, this season she abandoned us. She was there at all the games that looked like a lost cause and put the ball in the opponent's goal in the last quarter of the game. But, this season, the other teams are doing it to us. Fulham, Reading, Birmingham, Lyon, Fiorentina.... Last season we were the scorer of late goals, this we season we concede them.

It's a burn out..... It's psychological. We need a shrink. After a wonderful run last year, challenging Man U and Chelsea for the title, after coming back from 2 goal down like it was just a normal day in the office, Liverpool had nothing to show for it. No League Cup, no FA Cup, not even a Champions League semifinal, and so close to the league title they feel feel the trophy on their lips.... but for all their effort, for all the flair and genius ... there was nothing to show for it.

So close yet so far....

This season is a write off. A season of no trophies, but you may feel a little better, because you played like crap and therefore, it's justifiable that you didn't win anything....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A letter from my mother

Today, on the first day of Ramadhan in the 52nd year of my life, while I was rummaging through some old stuff, I came across a letter written to me by my mother, folded and enveloped into a prescription drug package. My mother taught herself to write in Rumi, so some words are quite difficult to figure out. She was probably more comfortable writing in Jawi, but she knew her son is useless at reading it. The letter was not dated, but I would say it was written circa 1985, the year that I dropped out of UTM. The letter was an angry letter, as angry as my dearest mother would be. I cannot remember the occasion that warranted such letter, but I think I must have said something that hurt her. She wrote that I should have told her or father (unlikely) or my brothers and sisters that I am having difficulties in my studies. She wrote that I have ostracized myself from my family, and she understood that I did this because I do not want to be any more a burden to my parents and my sibli
1 comment
Read more

Humanity: from the lucid mind of a Covid19 infested person.

 Hello... It's me, again. I don't know how anybody is going to read this, because I have deactivated my Facebook account... my Instagram too. It's interesting to see people's reactions when I told them this. Mostly, it's a sharp intake of breath and a sympathetic "why".  I guess they assumed I was cyberbullied into deactivation. No... It was a mistake. I should never have even registered for any socmed (social media for those uninitiated). I hate it, people sharing their lives, what they eat and drink and where they were eating and drinking, how far they have walked or run or cycled, with whom they are doing things, who they met today or yesterday, where they are now in the world, what their cute babies or cats are doing, what plants they are planting, what fruits they have harvested... I don't really want to know about what you guys are doing with your lives unless I am responsible (partly) for bringing you into this horrible place. For that, my child
Post a Comment
Read more

I love/hate MCO

The vaccines are here... spelling the beginning of the end of Covid19... or at least we hope so. But, it is really just hope upon hope. Because, as vaccines are being spread (by health workers) in most parts of the world, we still hear of lockdowns happening here and there. And the virus is mutating. New strains are being discovered, having higher infectivity. I guess Covid wants to live just like any other living creature. My employer has announced that beginning this month (April 2021) everybody must come to work in the office. No more working from home. Which is OK. I mean (in case my boss reads this blog) I love my job but dread going through the traffic jams in the morning and then again in the evening. I miss the easy smooth drive to and from work during the MCO when I had to come to the office to sign some physical documents, but even during the CMCO and RMCO, when we are allowed to move around a bit more, the traffic build-up at roadblocks gave me a glimpse of things to come wh
Post a Comment
Read more