The year was 2018 and Liverpool were going for their 10th Premier League title in succession. In the years that had gone, their main rivals, (Man Utd) had been engulfed in problems after SAF had been pensioned off. Roy Keane's reign was short, after he had been arrested for a terrorist attack in 2010, and subsequently cleared after convincing the appeals court that he was indeed not Osama Bin Ladens twin brother. Nonetheless, his approach at United was deemed all wrong, and this was surely the straw that broke the camels back, after he was already unpopular for chasing off Ronaldo, Berbatov, Rooney and Tevez in his first month at the club.
Ronaldo had subsequently switched sports, and representing Portugal at the Olympics won five gold medals for "diving". Berbatov left the club after he refused repeatedly to get up before 10 am in the morning and walk Roy Keane's dogs, and Roy Keane could not tolerate laziness. He went on to claim fame as a Hollywood actor in the remake of Count Dracula, and is rumoured to these days live reclusively in a coffin where he prefers to sleep 23 and a half hours per day. So what else has changed?
Tevez had briefly tried his hand at running marathons, but often he was hampered by administrators making him an emergency for the event, and by the time he got into the race it was almost finished. The reasons he was given were mostly that "his face at the starting line would shock other competitors", and they couldn't risk the entire field pulling out. Rooney was jailed in 2015 after losing his temper with a linesman and choking him to death. He had been playing for Everton after his departure from United, and had gone completely nuts after "The Chosen One" 5th successive broken promise of playing Champions League had been broken. These days he is incarcerated in a mental hospital, and his only visitor is SAF, who apparently is the only one who can calm him.
After Keane's exit, brief spells in charge were given to Harry Rednapp, Sam Aldadyce, Sven Erikson, Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce, and Steve Mc Laren. Eventually they settled on Arsenwenger, who has been employing his youth policy now for the past 7 years, and although United are once again renouned for playing beautiful football, no silverware has come their way. Steve Bruce, Big Sam, and Harry Rednapp had all met with the same fate, all suffered heart attacks after an over indulgence of "prawn sandwiches" Steve Mc Laren is rumoured to be selling umbrellas somewhere in Africa, but is still on United's payroll after Arsenwenger employed him as a talent scout. In the summer months apparently there is not a lot of activity in the umbrella market with the climate being what it is.
Today Liverpool play Chelsea in the final game of the season, and they are locked together on points, meaning whoever wins today shall win the title. Benitez has come under critisism for his rotation policy, which today sees 10 different players line up from those who took the field in the Champions League semi final on Wednesday. The only English born player left in the Premier League is Gerrard, who makes his final appearance in the league today, and he is the one player who retains his place from Wednesday. One of the greatest mysteries of the English game, is how this rotation policy can still be criticised, and doubted after 9 successive titles, however, at Liverpool the expectations of the Anfield faithful are as high as ever. The naysayers it seems, shall always be lurking in the shadows, waiting for Benitez to trip up.
So its Benitez against "the special one" in a do or die affair, after Jose Mourinho had returned to Chelsea finally this season after mixed success in Europe. Your commentator today is Frank Lampard, who turned to commentary of course after being told there was not enough room in English football for two Englishmen, and Gerrard had been the preferred option. Gerrard and Lampard could naturally not both be selected to play in the same Country.
So as the game begins it is important to note that Liverpool want this title badly to overhaul Man Utd's Premier League crowns, because rumours are floating about, that the League will be renamed shortly to something of a more Continental flavour, and a new era shall begin.
Logged
