First off a quick apology for the length of this (not the first time I have to say sorry for the length of things), but I like to go through a season after its finished , to try to re-live them, to try to arrange it in my mind and things ive forgotten, little bits I may remember differently to how they actually happened, look at a few of the key bits back, the goals I liked etc etc.. So as I really like the forum as a place to share things with fellow reds you get to hear it as well, you lucky buggers..
Thanks for reading..
So it began really with this..
Wow! 95,000 Liverpool fans "You'll never walk alone" in Australia at the MCG stadium We were on a pre season tour to Australia, a tour that showed simply how big our club is, I know we have some Aussie reds on here who know the ins and outs of this club just as much as someone born in L4.. I remember thinking at this point that I wanted us to show the world what we are about and hoped we could have a season to pay back these boys in Australia who had given us the perfect boost to the season.
So who would have thought following the last pre season game last summer against Celtic in August that we go on to challenge for the league title? And ultimately miss out on the final day by 2pts..
I personally said in July to myself that I wanted us to break the 70pt barrier this season, that’s the minimum mark of progression that we should be aiming at, that we should be pushing to break back into the top 4 and in the CL league places again as that would give us the much needed progression that the football club needed. I genuinely thought that it would be a tough competitive season and that we would improve on last year, as the second half of 12/13 had already shown the green shoots of recovery, and that we could continue that into 13/14.. We needed to find that ruthless winning culture again, that CL football was a necessity for us to progress and that I would be happy with that from where we were.
A week after the Celtic defeat we opened up the league season at Anfield against difficult first day opponents in Stoke City, under new management and wanting to make their own impression.Three new faces lined up for the red’s, GK Simon Mignolet, a capture from Sunderland, Kolo Toure who had arrived on a free from Man City to replace the recently retired ex vice skipper Jamie Carragher and Iago Aspas from Spanish side Celta Vigo.
Daniel Sturridge scored the winner, leading the line as star striker Luis Suarez was still suspended and also under potential transfer speculation linking him with a move away from Merseyside, but the real hero of the afternoon was Mignolet who produced a last minute penalty save from Jonathan Walters to give us a vital 3pts and a solid start to the season, its what dream debuts are made of.
The following Saturday and the trip to Villa park for the first away trip of the season in what a tricky test on paper against Villa’s young side was made even tougher following their opening day win at Arsenal. Sturridge again the match winner with a superb finish following a flowing move to record a second straight 1-0 win.. The second half proved a test of us as a defensive unit as Villa pushed us back but it was 6 from 6 for Brendan’s red’s.
Daniel Sturridge GOAL Liverpool vs Aston Villa 1-0 (Goal Highlights) 24-8-13 2013 [HD 720p]Before the next league game and the first major test of the early season where reigning champions Manchester Utd were coming to Anfield it was the League cup second round tie against Notts County of League 1. In a game we were expected to win easily and following 2 goals in the first half hour through Raheem Sterling’s first of the season and that man Sturridge , County forced their way back into the tie and found an equilizer five minutes from the full time whistle to take the game to extra time, maybe not ideal with the Utd clash on the horizon but the lads stuck to their task and with additional goals in the additional period from Sturridge and Henderson we were through to the 3rd round.
A rawcus and expectant Kop welcomed Utd for the 3rd game of the season as Liverpool flew out of the traps and grabbed the all important first goal as the man of the moment Daniel Sturridge nodded the red’s in front after just 4 minutes.. the following 86 was fairly comfortable, as we didn’t add another but never really looked like conceding against a blunt looking Utd as the game ended 1-0, what a start from us, 9 from 9, all 1-0 victories and all thanks to No.15 Daniel Sturridge.. Was this simply a strong start or the sign of things to come? The red side of Merseyside was smiling from ear to ear as we handed Moyes his first defeat in the fixture.
We had a fortnight wait following the Utd clash before the trip down to the Liberty Stadium to face Brendan’s former employers in Swansea City. A bit of an odd evening began with former red and new Swansea midfielder Jonjo Shelvey putting the south Wales side in front only to gift an equilizer to dangerman Sturridge with a short back pass which he took gratefully after only 4 minutes. New loan signing Victor Moses then cut out Shelvey’s cross field ball and ran on to score from the edge of the box ten minutes before the break to see us go in 2-1 at half time. That man Shelvey again with good work set up Michu in what turned out to be a poor second half from Liverpool as the game ended 2-2 and with it our first dropped points of the season.
The Southampton clash at Anfield on September the 21st was a day where we all felt we would get back to winning ways following the draw at Swansea and continue such a strong start to the league season, however injury concerns to both full backs lead Brendan to start the game with 4 centre backs across the back 4, Daniel Agger started at LB and Kolo at RB.. It was a game we simply never got going in, maybe the lack of width which is so key to the manangers system was at the heart of it, or maybe it was simply one of those things, but come the final whistle we had been dumped back down to earth following Dejan Lovren’s goal shortly after the break. The first set back of the season though was softened slightly with the thought of talismanic striker Luis Suarez being available from suspension and chomping at the bit to get back involved following a frustrating summer as well as his 10 match ban which straddled the end of the previous season and the start of this. The only question was would he start straight away in the League Cup 3rd round at Old Toilet? Yes was the answer, however he couldn’t stop a second 1-0 reverse and elimination from the cup as the little pe(nis) again took advantage of slack marking from a set piece and again soon after the half time break.. Two defeats in a week had slightly taken the gloss off of our start to the season however the 90 minutes Luis got in his legs proved crucial as we went to the north east in our next league game 4 days later..
Suarez scored twice, both assisted by strike partner Daniel Sturridge who added his 5th in the league as we comfortably won 3-1 at Sunderland.. The sign of things to come from the dangerous double act? We hoped so, the rest of the league not so much. People said that forward partnerships didn’t work in the modern game, well on this evidence ‘people’ know sh*t..
So September ended and we had 13 points to show from our opening 6 league games, Suarez was back, Sturridge had started the season well.. It was a pleasing start. I have been trying to recall as I write this how I was feeling at certain points of the season, its difficult knowing how it turns out to do so. But I think at this point I can honestly say I didn’t think we would challenge for the league, but I was content with the start, as we all know you cant win anything in the first couple of months but you can lose it, and the fixtures we had weren’t easy on paper, you have to go out there and put the performances out and start the long road of 38 games by winning in the early stages or whatever your target is pre season you are always playing catch up. I wasn’t getting carried away but 4 wins and a draw in our opening 6 was solid, a win over Utd in that run always makes it sweeter, even though we weren’t sure at that point simply how sh*te they’d be it was still sweet all the same, but we had a solid start to build towards Christmas.
October was on top us a quick as a flash, the season was bubbling on nicely and quickly which showed we had started well, however with only 3 games in the calendar month it was going to be a tough act to keep momentum up. First up was Ian Holloway’s struggling Crystal Palace, 2 goals in the first 17 minutes from the SAS set the tone and a Gerrard Penalty 7 minutes before the break as we added to their early season woes. We sat back in the second half and took our foot off the pedal as Palace grabbed the only goal of the second period, but still a comfortable win and another 3 points. After Palace was another trip to the North East, this time to Newcastle who had had a decent start to the season, the Geordies have the capability to beat anyone on their day as they proved against the special cu*ts chavs around the same time as our visit. It was another day we didn’t really seem to click by memory, but we showed fighting qualities which seemed to be matching our obvious talent. We came from behind twice on the day to take a point back to Merseyside in a 2-2 draw.. But even though it wasn’t the greatest of performances was it one showing we were made of the right stuff to get something out of a poor performance? Like we had at Swansea.. Games where we may well have come away with nothing in recent years we were digging in to get points.. Maybe further down the line we could turn some of these in to wins.. Could performances like these, or results in bad performances be ones we look back to in our evolution of a strong winning mentality? Not knowing when we are beat. Sturridge’s equilizer, adding to the captains penalty, with 15 minutes to go showed that fighting spirit, we were taking home a point where in the past we may not have done.
Back to Anfield for the final game of October delivered a comfortable 4-1 win over West Brom in what was probably the most fluid performance of the season to date. A hat trick from Luis and a Danny cherry on top meant 7 points from 9 in the month to continue the push for the CL places.
I admit still not getting too carried away at this point, but 20 points from 27 was beginning to look a very strong start to the season.
November again only threw up 3 games in the month, the first brought us our second defeat of the season at the Emarites to at that point a rampant Arsenal, the question was again on us to put a defeat behind us and get back to winning ways, especially having been beaten comfortably in London.
The answer was emphatic, a 4-0 home win over Fulham, Luis Suarez with another 2 as he continued to show fantastic form following his return to the side.. The result showed me a couple of things I remember thinking, we had that ability to not lose games in bunches, that we could put poor results behind us and take the next game as something new.. And that we were turning Anfield into a fortress again.. 5 wins in 6 scoring 13 goals in the process. If you find a good solid home record, you wont go far wrong, something which in recent years, maybe even a decade or so we have struggled to put poor sides to the sword at home, and we seemed to be doing it with ease on the whole this year. The Fulham win put us In a good mindset for the first derby of the season at Goodison a fortnight later.
The game brought back memories of an 80s classic between the Merseyside rivals, we took the lead twice in the first 20 minutes through Coutinho and a brilliant Suarez free kick only to fall behind in the second half through a Lukaku double but our new found never say die attitude came to the fore again as Studge flicked header got us level again near the end to take a share of the spoils in an exciting 3-3 draw.
Into December and the first month really packed with games, a busy 7 fixtures in 28 days would prove a test. We started the run with even in retrospect our poorest performance of the season, limply going down 3-1 at the KC stadium Hull. Falling behind after 20 minutes only for the skipper to drag us level with a free kick 7 minutes later.. Even after the poor first half I expected us to push on and win the game, but the second half we were poor, Hull were great on the day, we lost, again the test would be the following week and the ability to put that behind us. We didn’t have long to wait, a midweek fixture against Norwich at Anfield in which Luis Suarez continued his personal assult against the Norfolk outfit with what I can say with confidence is the best hat trick ive ever witnessed..
Liverpool V s Norwich 5 1 Suárez Super Hattrick Liverpool 5 1 Norwich 2013 Premier Ligue 4 12 2013He grabbed 4 on the day, including one from 45 yards and a simply sublime half volley from the edge of the box.. Raheem Sterling grabbed the other as we bounced back from the Hull game in style.
West Ham were next up, and we continued where we left off against Norwich with another sign of year on year progression for me, last season Fat Sam’s ‘ammers came and packed the defence and we struggled to break them down drawing 0-0 on the day, this season even though the tactics were the same, we eventually made a break through a few minutes before the half time break and went on to record a 4-1 win. Mamadou Sakho grabbed his first for the club and Luis Suarez’s fantastic form continued with another 2 late on.. But for me this was another marker in the sand for our progression.
The run into Christmas threw up the trip to White Hart Lane, traditionally a tough place to visit for us, two wins at home following the defeat at the KC but now it was time to prove we could do it on the road as well.. What unfolded was a fantastic performance from Brendan’s tricky red’s and also the end for AVB at Spurs. A Suarez brace then strikes from Hendo Sterling and this beauty from Flanno
Tottenham-Liverpool (0-5) FLANAGAN GOAL . AMAZINGBrought about a 5-0 win which had me in dreamland, this is what football is all about. Back to Anfield again for the visit of Cardiff which the 3-1 victory saw us top the table at Christmas, yet another Suarez brace as he continued to re-write the record books and a Sterling strike won the game. Was it time to really start to believe we could challenge for the title? I mean we topped the table at Christmas, its not like its early September .. But to come from where we had last season? The next two games on Boxing day and New years day, away at big spenders Manchester City and Chelsea would really provide a test to see if we could challenge.
City were up first at the Etihad, City of Manchester, Eastlands… Or whatever they called it this week.. We set off well again, Coutinho rounding the keeper to put us 1-0 up only for us to fall behind before half time , the second being a mistake from keeper Mignolet, however the disallowed Sterling strike, wrongly chalked off for offside which would have seen a 2-0 lead and a bigger mountain for City to climb was the major disappointment of the day.. But there were plenty of positives to take from the game as we went down to Chelsea for the first game of 2014. However another 2-1 defeat unfolded but again the score line didn’t tell the story of the game.. Yet again we started well, Martin Skrtel prodding us in front after 2 minutes, again for us to lose the lead and trail at half time.. However the scorer of what turned out to be the winner was surrounded by controversial events.. Samuel Eto’o who could have been sent off for an ugly looking challenge on Jordan Henderson before being on hand to score and then seemed to give away a certain foul in the box on Suarez in the second period again not spotted by the referee.
Back to back defeats saw us drop back to 5th in the table, however the over riding feeling at the end of 2013 and the start of 2014 was one of positivity.. For the previous calendar year we had been superb and even with those two defeats I was full of optimism, I still didn’t think we could win the league but I genuinely thought at this point we would finish in the top 4.. I was in a great place and looking forward to the second half of the season and what the boys were going to serve up taking us through it.
A routine 2-0 victory over Hull got us back on track, Daniel Agger and yet another from the prolific Suarez sent aul fat head and the tigers back across the country and give us a welcome 3pts before the traditional early January start of the FA cup which saw us face last seasons conquers Oldham Athletic. Goals from Iago Aspas who grabbed his first for the club and a late own goal finally put the stubborn resistance from the League 1 side to bed, it was far from comfortable but a 4th round tie awaited us at Bournemouth before it was back to league action.
What followed was the first of some crazy results in the second half of the season, as much as our attacking play was a joy to watch, we were starting to leave the back door open.. It to me at this point looking back that it felt like it was far more prominent in the second half of the season that we were leaking goals so I have just taken time out to see and it surprised me what ive just added up.
In the first 19 games we scored 46 goals and conceded 23 and in the second 19 we scored 55 and conceded 27. So our goalscoring increased by 9 but we only conceded 4 more.
It felt like far more than 4 more in the second half of the season, so as much as we scored more we didn’t really concede that many more.. We consistently leaked goals over the season, where to me it felt like we were more tight in that first half.
Anyway, back to the game, we went to the Britannia stadium, another place we have struggled at since they have come up to the Premier League, somewhere I really haven’t enjoyed going.. What unfolded that day was mad, but it was something we would witness more over the coming few months. Luis Suarez gave the Stoke Cbs nightmares in that first 35 minutes that they are probably still suffering with as he forced an OG and added a second himself as it looked like we were cruising to a big 3 points.. However we switched off in the final 10 minutes of the half as ex reds Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam both scored to send Stoke in at the break with the momentum. Again in previous seasons we could have folded there but a consummate second half saw us run out 5-3 winners with goals from Gerrard (P) another from Suarez and a Sturridge strike on his return from injury.. 5-3… as I said crazy.
A disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Anfield followed the barmy day at Stoke in a flat performance which saw us fall 2 down early on.. Goals either side of the break from Sturridge and Gerrard (p) still didn’t really wake us up as we couldn’t find the extra goal to turn the game on its head, in reality we never really looked like getting it.
The last game in January was back in the FA cup with that 4th round tie at Bournemouth, another routine 2-0 win with goals from Moses and Sturridge saw us progress to the 5th round.
The second Mersey derby of the season was next up, under floodlights at Anfield.. What served up was even better than the Spurs performance for me as we smashed them 4-0, Stevie with a bullet header in front of the blues fans set us on our way before a Sturridge double sent us in 3-0 at half time.. Suarez added a forth in the second half to give us the bragging rights at work the following day and send the blues back waddling across the park with their pants pulled down. Thanks redmen.
February started with us crashing back down to earth somewhat at the Hawthorns, leading 1-0 through Sturridge we seemed fairly comfortable and probing and testing to find a second when Kolo Toure’s pass across the back 4 looking for the captain was cut out by ex bitter Victor Anichebe who slammed it past Mignolet for the equilizer.. I felt for Kolo at this point, he got a lot of stick following the mistake but up until this point in the season I thought he had done fairly well in doing what seemed to be the impossible in replacing Carra. This is the way we play, it will lead to the odd error and Kolo was unfortunate to be the man to make the mistake, but we should take it out of context, it was a mistake, bourne by our system and style.. Forget it and move on.
And how we did move on..
Next up was the lunchtime game at home against Arsenal, 12:45 it kicked off, by 5 past 1 it was over.. Goals from Skrtel (2), Sterling and Sturridge put us 4-0 up inside 20 minutes in a performance not many people saw coming, the manner we ripped into them left them shot and really put down a marker that we were in this title race. Another in the second half from Sterling as we ran out 5-1 winners.. Not only was this my new favourite performance of the season but maybe in many a season, we were simply world class in that opening 20 minutes.
After the high of Arsenal it was important that we kept the momentum up with a game in hand over Fulham at Craven Cottage who were struggling near the foot of the table having already gone through Martin Jol, Rene Mulenstein was under pressure as well as we came visiting. Kolo Toure who was having a tough few weeks put through his own net early on to give Fulham something to hold on to. Daniel Sturridge grabbed a leveller 4 minutes before half time to get us back on level terms , however we didn’t get going during the beginning of the second half and fell behind again through ex Manc Kieron Richardson.. Time to make the performance against Arsenal count, lets not make that performance be in vein.. We plugged away without really creating too much until Phillipe Coutinho levelled with a cracking strike from the edge of the box after 72 minutes and as the pressure was starting to show on the struggling cottages some great footwork from Studge drew a poor challenge and won a penalty which the skipper was never going to miss as we earnt a massive 3 points as the players really looked like they were starting to believe they were in the mix.
Sunday the 16th February saw the FA cup 5th round tie down at Arsenal who were looking for revenge following their humiliation at Anfield the week before. They started really well and were two to the good shortly after half time but we grew into the game as we knew we had little to lose from this position.. Gerrard got one back from the spot and we should have had another as the referee was the only one not to spot a foul from Oxlade Chamberlain on Suarez.. As much as we pushed Arsenal held out and our FA cup run was over for another year.. Meaning the league was all we had to concentrate on now with 12 games to go in the season.
In the last game of the month we were to play Swansea at Anfield, it turned out to be a thriller that maybe we should never have let it become as we edged a 7 goal thriller. Sturridge and Henderson gave us a two goal lead early on only for us to give that lead away within 7 minutes in the point of the game we should just have killed it off.. Jonjo Shelvey was at it again against his old club with a superb strike which had the Kop on its feet to applaud and a Skrtel OG.. Danny was dancing again after 36 to give us a half time lead only for Wilfred Bony to equilize from the spot a couple of minutes after the break. We really needed to find some control and stop the end to end feeling the game had,once we did we we eventually found what turned out to be the winner as Jordan Henderson tapped in his second of the game. Another good 3 points but at 2-0 we really need to start to kill these games and not give the feeling that sides can get a foothold back in games.. They should be comfortable victories rather than nailbiting afternoons.
We were into March, still in the conversation, March the month where the real title contenders step up and pull away and the rest fall away fast.. I really hope those Gunners tied their safety cords..
Up first in March was a tricky trip to Southampton who had not only beaten us at Anfield this season but had also beaten us in this fixture at around the same time of last year. Luis Suarez put us in front with a typical Suarez type finish where he seems to anticipate the defenders mistakes before they make them. The rest of the first half was a bit of a back to the wall experience, we had to dig in but got through to the break with Luis’s goal the advantage.. The growth again on show for me as again going back in recent seasons im not sure we win this game, but following stemming the Southampton attack in the first half we went on to add two further goals in the second period, Raheem Sterling and Stevie (p) added gloss to a fantastic result. March, the month where the challengers pull away had started well.
Next after a two week break was the trip to the toilet in the league, Moyes –who for me was in for manager of the year at this point (f**king worst)- was turning fortress toilet into a knacked old out house. But still we knew they would raise our game for our visit, as it turns out they were gobs***e, we could even afford to miss a 3rd penalty of the afternoon as we ran out 3-0 winners, it says a lot to me about this season that we win 3-0 at Utd and it doesn’t get into my top 4 or 5 performances of the year.. Stevie scored twice from the spot on the day and Suarez added the 3rd but it was simply that easy im sure at one point in the second half I saw Pascoe rubbing sun cream into Brendan’s shoulders, Aspas ran to fetch him a spare towel and a cocktail and I even saw the 2 cb’s slip a pair of flip flops on each around the hour mark.
Cardiff and there issues were next in the fixture list, ex manc Ole Gunnar Cuntchops in charge. We didn’t really start well and were in fact quite poor in the first period, we fell behind twice in that first half but that seemed to act as a wake up call as we stepped up a gear in the second to score 4 more in what was another mad score line of Cardiff City 3-6 Liverpool. Suarez with a hat trick, Skrtel with two and Danny dance with the other.. I remember watching the game then phone my mate straight after and just said ‘we’re f**king mad us’ and spent the evening smiling to myself, shaking my head and wondering what some of our previous defensive loving gaffers would make of us right now.. But I love it
After Cardiff was another relegation threatened side in Sunderland, it turned out to be a game of 3 periods really, a first 35-40 minutes where we just probed, comfortably were in control but they came to sit and frustrate, then a period of around 25-30 minutes where we got the break through via a Stevie free kick just before half time and a Sturridge curler not long after the break.. Then the last 20 minutes where we sat deep and allowed them to come on to us, maybe seeing the situation we were getting to? Maybe just one of those things that happens in the game.. Substitute Ki got a goal for them with around 15 to go and then the last quarter was very difficult, even in the ground you had the feeling that an equilaizer could come at any time.. However we held out, even though O’Shea missed a guilt edged chance near the end, but this was another character building game which we had seen out.. Even though my nerves were feeling it.
Spurs now under Del boy jnr came next, a few days after the Sunderland test, however 2 mins in and a Kaboul OG we seemed more settled than we had all evening against the black cats, Suarez added a second after around 20 minutes and then 2 more in the second half from Coutinho and Henderson put the north landaners to the sword as was the media talk that the title run in was getting to us as we shrugged that stigma off with our new found ‘footballing arrogance’… 8 wins on the bounce now.. Are they going to believe us? Maybe I was but as our rivals were also showing great signs of consistency I was aware that maybe only one error would be our downfall.
With the end in sight and April beginning our form took us to Upton park and a dogged West Ham who set up to make it difficult for us. 2 more Steven Gerrard penalties either side of a controversial Guy Demel equilizer where ex red Andy Carroll seemed to punch both the ball and Mignolet before it dropped to the West Ham defender to stab in. But again we fought it out, dug in and matched our often shown silky side with a hard fought win which has been effective through this run this season. 9 up, but the biggest test of the run in was around the corner.
Man City came to Anfield in a traditional 6 pointer, another flying start welcomed them as Raheem and Skrtel put us two up.. It was really going to happen.. right? City came out with renewed vigour in the second half and to be fair played some of the best football for a spell that I had seen played against us all year, the spaces they found with intricate little spells of possession was fantastic. They drew level.. were they about to snatch the game from us? No, we found our feet and little Phil pounced on an error from City skipper Kompany as he sliced a clearance to the edge of the box only for Cou to smash the ball past Hart from 20 yards… 3-2 … Final whistle.. It was now in our hands.
Jordan Hendersons late red card following a heavy tired touch In the middle of the park was a down point to the game, could we pay for that? Hendo had been superb all year and hadn’t missed a minute of league action all season.
But hey its done now
We go to Norwich
We Go Again
Steven Gerrard leads Liverpool's Post-Match HuddleGo again you say Skipper?
Ok , we stormed into a 2 goal lead through Raheem and Suarez at Norwich only to have shades of Sunderland hit us again as they pull one back after the break.. Sterling then seemingly puts nerves to bed with his second of the game with a deflected effort following a jinking run from his own half. Norwich still aren’t done and our nerves tested again as Snodgrass gets another back with a header. Im sure I aged about 15 years during that final 10 minutes or so, I really felt drained after it and had to sit on my own for half an hour before I could come to terms with this. 3 from the dream
Another test awaited next up In the form of Chelsea, coming to Anfield with their infuriating manager and their classless fans they came to sit deep and frustrate.. To be honest any deeper and they would have been jumping the queue for a hot dog under the Kop. I cant dwell on this too much as it still hurts, but they came to frustrate, they refused to come out, we probed and were in control, we all knew how important this was, I said to a few mates, we win this we win the league, as it turns out if we drew this we probably would have done. We conceded at the worst time, through the cruelest manner, a slip from the man who has done so much for us over the last decade.. The skipper slipped.. It was an unfortunate error, they wouldn’t have won the game had they not scored then im convinced.. They added a second through Willian late on as we were pushing for a leveller, it was our first defeat in 12, it was out of our hands again.
Two games left as we came into May, City playing their games in hand and were ahead on goal difference but all we could do was win our games.
Palace away, Monday night after the momentum sapping Chelsea defeat, for 75 minutes we were in control against a Palace side so improved under Tony Pulis, they had become very hard to beat and were going to set up similar to Chelsea, however, we were great for 75 minutes, we went 3-0 with goals from wee Joe, Sturridge and Suarez with 35 to play. What happened in that 9 minute spell im not sure we will see again, we seemed to literally run out of steam and legs on the pitch, we seemed drained and unable to stop what was happening, our small squad had caught up with us, a suspension here and the odd injury there and we were left with no real options to change games in key points.
I was so spent with the title run that I can only imagine what those 14 or so main players must have felt like, I felt emotionally drained after games I often thing now how they must have been, and that 9 mins must have been so hard for them to be a part of.. What I do feel though and I did on the night is immense pride in those lads.
We knew going into that final day against Newcastle that City had complete control, in the first half we looked like we had little left in our legs, we went a goal down with a Skrtel og and it looked in the first half we could end a wonderful season with a wimper. However the manager seemed to get them going at half time and we scored twice, almost identical goals from two Stevie free kicks and far post finishes from Agger and Sturidge.
Win no.26 of the league season was recorded but not enough as we miss out on the title by 2 points to City.
So ….
So close and all that
Did I think this was possible last August? No I didn’t, id be lying if I said I did, I said I wanted us to finish +70pts for the year and that the top 4 was my aim. Well we finished 2nd with 84 so they exceeded my expectations. Am I pleased a week on? Yes I am, im ultimately gutted we missed out but I had come to terms with it post Chelsea as I hoped City would slip up after that but didn’t think they would deep down.. I was wishing and hoping but ultimately not expecting.
But we finished 2nd, we have guaranteed CL football, we have proved we are back. I am genuinely excited by the future for the first time since 08 or so, I believe we have a young squad capable of growing together, we have a talented young coach who loves it here and will take us to great things, I believe we will have learnt so much from this experience that we will grow by it.. I believe that we have re-awoken from our slumber and we will be a fixture in these title challenges for years to come.
I feel in one season a weight has been lifted from the clubs shoulders by the free spirit of this young group of players and its manager, that where I have been fighting our corner for a few years defending us I can now just smile with the knowledge that we will continue to prove everyone wrong, I really am proud of our season, the disappointment has already been replaced by hope and belief of whats to come.
Are they gonna believe us?
Too right………………………….
It started with the YNWA from our Aussie reds it only right we finish with one too.
Amazing - You'll Never Walk Alone (Pre-Liverpool vs Man City)Last part really a few stats.
In 2012/13 we finished 7th, we won 16, drew 13 lost 9 scored 71 conceded 43 with 61 points
12 points off 4th
This season we finished 2nd, we won 26, drew 6 lost 6 scored 101 conceded 50 with 84 points
12 points clear of 4th
We were trying to bridge a gap to 4th at 73pts, so we needed to make up essentially 18 pts this season however this year
City finished +8 on 12/13
Us +27
Chelsea +7
Arsenal +6
Everton +9
Spurs -3
Utd -25
Saints +15
So mostly everyone improved, not just us, even Spurs with that massive loss of Bale only meant a 3 point loss on the previous year. If I was given that stat at the beginning of the year I would have thought it was a massive ask, not only to close the gap but smash it.
The gaffer said last summer his aim was to add 20 goals to the side, he added 30, we only actually conceded 7 more this season and im sure his aim is to reduce that. I trust he will achieve that.
This has been a successful season and one that not only should we be proud of but one we can ultimately use as a spring board for the future.
Thanks again for reading (if you stuck it out)
