Monday, March 21, 2011

They never walked alone

Sometimes one gets lost in thoughts when memories of the great side of Steve Machon, John Aldridge, Craig Johnson, Peter Beardsley, John Barnes and Bruce Grobelaar to name but a few. Those were the glory days of Liverpool, a team that won everything willy-nilly.

It was not that there were no rivals. Manchester United had legendary characters like Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Gary Lieneker and Paul Parker in their ranks. Kenny Daglish had seen better days but still influential by his presence.

The Reds were top of the cream. They played well and won clean. It was a flawless display on a regular basis, which saw flashes of class from the likes of Stan Colymore who scored amazing goals and young Steve Macmanaman with his pace, mesmerising runs and dribbles.

Ian Rush was an amazing goal machine. It did not matter whether the ball was in the air or on the ground. That man was just amazing. He had masses of top drawer goals for a regular scorer of that quality.

Generations of players came and went as the dominance of The Reds went to the Red Devils. In the absence of proper dominance after waltzing past everyone by Manchester United, it seems Liverpool are back to take their rightful place. There were moments we thought Chelsea will end the United decade of dominance while under Jose Mourinho. The bubble quickly burst.

As for Arsenal, they have always been nearly men since. They threatened here and there during the days of Overmass, Emmanuel Petit, David Berkamp, Tony Adams and David Seamens. During the hey days of prolific scorer Ian Wright, Liverpool were not letting go. Even the Tottenham Hotspur of the great Glenn Hoddle, Leeds United of the Wallace brothers and the Crazy Gang - a team without money and said to be driven by nothing but team spirit - Wimbledon, could not stop Liverpool.

Not that Wimbledon were any good by any measure, but they were known for serious combat that made it difficult for other teams to play. Vinny Jones was about the only white dude in that line-up that engaged hard in tackles. Efan Ekoku and John Fashanu were part of the side that even won the FA Cup in 1988.

With Luiz Suarez shining for the Merseyside outfit, things look to be getting better for the team Kenny Daglish inherited from the ineffective Roy Hodgson. I have always believed The Reds needed a sharp-shooter that Fernando Torres was. Torres reached 'sale-by' date without anyone noticing his shelve life was done. One can hope that Andy Carroll will come in and complement the hard working Suarez.

David Ngog had been getting a lot of play time, ahead of perennial super-sub, Babel. Babel wanted out, as coach after coach seemed to think he is a 10 minute player. Dirk Kyut has revived his touch and though I will never believe that there will be a better Liverpool side than the 80's one, they will be a team to beat next season. They need a little more to get my full sympathy. Spurs have a lot of homework to do, if I am to be at White Hart Lane next season.

It is still early for anything, but be warned, someone is not walking alone.

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