Tag: Liverpool

Another Covid Ramble

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This virus eh, what is coming next. I was feeling a little tired today and this evening felt my arms and neck a little sore. Strange I thought, am I ill? For the best part of an hour I felt myself getting weaker by the minute until I remembered I had been waxing the bottom of a catamaran for a few hours and that holding the waxing machine up while looking up had understandably left a little strain. What a silly boy. I laughed a lot, much of it at myself and the rest in relief that I wasn’t about to become another statistic. I wonder if there’s anyone left out there in the world who hasn’t at some point worried that they may have caught it, just a moment of weakness. Of course there will be but undoubtedly there’ll be more who have had that moment. Even those who think the whole things a scam will have for sure had a little moment. Good luck getting them to admit it though. I wonder too how many people have still not heard anything about it. There will be some interesting stories getting released in a few years.

Checks the news

The Queen has had her first official public engagement today in nine months. I forgot about her. Ninety-four years old and still going strong. Why she felt the need to be out and about meeting some scientists though is beyond me. Does she really need to be doing that, what’s the point. Seems like an unnecessary risk for a very old lady to be taking while there’s a virus running around taking very old ladies.

There seems to be some kind of tier system going on in the UK. Not everyone’s happy about it though. Liverpool and Manchester seem to be in full on tier three but are then being left to rot. It doesn’t seem too unfair to give a little support if you expect people to give up everything. Seems like something you would do if you actual gave a shit about helping people through this.

In unrelated Covid news, the Tory’s are still arseholes. Actually that’s also Covid related. It turns out Wetherspoons, that chain of pubs made famous for being cheap and shite as well as being run by a major Brexit supporting Tory donor, have been reclassified as eating establishments. In Liverpool then while all the pubs are forced to close they’ll be allowed to stay open. This mob are becoming less legitimate by the day. They’re not even pretending to hide anything either which is an actual genuine concern because it means they feel untouchable. Judging by the response of the media and the opposition, they seem to believe it too and are quite happy with the situation. It’s not that we’re going to morph into Nazi Germany, of course we’re not, but we’re looking more and more like Viktor Orban’s Hungary with each thing. You won’t get a Nazi Germany again and people will use this extreme example to delegitimise the debate, but Orban’s Hungary or Erdogan’s Turkey, genuinely these are becoming distinctly possible. Anyway, this is probably better saved for a full piece.

Squeaky Bum Time

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It’s that time of year when (fill in blank). Let’s be honest this year doesn’t count as any normal year. I was expecting to be swanning around in Greece sailing, eating and drinking right now but I’m doing something else. Today though my focus is not on what would probably have been a Euro 2020 match, as I imagine the tournament would still be going. With Covid-19 forcing it’s postponement we’re instead left with the final instalment of a very long English Premier League season. And I’m nervous. We’ve got a massive game against Leicester City today which could have repercussions for years. If we qualify for the Champions League it could be a springboard for what is a young and exciting team to step up and take their game to levels we’ve not seen since the now mythological heady days of Sir Alex Ferguson. If we fail to either win or draw today we spend another year wasting our time in the Europa League, failing yet again. Big clubs need to play in the best tournaments; money and reputation can only get them so far. The best players can make the money in most clubs these days, they want the best tournaments. It has been a long season. Today feels massive. We’re five minutes from kick-off. I’m excited and nervous in painfully equal amounts. I’ll write the second paragraph upon the conclusion of the match. I hope I come back smiling.

Well that was a relief more than anything. We won 2-0 with the first goal being a penalty and the second with virtually the last kick of the match after a mistake by the keeper. It was nervy, no real major chances and wasn’t the goal fest I thought it might be. We’ve been fatigued as a team recently and I thought their game plan would be to hold us tight and hit us as we started flagging in the last fifteen minutes. Had we not got the penalty after seventy minutes that may have happened but it invigorated us enough to hold on for the win and finish third in the league.

I had a feeling before the game that we would win but the longer it went on with us drawing I got nervous. Next season will be interesting. The top two, Liverpool and Manchester City, will probably still be top two but I suspect swapping positions. Chelsea are buying some really quality players already with the likelihood of a few others being really high, Arsenal look like they may become something worth worrying about under Mikel Arteta and Jose Mourinho will turn Spurs into winners one way or another. Wolves and Leicester will improve too and they’re already quality teams. We need to not only improve our first team on the right wing and at centre back but need someone who can fill in at number ten and arguably another centre midfield of the defensive ilk. Let’s see what happens. We’ve been so badly run these last few years that I will resist getting excited but we do look like we’re finally heading in the right direction. Time will tell, but time for a rest now I say.

Der Fußball

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And with a bang the football has returned. Well kind of a bang, if a bang was quiet enough you could hear people talking and clapping over it. Football is weird without fans in the stadium. There is just no doubt about it. No debate. Before lockdown when people didn’t really seem to understand much, I was just hoping it would stay going for one extra week because my two teams Manchester United and Celtic were playing Tottenham and Rangers respectively, both of whom are rivals and were in poor form. It was perfect timing. But then it became awful timing. The football was cancelled and lives have felt hollow since. Now today was the first day of the second part of the German Bundesliga and we can all rejoice once more.

Well kind of rejoice because English football is probably a month away still and Scottish football will most likely get cancelled. Saying that Celtic will be crowned Champions for the ninth season in a row and then only one title off the Holy Grail of ten straight titles. If getting nine feels like an anti climax to some, it will be saved up for the ten in a row parties to come. In England Liverpool will win the league for the first time in thirty years. I like to think I’m a semi sensible and rational man but I passionately loathe Liverpool and everything about them, it’s the same with Rangers in Scotland. This is the best possible way for them to win the league, a complete anti-climax with no supporters and no excitement. Fuck them, couldn’t have happened to a more horrible bunch of c***s.

But yes, no domestic British football yet, so it’ll be the German Bundesliga for now. No fans, which as I said is weird but there were other aspects I would never have thought of. The substitutes and coaches are spread out with two metres between. The players can’t celebrate together which looked very disconnected and unnatural. Some did but on the whole it was controlled despite the close contact in every other element of the match. I would like to see how contained they would be if one of them scores a last minute winner in the cup final. Disinfected balls. Ball boys keeping distance. Audible claps and shouts. At least you get the interesting aspect of being able to hear what the players are saying to each other and how they interact. That’s not something you normally get probably for good reason. But it’s returned and while I’m not pushing for lockdown to be eased in an irresponsible way, I would selfishly love the return of football properly. I just miss the thrill and excitement. I can’t even imagine how good it would be to watch a game in the pub with a few pints but I’ll resist dreaming of that for now as I’m just teasing myself. It’s one step in the right direction at least.

I Miss Football

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I know this might not be appreciated by those who don’t enjoy sport, and I appreciate why people don’t, but I miss the football. I’m not entirely convinced whether it benefits society in the way I may idealistically like things to bring benefit but there does seem to be something lacking from the world now that the football has been suspended. It seems so stupid and trivial to say that and it is stupid and trivial, but that doesn’t mean football doesn’t bring something positive at the same time. In times like these when all our focus seems to be on an issue that isn’t Brexit, the distractive qualities of football are sorely lacking.

There was a time when I believed that sports distracting qualities were simply being used to distract a populace from their miserable existence, and while I do kind of still believe that, it could be bloody useful now. Maybe distracting the populace is not always a bad thing, I know I view football as something that may feel life and death but it clearly allows us a break from whatever real life and death things actually exist in life. Perhaps these things that keep us on the edge of the precipice to the underworld are there not because we live in a corrupt society but because we simply exist. There is a certain duality to existence and the possibility of it being taken away.

So in these times what a shame it is that we no longer have something to distract us from the fragility of life when existence is now being hammered into our senses at any given opportunity. It would be nice to take a break. I am sure the footballers would have something to say as they are dragged around the country risking their lives for the spectacle of kicking a ball for a lot of money. Despite all my wants and desires though that has to be the main priority. I don’t doubt a fit and healthy footballer will recover but that can’t be the approach because who knows who they’ll interact with afterwards.

There is one bonus to the football season being suspended though and that is Liverpool are either going to be prevented from winning the league or they’re going to do it in such low key circumstances. There we go that’s me half nailing my colours to the mast, or at least nailing my anti-colours, those who don’t know can guess my actual preferences if you care. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t because let’s be honest it is all pretty stupid to invest such energy and emotion into something so trivial and unimportant. It’s just worth noting that when everything seems so upside down; the once trivial gains an importance not previously known or appreciated. Ah to cheer on a goal and forget something weird is going on…

Angry Football Fanaticism

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I’ve just been to the pub. My team lost in the football. I’m feeling a varying raft of emotions. I find this sport absorbing for many reasons and at the same time still find it to be some kind of a dirty pleasure. Watching people at the peak of their abilities is incredible to see. If we could we would watch and be amazed by anybody at the top of their game who can do incredible things. Listen to a genius poet reciting their best poem, the greatest circus acrobat flying though the air catching and balancing people, someone who has mastered parkour bouncing their way across a city skyline, surfers, musicians, intellectuals…it doesn’t matter what it is, watching anyone who has mastered anything is a joy to behold.

At which point we embrace the tribalism involved which is simply fascinating. I would comfortably say I have met many people in my life and I have got on with everyone to a varying level. I can comfortably say that there is nobody out there that I actually genuinely hate, I even find the concept questionable until rival my football teams enter my mind. Being Scottish, or this is my excuse at least, I support two teams. My father supports Manchester United so from about six years old I supported them, it coincided with them winning their first title in twenty six years and then another twelve subsequently, so it was until recently a pleasure to experience their games. In Scotland I support Celtic who also have been winning everything recently but when I started supporting them their biggest rivals where in the middle of winning nine titles in a row, they were an underdog of sorts, socially as well as in sport. As I said I don’t think I hate anybody but without a doubt I hate their rivals, Liverpool for Man Utd and Rangers for Celtic. For me it feels rational, there is something vile and disgusting about these clubs and their supporters, I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire as the old saying goes. I really angrily hate them but I don’t feel that in any other realm of my life, and genuinely don’t think I could for any real extended length of time. I also know that there is too much emotion involved for it to ever be an actual rational issue but if I don’t try to think otherwise it feels completely justified.

Why is that though, how does this angry rivalry evolve in people who are not necessarily angry emotive people the rest of the time. There is talk of it being a primitive tribalistic thing, but we have evolved beyond that and I don’t really feel we’re still controlled by our tribal past in quite that way. If it’s going to be argued that it’s a male thing, that would be highly contentious but I certainly see more angry male football fans than female ones, whether that is because they are male as opposed to women that makes them angry and tribalistic is contentious and highly questionable though. So it rests upon whether it’s simply a release and the most socially acceptable version that men have been conditioned to embrace. The vast majority of people have something in their life that makes them unhappy and that is for various reasons but theres nothing quite like spending ninety minutes once a week screaming and shouting for and against a team, it is cathartic and it’s healing qualities cannot be overlooked. Still I suspect theres more, and it’s this knowledge that I lack the answer that keeps bringing the fascinated child back. What football has become is ridiculous but it has still managed to maintain it’s tribal element and people may try to make everyone play fair, nullify the aggression and play it for the sake of the sport but were that to happen I’m of no doubt the game would lose a huge part of it’s appeal. I for one hope that never happens. Come on, lets get excited, swear, scream, get angry, release and get on with it because until anything else comes along, this is all that the vast majority have that keeps them feeling grounded and human.