The League that matters

The Premier League is back and what a way to kick off the start off the new season with a big upset in the very first game! Well, some might not consider it an upset but rather just Arsenal being Arsenal, never the less what a dream start for newly promoted Brentford getting maximum points over London's most famous club. For Mikel Arteta, his woes have already begun, the team did do a lot of spending over the summer but for their first outing it looked like it was done in all the wrong places. As much as we can laugh about this result, to the fans and supporters of the club, it ain't no laughing matter but reality is, Arsenal need to step up or they might find themselves in heaps of trouble, one thing results like this will guarantee for the rest of us is some epic AFTV viewing. 

Last season's second place team, Manchester United have laid down quite a statement with their opening fixtures against old rivals Leeds United, Ole's men took a while to find the back of the net but it was none other than star player from last season, Bruno Fernandes who opened their account and followed that up with two more goals to give himself a hattrick in the impressive 5-1 victory at the Theatre of Dreams. Paul Pogba still remains a hot topic for the club as many questioned where his loyalties lie after he was looking to move away from Manchester but those rumours should be put to bed with an impressive performance from the French World Cup winner, getting 4 assists in the game. Unless he was putting on a show for prospective buyers? One thing is for sure, Man United have claimed stake as title contenders and are willing to prove last seasons finish was not a fluke. With impressive signings over the summer, we could just see them fighting their city rivals this season. 

Speaking of their City rivals, the team in Sky Blue had a rocky start to the campaign as they opened the season with a 1-0 loss away at Spurs in London on the Sunday. Nuno Espírito Santo men held off a rampant City in the first 20 minutes at the Spurs Stadium with Son managing to get a stunning goal in the second half which secured the London teams 3 points. It was a spirited effort from Spurs which saw them play the game without star striker Harry Kane, who is reported to want a move to Man City. After seeing his teams performance, with the new manager and fans now back at the stadium will that have him change his mind? It's tough choice for him to make, will he be willing to take the risk to stay with his boyhood club and try to win silverware with them or opt to join a club like City whom are perfectly positioned to get trophies, season after season. 

It seems London clubs are the topic of this blog post as the next team that gets a mention is Thomas Tuchel's team, Chelsea! A surprise addition to their team see's former striker Romelu Lukaku  re-join Chelsea at an exorbitant £97 Million for the Belguim striker. He had an impressive stint at Inter Milan after leaving Man United where he just didn't seem to gel with anyone and the less said about his first touch the better but Tuchel see's something in him that we all don't, lets see what he can offer Chelsea on his second time with the club. 

Liverpool didn't fair too badly on their first outing in the league for the 21/22 season after notching up all 3 points on offer as they travelled to Norwich. Star play Mo Salah got onto the score sheet and provided 2 assists as Klopp's men recorded a 3-0 win. Last seasons wonder signing Jota got the Reds off the mark after latching onto a mistimed touch from the Egyptian, while Bobby Firmino got the Reds second. The team looked impressive but most importantly solid at the back, Tsimikas who was stand in replacement for Andy Robertson had a few mishaps but was firmly put in place by a returning Virgl van Djik and James Milner. The Reds looked comfortable throughout the game, with no major signings apart form Konate as back up central defender, one wonders if they have sufficient firepower to compete against City and the rest of them? It proves to be an interesting season ahead, and I for one cannot wait to see how it plays out. 

We are Premier League Champions

At the risk of being called "unbearable" I decided to do this post exactly a week after Liverpool have lifted the much eluded Premier League trophy. Many would say it's arrogance, the rate which us Liverpool fans are behaving, yes there is a lot of that and I'm loving it, because of years of torture, hurt and being on the wrong end of many league jokes, we've finally got that monkey off our back and it feels so damn good! So allow us to bask in this glory, albeit a bit weird since we could not have our supporters in the stadium to cheer the team lifting the trophy, since we cannot have a parade which no doubt would have had close to a million people lining the streets of Liverpool to see, since we cannot celebrate in the pubs with a pint, so let us have this. Its been 30 years and with the team we got, I'm quite confident in saying it wont be another 30 till the next one, which is what has supporters of other teams cautiously worried. After going through numerous managers, some of which came close, Jurgen Klopp managed to do something they couldn't do, get us over the line and in what a fashion too. After finishing last season in second place on 97 points, just 1 behind the eventual winners, it seemed like it would have been another "came close but not close enough" seasons for us but the mentality he instilled in this group of players, to be better is nothing short of inspiring. At one stage, many feared Liverpool would never drop points, let alone lose a game!

Obviously that would have been a difficult task and our first defeat came against the most unlikely team in the league, it just spur'd the team to do better.  You can argue with this point all you like but the biggest threat against Liverpool this season was a virus rather than another team. When the league was stopped, Liverpool were a massive 25 points ahead of second placed Manchester City. Eventually in the end, City only amassed 81 points, the number of points Liverpool had at the time the season was paused? 82. Yes, Liverpool didn't even have to play another game since the restart and they still would have won so put that in your pipe and smoke it! The accolades just kept pouring in for the team and the players, with Jordan Henderson winning the FWA player of the season award, much to many bitter comments, if you watch Henderson over this season and saw what a commanding force he was on the field, you would understand why he got this accolade. His on field and off field performances never go unnoticed by the team and fans .Yes, he wont have the most goals, or the most assists but in creating play, going back to defend, giving 110% every time which ultimately got us over the line in very difficult games. His contribution has been outstanding and while many say he could never equal Steven Gerrard, he in his own right has now reached legendary status for the club. Heck, the guy has lifted 4 of the very highest ranked silverware in the past 13 months, so put some respect on his name for God sake! 

Jurgen Klopp was awarded the LMA Manager of the season trophy, another deserved accolade for someone who kept his promise to the owners, the club and fans. When he came in, he said he would get us this trophy, okay it took one extra year than he said but he damn well did it. Also what is interesting to note about this partnership Klopp has with the club and owners, is the level of trust they've bestowed on him, these days clubs are too quick to let go of managers who have a wobbly, fall short of achievements and with that, it shakes the whole system. The owners trusted Klopp, gave him time, didn't give him all the money in the world but lets face it, we didn't need it as Klopp is the type of manager that takes average players and shows them their true potential, I mean Gary Neville said it best, Jurgen takes 30 million pound players and turns them into 130 million pound players.  While the squad does change ever so slightly every season, the new additions always step up and show the reason Klopp brought them in. Last season Naby Kieta was finding his feet, battling with injury as most players do when first getting into Klopp's training methods but this season has stepped up and showed us what he can do, and I have the same confidence that Minamino will do the same next season for us. 

Coming back to the trust between owners and manager, this could be seen by other clubs and make them realise, maybe they should give their manager more time. Ole was having a dreadful season but ended up guided Manchester United to 3rd place, something even their own supporters would have said was far fetched back in December. It will definitely change the mindset and I think improve the way clubs are managed going forward, while it will spell bleak news for the media who are forever ready to see who will be fired next, it will be good for the game. Anyway, back to Liverpool, so you see guys, you have a lot to thank us for inadvertently, so I ask again, let us celebrate, it's been 30 years, let us have our glory, keep your snide remarks to yourself and let us have our time. It might be different but we still can celebrate none the less, also whether you like to admit it or not, Liverpool FC single handedly ruined 'Show Me Love' for every other supporter of another team in the league, you'd hate to admit it but we did, you saw that video, don't pretend like you didn't!