Football is often about momentum. In the wake of the Raf-Rant episode, the title race impetus seemed to be behind Man Utd. Sycophantic pundits (that Ferguson tea-bagger, ‘Mr. That night in Barcelona’ Clive Tyldesley being at the forefront) were unabashedly drooling over a sequence of Man Utd victories that saw them not concede for 13 games and attaching grating little monikers such as ‘the untouchables’ to the team.
However, it would appear that the proverbial worm has turned and Liverpool now have the momentum. After inflicting a heavy defeat upon United in their own ‘theatre of pomposity’ back yard, Benitez has signed a new contract, everyone’s talking about spending spree’s & new stadiums again, and you get the sense that there is a real ‘feel good’ atmosphere growing at Anfield.
Meanwhile Man Utd tumbled to a calamitous 2-0 loss to Fulham, the first time they have been beaten back to back in the League since 2005. Suddenly United look shaky and vulnerable and talk of a quintuple seems far more fanciful than it did a week ago.
Aren’t they bad losers! They always have been. I recall when Andy D’Urso gave the first penalty at Old Trafford against Man Utd in something like 7 seasons in a game against Boro a few years back and a posse of United players led by a snarling, shaven-headed Roy Keane hounded the hapless referee for several minutes.
Yesterday saw more of the same, Rooney and Ronaldo the chief culprits. They normally get away with their childish petulance, but for once an official showed a bit of backbone and red carded the Roon-dog for throwing the ball away. I still have concerns that his suspect temperament could cost us another World Cup.
A quick tangent, but speaking of bad losers, how about this little statistic from Scotland: after last week’s Old Firm League Cup final showdown, domestic violence figures shot up 88%. Glasgow eh, what a place!
So Man Utd have imploded somewhat over the last week. Colleen must be quaking in her Jimmy Choo’s. The title race is most definitely back on. Will Liverpool make the most of this opportunity or will they stumble with their foe at their mercy? We shall see.
What I can practically guarantee you is that Villa will help the title race along by getting thumped by both Liverpool and Man Utd over the next 2 games. We have certainly lost our momentum and our season is heading down faster than Josef Fritzl. Foolishly, I will stay up to 3am to watch Villa receive a predictable hammering. With Arsenal playing so well, we will have to settle for 5th or 6th and a UEFA cup spot – I just hope next season that we actually try and win it.