The FA Cup 3rd Round Edition

Sunday January 09, 2011 and it's two of the giants of English football. Well to be honest really, it was more about one giant and another has-been.
For those who know me and visit my blog or follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you will know that I am without doubt the greatest fan of the greatest football team to ever have played the beautiful game. My religion is football and Old Trafford is the grandest church to bare testament to the glory that is Manchester United.

So match-day arrives and all I hear from the Scousers is how the arrival of Kenny Dalglish will signal a revival at that limping donkey called Liverpool. This past season I have been tempted on more than one occasion to show my compassion to humanity and the sporting fraternity by calling in the SPCA and have them do the humane thing. Put this donkey down once and for all.
The Scousers believed there was still some fight left and so we humored them.

                                          

The game had hardly begun and it was already over for the Liverpudians.
Berbatov fouled in the penalty area, and Giggs stepped up to take a sweet and sublime spot-kick.
Goal. 1-nil to the champions. United and the rest of the soccer-crazy world knew the writing was on the wall. Victory was inevitable as it's been for most of this season. Nay, for most of the last decade.
Needless to say, there were a few Scouser fans suffering from that Liverpudian terminal disease commonly referred to as "Short-Memory Syndrome" or as we call it, being thick.
One in particular challenged me on the Berbatov penalty and insisted that his man Torres would never dive, has never dived, and never will dive.
Now beside the fact that even the Liverpool commentator accepted and agreed that it was a legitimate penalty, this half-loaf chose to ignore the rules of football and blame Howard Webb the referee for being biased.
I shall leave the video evidence of Saint Torres The Non-Diver for my readers to make up their own minds.



This next video earned our Saint Torres The Non-Diver the dubious title of Worst Diver In World Cup History. (not my words; Google Torres Dive to find out how many others voted for him.)

Needless to say, Kenny Dalglish's housewarming gift to English Football management wasn't what he had expected.

This was a picture the Scouser faithful have become pretty used to this season.
Gone are the days when Gerrard was kissing cameras in joy. Today he can be found kissing trophys goodbye, kissing league glory goodbye, and after this weekend kissing the FA Cup goodbye.

So where does the future of Liverpool stand?
As I said this past weekend to my friend Swoosh, a league encounter without a strong Liverpool side in it is simply not the stuff kids dream about when they think of soccer. We need them around to liven up the game. I may chirp their supporters to the bitter end, but I will be the first to admit that they are and have always been worthy opponents. Some United fans have said they wait with glee for the day when Liverpool gets relegated. Personally I think that would be a sad day for football indeed. I hope they revive their fortunes and turn things around at that once great club.

As a true supporter and lover of the beautiful game, I would love nothing more than the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool to continue long after I am gone. It's something I can tell my kids and grandkids about, and they will carry on the proud history and tradition of being die-hard United supporters eager for that match-day challenge again.

To the Liverpool fans, may your team live long enough to always be runners-up and watch us lift trophys every season.
To my fellow United fans, Glory Glory Man United!!!
The Red Army marches on.......