Somehow, some things in football ought to be beyond question. Sir Alex Ferguson will publicly question the credentials of any side within striking distance of his beloved United in the race for the Premiership title. And going to Liverpool ought to be dreaded by every player in the Barclays Premier League.
In days gone by, it was ever thus. A roar that greeted the combatants at the start of every match gradually built to a crescendo of sound along the Anfield Road that would scare old ladies hurrying home before the denouement.
Here, where the ghosts of Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush and Ian St. John stroll in quiet moments, some opponents have been beaten even before they have emerged, knees ‘a trembling, from the tunnel above which hangs a sign with the dreaded words ‘This is Anfield’.
Yet truth to tell, a home record this season of six wins and an extraordinary five draws in 11 League matches at Anfield, and now another on Sunday in the F.A.Cup against Everton, suggests the ground that was once the most intimidating in all England has lost its venom. The fear factor seems no more among visitors to this green swathe amidst the Liverpool inner city suburbs.
But for a time on Sunday, during the FA Cup tie, the Anfield crowd reminded us of those halcyon days for the club. The roar came from the gut, tearing at nerves and inner control like a wild wind threatening the stability of any human being within its path.
True, it took a moment of sublime skill to light the blue touch paper in the old style. Fernando Torres’ exquisite moment of ball juggling on his chest followed by the most sublime, outrageous flick we are likely to see in Premiership football this season, created an explosion of sound that sent Steven Gerrard on his way to goal.
Perhaps Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard allowed the shot to slide tamely under his body because he was still mentally admiring Torres’ moment of genius. But whatever the reason, as the ball hit the back of the net and Gerrard wheeled away in triumph, Anfield exploded.
It brought to mind so many past times when the decibel level was a danger to human hearing. Too often of late, that roar has been muted, deadened by a series of tame, technically proficient but tepid performances.
Perhaps too this is a point Rafa Benitez is still to learn about English football. It is undeniable that so much overseas talent now lights up the English game, much of it possessing technical excellence to a high degree. But football in England never was and hopefully never will be a mirror image of so much of the technically immaculate and utterly boring stuff paraded for too long on the Continent. Such is the growing disinterest in that stuff that clubs like Juventus play often in grounds little more than half full.
What has always distinguished English football is the raw emotion, the speed, the hurly burly and the roar of closely confined crowds. For sure, at times it has left much to be desired in a technical sense yet even so, the excitement has more than compensated.
At Anfield on Sunday we saw glimpses of both: Torres’ superb skill and the roar of the crowd, the emotion that still makes football in England so special. Who can say one is more important than the other?
In days gone by, it was ever thus. A roar that greeted the combatants at the start of every match gradually built to a crescendo of sound along the Anfield Road that would scare old ladies hurrying home before the denouement.
Here, where the ghosts of Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush and Ian St. John stroll in quiet moments, some opponents have been beaten even before they have emerged, knees ‘a trembling, from the tunnel above which hangs a sign with the dreaded words ‘This is Anfield’.
Yet truth to tell, a home record this season of six wins and an extraordinary five draws in 11 League matches at Anfield, and now another on Sunday in the F.A.Cup against Everton, suggests the ground that was once the most intimidating in all England has lost its venom. The fear factor seems no more among visitors to this green swathe amidst the Liverpool inner city suburbs.
But for a time on Sunday, during the FA Cup tie, the Anfield crowd reminded us of those halcyon days for the club. The roar came from the gut, tearing at nerves and inner control like a wild wind threatening the stability of any human being within its path.
True, it took a moment of sublime skill to light the blue touch paper in the old style. Fernando Torres’ exquisite moment of ball juggling on his chest followed by the most sublime, outrageous flick we are likely to see in Premiership football this season, created an explosion of sound that sent Steven Gerrard on his way to goal.
Perhaps Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard allowed the shot to slide tamely under his body because he was still mentally admiring Torres’ moment of genius. But whatever the reason, as the ball hit the back of the net and Gerrard wheeled away in triumph, Anfield exploded.
It brought to mind so many past times when the decibel level was a danger to human hearing. Too often of late, that roar has been muted, deadened by a series of tame, technically proficient but tepid performances.
Perhaps too this is a point Rafa Benitez is still to learn about English football. It is undeniable that so much overseas talent now lights up the English game, much of it possessing technical excellence to a high degree. But football in England never was and hopefully never will be a mirror image of so much of the technically immaculate and utterly boring stuff paraded for too long on the Continent. Such is the growing disinterest in that stuff that clubs like Juventus play often in grounds little more than half full.
What has always distinguished English football is the raw emotion, the speed, the hurly burly and the roar of closely confined crowds. For sure, at times it has left much to be desired in a technical sense yet even so, the excitement has more than compensated.
At Anfield on Sunday we saw glimpses of both: Torres’ superb skill and the roar of the crowd, the emotion that still makes football in England so special. Who can say one is more important than the other?
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