The date was Sunday, April 6, 1997 and Liverpool were going for their first league championship in what had been a long seven years.
We were two weeks from playing Manchester United in what was scheduled as one of those classic 'title deciders', although Arsenal were also in the running. Through January, we had been the leaders, but United were the team ahead now. All we had to do was win games, stay close and hope they lost their nerve.
Instead, we lost at home to Coventry. Dion Dublin scored the winner (he reminded me of it when I met up with him at Anfield for Sky at the weekend). Coventry were in the bottom three but won 2-1 that day.
I can remember us being gripped by tension; the pressure of needing to win games, score free-kicks, make every chance count. The anxiety got to us. We were still good players, but those good players stopped playing. It feels like the prize is right in front of you, then it is gone.
Players suddenly make the wrong decisions. Goalkeepers will lose faith in their defenders, they will come for crosses when they should stay at home. Midfielders will try long passes when they should be short and simple as they will try to force openings.
Strikers will snatch at chances and miss when it might have been easier to score. Instead of penalties and free-kicks being given in your favour, they are given against you.
United won the league that year with 75 points, followed by Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool fourth, all on 68 points. The good news is that a sudden loss of form and momentum can be over as soon as it started. When you have players like Cristiano Ronaldo in your team, a moment of genius - when he's on top of his game - can end a bad run and start another good run.
Pressure changes you. Just like United now, we stopped playing with freedom and started playing with fear. In Sir Alex Ferguson's favour, nobody is better at reversing a poor run than a group that includes players like the immaculate Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes.
United are the modern-day masters of winning a league from here, though Liverpool certainly have the momentum now and are playing with confidence.
Steven Gerrard is the best player in the country and Xabi Alonso has also enjoyed a wonderful season. Now Javier Mascherano is back on his game.
I have been critical of Rafa Benitez, but he made the right choices against Aston Villa. He picked his best team, regardless of the fact that he had to make two changes from the side who won 4-1 at Old Trafford. If he does that for the run-in, Liverpool have a chance. It will be interesting to see if either team is distracted by the Champions League.
Benitez has been guilty of changing his team, moving Jamie Carragher to right back unnecessarily. Now he must be consistent in his selection, as well as hoping Gerrard and Fernando Torres return from this ill-timed international break injury free.
Sir Alex Ferguson won't be happy with the delay until United's next game, but at least it is against a Villa team in sharp decline.
There is still a great deal of football to play and Arsenal have to play both clubs, as well as Chelsea.
We have a title race again. So who will crack first?
We were two weeks from playing Manchester United in what was scheduled as one of those classic 'title deciders', although Arsenal were also in the running. Through January, we had been the leaders, but United were the team ahead now. All we had to do was win games, stay close and hope they lost their nerve.
Instead, we lost at home to Coventry. Dion Dublin scored the winner (he reminded me of it when I met up with him at Anfield for Sky at the weekend). Coventry were in the bottom three but won 2-1 that day.
I can remember us being gripped by tension; the pressure of needing to win games, score free-kicks, make every chance count. The anxiety got to us. We were still good players, but those good players stopped playing. It feels like the prize is right in front of you, then it is gone.
Players suddenly make the wrong decisions. Goalkeepers will lose faith in their defenders, they will come for crosses when they should stay at home. Midfielders will try long passes when they should be short and simple as they will try to force openings.
Strikers will snatch at chances and miss when it might have been easier to score. Instead of penalties and free-kicks being given in your favour, they are given against you.
United won the league that year with 75 points, followed by Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool fourth, all on 68 points. The good news is that a sudden loss of form and momentum can be over as soon as it started. When you have players like Cristiano Ronaldo in your team, a moment of genius - when he's on top of his game - can end a bad run and start another good run.
Pressure changes you. Just like United now, we stopped playing with freedom and started playing with fear. In Sir Alex Ferguson's favour, nobody is better at reversing a poor run than a group that includes players like the immaculate Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes.
United are the modern-day masters of winning a league from here, though Liverpool certainly have the momentum now and are playing with confidence.
Steven Gerrard is the best player in the country and Xabi Alonso has also enjoyed a wonderful season. Now Javier Mascherano is back on his game.
I have been critical of Rafa Benitez, but he made the right choices against Aston Villa. He picked his best team, regardless of the fact that he had to make two changes from the side who won 4-1 at Old Trafford. If he does that for the run-in, Liverpool have a chance. It will be interesting to see if either team is distracted by the Champions League.
Benitez has been guilty of changing his team, moving Jamie Carragher to right back unnecessarily. Now he must be consistent in his selection, as well as hoping Gerrard and Fernando Torres return from this ill-timed international break injury free.
Sir Alex Ferguson won't be happy with the delay until United's next game, but at least it is against a Villa team in sharp decline.
There is still a great deal of football to play and Arsenal have to play both clubs, as well as Chelsea.
We have a title race again. So who will crack first?
No comments:
Post a Comment