Liverpool 3 Wolves 1 (May 22 2022)

[tlw content 17,102]

 

 

 

Report by

Dave Usher

 

I often find writing match reports can be somewhat cathartic after setbacks. Usually those are when we’ve lost games though or put in a terrible performance. This is different. I don’t want to be writing this at all as I just feel really flat today. It’s a weird situation as I couldn’t be happier or more positive about our team and where we are at, but it’s really fucking galling that it isn’t enough to be winning titles because of things that are beyond our control.

 

Three years ago we picked up 97 points and didn’t win it. This year it’s 92. It should be enough but it isn’t because of a fucking abomination sports washing project up the road. It’s galling and as cheated as I feel for myself as a fan, I feel even worse for Klopp and his players. They’ve put everything into this season and what they’ve done is truly incredible. To be able to still top the ninety point mark while going all the way in every other competition is unheard of. They deserve to be Champions but modern football is just so fucking corrupt it’s harder than ever to win anything if you’re playing by the rules. Cheats usually prosper, and without us fighting the good fight City would have five titles on the bounce and probably another FA Cup to add to their tainted collection.

 

I’ll bounce back in a day or two, especially with a Champions League Final to look ahead to, but I’m just pretty gutted today and struggling to motivate myself to do anything really. I didn’t think I would be. In fact I said going into this game that I’d made my peace with missing out on the title and that this game was going to be a celebration of what the lads have given us already, as well as a rousing send off for next week. It didn’t really turn out like that though, mainly because I broke the golden rule I have lived my life by for decades - never rely on Aston Villa.

 

In my defence, even when they led 1-0 I didn’t get my hopes up. I fully expected them to go on and lose the game. My only focus was on us. I badly wanted to win our game to at least make City have to win their game to beat us. I also wanted the win to keep up our incredible home record over recent years. Last year doesn’t count as there were no fans. Anfield with fans is a fortress and we’ve just completed a fourth successive unbeaten season at home (as I said, last year doesn’t count).

 

So that was my focus, nothing else. But then Villa went 2-0 and everything changed. Now all of the stars seemed to be aligning. Coutinho even got the goal. So, more fool me, I started to believe. The Gerrard factor, Coutinho scoring, it was going to happen. Fucking hell. We just needed to find a goal ourselves as we were drawing 1-1 and facing the nightmare scenario of losing the title on goal difference. At least that didn’t happen, so that’s something I guess.

 

Not that it makes me feel any less shitty. Today is a tough day and I’m sure most of you feel as low as I do. There are all sorts of emotions flying around and I’ve been trying to isolate them to see which is the most prevalent. One thing I know is that I’m not disappointed, I’m mostly just pissed off. Not with our lads mind. I couldn’t be prouder of what our team has done this season. Even if the title had found its way here I couldn’t be any more proud of them. So much so that I’m not even going to reference THAT game which I’ve been banging on about for months as the one that would cost us the title. I no longer see it that way. 

 

Yes, we absolutely should never have dropped points that night, but look at all the games we’ve won since when you could argue we shouldn’t have. By that I don’t mean ‘shouldn’t’ as in didn’t deserve to. I mean shouldn’t have been able to because we were playing twice a week every week for months and on occasion had to make five, six, seven changes. We still kept on winning. 

 

So no, I’m not going to pick holes in it with “if only we hadn’t done this or if only we’d been able to do that.” Fuck that. 92 points while going all the way in every single cup competition we played in is incredible. Unprecedented. I have no regrets from our perspective.

 

 

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[Arnaud 955]

That’s a tremendous season, unforgettable no matter what will happen Saturday. 
 

I had no hopes yesterday, but still feel gutted and robbed. 

[Dave D 1,693]

It was the hope that got me.....a growing sense that it was going to be our day that I couldn't quell  

 

 

[Marcas 74]

That was a perfect summation Dave, that’s exactly how I feel and at the minute I’m having mixed emotions about Saturday, somewhere between indifference and dread. But hopefully by Thursday the excitement will kick-in. If we start Saturday with a MF of Hendo, Fab & Thiago all will be good. If…..

[UnwelcomeinPeru 127]

First thank you Dave for another season of fantastic reports, not least recently given your personal losses. 

 

I am with you on the walkaround. My brother and I left after Origi's presentation, I didn't feel we needed to be peering into a huge crowd of strangers, strangers' friends, strangers' friends toddlers looking for a red shirt to applaud. That can wait until Saturday a Saint-Denis. 

[alles ist gut 4,701]

Top, top Hwang analysis there, Dave.

[aws 8,074]

Good report Dave - must have been a hard one to write. I'm feeling much the same - incredibly proud of the players, disappointed and pissed off that Villa couldn't manage to not concede three goals in the last 15 minutes but mostly cheated. Cheated on the big picture that nobody seems arsed about the unlevel playing field we're expected to accept without complaint and cheated by the frankly incredible decisions of the officials at Spurs and for the City game against Everton.  

[chris goodwin 1]

As always a great read, lets hope the we can get payback for 2018 next weekend.  Love the post match podcasts as well, I hope they are going to be a regular for next season as well? 

[Bucksinator 25]

My anger towards Villa is off the scale especially that prick Mings,he has been stinking up the league all season and the cunt defended like a twelve year old yesterday,see him for the third goal,what a soft cunt that fucker is.

[index1000 741]

3 goals conceded in 5 minutes. Useless, Useless Inbred Cunts.

[dave u 7,769]

23 minutes ago, chris goodwin said:

As always a great read, lets hope the we can get payback for 2018 next weekend.  Love the post match podcasts as well, I hope they are going to be a regular for next season as well? 

 

That's the plan. We'll do them throughout the summer as well. We'll be able to get stuck into some different topics that should be good entertainment. Couldn't really do it throughout the season as there were so many games. 

[dave u 7,769]

20 minutes ago, Bucksinator said:

My anger towards Villa is off the scale especially that prick Mings,he has been stinking up the league all season and the cunt defended like a twelve year old yesterday,see him for the third goal,what a soft cunt that fucker is.

 

Havent seen any of the goals and I hope it stays that way. Don't want to inadvertently catch any of their trophy presentation either.

[Dave D 1,693]

I havent seen any of the City game but wondered if Gerrard made any tactical defensive changes/subs at 2-0?

 

Guess it would be harsh to throw that at him as they all came in quick succession

 

 

[Dave D 1,693]

Im applying darts rules- if its all level at the world final the winner must win by 2 clear legs to clear any element of doubt.

Its all down to a 501 leg between Baldy weirdo and Klopp

 

[fredo49 42]

Dave, I had us down for the league this season and we just missed out. Predict we will get no 20 next time round.

 

Great report as usual. No 7 in Paris please you mighty boys!

 

All best to everyone...

[mike23 623]

We'd definitely got in front when that misinformation about a Villa equalizer spread. Just one final cruel tease on an emotional rollercoaster of a day. Whoever started it, seriously why on earth would you start celebrating something like that unless you were absolutely certain Villa had scored? I haven't even seen anything about a disallowed Villa goal or even a near miss at the end so just baffling what started it. 

 

Agree how pitiful that was from Villa. So annoying when you see the efforts teams employ to try and disrupt us when we're starting to build up steam in games, yet with City they seem happy to just passively let them do whatever they want until they've scored however many goals they need. 

 

Same final day outcome as 3 years ago. Hopefully the way things subsequently pan out also end up being the same and we follow it with a Champions League triumph and a relentless march to the title next year. I'm glad our players have a lot more resilience than me though, as right now I'm just so weary of us narrowly missing out to this bunch of cheats.

[an tha 8,444]

Every single pundit, commentator etc KNEW the moment the cheats first went in yesterday what was going to follow....

 

But what really makes it worse and so worrying IMO is fact that so did every Villa player and every Villa fan....and frankly probably most grounded Liverpool fans and probably if they would have had time to think about it even Liverpool players.

 

Basically everybody knew and that just makes it even less likely teams will have any belief against City in this shite league in future and of course it just bolsters even further city's mental stranglehold.

 

It's a dark, dark day today - league was/is (depending on how optimistic you are) on life support - provided by us.....what happened yesterday has quite possibly switched it off.

[Ipplfc 62]

Great report that Dave,as they have been all season,

thanks Dave.

up the fuck’n mighty reds

[Redlewie 75]

Cheers for all the reports, round ups and twtwtw, brilliant as always.

 

Good luck to all the lads off to Gay Paree, don't spend too long up the tower. Enjoy yourselves and make us proud.

 

What a season, what a team, what a manager we have.

 

And to quote a line from a film;

 

"Poor always getting fucked over by the rich. Always have, always will."

[index1000 741]

9 hours ago, UnwelcomeinPeru said:

First thank you Dave for another season of fantastic reports, not least recently given your personal losses. 

 

I am with you on the walkaround. My brother and I left after Origi's presentation, I didn't feel we needed to be peering into a huge crowd of strangers, strangers' friends, strangers' friends toddlers looking for a red shirt to applaud. That can wait until Saturday a Saint-Denis. 

Yes Yes Yes but ... why are you not welcome in Peru? 

Have you been interfering with Paddington Bears?

[Shooter in the Motor 8,564]

 

[UnwelcomeinPeru 127]

5 hours ago, index1000 said:

Yes Yes Yes but ... why are you not welcome in Peru? 

Have you been interfering with Paddington Bears?

The reasons why there is a cold shoulder always waiting for me in Lima are complex, but to reassure you, it doesn't involve any marmalade misunderstandings. 

[Fiona Southworth 10]

That is a great report Dave ! Sums everything up really well I personally found it the most stressful game ever especially while City were losing and we needed a winner ! I really thought we would win it this year. Totally agree with you about Gerrard he substituted Phil and the first City goal came 3 mins later…. He certainly won’t be my choice when Klopp leaves.

[05 Milan 153]

Thanks for putting all my feelings to paper, Dave. You're always worth reading, win or lose. I try to remind myself that City's cheating is beyond our control, and indeed how lucky we are that Liverpool Football Club wasn't bought by a shady petrostate. If we can't win fair with untainted funds, I'd rather not win at all.

[Bobby Hundreds 10,445]

City next year have Haaland and thats just for starters. It's never going to get easier. I'm nervous about Paris we look goosed my biggest concern is the monumental gaps we leave on the right I know Trent has been told to be far up the pitch but it's been suicide football recently in terms of exposing oppportunities and Real Madrid seem very clinical. That's where the game will be who is clinical enough, we might create triple the chances they do but we are so wasteful. This match report just brought me down. I was fluttering upwards. Please in Paris don't start like you've forgotten how to play football and don't concede another very early goal. Other than that  brilliant, don't no why I'm cry arsing it in.