Anthony McIntyre ⚽ When a Liverpool game is delayed ostensibly because of crowd management issues, a sense of foreboding creeps in. 


Those of us old enough to remember the 1985 European Cup final and the 1989 FA Cup semi-final where, between the two, swathes of Juventus and Liverpool fans lost their lives, instinctively read the worst from the tea leaves. Police teargassing families with small children outside the ground is one sure way to inject panic into a crowd, creating the potential for a stampede. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred last night in Paris but it seems the handling of the showcase soccer event was anything but professional or efficient.

The result more so than the game was a disappointment. I never fancied Liverpool from the outset, detecting a frailty in the team. As with non-alcoholic beer, it looks good but there is just something not quite right about it. Like the fighter Chris Eubank, post-the Michael Watson bout, Liverpool all too frequently just about win. They secured two domestic cups this season but scraped by on penalties rather than take either handsomely or convincingly. At no time did I think that Real Madrid would allow the Reds to get beyond 120 minutes where the odds would shift to the men from the Mersey.

Despite being philosophical about the outcome, I still slunk off to bed in a grump, Covid not helping, dismayed at the missed opportunities and the needless ceding of the killer goal. There I read a few pages on Camus before drifting into a sleep which was punctuated throughout the night by the woes of Stade de France. It was either read Albert Camus or listen to Leonard Cohen – the French Algerian won out but without helping me extract something meaningful from last night’s theatre of the absurd.

Prior to the match Mo Salah had been talking up revenge for the final four years ago, when he was carted off after being unceremoniously bundled to the ground by the uncompromising Sergio Ramos. Then I had spent the evening with my dying brother Martin in a Belfast hospice, listening to the match on radio. Madrid’s riposte to Salah was a loud No, Mo, delivered like a veteran from the boot of a rookie. The goal while well executed should never have been scored. Camus as a former goalkeeper in Algiers would have acknowledged that. Trent Alexander Arnold was caught ball-watching having failed to track his man, despite knowing he was threatening. The battle between Trent Alexander Arnold and Vinicius Junior was marked out as one worth waiting for. The Brazilian clearly emerged as the winner. He only had to be lucky once and he was. TAA, so often the boon and the bane of LFC fortunes. 

As heretical as it may sound, I preferred a Real Madrid win in normal time to Liverpool winning through penalties after extra time. Liverpool have done that twice this year and a third time at such a high level would have been a serious blight on the game. Once is acceptable, twice is bearable, thrice is horrible. At that point the cock crowing signals the betrayal of open play soccer, the essence of the game. It is simply no way to win finals. I told my son had it gone to penalties I would not have watched them. It had nothing to do with the tension and everything to do with the descent of the flowing beautiful game into the inertia of spot kicks. Not that he cared - he was cheering Madrid on, which made me look forward to my seventies, if I reach them, and a child-free home.

For all that is written and said about this Liverpool side - the hype and the expectation of the quadruple, the superlative quality of their front three - they have finished their season at the lower end of the market. They won the less important cup competitions but failed to clinch the big two leagues. The large hats went to those with the prize cattle - Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said after the game "I don’t think Liverpool did too much wrong…” I simply disagree. They failed to score a goal, and they failed to defend a goal. What more wrong is there to do?

⏩ Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

No, Mo

Anthony McIntyre ⚽ When a Liverpool game is delayed ostensibly because of crowd management issues, a sense of foreboding creeps in. 


Those of us old enough to remember the 1985 European Cup final and the 1989 FA Cup semi-final where, between the two, swathes of Juventus and Liverpool fans lost their lives, instinctively read the worst from the tea leaves. Police teargassing families with small children outside the ground is one sure way to inject panic into a crowd, creating the potential for a stampede. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred last night in Paris but it seems the handling of the showcase soccer event was anything but professional or efficient.

The result more so than the game was a disappointment. I never fancied Liverpool from the outset, detecting a frailty in the team. As with non-alcoholic beer, it looks good but there is just something not quite right about it. Like the fighter Chris Eubank, post-the Michael Watson bout, Liverpool all too frequently just about win. They secured two domestic cups this season but scraped by on penalties rather than take either handsomely or convincingly. At no time did I think that Real Madrid would allow the Reds to get beyond 120 minutes where the odds would shift to the men from the Mersey.

Despite being philosophical about the outcome, I still slunk off to bed in a grump, Covid not helping, dismayed at the missed opportunities and the needless ceding of the killer goal. There I read a few pages on Camus before drifting into a sleep which was punctuated throughout the night by the woes of Stade de France. It was either read Albert Camus or listen to Leonard Cohen – the French Algerian won out but without helping me extract something meaningful from last night’s theatre of the absurd.

Prior to the match Mo Salah had been talking up revenge for the final four years ago, when he was carted off after being unceremoniously bundled to the ground by the uncompromising Sergio Ramos. Then I had spent the evening with my dying brother Martin in a Belfast hospice, listening to the match on radio. Madrid’s riposte to Salah was a loud No, Mo, delivered like a veteran from the boot of a rookie. The goal while well executed should never have been scored. Camus as a former goalkeeper in Algiers would have acknowledged that. Trent Alexander Arnold was caught ball-watching having failed to track his man, despite knowing he was threatening. The battle between Trent Alexander Arnold and Vinicius Junior was marked out as one worth waiting for. The Brazilian clearly emerged as the winner. He only had to be lucky once and he was. TAA, so often the boon and the bane of LFC fortunes. 

As heretical as it may sound, I preferred a Real Madrid win in normal time to Liverpool winning through penalties after extra time. Liverpool have done that twice this year and a third time at such a high level would have been a serious blight on the game. Once is acceptable, twice is bearable, thrice is horrible. At that point the cock crowing signals the betrayal of open play soccer, the essence of the game. It is simply no way to win finals. I told my son had it gone to penalties I would not have watched them. It had nothing to do with the tension and everything to do with the descent of the flowing beautiful game into the inertia of spot kicks. Not that he cared - he was cheering Madrid on, which made me look forward to my seventies, if I reach them, and a child-free home.

For all that is written and said about this Liverpool side - the hype and the expectation of the quadruple, the superlative quality of their front three - they have finished their season at the lower end of the market. They won the less important cup competitions but failed to clinch the big two leagues. The large hats went to those with the prize cattle - Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said after the game "I don’t think Liverpool did too much wrong…” I simply disagree. They failed to score a goal, and they failed to defend a goal. What more wrong is there to do?

⏩ Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

20 comments:

  1. Mind you, Courtois had a blinder.

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    1. He did - and it says something about a team that a goalkeeper is Man of the Match. But I think the frailty at Liverpool goes beyond this game.

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  2. Still, I'll be there next season if the Devil spares me, rooting for them.

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  3. Why Always Us

    I thought Real Utd Madrid were the better team ...as some one of a mature vintage I have watched lots of sport over those many years and have seen many scenes of violence in sport most notably Rugby League some Horse Racing venues and right at the top of the table Soccer Football all of which were mostly in the UK ...Soccer has always had a history of crowd control and violence especially across Europe and the fans involved always blame the organisers and police, the problem seems to mostly involve UK teams , the final was held up for 35 mins how can this happen fans know well in advance the time and venue so being late is a poor argument, turning up with counterfeit Tickets isn’t exactly helpful to the argument either . I have not seen any reports from any Spanish fans about problems they had with entry or Tickets but will watch closely
    Maybe the answer to the problem is very simple everyone just hates the English with their pompus attitude to all who get in their way,
    I remember watching a programme about the 1994 Los Angeles world cup and how the Americans handled it most was grand the police were told to keep a low profile and let the people enjoy themselves probably the biggest failure was the ROI game v Mexico where fans were subjected to 100 degrees and very little drinking water. A few retired cops later interviewed expressed their disappointment of England not qualifying because they had prepared for weeks to get to know the wonderful English fans
    Perhaps Europeans just fail to get past the memory of marauding English fans causing carnage in their cities

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  4. The English fan base has a terrible reputation abroad. But spraying families with teargas is something else. The Liverpool fans have a particularly bad experience of the cops and authority, given what happened during the Hillsborough disaster followed by the smearing and cover up. The French police have hardly a reputation for not being thugs!

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  5. Prem teams continue their dire record V Spanish teams in Euro finals . Every player who leaves Anfield in the summer needs to be replaced by similar / higher quality . Next season , the Reds should forget the Mickey mouse domestic cups and concentrate on the big two trophies . It will take circa 100 points to win the title next season . Happy birthday Stevie G # 42

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    1. Apart from Chelsea you mean.

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    2. that's 33 wins, a draw and four defeats. A big ask

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  6. Leaving hillsborough aside, a different issue altogether due to British state suspected involvement, Liverpool fans were totally innocent,, Liverpool fans have lived a charmed life. The darlings of the media these little darlings were the ones who introduced stanley knives into the hooligan theatre. Everyone from Newcastle to Manchester to West Ham and even Millwall hated them.

    Heysel back in 1985 the gangs from scouseland, not least the Bootle Boys and others boasted of their activities. The result was the deaths of thirty plus Juventus fans and the media, as per, blamed the Italians.

    Today Liverpool fans from Ireland, including an A/E Doctor, who were no doubt innocent, told of the police were firing teargas which is wrong. I have seen these Liverpool fans, from Merseyside, in action carving peoples faces up and boasting of it and not a fucking word said.

    I have no doubt the security arrangements were less than adequate, I equally have no doubt elements of scousers were far from innocent.

    Back in 1977 we played Saint Ettiene in France. Trouble occurred, both sets of fans equally to blame, and the French cops attacked Man Utd fans, not the hosts. The British media called United fans "hooligans and scourges of football" no sympathy for our fans, not that we expected or wanted any. The difference between the favourable reports of Liverpool fans and the less than supportive coverage other fans receive is so blatant it stinks.

    As for the game Liverpool dominated the first fifteen minuets and failed to capitalise. I saw nothing wrong with Real Madrids first goal but the reff dissallowed it. Fair enough, I can live with the refferee making a decision, even if I do not agree. Then VAR came into play at which point I switched channels. Once that abomination comes in it ceases to be football in its true form. If VAR had allowed Madrids goal that would have been equally unnacceptable, the reff had dissallowed it and that should have been final.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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    1. I am sick of the Liverpool sympathy card being rolled out, too, Caoimhin. Every time there is an incident involving Reds fans, Hillsborough is mentioned. Not a word about Heysel. I saw a docu years ago about the Liverpool firms in Europe in the early 80s. They practiced "steaming" where hundreds of fans would meet in a city and then organise themselves in a tight group and rampage, looting shops, especially sportswear and jewellery shops, and attacking locals. They interviewed Liverpool fans who went on trips just to steam. They would send their loot home by post and made thousands from their trips. It was a steaming session on the terraces of Heysel that led to the deaths of dozens of Juve fans. While Hillsborough was a sickening disaster caused by poor policing and procedures, the lack of any mention of Heysel sticks in the craw.

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  7. There was a Twitter storm against Liverpool fans trending under "Hillsborough". Most of the tweets were from the "Scousers storming the stadium without tickets" narrative used to discredit the bereaved io Hillsborough for so many years after that catastrophe. I am certainly not going to give a free pass to the Stanley Knife scallies of the 1980s but, as a Leeds United fan, I object in particular to moralising tweets from Millwall fans with their penchant for cut-throat gestures and parading replica Galatasaray shirts at us around the anniversary of the murder of two of our fans in Istanbul before the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000.

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  8. Thats right, Peter. The reason much sympathy for the victims of Hillsborough was a long time coming, certainly at Old Trafford, was more about the flippant attitudes of the media and, indeed, elements within LFC towards Heysel and 37 Italian deaths than any historical rivalry ourselves and Liverpool have. It was almost like Italian lives matter far less than Merseyside lives!

    Liverpool were well known for this "steaming", just as in the late sixties and early seventies wrecking trains was one of their activities of notriety.

    We, Man Utd, were no angels, in fact for a time in the seventies were the most feared "army" of fans around. That I do not deny and, looking back, was nothing to be proud of but the media made out we were the only ones. Liverpool fans have been as bad, worse in some areas like the stanley knife introduction, as any other group of fans yet the media continued blessing them as beacons of respectability. Man Utd bad, Liverpool good was the blatantly obvious statements coming out of the media, and, in many respects still is.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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  9. It all took a sick turn for the worst Barry when supporters of Liverpool, Leeds, and for a time Man City, till they caught on Frank Swift was among the dead, started singing Munich songs. When the tragedy occurred in Istambul some Man Utd fans used it as an opportunity to retaliate. Fortunately it never really caught on but did reduce the Munichs of Elland Road. When the Hillsborough tragedy happened again some, in fact this time numerous, United fans, at first saw an opportunity to strike back. Once state cover ups became apparent the appetitie to retalliate ebbed somewhat.
    Even Celtic fans showed Rangers supporters some respect after the Ibrox disaster of 1971. Yet, in England, it took tragedies to happen at the offending clubs to shut the Munichs up. Tells us a lot don't you think?
    I can put my barmy days down to teenage and very early twenties youth. Most of us grew out of it. I am now in my sixties and know blokes of my age group still carrying on. Perhaps they need psychiatric help because it is not rational behaviour.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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    1. Utd fans were singing Hillsborough songs @ the Anfield rd end , after the game in April # Nice timing

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  10. It would be strange indeed if Hillsborough were not recalled each time a crowd control event occurs involving Liverpool supporters. After South Yorkshire Police unlawfully killed 97 fans, these matters are always going to be evocative. LFC fans are no better or worse than most other fans. Unlike Caoimhin, I have not seen them excused in the media any more than other fans. They get more attention because of Hillsborough. It is sad that the Rangers fans or Bradford ones do not get the same coverage. Perhaps that is to do with Liverpool as a city taking on both the state RSAs and ISAs and the state itself and reversing the false narrative that was created immediately after Hillsborough.

    Authentic fans rather than thugs is where my focus is. A thug from Liverpool is no less a thug for that. And those who come equipped with Stanley knives should not be allowed to grace any ground.

    I don’t remember the media blaming the Italians – my memory of the aftermath is that Liverpool fans were blamed exclusively and then the worm began to turn. Not that some LFC fans were not culpable (a number were convicted of manslaughter) but the police and those in charge of the stadium took a hit as well. Neither set of fans were responsible for the dilapidated state of the wall that collapsed.

    French police fired teargas at people – always a dangerous thing to do. And when the police come up with a crowd problem narrative to justify their actions, I am immediately called back to Hillsborough and the police lies told then.

    I equally have no doubt elements of scousers were far from innocent. That would not have been out of place in the Sun. As Barry says Scousers storming the stadium without tickets is an old refrain used to deflect attention away from authorities. Duckenfield crafted that lie to cover for his own failings.

    The British media called United fans "hooligans and scourges of football by your own account Utd fans were equally to blame.

    Heysel seemingly is remembered more in Liverpool than it is in Turin for some strange reason. It is a stain on the reputation of LFC fans and the suffering of the Juve fans every bit as important as the dead of Hillsborough.

    The thing about Hillsborough is that it helped galvanise safety concerns that all fans should benefit from. Hence its importance in popular culture.

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  11. Not my words Anthony, the "Bootle Boot Boys", as they still called themselves and gangs from Croxteth boasted in pubs, granted not the media so you only have my word for it, years after the event. Obviously in a scouse pub full of their main mob, keep head down and get the fuck ASAP.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

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    1. I don't doubt for a second what you say about those events as you know the scene - I do think it is a step too far to malign people at the Paris game on the basis of that.

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