Game Thirty Four - Liverpool v West Ham

1 December 2008

When the calender year started, me and Helen made several new years resolutions dedicated to football events that we wanted to get done in the commencing 12 months. Most of them were random things such as see Hereford play or go to the majority of Leicester's away games. In fact all of them had been acheived to date except one..... and with a month remaining, that final challenge was completed. Anfield!

The trip itself would be bigger than any football adventure planned to date and it had the potential to go so badly wrong if trains were delayed or there was an issue with hotels and the like. The plan was for me to arrive early, head to Goodison Park and do a ground tour (13 minutes to get from the train station to the ground), then wait for Helen to arrive late on in the evening, watch the game and then make our way back to the hotel somehow.... the 13 minutes to get across the city was ambitious to say the least. Only one way to find out if it would work though.

So at 9am, the adventure began and I headed into Leicester for my first change of train and on to Nuneaton. So far so good.... until I saw that the next train was due to be delayed by 8 minutes.... With 13 minutes to get across Liverpool as it was, losing 8 minutes would make it near impossible. Bugger!

When the train finally arrived, I jumped on and found that without realising, I'd booked first class tickets (cheap as houses thanks to advanced booking and Young Person railcards) so had the luxury of plenty of room for the long journey to Scouse Land.

With the tour starting at 1pm, the train pulled into Liverpool lime street at 12:53 so it was a case of sprinting across the platform, diving head first into a taxi and just hoping they would let me join up slightly late..... Thankfully they did!

The tour started in the players lounge before heading up to look at all the trophys the club have in their possession. Nothing of major interest as all of them seemed to be token gifts from other clubs or for pre-season tournaments rather than for anything else. They also keep the players player of the year trophy on display but Arteta thought that was his to keep so its sitting proudly at his place in Spain rather than at Goodison and no one has the heart to ask for it back.

After that we headed out to the Dixie Dean suite and to the directors stand when all the executives sit. Great seats and all the home executives have special things under their seats which blow out hot air to keep them warm during the winter months... funnily enough this service isn't given to the away teams directors and they have to do with Everton blankets if they feel the chill. Classic!

Cracking views from up here in the middle tier of the main stand even if there is a pillar in view. Incidentally, there's always a spare seat kept for David Moyes due to the amount of times he gets sent to the stands.

Other random fact is that there's a rumour that went round about a second tier for the stand in the picture below. The "old wives tale" is that somewhere in Liverpool, there's a lock up where it's kept in pieces ready to be added on should the decision ever get the go ahead. No-one is fully sure how true this is though.

From here it was onto the away teams dressing room which was rather cramped considering about 20 people have to fit in here on match days. Its a far cry from the luxury you may expect in the premiership and isn't even soundproof so you can hear the crowd walking about overhead. They also still do the age old trick of putting the heating on in the summer and turning it off in the winter claiming that it's broken. Gotta love clubs that still stick with the old school pranks.

From here it was onto the home team dressing room which was much more what you'd expect from a team pushing for Europe. Plenty of space, massive widescreen TV, fridges and plenty of space for treatement should it be needed. This was also conveniently soundproofed... must be the credit crunch that stopped them doing both and nothing more sinister....

Random fact time - according to the Kit Man, Duncan Ferguson is the most generous player he's known and would always throw in a hundred quid or so to any whip round amongst the players. Not a lot by their weekly wages but apparentley most of them are tight as anything. In fact he says that if any of the tighter players swap shirts then he'll charge them the £50 for a replacement, but lets some of the others off.

Also the amount of XL and XXL shirts in that changing room was quite a shock!

After the dressing rooms it was time to head down the tunnel to the sound of Z cars blasting out the speakers - a nice touch. Does send a shiver down your spine coming out to that tune.

The view from the away teams dugout - I left the Everton fans to the home one and settled into the oppositions zone.

After that it was just a case of walking round the outside of the pitch. Had to cross over a gravel trap used to slow down pitch invaders which was rather odd it must be said.

The view from the away end.... where wooden seats are still at a premium.

Everton - The People's Club? I wonder if that's a small dig at their neighbours across the road?

A quick final photo of the Dixie Dean statue, a look in the club shop and then it was the short walk across Stanley Park to check out what Anfield had to offer ahead of the game later.

The famous slogan over one of many gates to the stadium. This is what it was all about - been quite a while since I've felt that buzz when arriving at a new ground.

I took a few minutes to stand and look at the Hillsborough memorial. It truly is one of those things that sends a shiver down you spine as you read the names and ages of the people who died on that fateful day. It's easier to get carried away at football but these things kind of put it all into perspective. Nice to see bunches of flowers left from Marseille fans too -these kind of incidents really unite the footballing world.

The surrounding area is 100% Liverpool FC and even the shops were dedicated to the club. While the main man would be out injured tonight, this is without a doubt the best chant in football.

Gotta get a picture or the famous kop logo while you're there don't ya?

Another statue - this time of the legend that was Bill Shankly. As the quote says, "He made the people happy" and boy did he. He's possibly the greatest manager ever seen in english football. A quick look around the club shop and purchase of another random scarf and the visit was nearly done for now.

After that it was a case of finding my way back into the city centre to check into the hotel. Now, never having been to this city before, the only clue I had as to where to go was from that rushed taxi journey earlier. The football ground guide website had commented that it was too far to walk and boy was it right. True I ventured off of the main roads a few times to take in some of the city but it must have taken about an hour and a half of walking around the random places. Some nice views around though

The hotel itself was amazing considering how cheap it was but I didnt have long to spend in there as I had to grab some food and head off to meet Helen from the train station before showing her the way to the hotel and let her get changed before we set off to the game. There was no way I was walking that route again so it was decided to get a taxi... now having done the journey once already I knew that it cost about £7 so when we were quoted £15 by one guy, he was soon sent on his way and we jumped in another one with a couple of Irish people and a local who was also heading to the game. Turned out to be cheaper than last time so god knows what the first taxi driver was trying to pull. Bore off son!

We spent a bit of time letting Helen look round the ground and then it was into the famous stadium - it was still hard to believe that we'd managed to get tickets for a premiership game here.

The concourse was small and cramped and very old fashioned.... as were the wooden seats in areas of the stand we were in - not what I expected at all.

Had to do the usual tourist picture of me with the ground as everyone else in the stadium seemed to be doing the same thing - the amount of different accents was unbelievable, especially the germans trying to sing behind us.

Just before kick off, the home fans brought out a massive Liverpool flag which rippled throughout the kop and put our efforts at the walkers stadium to shame.

Then it was the main event - the battle of the anthems. "I'm forever blowing bubbles" v "You'll Never Walk Alone." Sadly, the first was at the other end of the ground and didn't carry and the latter wasn't as impressive as it appears on TV. Maybe because it was just another league game and not a massive European night but it left me feeling a bit disappointed.

And then the game was underway and the Liverpool fans livened up accordingly with some deafening chants along the way. In full flow they really are quite impressive... sadly the same couldnt be said for what happened as the pitch.

Liverpool had all the early pressure and twice had efforts cleared off the line from Sammy Hyppia headers but just couldn't seem to convert. Gerrard fired into the side netting from close range and the game was pretty much played out in the west ham half from the start. A rare attack or two forward produced long range efforts from the visitors, the only one of note being a 30 yard thunderbolt from ex-liverpool player Craig Bellammy which smashed into the post and flashed across the face of the goal drawing gasps of relief from the Kop.

And so it remained goal-less at half time and we got a picture of the happy tourists together.

The second half followed the same story as Liverpool pushed forward with little reward. Free kicks were wasted, corners were cleared and when Benayoun fired a volley goalwards, Robert Green produced a brilliant save to push it over the bar. In fact, any effort thrown at Green, he was equal too as he later kept out Dirk Kuyt with his feet as the striker looked to slip the ball under him.

Even Steve Gerrard couldn't inspire the scousers tonight as he peppered the goal with wayward shots and he even did a comical airshot which saw him fall flat on his backside.

As the game crept towards injury time, West Ham came more and more alive. Carlton Cole headed the ball just wide, and another chance was wasted but it was not to be and the final whistle was met with a chorus of jeers from the home end. Hard to believe that this point had put them top of the premiership - some of these fans don't know how good they have it at times and it was really annoying to hear them react in this way.

But that was that and we had one quick final snap of the ground before heading for the exits and somehow getting back to the hotel.

Through sheer luck, we stumbled across a bus heading for Lime Street Station and so jumped on that and made the slow trip through traffic back to the city centre before the short walk back to our hotel.

With neither of us that tired, we headed down to the bar for a quick drink and to reflect on the day that had passed and also on famous away day trips from the past.... and what nice surroundings to do it in as well. Finally after a day of rushing round we could relax and enjoy what little remained of the evening.

Another photo in the hotel and then it was time to turn in for the night.

And so that was Anfield. The one stadium that we both really wanted and to be honest, it wasn't as brilliant as I thought it would be. Maybe it had been built up too much or maybe it was the fact that due to the nature of the game, we never got to see the Kop in full song celebrating another victory. I don't regret going though as it was such a great day in whole. Everything went to plan and it was another two grounds to tick off the list and a good laugh with a great friend. It was what football is all about.

Next up is another random trip and a journey back up north to the City of Manchester stadium once more.

Game Thirty Three - Dagenham & Redbridge Home (FA Cup Second Round)

29th November 2008

FA Cup second round day and another potential banana skin as this time League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge would be making the trip to the Walkers Stadium.

For this game I decided to make the short journey to the city centre by train and so ended up venturing past Nelson Mandela park and the Tigers ground with the new main stand looming out from the old car park. Personally I think that the new construction is the worst thing that the club could do. Yes it will boost attendances and all that but they will lose a great deal of the older fans who have been around since the glory days and like to stand. Plus add the increased costs of season tickets, lack of intimidation from the fans being on top of the players and new stadium syndrome and I wouldn't be suprised if the club started to struggle a bit.

As I made my way past the ground, I bumped into a couple of Dagenham fans who thought that that was our ground and were waiting for the turnstiles to open? I was almost insulted and was tempted to leave them there when they asked if this was the football stadium but instead walked with them to the ground.

At the ground I met up with Helen and Jobber, before heading into the megastore to take advantage of the 25% offer and stock up on bits and bobs. After that we bumped into Jodie and I ended up waiting with her for Chloe and Bert to arrive before we all made our way in. I was planning on heading to the back of SK1 with some of the FT crew like at the previous FA Cup tie but was talked into sampling the L1/K block experience insead. A game of 'dodge the steward' ensured as every seemed to want to check my tickets. Nightmare.

The game started at quite a pace and it was clear from the off that Dagenham hadn't come here to sit back and play for the draw. They sensed a shock was on the cards and they were going to make the most of their opportunity to claim the column inches in the morning papers. In fact it took only nine minutes for the visiting fans to have something to cheer as a well worked move down the right saw the ball turned in by Matt Ritchie, who incidentally put in the best performance I've seen at the Walkers so far this season. The guy was everyone and instrumental to what turned out to be a classic cup tie.

However the lead lasted less than a minute as Nicky Adams played the ball through to Fryatt who controlled it beautifully and lashed it past the keeper. Hard to know how to celebrate an equaliser against a league two side after the embarassment of conceeding in the first place....

From then on it was end to end stuff as both sides created chances with some great saves from Martin and Roberts keeping the scores down.


It wasn't long though before we found ourselves behind once again. That man Matt Ritchie unleashed a fierce drive from the edge of the area which Martin did well to save but the rebound was put in by the onrushing Strevens.

Again the lead didn't last long and four minutes later, a Fryatt cross was handled in the area and the man himself slotted home the resulting penalty to level things up. Two all with less than half an hour played. My £5 ticket was proving to be well worth the money!

More chances came and went with the keepers keeping up their fine form and goal line clearences making sure that we went into the break on even terms.

A much quieter start to the second half saw little goal mouth action until the hour mark when Edworthy chipped a beautiful ball over the defence and Fryatt matched it with a chip of his own over the keeper from a tight angle. Great finish to a great hat-trick and even Lil'Dave must have been impressed with that effort. Much easier to celebrate that one!
From then on, City looked a lot calmer and started to take a bit more control of the game, creating a few chances and restricting Dagenham to efforts from set pieces.

There was one moment to increase the heartbeats of the home fans though as a corner was cleared off the line by debutant Mark Davies at the near post.

Whilst it may not have been a deserved victory, it was still good enough to secure ourselves a place in the third round draw and another home tie, this time against Championship side Crystal Palace. Almost seems like a punishment than a reward for getting through.

All in all though, it was a cracking cup tie and credit must go to Dagenham and Redbridge for their approach to the game. They played some great football and if they can reproduce performances like that, promotion is surley not out the question for them and arguably they left the Stadium that day as the happier set of fans.... and boy do we know how that feels after narrow defeats to Chelsea and Fulham twice.... disappointed but proud as hell.

Next game ahead, the one we wanted..... Anfield!

Game Thirty Two - Crewe Home

25 November 2008

Leicester City v Crewe Alexandra. Top v Bottom. Surley this had all the makings of a comfortable victory and a chance to send a message out to the rest of the league that we're at the top of the league and intend to stay there until otherwise informed..... erm.... no.

A standard build up to the nights game saw me arrive at the stadium not long before kick off to meet the old man, complain about the freezing cold weather and cough my guts up with the effects of Saturdays flu still sitting heavy on my chest. A night in a cold stadium without any atmosphere and an away contingent that actually could have come in a taxi did not fill me with optimism that this would be a night to remember.

A bright start from the boys in blue saw Andy King coming close with an effort after good build up play Oakley and the rest of the midfield. With a quater of an hour gone though, the breakthrough came when good wing play from Mattock and Dyer resulted in the ball being pulled back from the byline to Matty Fryatt. One touch to control, one to shimmy past the defender and a third to curl it into the top corner made sure that the inform striker kept up his goal scoring form.

City continued to press though and for once it looked like maybe we would be in for an easy ride of things tonight and that the table wouldn't lie. Fryatt and DJ Campbell both saw efforts saved before a pin point cross was headed goalwards by Matt Oakley only for the keeper to turn it over with his fingertips. It seemed only a matter of time before the net was bulging again and so it turned out to be the case.... but at the wrong end. In a moment of madness, DJ Cambell didn't clear a corner and instead lost the ball to Calvin Zola who smashed a low shot past the keeper. Martin would no doubt be disappointed to have been beaten at his near post but he more than redeemed himself in first half stoppage time.

A hopeful long ball was punted forward which was just over the Tunchev leaving Zola through on goal but his shot was saved by Martin's out stretched leg leaving us all breathing a sigh of relief.

At the sound of the half time whistle, I headed down to the concourse to see Katy and to see if the lucky Athletico Madrid / Leicester scarf could make it three wins from three. The usual random chatter and hugs and we were back on for the second 45 minutes.

The second half was a rather quiet and lacklustre affair and neither side seemed keep on risking losing it by pushing forward. For all our possession and passing the ball around, the Crewe goal remained mainly unthreatened. Pearson threw on Gradel and Howard in an attempt to gain the victory and it was from Gradel's corner that the goal finally came. A high looping corner was lofted into the mix and Andy King was there to head the ball home for his second winning goal in the space of 4 days. He's becomming a real find this season and seems to have a knack for popping up in the right place at the right time.

And that was pretty much that. There were no further real chances for either side and we just saw out the match much to the relief of the players, fans and staff.

This was the type of game that we normally would have lost and so it's quite encouraging to see that these little quirks seem to be getting ironed out. Also it's nice to be seeing us win at the Walkers again after all those years of misery on our own turf. With two further home games in a row, it's a chance to progress in the FA Cup and try to forge a gap from the team in third. With the busy time of year coming up, it's vital that we go into the period with some kind of form behind us.

Busy week next week for matches. 2 home games and random trips to Anfield and a return to the City of Manchester stadium. Happy days!

Game Thirty One - Scunthorpe away

22 November 2008

So here we were, arguably the biggest game of the season so far as we travelled away to take on Scunthorpe in a top of the table clash. Only a victory would see us reclaim our position at the top and whilst we all know that the league isn't won at this time of the year, there is something special about seeing your teams name above everyone elses in the rankings. Yes it's only League One but you can only beat the teams in front of you and that was indeed our task for today.

The trip to Scunthorpe would be different to any done before as it involved setting off from Nottingham after spending the night at my friend Sam's place. After a very pleasant evening with her, I was up early and sneaking round the house as not to wake people before setting off to the train station. The normally packed out market square was quiet as you like with only a few early morning shoppers heading around going about their business - do these people not have matches in random places to get too? Madness!

The plan of the day was to get the train from Nottingham to Grantham where I'd meet Katy for the relatively short drive up to north Linconshire. Quick breakfast stop at the train station and I was off to meet her feeling pretty ropey as the effects of flu and a poor nights sleep were starting to hit home.

It turned into quite an eventful journey with all things considered as we travelled through various little towns and villages on our way to sunny Scunny. Random places and street names caught our attention such as the village of 'Laughterton' and the pub called the "Hume's Arms" - wonder if there was any connection to our former striker or pure coincidence?

The main event though was saved for in Gainsborough when as we pulled up at some traffic lights, a little old man crossed the road next to the stationary car. Perfectly harmless looking pensioner who wouldn't hurt a fly but quick as you like, Katy locked the doors of the car as if he was some kind of axe murderer! It was all ok though as that little red light means that no pensioners would be attacking us today!

We arrived and parked up in Scunthorpe at about 11:30... inexplicably early indeed as we hadn't encountered any of the traffic that we allowed for. Still it gave us a chance to find the nearby pub and sit in warmth and just relax while others slowly drifted in.

Lisa and Carl were next to arrive and sounds like they'd had a fun journey - don't let the smile fool you. Divorce was on the cards after she was annoyed by her other half in the passenger seat.

Foz and Ben joined us in the pub shortly after (minus Foz's half naked dad and Tash who had decided not to make the trip). We were also joined by a look-a-like Nick from the apprentice... but the pic of him didn't really showup. Random chatter made the 3 and half hours fly by in which we learnt that I'm an expert drummer... so long as the drum kit was made of Katy's boots. They may have been out of The Tweenies as she put it but they can sure hold a tune!

After the pub fun, me and Katy made our way into the ground to find our seats and for the first time in ages, actually stayed where we were meant to. Whilst the usual suspects all headed off to find the atmosphere, the two of us stayed put as due to ill health, I think any real attempt at singing would have just resulted in a coughing fit or loss of voice. Responsible away game for a change!

It was absolutely freezing as we made our way to the back of the stand and awaited the kick off of this top of the table show down. The ground was pretty much sold out in most areas and there was a sense of real anticipation as the players made their way out onto the pitch to a scene of balloons and tickertape.

For the first time in a while, City started the game at a high tempo and pushed forward right from the off. The speed up front seemed to be paying off (when DJ wasn't offside) and we were always looking to break through the stuborn Scunthorpe defence. Fryatt twice went close, one shot blocked and the other producing a good save from the hosts keeper. But midway through the first half, Fryatt threaded the ball through to the on-rushing Lloyd Dyer who kept his cool and threaded his effort past the keeper in the way we've seen many times already this season. Forgetting the illness and grown up away game theory, I jumped on Katy in celebration in the same way she bounced madly at Brighton away last month!

Almost from the restart, Scunthorpe were almost level as the always dangerous Paul Hayes had his effort brilliantly saved by Paul Henderson. A stunning stop and proved why he has reclaimed the number one jersey as his own. He could do nothing to stop the equaliser when it came though. After what looked like a foul, Hayes found himself in sight of goal from a tight angle but somehow lashed the ball home off the post. Great strike as so many seem to be against us.

City looked most likely to take the lead going into the break as we pushed forward. King firing over the bar and after brilliant work from Berner down the left, DJ Campbell saw his effort expertley saved by the inform keeper.

Wasn't to be though and so at half time we reflected on what could have been as we head over to the other side of the stand to see Helen and then made a quick call to Dexter in between coughs to report on the first half. It was impossible to text as the coldness had removed all feeling from my fingers. Not keen.

The second half was a lot quiter in terms of action on the pitch and chances for both teams were few and far between. Instead the crowd amused themselves with the "Left side - right side" chant which is getting more and more annoying as the weeks go on. Every five minutes? Is it really needed?

As the clock ticked down, the draw was looking more and more likely until a loose high ball was controlled by Andy King who then raced through, beat a defender and curled a peach of an effort home from the edge of the area just past the reach of the keeper. Great scenes in with the away fans as hugs galore were shared and the sounds of "We are top of the league" were heard as the game restarted.

With only injury time remaining, Scunthorpe won a few corners which the keeper decided to come up for and caused trouble in a packed box but it was the cool head of Henderson that won the ball in the end.

With his resulting clearance, the final whistle sounded and was greeted by huge cheers and joy. The toughest test so far in this long season had been passed with flying colours and we could truly feel that we had earnt our place at the peak of the league table. It was nice to see that it seemed to mean something to the players to as they celebrated too as if they were fans.

And so we all filed out of the ground, happy with life once more. A big difference to how we felt walking out of the County Ground last week after the disappointment of blowing a lead. Here we'd pushed hard and fully earnt the three points despite the referee's attempts to ensure that we left with nothing.... although that was easily explained when we saw the back of the programme.... Player number 12?

And with that we left Scunthorpe and headed back down south to the midlands and Nottingham station where Katy had said she'd drop me off - bless her little cotton socks! The conversation on the way home was very random indeed with talks of Katy "sexing up the gear stick." Oooh Errrr Missy!

Now what blog would be complete without a mention of the little man? Despite not having seen him at all on the day, he still popped up on the journey home as we passed by Stapleford on the way home - I'd like to think that that is a town of Lil'Daves.... which is why we headed to Nottingham instead!!

A quick stop at Nottingham station for food and I was off home back to sunny syston, very weary and feeling very rough. This had proved the second major test in the 100% record challenge though. Midweek games? Done! Games when ill? Done! Carlisle on fox travel is the next main one! Bring it on!

So that's Scunthorpe done. Back to the top of the league and sets up a nice clash with bottom of the table Crewe on tuesday night. It's the perfect chance to open a gap between us and those chasing hard but this is the type of game that we will normally struggle in and end up dropping points. Thoughts of 1-0 defeats to Rotherham, Hull, and Nottingham Forest in the past few years are still fresh in the mind. All three of those teams were bottom when we played them at home and all three took maximum points from us.... how many times can lightning really strike? We'll find out during the week!!