SEASON REVIEW 2005/2006

By MICHAEL DONALD
May 8 2006

Season Review The word of the season at Anfield has been Progress. By accumulating our highest league points total in two decades, reaching another major cup final and breaking many club records, Liverpool FC are once again back among the Premiership elite.

So how has this been achieved?

By being inconsistently consistent!

Eight games into the new season and Liverpool had achieved a solitary 10 points from a possible 24. Lying 13th in the table and miles behind the chasing pack, Rafa and his men went into a 3rd round Carling Cup tie at Selhurst Park knowing that a win was needed to get there season back on track. A second half goal from Marco Reich gave Crystal Palace a 2-1 victory and a place in the next round of the cup. This was Liverpool’s lowest point of the season and possibly Rafa’s lowest point in his reign at Anfield.

With league results not going the way of the European Champions, a trip to Real Betis in the European Cup was a timely respite. The performance was fitting of their Champions of Europe title. Two early goals from Pongolle and Garcia were enough to earn the reds all three points. Back-to-back wins against Anderlecht followed and draws at home to both Chelsea and Anderlecht secured qualification into the next round. With a game to spare, Liverpool went into the final group game away to Chelsea, to decide who would finish top of the group. “It doesn’t matter if you finish 1st or 2nd in this game. The Champions League is a strong tournament.” The comments of Mr Mourinho were shoved back down his throat when Liverpool topped the group and were drawn against Benfica.

Chelsea were drawn against Barcelona. Enough said.

Rafa’s men needed to regroup, and a win against West Ham United kicked off an unbeaten run that lasted 10 Premiership games including a win at Goodison Park. These ten games brought 5 goals for new signing Peter Crouch, which put to bed the criticism he had received following his mini goal drought. With three man-of-the-match performances to his name over the Christmas and New Year period, the new Patrick Vieira, Momo Sissoko, started to attract attention with some outstanding performances in the midfield holding role.

A trip to Japan saw Liverpool compete in the World Club Championship, beating Deportivo Saprissa
3-0 to set up a final against Sao Paulo. In the most one-sided final ever to be played, the reds had three goals disallowed, hit the bar three times and had a penalty appeal waved away as Liverpool succumbed to a one-nil defeat.

The 10 game winning streak came to an end at the Reebok Stadium as the reds were held to a 2-2 draw. This was the start of a minor blip for the reds as they showed signs of their early season form picking up 5 points form a possible 15.

January saw the return of one of Anfield’s greatest sons. God. In his own words, “It is unbelievable, a dream come true for me. I can hardly believe that I am back.”

An F.A. Cup tie away to Luton brought about a very entertaining match that saw Liverpool win a 5-3 thriller. Xabi Alonso scored a spectacular goal from inside his own half that made a lad in Whiston £50,000 richer. A 1-0 against Portsmouth pitted Liverpool against the old enemy in the 5th round. A goal from Peter Crouch in the 18th minute was enough to secure the well deserved victory and put Liverpool through to the quarter finals.

The dip in form continued into March, but Liverpool were still in the race for 2nd place. Losses to Arsenal and Charlton could be down to the games against Benfica in the Champions League. A disappointing one-nil loss in Lisbon left Liverpool with everything to do. The loss of Momo due to a nasty eye injury was a major blow to the reds who have also been without Bolo Zenden for most of the season. The second leg at Anfield was another special night.
With the Anfield crowd in full voice, Liverpool started the stronger team and should have gone ahead when Peter Crouch hit the post early on. But this wasn’t to be Liverpool’s night. We had the better of the possession and had more shots on target but couldn’t find the back of the net.

We will be handing over our title as the Champions of Europe, but old big ears will be staying behind the Shankly Gates forever.

This loss seemed to have hit a nerve with Rafa and his men, as Fulham found out when they came to Anfield. A 5-1 thrashing saw Robbie Fowler get his first goal since his return to Liverpool.

However, this was just the start. Thirteen goals in three games, including a 7-0 smashing of Birmingham in the F.A. Cup quarter final and a 3-1 win against Everton saw Liverpool move into second in the Premiership table. Wins against West Brom, Blackburn and Bolton took us nicely into the semi final against Chelsea. Two excellent goals from Riise and Garcia were enough to start Jose Mourinho whining on that the pitch was too hard or the sun wasn’t at the right temperature.

With the F.A. Cup final in the bag and Champions League football secured for next season, Liverpool could turn there attention to catching Man United and finishing runners-up. Three straightforward victories saw Liverpool set a new club record of 11 straight wins. Unfortunately that wasn’t good enough to catch United who finished a point in front of the reds.

So Liverpool finished the Premiership season in 3rd place with a total of 82 points, only 9 behind the champions. Which, when compared to last season is a vast improvement.

If Rafa can add two or three more players to the current squad, and bring in one or two players from the youth team, Liverpool can push Chelsea and Manchester United to the summit of English football.


Michael Donald (Were Avin Kebabs