Way back in 1965 I officially became a Liverpool supporter. The occasion was the build up to the F.A. Cup final, with Liverpool facing Leeds United. At that time we were living in a small town in the East Midlands, which to the rest of the family up on Merseyside was usually described as “just outside London.” So when the Reds were on their way to Wembley, we were asked by my uncle if he could stay at our place after the final, along with a few of his mates who would be going with him. Of course he took the opportunity to explain why Liverpool were going to win (better players, better manager, better playing style, and on and on) and who was I to disagree? They did eventually realise that our place, which was in fact over two hours’ drive from the big smoke, was not exactly “just outside London” and so the proposed overnight visit didn’t happen.

What I remember of that day was my first ever time watching a match on television, and even though it was a small picture in black and white, I was naturally cheering for the Reds. Of course when I say “Reds” I mean the team in the dark grey shirts who were playing Leeds, who were the team in the light grey shirts. Such were the limitations of black and white television. What I also remember is being bored stiff by the end of the 90 minutes. Somebody (probably a commentator, I don’t remember) tried to explain the extra time rules but I was well past being interested in sitting through any more. The kid who lived next door was out in his back garden and was obviously having so much more fun outside than I was inside and so I went to join him. Meanwhile, his parents and their friends (the male ones at least) were all inside, still glued to their sets waiting for the outcome. Of course I wanted Liverpool to win, and in hindsight I should have watched, but I couldn’t go back once I was out playing. After a while, the back door of my friend’s house opened up and someone yelled “Liverpool have scored.” My friend and I danced around a bit and then got on with the game we were playing. His family were from Sunderland and so he had decided to cheer for the team in red and white, a perfectly good reason in my opinion. A short time later, the door opened again; “Leeds have scored”. Oh. We got on with playing. Another interval and then for what would be the last time, the door opened, “Liverpool have scored.” I knew that there couldn’t be much time left and surely we were going to win. That was the end of our game and so I climbed over the fence and went back into my own living room in time to see Ron Yeats lifting the cup. Of course I had no idea then just how significant that afternoon would be in the rest of my life. Leeds were beaten, but were far from gone away.

Throughout the rest of the Shankly years, Leeds United would be one of our greatest rivals. Both clubs would win trophies, and both clubs would bring in new players to strengthen their squads with the hope of gaining an advantage over the other, and the rest of the league. Our other main rivals were of course Man Ure, Everton, and to some extent Arse-nil (again I’m reminded that some things don’t change). There would be some fierce battles between Liverpool and Leeds along the way with the most famous being the 1974 Charity Shield match between us as FA Cup winners and them as League Champions. Keegan and Bremner were both sent off for exchanging greetings in the most physical of ways. We went on to win that one on penalties, but it was not the most auspicious of ways to say farewell and happy retirement to Shanks.

Liverpool went on to many more honours through the rest of the 70’s and the 80’s while Leeds United struggled to regain their former glory with only a few pieces of silverware by comparison. As the two clubs went through the 90’s, both clubs had fallen in stature as Man Ure and Arse-nil took most of the major honours. The beginning of the new millennium brought a drastic improvement for Liverpool, while Leeds continued to struggle. The difference in the two clubs’ fortunes was clear in 2001 when Liverpool won five trophies and qualified for the Champions League for the following season. That same year could be considered the beginning of the end for Leeds with a gradual decline until their relegation in 2004. But that’s not to say that we didn’t continue to have some classic encounters. One of the most memorable for me, although not for the final result, was the 2001-02 home match against Leeds. Harry Kewell scored for Leeds in front of the Kop to give them a 1-0 lead which stood at the end of the half. As the teams came back out for the start of the second half, Gerard Houllier was noticeable by his absence and the rumours began to fly. It was soon known that Houllier was taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack, which put him out of action for several months. Liverpool came back to equalise with Danny Murphy banging in the rebound after Robbie Fowler had chipped the ‘keeper and bounced it off the crossbar.

If only Robbie had scored that day, there could have been a beautiful symmetry in the events that followed over the next few seasons. For various reasons, which will not be debated here right now, Owen and Heskey were installed as strike partners leaving out Fowler other than as coverage for injuries to the main pair. Once this was clear, Robbie made the difficult decision to leave Anfield at the end of November 2001 and move to Leeds. The decision was made partly to ensure his playing time as he desperately wanted more first team football. Eriksson would soon be choosing the 2002 England squad, and naturally Robbie was hoping to be a part of it.

The move was not as successful as had been hoped, and it was less than a couple of seasons later when Robbie made a move to Manchester City, just over a year later in January 2003. Once there, he had lots of company with other ex-Reds, from manager Kevin Keegan, ‘keeper David James, Steve McManaman, to the one and only Nicolas Anelka. None of these ex-Reds managed to achieve the success that their early potential had promised, including Robbie Fowler who became something of a forgotten man.

Meanwhile, back at Leeds United, the club was falling fast and it was clear that many of their players were unhappy. One of those of interest to the Reds staff was Harry Kewell. The scouting staff had been watching Harry’s progress and as the financial crisis at the club worsened and the inevitable relegation loomed, it was clear that Leeds would have to sell off quite a few of their players. Several clubs were interested in Kewell, including Barcelona, Man Ure and Arse-nil. There was only one possible destination though as Harry made it clear that it was his boyhood dream to play for Liverpool. This was no idle claim, as it has been for so many potential transfer targets. There were pictures of Harry as a young lad in his Liverpool kit, the team that he supported because of fellow Australian Craig Johnston’s success in the 80’s. At the time of his transfer, he was seen as the possible piece of the puzzle that would put the Reds into title contention once again.

Since then, Harry has struggled with injuries and has never quite lived up to his potential as a fast paced attacking midfielder. On top of that it has been really hard for him to deal with the continual complaints about his ability and his commitment, which put him out of favour with many of the fans. Last May he limped off in the first half at Istanbul, which might have been the end of his Liverpool career if the reaction of the press was anything to go by. What has always surprised me is the difference of opinion between the fans and the club management. Gerard Houllier and Phil Thompson were both impressed with his abilities and were delighted to beat Ferguson and Wenger to his signature. Since the summer of 2004 when Rafa took over as manager, several players have come and gone as they were considered to be “surplus to requirements.” Kewell was not one of these, and Rafa has continued to show faith in his abilities. This past summer he went for surgery to correct his problem injuries, with the result that he is almost a new player. That should not be so surprising. In the summer of 2002, Steven Gerrard underwent surgery to correct a groin problem which put him out of the England squad on its way to Japan. Looking at the improvement in Stevie G’s play after that, we can see the results. For Harry Kewell, the improvement has given him an increasingly important role in the squad as Rafa has used him as a left sided attacking midfielder with some good results.

So we come to this past Saturday’s matches. The early match of the day was the Manchester derby, starting at 4:45AM our time. The second match in the broadcast was Liverpool v Tottenham. Of course, the table showed that a loss for Man Ure and a win for us would put us four up on Tottenham and only one back of the mancs, and of course we still have those two games in hand. But of course that won’t be so easy will it? I woke up early, around 6:20, and turned on the TV. It took me a few moments to focus on the screen but there it was! City were leading 2-0 with time ticking away. The commentator soon pointed out that Ronaldo had been sent off earlier and so Man Ure were playing with 10 men. Somehow they pulled one back to make it 2-1 and then pushed for the equaliser. That backfired with an injury-time counter-attack by City, resulting in a three against two break-away, allowing Robbie Fowler to put the match beyond doubt at 3-1.

Part one over and done, bring on part two. The Reds came into this one knowing full well what was at stake, and so did Spurs. Chances for Crouch and Morientes in the first half resulted from a good solid display of passing, with the Reds controlling most of the play. Early in the second half, Spurs almost opened the scoring through Keane after a momentary lapse of defending. Rafa made some tactical changes to re-take control of the match, with Kewell playing a huge part once again. Just short of an hour’s play, Steve Finnan took the ball down the right side and looped in a cross to the far post area. Who should be there to latch onto it but Harry Kewell. As the ball came arcing across, he timed his run to perfection and volleyed it into the kop-end net with such power that it was lucky nobody was in front of it. It happened so fast that I was still sitting in the chair when it went in, instead of being up on my feet as usual before the cross had landed. That was a strike to remember and should be a contender for goal of the season. Kewell was involved in the action again later in the match when he was brought down by Canadian Paul Stalteri, as he was breaking in on goal, resulting in a somewhat harsh sending off for the Canuck. Mission accomplished on our part with our tenth consecutive home clean sheet win, and our twelfth consecutive unbeaten League match. Most importantly, it’s three more points to give us a gap above fourth place and narrow the distance from second to a single point.

Next week’s match at Man Ure could be the determining match as to who finishes second and third by the end of the season. Actually, there are quite a few who say it could be Tottenham in third place, ahead of Man Ure. I was really hoping that our new signing Daniel Agger would be ready for this one, but it looks like Rafa does not plan to use him until at least the F.A. Cup match at Portsmouth. It would have been a dream move to have picked up Simao as well for this one, considering what he did for Man Ure’s European plans, but it looks like that move is off, at least for the rest of the season. Rumours have Danny Murphy unhappy at Charlton, which is not surprising. How about picking him up on loan for a fourth single-goal win over Man Ure?

The heroes of the day were obviously former Leeds United and current Liverpool player Harry Kewell, along with former Liverpool and former Leeds United player Robbie Fowler. A goal each from those two almost provides that beautiful symmetry this time with Leeds United once again at the centre. It’s funny how one club that was so prominent such a long time ago, can still have an effect on the outcome of a couple of this season’s matches. Especially when the club in question has faded from the present picture. As I always say, though, “it’s a funny old game.”

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this is where we'll put little notices and things. Jokes, buy/sell, anything LFC related.

- Neil Mellor is off on loan to Wigan for the rest of the season under the tutelage of Scouser Paul Jewell, all the best to Neil! That goal against Arsenal still lives in the memory (as well as the performance against Olympiakos, 1 goal and 1 assist!)

- still the rumours are flying about Fowler coming back, Simao's transfer has cooled down, and either way we look set for at least one more signing before the end of the month.

- for anyone looking for a Euro LFC jersey, go to bigsoccer.com as they still have stock and they're on this side of the water so the shipping won't kill you. I got mine in 4 days! Just make sure it's a 'gift' to avoid those nasty border charges...

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