I know it seems like all I ever talk about is football and snow, but there is a reason for this. In order to fully convey what it is to live in England I need to immerse you in the culture and way of life. What I'm actually giving you here is a sociological thesis on the English condition, by writing about the football and the weather. It doesn't get more English then that.
So as the snow of winter has been banished and replaced by a strange sort of daily glow that burns your eyes and hurts your head (I looked it up on Wikipedia, apparently its called the sun) We have hit the last 8 games of the Premier League season. Having become the best team in the world by virtue of beating the winners of the FIFA Club World Cup in the previous home game, Fulham looked forward to a visit from a rampaging Liverpool whose last three games had all been big wins againt quality opponents: 4-1 v Real Madrid in the Champions League, 4-1 v Man Utd at Old Trafford and 5-0 against Aston Villa, until recently placed 4th in the Premier League. Liverpool's form and Man Utd's two losses in a row has also reignited the Premier League season by closing their lead over Liverpool to 1 pt (albeit with a game in hand) and in fact if Liverpool beat Fulham they would, at least temporarily be back on top of the Premier League table.
Liverpool warming up
Xabi Alonso shoots and hits the bar
Dickson Etuhu and Xabi Alonso
Torres tackled
Stevie G gets to the ball first. Fulham captain Danny Murphy was a
Liverpool player until Stevie G emerged to take his place.
Stevie G too good again
Stevie G gets to the ball first. Fulham captain Danny Murphy was a
Liverpool player until Stevie G emerged to take his place.
Stevie G too good again
Schwarzer denies Liverpool again
While Pepe Reina toches the ball for the first time
Rafa watches AJ sit on Kuyts face
And the celebrations begin
As a life long Liverpool supporter . . . . . What? sorry, didn't you realise that my new found love of Fulham FC has basically begun this season. They will forever be etched in my mind and heart as my second favourite team, consolation prize I know but its the best they can hope for compared to over 20 years of waiting for Monday's paper to deliver me scores 36 hours old (the old media), staying to listen to games on the radio then finally being able to watch games at 2 o'clock on a Sunday morning. I'd put in the hard yards supporting my team. And my main motivation for becoming a season ticket holder was to see Liverpool play. Strangely though, a season watching a side play also builds up quite a bond, so I had strangely mixed feelings watching my sides battle it out. Of course I was sitting in the Fulham home supporters section, so had to hide my Liverpool allegiance, but I was actually happy to cheer and sing in all the right places. Liverpool dominated the game, could have been 4-0 up at half time if not for the goal posts, but the game reached injury time after 90 minutes with the game still locked at 0-0. Then 2nd half sub Yossi Benayoun scored with barely seconds to go and I hide my delight from the crestfallen Fulham fans around me. Most could admit though that they had been beaten by a better team on the day. I was just happy that Liverpool were back on top of the table.
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