Are things really that bad? They must be because we don’t talk any more, I don’t think things have been this bad since the Attack of the JCLs back in the mid-naughties. It’s all shouting, bitching and poking each other with pointed sticks, when all everyone of us needs is a big hug.
Whilst I can’t go that far, I can take you through the five subjects that will enable you to walk up to any ‘tic tomorrow night and start to build bridges, go for it.
Pitching In
There’s not been quite as much fuss made over this as you might expect. It could be down to the club not wanting to draw attention to just how bad the last one had got this time around, it could be because they’re all sat there fingers crossed and hoping that the new one holds together, or it could just be that they’ve come to accept that we’ll need a new pitch every year or two, so it’s best to keep a lid on it.
Whilst Latics games are usually an excuse for the press to play cliché bingo with you, tonight gives you the chance to start your own game. If you want to play honestly make sure you get methane, The Dougy, The Gant, MARSH Green and “it’s all up hill from here” in. If you want to play lazily then just blame it on the rugby.
It’s a must, must, must, must win
For students of the site, that’s one more than last time around, but this time it’s delivered with twice the irony. Of course it’s ridiculous to suggest, just now, that we need to beat a side like Liverpool, we’ll save that one for Stamford Bridge in May, but it would be absolutely ‘boss’ if we did. Another week has gone by without Latics slipping into the bottom three and the right result tomorrow guarantees that the trip to Horwich next weekend will a big one for both teams.
And that’s the big danger. I keep saying that no one down the bottom wants to grasp the nettle, but Bolton and West Ham are trying to sneak off, whilst we’re standing still and it would be good to get some kind of impetus out of this game, no matter how unlikely it seems. We might be stupid to call it a must win game but must perform? Definitely.
Jamie Buggers
It seems a strange time to do it, but Carra seems to be hawking himself about ready for next season. It seems strange that, after giving so much, his time at Liverpool may be on the wane, especially seeing as we’d probably cut off our collective right arm for someone like him. He’s a leader by example and by motivation, someone who obviously cares about his side, about winning and about not conceding goals.
I’d take Carragher at the DW any day of the week. In fact during the first half of the season, when Latics were desperate for someone to grab the rest of the squad by the scruff of the neck, I’d have carried him here on my back, but in Steven Caldwell Bobby reckons we might have filled the gap a little.
“Mario is the captain, in a different way. He won’t tell people off, he won’t shout, he leads by his own actions and example. But Gary Caldwell he tells you. You made that mistake, you had better get back to your level, and all of a sudden you get a reaction. You have a team caring about the next action and that is all it is…
…When we were in the game and controlling things we were okay, but the moment that we went 1-0 down, nobody would take responsibility and say ‘Oi, we had better wake up here.’ We had no leadership and Gary has changed that a lot.”
Crowded out
I’ve no idea what the crowd might be tonight, but I feel safe in predicting it won’t be the biggest that we’ve had against the scousers. Of course a lot of that is due to the ennui sweeping through WN5, but I even reckon that we won’t have as many interlopers in our end. Yes it’s the season where football finally started to realise that us fans aren’t bottomless pits (if by football you read Latics, Blackburn and a couple of others) but most of all the game is on at eight o’clock on a Monday night and that’s just about the shitest time you can have for a football game. Oh, and it’s on tele as well.
Mac the Knife
If recent weeks are anything to go by, Latics cutting edge in this game will be, by and large, provided by a nineteen year old lad who turned down a move to Anfield a couple of years back. Of course that’s going to bring whispers of incredulity from all quarters but look what that decision has done for him.
After all what would you prefer, sitting in the reserves at Liverpool waiting for your contract to run out so you can find someone who’ll give you your chance or actually doing it? In other words, who would you rather be, James McCarthy or Scott Sinclair?
See you at eight boys and girls, until then…
Here’s some easy listening
and some mumbled thoughts
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