So often as we watch our beloved game, its the big matches that disappoint. They’re either dull and slow and overly-cautious, or one team swamps the other and its 5-0. Which can be amusing, depending who’s on the losing end, but its not ‘a great match’, just a lot of goals.

Yesterday’s game between Liverpool and Manchester City was a great game. A great match. It had almost everything. It had first half dominance by Liverpool, it had an amazing second half by City and it had a deciding goal of spectacular quality. It also had one of the 3 errors that the normally immaculate Vincent Kompany makes during an entire season. But he’s not fully fit so arguably may have been better off not playing, dispite his always massive influence on any game. A captain’s influence. As Stevie Gerrard has for Liverpool. For both teams ‘the captain’ is a role almost beyond the player. Its a 12 man (relegating ‘the crowd’ to ‘the 13th man’ then) as both of these guys are brilliant footballers and exemplary captains. 2 in one.

At Spurs we generally give the armband to the player who’s grandmother has a birthday that week. Nice. But loses a vital ingredient. When Arsenal had Tony Adams they won things. Chelsea have John Terry, who, apart from being a vile, scummy, pikey, nasty racist, is in fact a fantastic captain of his team. Even I have to concede that. Reluctantly.

The other factor in yesterday’s big match that elevated it to a ‘thing of greatness’ was the referee. Mark Clattenberg had seemingly made a decision not to award a penalty, and to try and avoid sending anyone off, within reason. Because both of those events detract from the event, and red cards ruin big matches, full stop. Of course there was one slam-dunk penalty that was missed, when Martin Skrtel handled the ball intentionally but no-one saw it (only 47 tv cameras) so who cares?

The second half did at one point degenerate into a diving competition with players leaping around like Nureyevs in the box looking with that pathetic plaintiveness at the ref, who just ignored them. One of Suarez’ many dives at that time really should have been a booking. But as the Uruguayan was already booked ealier, that would have meant sending him off, so Clattenberg just cautioned him.

Unlike in Chelsea’s game when the blue vermin ganged up on their ref, in that horrible way they have, that the FA simply must act to stop, and had a Swansea defender sent off. Horrible.

At the very end of the game at Anfield, Jordan Henderson was sent off, but it was too late to have any effect on the game and no-one can complain about it, even though there was no intention of malice. Just a horrible and careless tackle.

So now Liverpool are really top of the table and its ‘theirs to lose’. Which is so often what teams do. Lose it. Its all a mental game from now on. In fact, its all mental.

Great game

Happy monday

A xxxx