I Love Football!

Sunday 26th February underlined why football is the national sport of our country. The day could have been presented as any other, three Premier League games, with one ‘super’ encounter between North London’s finest, along with a Cup Final that allegedly no-one takes any interest in. How they were all wrong. The day revolved around some fantastic matches, all producing their own little sub-plots and stories. I personally found it extremely tough to decide which of the games was the ‘match of the day’, because two of them ended up being huge contenders!

Personally, I am going to say the League Cup Final shaded it. 120 minutes of entertaining football was produced, with the result swinging both ways throughout. The penalty shoot-out that finally determined the winner itself was also unpredictable. All ten penalties were taken, and only five were scored, and of the five that were missed, only one required a save. What a save it was though – Tom Heaton is unlikely to produce a better one in his career, particularly as it was against such an established player, like Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool captain once again however demonstrated his inability to succeed from twelve yards when the pressure is really on. You had to feel for Cardiff at the end; in reflection of the game as a whole, they probably were second-best, but that was expected being a division lower than the five-time European champions. However, their endeavour, graft and underdog status made you believe that they deserved their chance in the penalty lottery. In fact, you could easily argue that they had the better chances to win it in normal time – firstly Ben Turner heading wide before Kenny Miller drove over the top at the death when he should have at the very least hit the target. It was a memorising game and showed how much the Cup does actually mean to clubs when they get far in to the competition. Silverware is silverware after all and the Merseysiders have now confirmed their appearance in Europe next year. Usually this would not matter too much but the fact Newcastle’s resurgence shows no sign of waning, there is a likelihood one of England’s ‘big’ clubs could be absent from all European competitions next year.

This leads up nicely on to the Premier League and the crazy North London derby that happened. For probably one of the first times in an extremely long time, Spurs were considered favourites going into the game, and after taking a 2-0 lead, it looked like their dominance over Arsenal was being truly underlined. What followed though came from nowhere and demonstrated you should not write off The Gunners just yet. Some are calling it one of the best Premier League comebacks ever. I tend to think this is a slight exaggeration. Yes it was unexpected, but Arsenal were on level terms by half-time and had hardly been performing poorly in the opening forty minutes of the match. What it could result in though is acting as the catalyst in turning Arsenal’s season around. It is now accepted by their fans that silverware once again won’t be entering the Emirates trophy cabinet but if they can have a surge towards the end of the season, guaranteeing Champions League football, then you would hope they can persuade Robin Van Persie to sign a new contract. Otherwise it’ll be another summer of trying to get the best price for their most talented player. The alternative argument to the side having an upsurge in form though (which would act as a complete role reversal to last season) is that it strengthens Arsene Wenger’s view that his squad is still competent enough to perform, subsequently leading to him not strengthening the clearly inferior squad he currently has at his disposal.

One man who certainly does not have an inferior squad compared to his rivals is Sir Alex Ferguson. His side are certainly not in any flourishing form at the moment, but they are continuing their knack of still securing wins. This weekend it was ensured through a veteran of the many sides that Sir Alex has had over the years. Ryan Giggs marked his 900th Manchester United appearance with a late winner and demonstrated how trusty and reliable he still is for the club. The match also contained a goal from Paul Scholes, who having returned from retirement is beginning to display the sort of form that makes you think his decision in the summer was somewhat premature. I imagine his return will certainly have made Giggs have serious thoughts as to when he will end his career as it is a certainty that it will be at United. Despite the tabloid and super-injunction fiasco that he was involved in which led to a slightly damaged reputation to his previous clean-cut, perfect image, the man still holds enormous respect throughout the game and is a player all clubs would have in a flash. His winner has ensured that the title race continues to remain neck-and-neck and in my opinion, is one that could go right down to the last day of the season, although the result of the second Manchester derby of the season will be massive in determining the champions.

I have not even mentioned the bouncebackability of Stoke against the fancy footballers of Swansea, and yet there is still tons more that could be spoken about from this special day of football. Goals, entertainment, winners and losers, they all contribute to the beautiful game. The game has its heroes, along with its villains and the fickleness of fans means a player can swing to the opposite side in no time at all. The adulation and despair that supporters feel; the hope for something special, again are all contributors to the game millions of us love to be a part of and follow. Just think what our lives would be like without football. I can only consider it to be worse. It is for all these reasons that I can sum up this post in three easy words: I love football.