Terrace Talk: Liverpool - The rest of the season was always going to be like working your notice

And so the procession begins. Not terribly impressive so far, but leave the nit-picking to others. For now.
Terrace Talk: Liverpool - The rest of the season was always going to be like working your notice

Liverpool's Curtis Jones (right) celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the gameCarl Recine/NMC Pool/PA Wire.
Liverpool's Curtis Jones (right) celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the gameCarl Recine/NMC Pool/PA Wire.

And so the procession begins. Not terribly impressive so far but leave the nit-picking to others. For now.

Anyway, hello fellow champions; and how long will that take to get boring?

For us, quite a while I suspect. It’s not been ideal, not being able to celebrate together and thank this team for everything they’ve done, but you’re alive to see it and that’s something.

There are plenty who now want to get on with planning next season, whenever that may be. So long as Klopp and the owners are doing that, we shouldn’t sweat it too much. Savouring’s the thing.

The rest of the season was always going to be strange, a bit like having to work your notice. The temptation to coast must be enormous. It’s not as though this season wasn’t surreal enough already.

It’s bad news for anyone who was looking to Liverpool for a favour. Plenty of other things still to be settled, obviously.

There was a very brief snigger about television’s big Premier climax being prematurely ejaculated. Super Thursday with nothing riding on it in front of an empty stadium wasn’t exactly what they’d had in mind.

Still, they could get their panties in a knot about guards of honour and all that rot and I suppose City’s 'statement of intent' gave them something to sink their bloodthirsty fangs into.

We were like that at the Etihad three years ago. Made a good start, missed chances, got caught out – and Mane went missing for most of this one too. Gomez was stupid, and still has some way to go before convincing everyone.

Matip is injury prone, Lovren is Lovren (he almost Twitter-jinxed the Chelsea-City game that delivered the title) so maybe whatever money there is can land a partner for Van Dijk worthy of the name?

Klopp was apoplectic afterwards, mostly about suggestions we took it easy or lacked professionalism. There was some actual truth in that, but City can do this to anyone and if you don’t take your chances… Just remember we kept that team at arm’s length all season, following on from virtually matching them last time.

And so back to Anfield, desolate but still looking magnificent. Sounding, not so much. That goal music business is toe-curling, you’ve got to keep your eye on them 24/7 or they will sneak anything in. While the cat’s away, as they say.

Behind all the title euphoria, don’t ever forget these are multi-million-pound businesses who have taken a gigantic hit. Don’t think for one moment they won’t try it on every single chance they get.

Of course, if there’s enough protest we’ll get the usual whoops apology and climbdown, something LFC have become remarkably proficient at. Practise makes perfect.

Villa were struggling before lockdown, most of them were in that part of the table obviously. The subsequent wretched results might make a cynic think they all expected the season to be cancelled, but let’s be charitable and say everyone’s just woeful.

Being spanked by City put everyone on the spot, with talk of shines being taken off and whatnot. You can hardly say the performance against Villa eased any ultimately irrelevant tensions.

You worry about changes, have done all year. It’s an excellent first choice team, but sometimes Klopp’s use of the squad is not what it could be.

Hardly his fault, because if he can’t choose these players against a team in 18th place, when can he?

Klopp’s body language is getting x-rated at times. Maybe it’s for show, but I wouldn’t bet on it. This was excruciating stuff, comical at times but at least in a position to laugh it off. In a way.

Then we scored, so all’s well that ended. The ref was poor, the weather also, but should that have been the leveller it turned out to be?

I’m glad I was this irritated, anyway. All this sunshine thinking isn’t good for you.

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