Liverpool FC

Walk on through the wind…
Walk on through the rain…
Though your dreams be tossed and blown…
Walk on, walk on…
With hope in your heart…
And you’ll never walk alone…
You’ll never walk alone.
No Liverpool fan will ever walk alone, and no human being will either as long as we have sentiments like this that we can share with the other seven billion (or is it nine billion now) people on the planet. This is why I love Liverpool Football Club, this, and a million other reasons.
By the way if you are Irish, you have to support Liverpool. It’s the Irish team. If you are poor, same thing. If you like loud crowd singing, same thing. If you like intelligent fans (supposedly, not so much anymore), the same. And if you like underdogs, well, we haven’t won the league since 1990 and have a smaller stadium and less money than our top 6 rivals, does that help? And Liverpool is a poorer, run-​down city these days.
Who can forget the days of Shankly, the days of Paisley, Fagan’s magical couple of seasons, or when King Kenny managed us to doubles and titles galore. How about when Gerard got his treble in 2001, with Owen’s 2 late goals against Arsenal in Cardiff. Or perhaps 2005 when LFC won the greatest European Cup Final of all time in Istanbul, to win our British Record 5^th Cup, still unequaled.
What about Gerrard’s 573 yard stunner in Cardiff in the last minute of the game to eventually win us the FA Cup the following season? How about the magic of Barnes and Beardsley, of Torres and Alonso, of Luis Garcia and Hyppia, of Carra and Coutinho, or our most talented player ever — Luis Suarez? What about when we had Steve Heighway on the wing, and dreams and songs to sing, of the glory round the fields of Anfield Road?
Two black marks in our hearts, are when we had a hand in the deaths of 39 Juventus fans in Heysel, and that incident is blood on the hands of all football hooligans, and especially on the hands of UEFA and the authorities. Of course they used it as an excuse to be xenophobic and ban all English clubs from all European competitions for 5 years. They hate us because we’re good (English clubs, not Liverpool — but that too).
The other is of course Hillsborough. If you know the story then you know who is to blame for that and who they tried to blame. But 96 innocent people died because of gross negligence not at one game, but at all games by all authorities and the FA and the government, for a long time. Things have changed a lot now thankfully, but only in the sense that everyone has been priced out of going.
But let’s focus on the positives. Formed in 1892 and one of the world’s most famous teams. The entire stadium bellows out «You’ll Never Walk Alone» before each game, and many other songs during. They have never left the stadium and hopefully never will. They play in all red to 45k. They’re owned by the owners of the awesome Red Sox. There is a Shankly statue out front. There is an eternal flame Hillsborough memorial round back.
Liverpool have won the league 18 times, bettered only by United, though not since 1990. They won the first full season of the 20^th century in 1901, then 06, 22, 23, 47… and then after those 5, the other 13 were won by Shankly, Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish. 66, 73 (Shanks), 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83 (Paisley), 84 (Fagan), 86, 88, 90 (Dalglish). They have won the FA Cup 7 times, 65, 74, 86, 89, 92, 01 and 05. The League Cup 8 times: 81, 82, 83, 84, 95, 01, 03, 2012.
They won the European Cup in 77, 78, 81 (all Paisley), 84 (Fagan), and 2005 under Rafa Benitez. UEFA Cup in 73, 76 and 2001. They won the double only once, under Dalglish in 86. European Double under Paisley in 77, and under Fagan in 84.
They are the greatest team in history. Not just for what they have won but for what they stand for. Hopefully by the time you read this review they will have finally won the league again. 1990 is way too long ago. Brendan Rodgers could be the one to win it for us. Almost did in 2014. Hopefully soon.