This is ‘Hellrazors’ story of what it was like in the ‘treble’ season – what he got up to following the Reds on their glorious campaign. This is his story, the memories and the cultural experiences that goes along with it!
A story of, winning, jobs, money, night college, golf, drink, celebrations and above all our treble season.
A FILE SAVE AND READ LATER JOB. ITS LONG.
The season kicks off with another summer of wheeling and dealing. Markus Babbel’s move had been cemented months ago. Another bosman transfer is the Leicester keeper Pegguy Arphexad. The 3rd bosman raises eyebrows. 35 year old gary mcallister joins from Coventry in place of the promising david Thompson who moves in the opposite direction. With garys career coming to an end it”
s a surprise and many are confused even if he is seen by many as the perfect foil for the younger members of the squad. Houllier wasn”
t finished shocking us as he spends 6 million to bring nick barmby across from Stanley park. ”
you would swear he has changed religion”
comments houllier in a pre season press conference. The other signing is the auxerre winger Bernard diomede. 3 million enough to buy the French world cup winner.
Leaving is David Thompson to Coventry for ”
2.5 million which raises eyebrows considering his replacement was mc allister and that he was considered to have a bright future. Dominic Matteo, phil babb, brad friedel and stig bjornebye all left the club. Matteo for ”
4.5m to leeds the only fee as houllier let the other leave for free. The first person I spoke to about it said ”
4.5m id have taken 4 quid hes shite!”
As the season wore on several players had played their last game for the club. Erik meijer moved to hamburg on a free transfer, and frustrated at lack of first team chances titi camara and rigobert song joined West Ham in exchange for bright young starlet Daniel sjolund. By Christmas steve Staunton joined villa for free.
The week before I got my final exams results. (They were not bad but not exactly mind blowing. It didn”
t bother me,) id managed to get a full time job. A 17 year old whose wallet was beginning to explode, and most of it used as beer budget aswell as saving for a new Liverpool shirt and phone.
So I look forward to the season, excited by last seasons improvement, some good signings, the inevitable optimism at the seasons birth and my new job. By the time Bradford come to anfield im still trying to learn the ropes in my job and I spend my Saturday and new improved salary(no more toilet cleaning) on the golf course teeing off at 2. I cheekily sneak out my mobile(ya wanna see it, brick is an understatement) during a mid game break, the coke bottles and mars bar snacks out to get us through, I frantically try to switch my phone to silent before texting the network and learning we have taken the lead against the team who had denied us champions league football and who had lost their inspirational AND FAT manager. We hold out for 1-0, 3 points on the board thanks to heskey. The 11m man still finding his feet at anfield.
On we go to highbury to defend an excellent record against the gooners. They not only score against us for the first time in 4 years they also beat us. Clumsy referee graham poll sends off hamann and gary mac, the latter raising doubts about his supposed influence. (I can imagine what the mb would have had if it was around). A 2-0 defeat on a Monday night game while I go to me footer dreading the inevitable loss after gary mac was sent off as I was leaving my house.
Its back to the golf on Saturday, the mobile is left behind in the lockers and when I finish up I read the scores. I can remember that particular day there was a lot of goals in the epl, 6 of them in our visit to the dell. Im surprised to see 3-3, us supposed watertight defence? I snap when my dad picks me up and informs me that we were 3 up with 8 minutes left.
”
JESUS CHRIST”
”
GIVE THAT UP YOU”
”
NO THAT”
S SHITE”
, grrrrrr, the uncaged animal inside of hellrazor is released.
Then September kicks off midweek with villa. Its strange but I kinda feel a part of me died when the season started, in school I kept up with every premier league score but when work started that didn”
t happen. I was kind of sad in a way, but still I was enjoying life immensely, work was like school without homework and free from those shackles I made my own rules so I could finally enjoy and sit back and relax and watch us play in peace without worrying bout some exam on the Monday. In the year of my finals I reckon I might have saw about 4 games at the most. But the villa game I enjoyed on match of the day and a first half hattrick from owen gets the job done. During the week I purchase the away gold shirt. Its xxl but as the shirts sold very fast in Ireland it was all I could find and promptly stuck Hyypia 12 on the back, it becomes my good luck shirt and now ITS LEGENDARY.
Whilst im out on the golf course the following Saturday, Mickeys at it again as we beat man city. City score 2 in a minute to level at 2-2 before didi hamann seals it in the dying seconds. It”
s a joy to hear it on the radio going home after the lame club house members make stay for a boring speech whilst my da waits impatiently in the car park as I try to get out. The line of
”
my names Brendan dyer, and I can tell you when I started here I was dyer”
JESUS CHRIST MATE GET YOUR BLEEDIN COAT AND GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. The seasons has started very well, 10 points from 5 games, were out the box relatively unscathed. Unfortunately in my focus on work and Liverpool id forgotten to look for a date for me debs, too much on but you can insert your mockings here. It”
s the night we play at rapid Bucharest and ive left it too late so I go on my own. A couple of women there did feel sorry for me but I make the best of it.
”
awwwww god on your own?”
”
yeah but ive more money for me to go and get drunk :-D”
Im dressed up like a movie star I sit with a few mates as I run round the hotel like a lunatic trying to find a score(match, not women for once). A guy tells me were 2-0 up. Nice one.
”
razor any score?”
”
yeah 2 up, and zeiges playing instead of dipshit traore”
(zeige had joined from Middlesboro for 5.5m in a very drawn out transfer and replaced the hitherto idiotic frenchman)
Of course we only win 1-0 so the barman high tails it before I can wring his neck. I get absolutely drunk beyond belief. How I pulled that night I will never know, by the end of the night I wouldn”
t have been able to pick her out of a line up. I swore id never drink again after that. I had easily the worlds worst hangover, gave back the wrong blazer. Picture this, a guy 6ft with the biggest blazer in the year handing in a top that belongs to a guy 5ft 5. Don”
t ask how I got away with that, I”
d tell you if I knew.
My stomach hasn”
t recovered by Sunday when I forget were playing West Ham. Im still recovering and after being dragged out on Saturday night I spend most of Sunday in me mates gaff, I find out on the way home that a gerrard goal gave us a 1-1 draw. The following Saturday my new obsession is now championship manager. The game means I wait til full time to find it”
s a 1-1 draw at home to sunderland with owen equalizing and with us inspired by diomede(honest). Uefa cup football takes over again, a few pre match pints after work are the order, before I leg it home and almost fall asleep in a dull 0-0 draw whilst trying to cover up that im fairly merry from earlier affairs and blame the (GAA) match for making me look sleepy. 0-0 against Bucharest sends us to round 2.
October opens up with me watching arsenal play united as our spanking at Chelsea is not shown, I fail to believe the sight of sander punching into his own net whilst looking to try and con a free to hide his blindingly obvious faux paux and inevitable embarrassment. We slip to 7th, our lowest league position of the season. League duty takes a forward step as Michael owen and emile heskey take a role reversal. As heskey scores the first owen suffers a concussion, he doesn”
t play again for 6 games. Heskey goes on to score 3 with patrik berger netting the 4th. Our first league away win at derby. Heskey suddenly explodes to sink his ex team Leicester in a 1-0 win (I catch the goal exhausted after watching real Madrid and Barcelona, a mighty fine exhibition of football and a match I actually should have gone to, although im not corporate enough to be considered”
”
)and then scores a late winner to defeat slovan liberec after fowler misses a penalty, I miss the goal cos of me mas fucking gardening programmes. Hes at it again then as he, nick barmby and paddy berger sink Everton 3-1 at anfield. Gravesens red card sees Everton finish with 10 men.
An exhausting 8 match run in november begins with heskey getting harshly sent off for ”
fouling”
bogarde(remember him) in a 2-1 worthington cup win at home to Chelsea thanks to goals from Murphy and fowler. Saturday sees us off early. I flick on the teletext to check other matters and hear in the backround that hyypia headed home at elland road for 1-0. I try to figure out when in the past hyypia scored at leeds before it dawns on me that its live and were 1-0 up, it becomes 2 thanks to zeige but the goat of a left back hands it to mark viduka and his 4 goals sees us lose 4-3(no word of a lie, zeige in german means goat). patrik berger then has knee surgery which is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season. The week improves with heskey, barmby and the returning owen seeing off liberec 3-2 in a typical early round scrappy European game usually on some foreign station no one has but you go to the pub anyway and listen on the radio if you have to, even if the commentator sounds like hes in a shoebox. A heskey brace and the first of the season for mcallister and one from gerrard gives us an emphatic 4-1 at home to Coventry featuring another afternoon of championship manager. Funniest is me mate trying to flog a dog for a fiver that followed him home. Think the dog got scared off I remember correctly.
The following Sunday we lose at spurs despite fowler giving us the lead. I drink in a fairly country like pub. Im not in the mood for a major session and cos I couldn”
t find my wallet im buying drink with borrowed money, its enough to wonder are we ready for the uefa cup cauldron of olympiakos. 4 hours before I leave for home my brother rings me to see if im going to the meeting
”
what fucking meeting”
”
bout the house”
”
what the bleeding fuck are ya on about”
”
david stop messing”
”
jesus just tell me for fucks sake!”
Ive a meeting bout buying me sisters gaff(it didn”
t come to fruition) and no one bothered to tell me. One thing in my family is im told bleedin nothing, me ma has told everyone bar me.
”
IVE A MEETING AND WHY WASN”
T I TOLD ABOUT IT”
”
so are you going or what?”
”
that”
s not the point”
* SNAP *
”
what is then?”
”
THE POINT IS WHY WASN”
T I FUCKING TOLD ABOUT IT”
”
give that up and calm down”
”
I WONT FUCKING CALM DOWN RIGHT, IM NEVER TOLD FUCKING ANYTHING”
The meeting is rather rushed, the guy asks me
”
do you smoke?”
”
no”
”
Do you drink”
”
no”
”
”
”
”
..”
I nearly explode laughing which he misses as me brother and sister try their best not to laugh. Anyway I manage to get to a pub and watch nick barmby give us a first half lead when me ma picks me up at half time (so much for a piss up) and I miss the entire second half as me sister wants me to set up voicemail on her phone, for fucks sake! I end up forgetting bout the game until me brother rings me locked to say it ended up 2-2.
At the weekend I get highlights of us losing a 3rd league game in a row away from home at Newcastle with heskey the scorer. It ruins the delight of watching arsenal lose 1-0 to leeds the same day (our highlights are shown later). Frustration is taken out on stoke in the Worthington cup. I sit at home and I knew we were 3 up and impatiently wait to check the teletext(which at times is better than the internet) and choke violently
”
JESUS CHRIST”
”
stop cursing you”
”
look!!!!!!!”
8 feckin 0, im in shock and am well pleased, fowler scores 3 times with hyypia, zeige, Murphy, babbel and smicer also scoring. Happy days.
On we go to December. A 3-0 win at home to Charlton keeps us in 4th. A mate told me later in the week he was at the game and that we were pants. I didn”
t care, (IF THERES ONE THING I WANT TO TEACH PEOPLE, ITS THAT IT AINT HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME ITS WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE) but am silently concerned as to whether we”
ll play champions league football next year. I manage to finish me xmas shopping in time to watch us beat lackluster olympiakos 2-0 thanks to heskey and barmby and atleast one cup will have meaning for a while as we head on in Europe. Ipswich then defeat us at anfield as I spend the day at me dads xmas shindig (not much of a mega party). The only bright spot is the promising debut of igor biscan. He certainly looks good and its all the respite I can take.
My xmas party then is the night of the fulham game, they take us to extra time and no woman looks at me (unfortunately a gay fella did go for me, I nearly fucking killed him and had to be restrained from putting him in a coma. ) as I spend the whole night on the phone desperate to find the score. Im also pacing myself big time as my boss sits right next to me. We end up winning 3-0 and of further discomfort is the news of the roma game. My 2nd fave team, loyalties are not in question but still its not a draw I wanted.
Next up is old Trafford. I decide not to drink cos I don”
t need no dutch (gold J) courage to face these. Andy gray sees it as a chance to turn the season around and he is right.
”
they should be sitting in the dressing room thinking what a great opportunity this is”
words of a prophet!
Danny isn”
t up to it, his pass lands on some guys prawn sandwich and blots the mancs wine list so when I see him try a 35 yarder I think
”
oh no he”
ll put it in maine road”
.
He forces a save though and I start to feel confident. Heskey then has it cleared off the line before gary Neville falls for the trick of actually believing the away end that hes playing volleyball and hands a goal to superdan. Luke ”
I fell out of the ugly tree”
Chadwick then illegally halts a brilliant run from smicer.
”
send him fucking off”
”
sit down or go home and get out”
”
no, he had from the half way line,,,,,,yeah that”
s it get off you ugly cunt!”
We win and as xmas comes along I watch the 2nd half of us trouncing arsenal 4-0. All English scorers, gerrard, owen and barmby(jesus Christ isn”
t barmby fucking brilliant! is all I can say about him) and what many think is fowlers last goal as its confirmed Chelsea have had a 12m bid accepted. It falls through and then in typical Liverpool inconsistent fashion we go lose at Middlesboro as im on me way to kerry. D”
OH
My bud intake over xmas though triggers off a wheat allergy and I cant force meself to drink Guinness so im dry for the Southampton game, (Guinness is slop) and that swine soldvedt tries to ruin it only for our saviour babbel to come to the rescue. We get a late win. The fa cup kicks off in another championship manager day. 10 of us do it thanks to heskey(2) and hamaan in a 3-0 win over rotherham. Me da informs me
”
that gobshite was sent off!
”
narrow it down will ya!”
me again: ”
oh smicer”
”
ye”
turns out to biscan, and in the same week we sign the jariman, jari litmanen joins, im elated, proven talent yet it sparks the fowler rumours again. He helps the away goal in a 2-1 defeat at palace in the Worthington cup semis as I spend the night in poxy night college.
Champ manager then gets me through the next game with villa, an impressive 3-0 win keeps us in 5th. Im busy for the 0-0 draw with Middlesboro cos it”
s the same day as me 18th. Half me mates (1″
.) don”
t turn up but I get out to a club and spot a guy in a Liverpool shirt. He informs me he was at anfield and warns
”
the sooner we get rid of litmanen the better hes crap!”
OH DEAR, Im worried now. So now that I can get legally pissed its unwise of me to miss the semi with palace for poxy night college but ive no choice, I do however skive off to see fowlers late goal in a 5-0 win meaning a trip to Cardiff is on the horizon. Its then too early for me (ive hardened since I swear) to drink for the leeds game but the goals from barmby and heskey lift me off my seat big time. Barmbys is class (id have loving to be there at elland road) and heskeys leads me to a victory dance! BLISS!
January ends with a 1-1 draw at city. Our league form needs to emulate cup form or were doomed. (more fucking night college)
It does against West Ham, im too sick however to appreciate it cos of a really bad flu which keeps me out of work for 3 days plus a weekend. I cant even move my eyes and promptly beg someone to start a petition to amputate my head (still gathering speed). We then stay 3rd thanks to a lucky draw at sunderland.
”
was it a penalty dave?”
says an anti Liverpool fan referring to the foul on mcallister, but as I show him fowlers ”
goal”
I nail him
”
well was that offside then?”
moral win!
Then its off to rome. Im off to a ”
1 a pint night, I get stuck in work though and stay at home for first half before legging it for the second. It sets the night up, although my stomach is still in knots cos of the match leading me to leg it to the club toilet. Unfortunately 20 women decide to go to the mens! (if it was other way around I bet id be arrested! SEXIST!”
.. ) When they realize why I got sick they let me away with it (wasn”
t drunk at the time I swear!) but a punt a pint night on top of Michaels 2 goals sinking roma is really a good night. Sammi and stephane were as bad as the ignorant bouncers I encountered cos no one got in to score(best pun I can think of for a night club and game). I have to tie it in cos I was just in the door of the club when I overheard the cashier and bouncer.
”
him there with the jacket?”
”
yeah that”
s him”
The bouncer tried to drag me out and began roaring at me.
”
you think your funny do ya?”
”
what the fuck are ya talking about?”
”
I saw you sneaking by there and trying to get away without paying in”
”
excuse me I didn”
t do that”
”
I saw you im not stupid”
”
I paid in!”
”
wheres your receipt then?”
, it had been chucked in me wallet but was lost amid used bus tickets, ”
cmon where is it?,,, ah ah no this cant happen”
”
THERE!”
”
oh, oh, er, right im very sorry sir try have a good night and”
”
(I realize the table has turned)
”
yeah right, not you get your ass out of the way you son of a bitch!”
I meet a few new friends in paddy and eddie as we watch us beat man city 4-2 in the fa cup. Then it”
s a nervous match with roma. The referee doesn”
t help and I really begin to worry when guigou scores. Babbel then has a face of doom conceding the ”
penalty”
we look done for until the ref changes his mind, were in the quarters thanks be to jaysus considering I thought we were gone with the ”
penalty”
. In come Birmingham, I leg it home from me first driving lesson ever and Eddie comments in the pub
”
fowler, why they start him hes crap, I swear to ”
”
”
”
..”
”
FOWLERS HIT FOWLERS GOAL”
eddie is mobbed. He hands over the money at 90 mins(blatant jinx) to concede defeat when the match is then taken to penalties. The wager is off again in extra time so in the penalties we come down to hamann who misses, I feel sorry for him as he played so well, when I see zeige I panic
”
no not that donkey”
he scored.
”
oh god no not carragher ”
he scores and westerveld saves. At last a trophy, all I keep saying, 6 years, 6 fucking thanks be to god its over! A trophy is in the bag.
We are then brought back to earth with a poor defeat at Leicester. Its gets worse, lent comes around and I go off the drink!!!!!!!!! Its very bad then having to look at a poxy 0-0 draw in porto as me mates wont ring knowing I hate talking on the phone during a game, even if u2 tickets are going on sale that weekend. Sunday comes with an at times professional attitude and win over tranmere. The image however of a guy walking around the clubhouse in the golf club with pee stains on his trousers though is stomach turning. I ring a mate after the game and me da however shouts me as the chef is there with me dinner whilst pissy trousers stays in sight.
A 2-0 win over porto despite their right back pretending to be dead see us in the semis where we have Barcelona”
”
I fall off the wagon for paddys day and my hangover is not helped by a lousy draw at home to derby. My brother then puts an interest charge for me slane ticket to see u2. I tell him hes a bastard READ THIS BRO YA TOSSER! A win over Man United however eases the pain even if im by now back on the wagon. Unfortunately it doesn”
t help my weight as every gym and football ground is closed cos of foot and mouth. Despite going off drink I put on a stone in 3 weeks whilst foot and mouth gives an explanation for biscan and smicer. March ends well though as I said againsy the scum, paddy berger returns and Robbie fowler and Steven Gerrard destroy Man United 2-0 despite danny Murphy seeing red ”
10 men we only had 10 men”
.
April begins with a total shut out at barcelonas nou camp. I don”
t feel well when I read bout gerrard in the paper
”
oh god I think ill be on the toilet most of tomorrow night, ill be using all the loo roll Id say!”
THANKS STEVIE I REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW THAT. Im shaking like hell for the whole game. It gets worse, I munch in to my dinner and I hear a crunch. My ma then begins to tell me that she dropped a glass while making the dinner and I realize ive just ate glass, ouch! Its backs to the wall all night and a 0-0 draw in a crap game is something im dead happy with. Not exactly one of those ties where you think ”
get a draw then stuff em at home”
its barca after all but no damage is done.
Again I take a few quid off paddy as heskey and Robbie get us Cardiff
tickets thanks to a win over wycombe in the cup semi final at villa park. Another final. Champs league football however is slipping away thanks to a draw at Ipswich and defeat at home to leeds on good Friday. I miss it as we have to play catch up in poxy night college which I make up my mind to walk out on at the years end. Gerrard also sees a red card. All or nothing now as we go to Everton. Im off the wagon again so I get cans in for the game. An Everton fan sees me and he asks me for a lend of a can
”
sorry brian I only have 10″
”
”
1-1 at half time with a smash and grab from heskey. Markus babbel then plays terry mcdermott to run 70 yards and smash home number 2. fowler then misses a penalty before biscan gets sent off, even though I called him a donkey the replay shows minimal contact with the player! Then the ref loses it giving a ridiculous penalty to Everton who level it at 2-2 with us at 10 men. SO WE THREW ON VIGNAL ,,,,. Hes fouled and mcallister whose earlier free kick saw a hyypia header saved well tries an audacious move. I watch it almost in slow motion
”
what?”
”
whats he shooting for?”
”
the fucking eejit”
”
OH JAYSUS THAT”
S GONE IN”
my goddaughter buries her head however frightened at my ecstatic joy. Shes never seen that side of me but a Liverpool match turns me into an uncaged animal and im overjoyed to realize that a win here has given us hope for the champions league.
Its then on to Barcelona. Ive given blood earlier in the day so I cant drink”
. and I sit at home as intense as ever. Anfield was as noisy as hell. I expected it to die down but the crowd were just up for it. Id never heard it so noisy, even my dad who has seen us win 4 european cups and witnessed the st. etienne and other European nights cant quite believe the atmosphere. Hyypia and henchoz were showing just why they will one day be mentioned in the same breath as Hansen, lawrenson, smith, yeats and Hughes. The sight of kluivert prancing through midfield and hyypia then coming out of nowhere knocking him in the air with a crunching challenge letting the dutchman know that he was in for a hard time is a pleasing thing to see. Rivlado however is intimidating, every time he got the ball I was scared. Theres very few players in the world who do that. He hit a 60 yard shot with such unbelievable power and accuracy that westerveld had to be at his best. Then kluivert at half time decided he”
d practice the role of the windmill that”
s at the start of Thomas the tank engine and stupidly handled in the box. Mcallister held his nerve and was now showing indeed his true value to the squad. We held on with a great display of guts and effort and could have scored more. A great european night. I celebrate in an empty pub despite giving a pint of blood earlier and my handle for the drink has gone down due to going on the wagon and the blood donation. I somehow grab a second before I leave home to realize that this is indeed a special night even if the pub is dead.
I can afford to celebrate but the players have to entertain a young injury depleted spurs on Sunday. For once I decide to study despite a huge disillusion in night college. But im well aware of the job done by emile heskey, Robbie fowler and gary mcallister et al in a 3-1 win moving us to 5th. The next Saturday gary mac is at it again, I take a break from championship manager to just miss hyypias headed goal but am in in time for gary macs goal. Mcallisters lack of joy is shades of denis law, he knows hes effectively condemned Coventry to nationwide league football. He then scores another splendid free kick at Bradford, his 5th in 5 and together with Michael owen a 2-0 win sees off the doomed bantams. Im now starting to believe champions league footer is on the way. After the game with Coventry I just got that feeling. Luck was on our side. 3rd place was going to be ours.
Michael owen then begins to find his scoring boots as he smashes 3 past Newcastle, his favorite opposition. 3rd place is within our grasp. A win over Chelsea is all that”
s needed to confirm it. A night is spent anxiously infront of the teletext. Owen again fails to disappoint. He scores twice but jimmy floyd hasselbaink matches him and in the last game at anfield til next august hasselbaink keeps us on edge scoring and then dancing around the goal like a fudge packing fruit. So after 60 games its down to the nitty gritty. The finals. The players for me needed the win over Chelsea. It was bad enough playing arsenal and knowing alaves were waiting days later in the uefa final but a dodgy match at the valley also awaited us. This surely had to be on our minds.
It came to cup final day, the sun was boiling down, only out of the shower and sweating, 10 to 3, on went hyypia 12, on the jeans and down the local, we rode our luck, henchoz played makeshift keeper, arsenal supporters wet themselves as I kept berating smicer, then ljungberg scored, we werent in the game and i sat thinking
“jeez what do i do for the rest of the night, we are gone, i wont cry like a young 13 year old in 96 but boy this is a downer, ”
Sir Michael responded, holy shit thats in , were level, from then on there was only one winner, berger and fowler are on running riot, sammi holds station almost single handedly at the
back, as i taunt arsenal
“ha your fucked, smicer gone off, your
done for”, owen some how squeezed in a winner.
I stood in the pub right in the middle, both hands high up in the air, its in weve won it, I dont believe it, the whole pub were watching me, and I felt like their leader,
“dad this is just one of those days innit, its just magic”
I rang me brother and a few mates, the celebrations went on, my mum was shocked to see me, the lads say
“cmon back down later, well save champagne for you”
she says
“your too drunk, you have a job and your not gonna be able for it”
“wah”
“babysitting”
“woo hoo, back down the pub so”, she couldnt stop me,
“ill be back home at 4″
No champagne but hell, what a night, up the club, I some how got in with a really dodgy ID, (id forgotten me licence, i was 18)
he let me in anyway
”
get something better next ime but go on anyway”
. I expected the jibes of ”
pool scum”
, but no, the whole place just took me to their hearts.
The dj say “people i wanna play a song for this man”
“who i says”
on came youll never walk alone, people came up “well done, hyypia is magic”
The match with arsenal takes a lot out of everyone, the fans are smashed broke, hungover and emotionally spent. The players are battered physically and mentally before we play the crafty alaves. Another last minute sucker punch drains us further before ecstacy and celebrations take over after gary macs free kick.
I had the superstition of wearing my Hyypia 12 shirt for every game and it hadnt been washed for a while due to the insane amount of fixtures, come Saturday I had drank, sweated, danced and got so TIRED”
”
”
I slept in it.
Sunday I stuck it in the washbasket and to sweat some of the alcohal out I messed around with me weights, fortunately I had the whole week off work and on Monday I went nuts with the weights and really trained like a lunatic to get ready for a 90 minute match that night and then forgot to warm down,
So when I woke up on Tuesday my entire upper body was completely battered, my arms, shoulders, chest and back were really sore and I was not looking forward to Wednesdays round of golf, and I of course had not recovered in time but went ahead anyway, and things weren”
t too bad and I even parred the 14th, but by then I just couldn”
t take anymore. I must have had a 80 year old body cos after that I was just in too much pain to play properly, (and britney wasn”
t there to massage me”
”
”
)
I just wanted to collapse and lie down,although a few pints helped sort that out in the clubhouse”
”
It was now a rush to get home in time for the game, a quick hop in the shower and then I frantically searched for me shirt, and to my horror it was still in the basket, it smelled rotten.
”
da this wasn”
t washed since the cup final on Saturday it stinks”
”
agh that the smell of success then”
so down the local we went, with me shirt on (stinking of success)
On it went and I managed to get in to read the teams and was shocked to see Robbie fowler benched, he had helped big time in the fa cup final and the season had taken its toll on the now exhausted heskey so this was a mystery. Everyone expected boring old pool to play their defensive way and the shrewd Spanish would be tough to break down, no one told markus babbel, were ahead inside 2 minutes, and the domination of the game was now being consolidated further, I can vividly remember waiting for owen to pass to gerrard, he delayed for an age but placed straight infront of the sprinting gerrard, my brother leapt of his stool and I can still hear ”
GO ON GERRARD”
, 2-0 this was easy,
I remember commenting that wycombe had given us a harder game and me brothers mates rang him to say that they were already celebrating. That stopped when they pulled a goal back, and we panicked, until owen raced through to be brought down clumsily by the goalkeeper who was lucky just to get yellow. Gary mac sent us in 3-1 up at which point I disappeared for 10 minutes, to grab me half time chicken burger, I took some stick over that.
The second half changed though, contra had a field day with Murphy and carragher and set up a goal for the lethal moreno, within a minute they were level, ”
to think villa got that plank angel instead of him”
was all I could say.
Another change, Houllier chucked on Fowler and Alaves surprised by bringing on Magno (who ended up sent off) for Moreno”
.. I think that was his last game too, and then Robbie took over, he danced through the defence as I impatiently waited for the net to bulge ”
hit it Robbie, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it yeeeesssssss”
no way back now, WRONG!
Jordi cryuff who had done nothing all night scored another equalizer, extra time loomed, they would surely do us now, but again like at 3-3 they sat back, WTF, they could have murdered us, henchoz was having a nightmare and hyypia was lost, the dangerous berger was looking lively as sub and then the 3rd sub smicer was fouled, after having a man go in extra time already they were now down to 9. My dad said they might even run out of players to take the penalties as a shoot out was on.
We know what happened from Gary Mac next,
”
oh in the fuck in”
I said, but to this day I still dunno what it means, me, da and bro just doing a hilarious dance infront of the telly, the beer was sinking all night, it was great for me brother cos Carl was a fan who had seen us win European cups and we had waited 6 years for a trophy and now we had 3. I could see him burying his head in his hands a few times after the game, I knew it meant a lot to him. Truly ones the best nights of my life too.
Eventually got dragged home and avoided me hangover with ma”
s ham sandwiches but the crowning moment came the next day, a manc leaned out his window ”
your officially the jammiest team in Europe”
from a manc WTF!
Do you think I gave a Sandra bullocks!
Yet again though in the midst of celebrations we knew there was another match to play. 3 cups sealed but the main target set out to be achieved was the champions league. Im hungover from someone leaving work on the Friday after they persuaded me to down 2 pints and an aftershock in 15 minutes. As if that”
s not bad enough ive to go to my nieces communion and then to a wedding. The mass is a killer. Im still in bits. Im worried bout the match. Charlton away is dodgy, they aint a push over and with leeds and Ipswich near certainties to win, a draw may not do. I arrive at me cousins house ready to go to the wedding reception at 3. she informs me she wont be able to leave til the babysitter comes at 9! 9!!! 6 bleedin hours! The only channel is mtv which showed the same show 3 times and played only one song, and that was from Sclub7!!!!!! I keep abreast of the scores however.
Word comes through that Robbie fowler has given us the lead.
”
cmon lads hold on ya can do it, ya survived the first half now come on!”
. The goals begin to flow, Danny Murphy carves out number 2 and its becoming a reality. When Robbie cracks home number 3 its all academic and by the time Michael bags the 4th were already renewing passports.
Its gets me through the next few hours by mulling over the result, it makes me happy. I then get bored hanging around and I cant sleep the last few hours off cos an ignorant neice decides to rest her feet on my head while I sleep
”
jesus Christ ruth have some respect will ya”
”
leave her alone”
”
ah For Fucks Sake!”
eventully we leave for the reception, I let out a cheer when me cousin and sister tell me theyre finally leaving.
”
stop cheering I don”
t know the way to this place”
.
”
ah For Fucks Sake!”
I listen to the cd in the car repeat about 5 times before we make it. By the time I get there though everyone is drunk. Its not fun. Me neice ignores me until I go to the bar and she happens to mysteriously re-appear
”
david will ya buy us a Smirnoff ice?”
”
ah for jaysus sake piss off you fucking bitch”
”
your drunk”
”
ive only had 3 now piss off you fucking slut!”
(I give the V sign)
WHY CANT ALL WOMEN BE LIKE LIVERPOOL WOMEN , I never get that shit off them. And just as im leaving they play youll never walk alone as im outside, but unfortunately im not let back into the hotel to hear it (Liverpool had saved the day for me). However the next day im informed that me parents are heading off for 2 days so ive a free house. NICE ONE.
I watch the celebrations on telly of the team in a bus around town. And in my footer training I brag to some United fans,
”
ah I needed that, TO SWEAT ALL THAT CELEBRATION OUT OF ME!”
”
well by jaysus, I knew he would say it! Well davey your in with the big boys next year!, remember that!”
”
we”
ll manage”
TO END
The treble season was the best year of my life. I made my own rules and was out in the real world. I was no longer in school watching the game while at the same time worrying about homework etc. at the end of school all I really wanted was enough money and job I liked so that I could only have my team to worry about. I wanted to walk around in the shirt and watch others go green with envy.
I didn”
t want to worry bout money, I didn”
t!
I didn”
t want to be seen as a soccer hooligan. I wasn”
t! My gold Hyypia 12 shirt had become more known than me, IT WAS LEGENDARY and still is.
I didn”
t want a crap job with no money and been told what to do. That didn”
t happen!
I wanted to follow my team, only have them to concern me, watch their games and see them be successful. IF I DIDNT THEN SWEET JESUS EITHER YOU DON”
T KNOW ME OR YOU HAVENT BOTHERED TO READ THIS.
The only thing missing was the league. I knew we were just too far away from united so I never expected it, but then again what did happen was never expected. There isn”
t a day goes by without me thinking of that game in Cardiff against the arsenal, that night in Dortmund or the season as a whole. A trip to anfield would have been tops. The team I felt were now on the brink of something special. I mean I shouldn”
t complain, I done so much celebrating that at one point I needed a pint to sober me up.
The summer was here, we waited to see who had to move on, who was going to come in, buy the new shirt etc. but above all we were going to enjoy it.
HOULLIER HAD THE LET REDS OUT!
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