Congratulations to Arsenal on reaching the Champions League Final. Well, congratulations in part. We got a lot of nice email fans last season after the semi-final and final congratulating us on our Champions League success. A lot of those emails came from Arsenal fans. For those Arsenal fans, and many more like them, we are very pleased. We are also pleased for Arsenal’s captain Thierry Henry. Almost certain to leave the Premiership after the Champions League final, he took time to pay tribute to our captain, straight after last night’s match: “I just want to say to Stevie Gerrard, if he is watching, he has been an inspiration for us all. I really admire the guy.” Gerrard himself had pointed out on Sunday as he picked up his PFA award that his own vote had gone to Henry.

Arsenal and Liverpool are rivals, have been for as long as I can remember, but the two sides have more respect for each other than they do for Chelsea or Manchester United. Would Roy Keane and Patrick Vierra have made compliments like that to each other in those circumstances? Not likely. There is one major problem in the relationship between Arsenal and Liverpool. Not the old rivalries going back to the fifties that might upset some Liverpool fans. Not the north-south divide or the 1989 last-ditch theft by Arsenal of our league title. These things are part and parcel of football and although uncomfortable can be ignored. The problem, right now, with Arsenal from a Liverpool fan’s perspective is their boss. Arsene Wenger is upsetting everyone in his path lately, especially North London’s equivalent of Everton, Tottenham. He’s having a go at everyone, and if Jose Mourinho had kept all of his previous promises open not to speak to the media then Wenger would be getting even more of the headlines. It’s not what he’s saying now though that bothers us as such; it’s what he said last year.

Just before Liverpool played Arsenal in the league at Highbury, Liverpool had qualified for the Champions League final, and Wenger was probably quite jealous. He decided to belittle Liverpool’s achievements by belittling the Champions League itself as a competition. He said that whoever finishes fourth in the league should go into Europe the following year, something I don’t think he’ll be volunteering for this season. Worse than that, in our eyes, he said we were lucky; that us getting to Istanbul was like Millwall getting to the FA Cup Final.

I’m sure he’d have said none of this had he known the way Arsenal’s season was likely to go, but reading these words again made us chuckle to some extent, and made it hard for us to wish Wenger luck in Paris. For the fans and Henry - good luck. For Wenger - you’re being sent to Coventry. The team you compared this year’s finalists to.

Here’s the article that was sent around the world via the press wires last year.

Liverpool ‘lucky’ to be in final: Wenger
May 7, 2005

Arsene Wenger raised the temperature ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool by saying the Anfield club were “lucky” to be in this season’s Champions League final against AC Milan.

UEFA are set to dash Liverpool’s hopes of defending the trophy should they beat the Italian giants in Istanbul on May 25 but finish outside the Premiership top four.

But Arsenal’s French manager - who has yet to guide the north London club to a European trophy since arriving at Highbury in 1996 - said Liverpool were fortunate to be in this season’s Champions League at all after only finishing fourth in the Premiership last term.

“Normally they should not have played in this cup. They are already lucky to be in it because of the advantage this country has in having four qualifying places,” Wenger said.

“Most countries have only three places, so they already had an advantage in qualifying last season after finishing fourth,” he added on Friday.

Chelsea may have dethroned Arsenal as Premiership champions but the Gunners, like Liverpool - who beat Jose Mourinho’s men, still have European ambitions dependent upon the final few league games of the season.

Wenger’s men are currently second, four points ahead of Manchester United, and if they stay there will go straight into the Champions League proper rather than having to play a qualifying round.

Liverpool, who beat Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League earlier this week, meanwhile are involved in a manic scrap for fourth with city rivals Everton and fellow north-west side Bolton.

Everton currently hold the coveted spot, just three points ahead of Liverpool and four clear of Bolton but they do have a game in hand on both their rivals.

And Wenger was adamant that if Everton finished fourth they should be allowed to compete in the Champions League and not be ‘knocked out’ by Liverpool.

“I feel the rules were clear at the beginning of the season so it was very difficult to change. You cannot knock Everton out of it,” he said.

“You could argue that four places in the Champions League is already quite a big share - and that if you are good enough to win the Champions League, you should be in the top four of your country.

“Normally I’d agree with the premise that if you win the cup you should be allowed to defend it but changing the rules for next season, so the winners qualify, would perhaps be the best solution.”

He added: “If you call it the Champions League, basically you should only have the league champions there.”

Wenger cited Barcelona, only beaten in the quarter-finals by Chelsea after the referee missed a foul by Ricardo Carvalho on keeper Victor Valdes in the build-up to the Blues’ winning goal, as the best side in Europe this season.

And he said Arsenal’s last 16 conquerors, Bayern Munich, as the “best European team we have played in the past four or five years”.

Wenger said the Champions League, which in the days of the European Cup was restricted to the holders and the continent’s national champions alone, was becoming more of a lottery than a test of excellence.

His view appeared to be backed up by the fact that last season underdogs Porto and Monaco contested the Champions League with Porto, then managed by current Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, winning.

Meanwhile Liverpool, despite being 33 points behind Chelsea in the league, now find themselves in the final of Europe’s leading club football tournament.

Wenger praised Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez but said nothing had altered his view that the Premier League had to be a priority for a leading English club.

“The championship has to be our absolute priority as you cannot make the Champions League as the priority,” he insisted.

“Why would we change our style? Liverpool were one minute away from going out (before Steven Gerrard’s winner against Olympiakos) and who knows if the ball was in or not against Chelsea?

“Liverpool deserve a lot of credit and have shown a lot of courage, but the championship is the only competition where the quality of the team is reflected after 38 games.

“The Champions League has now completely become a cup competition (without a second group stage),” added Wenger, whose side face holders United in the FA Cup final on May 21.

“Everybody can win it. Last year you had Porto and Monaco. Every year you will have two different teams in the final because it is so open.

“It’s like last year, when Millwall were in the FA Cup final. Next year, you could have Coventry.

“Liverpool deserve all the congratulations but it’s difficult to draw the conclusion that they are dominating European football.”

There’s a lot of fuss right now in football about how bad a manager is if he doesn’t shake hands with his opposite number at the end of a game. In some cases I am sure it is a deliberate act from either a poor loser or from a loser that has genuinely seen his side cheated. Poor loser springs to mind on Sunday - Benitez shrugs off Mourinho snub but to be honest I for one expect little else from Jose.

As for other managers, how would it look if Bobby Robson took another job on, but forgot to shake hands at the end? Well at his age I don’t think anyone would be too bothered. He forgets players names, and no doubt forgetting to shake hands would be another spot of age-related amnesia.

What if David Moyes didn’t shake hands with Rafa at the end of a derby? A snub? No, not really. Everton truly believe they are the people’s club, the club of the people of the city of Liverpool, the club that are above Liverpool. Like the queen doesn’t carry money and always wears gloves, they probably believe that they should not have to shake hands with an ungloved manager. And they certainly have no money.

Alex Ferguson (emphasis on the missing “Sir”) does not have to shake hands. He is allowed under Premiership rules to do pretty much as he likes. If shaking hands went into the rule books, he’d get an exemption. Although I don’t think I want to shake hands with someone who has a bad bowel problem. And in case it’s something that is passed on through a lot of contact, I’d steer clear of shaking hands with the managers of Blackburn, West Brom and Birmingham too.
Anyone playing against Spurs would be excused not to shake hands - Martin Jol reminds me of Jaws off James Bond movies, and gives me the impression you’d have broken hands should you follow the manager’s traditions. Arsene Wenger’s eyesight problems (which come and go, sometimes he has excellent vision) mean he’s not going to always see his opposite number. He may shake hands with a steward and assume it was the manager.

So although the press and TV media like to make a big issue of it, I don’t think the handshake means as much as they like to make out. Jose had no excuse on Sunday - after all who wouldn’t want to shake Rafa’s hands - but maybe some of the others have. As long as they don’t start kissing - that would raise some eyebrows.

United’s win over Spurs means that Liverpool are now guaranteed third place. The concerns that Arsenal could win the Champions League and take away the right of the fourth-placed team to go into the qualifiers is no longer a concern of ours. However the three points for the Mancs mean we have a much taller order on our hands if we are to take second place.

The Spurs game was one of two where we thought United might slip up, with their clash over Chelsea 12 days later the next problem for them. That didn’t happen, so things are just that bit simpler now. Liverpool can’t afford to lose any of their remaining games. Chelsea have to beat United. A win from Chelsea would leave things possibly going to the wire.

A win for Chelsea would, by the time Liverpool kick off against Aston Villa at Anfield half an hour later, leave the Reds ready to try and take another three points and so leave it all to the last game of the season. Assuming the Reds have taken the six poinst available from West Ham and Villa, and United had dropped those three, the two sides would be level on points, with United having a game in hand.

Even a win for United against ex-coach Steve McLaren’s Middlesborough would not quite be enough when the two sides meet on May 1st, although it in reality would be enough given the goal difference the Reds and the Mancs have. It’s an outside hope, but a win from McLaren’s lot would leave it all hinging on the last day’s football.

That last day, where all games kick off at the same time, sees United host Charlton and Liverpool travel south to relegation-threatened Portsmouth. It does look like the relegation battle is going to go down to the wire too, so no favours to come from Jamie Redknapp’s dad. On that day, assuming results have gone Liverpool’s way, will be a lot of tension as the results from Old Trafford and Fratton Park are relayed back and forth. Next season though, we don’t want to battling for 2nd - we want our title back.

Remaining fixtures:
Wed 26 Apr, West Ham v Liverpool, 19:45
Sat 29 Apr, Chelsea v Man Utd, 12:30 and Liverpool v Aston Villa, 15:00
Mon 01 May, Man Utd v Middlesbrough, 20:00
Sun 07 May, Man Utd v Charlton, 15:00 and Portsmouth v Liverpool, 15:00

This time last season Liverpool were trying to get themselves into fourth place in the league as a disappointing league season came towards its conclusion. In the end they had to settle for fifth, and UEFA had to change the rules because of the FA’s refusal to stick to the spirit of the Champions League rules. The rules were changed to make sure stubborn FAs can’t do that again in the future.

This season Liverpool still have that aim to try and finish fourth or higher in the league, and that has now been attained. The lowest Liverpool can now finish after yesterday’s 1-0 win over Blackburn is 4th. For that to happen, Spurs need to win all their games, with Liverpool losing all theirs. This would leave the two sides level on points, so this amazing sequence of results would need to also see the gap in goal difference between the two sides reduced sufficiently in the process. Liverpool are currently 11 goals better off in that respect.

Liverpool have achieved that goal of finishing at least fourth now, an improvement on last season, but it might not be enough. If the above scenario happens and the Reds do finish in fourth, Arsenal will could scupper Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League football in season 2006/07. The new rules mean that if Arsenal won the competition they would go into next season’s group stages, with the league’s fourth-placed team taking a UEFA Cup place instead. So it’s important the Reds get at least one point from their last three games - then it can remain a North London matter over who gets the fourth English place in the competition next season.

The Reds want more than that though. Although the current holders of the European Cup are in charge of their own destiny in terms of ensuring at least a place in the qualifying stages next season, they have a chance of getting into the group stages if Manchester United slip up enough in their last four games. Liverpool are six points and nine goals behind United in the league table. If Liverpool won all of their remaining three games they’d have 82 points, six more than United have currently. Two wins from four from United would ensure Liverpool could only catch them if they reduced the goal difference gap, and that’s not really likely to happen. One win and three draws would be much the same.  So Liverpool’s outside chance of finishing second depends on United winning no more than one of their remaining four games, and losing at least one of the others. Seems unlikely.

At least it seems unlikely until you look at the remaining fixtures for United. Their next two fixtures are potentially their hardest two of what they’ve got left. First of all they are away to Tottenham today, and Tottenham will be desperate to try and get three points to put the pressure on Liverpool for third place, and to keep Arsenal from catching them in fourth place. United then get to rest for twelve days, a gap that could be a help or a hindrance depending on how things go. The next game is also away, against Chelsea. By then Chelsea will be confirmed Champions and in a mood to celebrate - which could mean either a lot of rested players and a half-hearted performance, or a desire to prove to United that they didn’t win the league just by cheating. In between those two fixtures Liverpool will have paid a visit to West Ham an evening kick-off in the city they never seem to do well in.

By the time Liverpool kick off against Aston Villa at Anfield half an hour after the Chelsea-United game has ended they’ll have a pretty good idea one way or another whether they’ve any hopes left of grabbing second place. By then they’ll have played Chelsea themselves in the FA Cup semi-final and will know whether a trip to Cardiff is on. If it is then Villa will have a game on their hands as the Reds players stake a claim for a cup final place. If things have also gone Liverpool’s way in the league and United have only managed a point from those two difficult games, with the Reds picking up six from their two games, then Liverpool would be in second, two points above United. Trouble is, Liverpool would have played one more game than United by then.

United’s extra game comes on May Day against Middlesborough. Steve McClaren’s team are pretty unpredictable, and McLaren will be relishing playing against his old boss, possibly for the last time if he does get that England job. Another draw in that game would see the table on the final day of the season with Liverpool on 79 in second and United on 78 in third. Then it all goes down to those final games. Charlton visit Old Trafford, where another England candidate will be trying to show his credentials off. Liverpool travel south to one of their bogey teams, Portsmouth. With Pompey still trying to stave off relegation and Harry Redknapp trying to avoid making it two seasons in a row that he’s sent a team down, Liverpool will have the toughest game of what they have left. It would be a dream for Sky Television if it went down to the wire, but a nightmare for the coronary departments of the hospitals in the North West.

So Liverpool have got a chance of that second place. If they could then follow that with an FA Cup final win (assuming they can get past Chelsea in the semis first) then it will bring to an end in style a season that started way back in July when the Reds played in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. It would also mean they needn’t worry about any qualifying rounds for the Champions League next season.

Remaining fixtures:
Mon 17 Apr, Tottenham v Man Utd, 12:45
Wed 26 Apr, West Ham v Liverpool, 19:45
Sat 29 Apr, Chelsea v Man Utd, 12:30 and Liverpool v Aston Villa, 15:00
Mon 01 May, Man Utd v Middlesbrough, 20:00
Sun 07 May, Man Utd v Charlton, 15:00 and Portsmouth v Liverpool, 15:00

Great to see the Reds beat Blackburn Rovers today, even if the game wasn’t one you’d want to watch twice. According to the PA report, on Sporting Life it was significant for Robbie, who still doesn’t know his status for next season:

Fowler, whose short-term deal following his January transfer-window arrival from Manchester City expires in the summer, made it four in five matches as the Reds stretched their winning run to seven games.It was also his third in successive outings - the first time he has achieved such a feat for the Anfield club since November 1997.

It would be wrong to write anything today without referring to what today is. It’s the 17th anniversary of the worst day in Liverpool’s history. The day that brought an end to the lives of ninety-six Reds. The day that changed the lives of an uncountable number of people rated to or aquainted with those ninety six. The disaster is something that resulted in us getting all-seater stadia. The disaster is something that still makes me cry, even if I do try to hide it. So many aspects of that time, that month and the month after stick in my mind. Standing on the Kop for a minute’s silence for the first home game after Hillsborough. Minute’s silences were rare then. Visiting Anfield when the pitch was filling with flowers and other tributes. The eerieness of a ground normally buzzing being filled with sounds hard to describe. Feeling empty after seeing us win the FA Cup, yet still disappointed at not winning the league. So much has been said about the disaster, but not the one thing that most Liverpool supporters want to hear. A simple word from those responsible: “Sorry.” From those that lied: “Sorry”. From those that could have arranged the ticket allocations better: “Sorry.” For the sake of those that lost loved ones, and those that lost their own lives, please, say “Sorry.” Anfield Road - In memory of 96 Liverpool supporters.

Rest in Peace. 

BBC SPORT - Portsmouth 1-1 Arsenal Arsenal could only manage a draw with Pompey tonight, which means that they now can’t finish above Liverpool in the league. Liverpool  are on 70 points, the most Arsenal can now get it 69. The lowest the Reds can now finish in the league is 4th. So we’ve qualified for the Champions League!

Not quite.

First of all, Arsenal are still in the Champions League. In the semis. They could end up in the final, then they could win it. If all of those ifs happen then they get a spot in next season’s CL. If they finish 5th in the league then they get the place that would otherwise have gone to the team in 4th.

At the moment Spurs are on 58 points to Liverpool’s 70. The most points they can get is 73.  If Liverpool lose all their games and Spurs win all theirs then Liverpool will finish 4th. What if Liverpool win one game though, with Spurs winning all theirs. Both teams then end the season on 73 points. Liverpool v Spurs right now in goal-difference terms is 26-15 in the Reds’ favour. Nine the difference. Certainly possible for that to be eaten up by five Spurs victories and three Liverpool defeats. So Liverpool could easily end up in fourth place, unless they get four points from those last four games.

We don’t actually think Arsenal will win the Champions League. After Wenger said Liverpool’s win last season was like Millwall winning the FA Cup we don’t think they deserve it. If he reconsiders those comments - after they’ve gone out - then we’ll reconsider our view on the matter.

We don’t actually think Spurs will win all five of their remaining fixtures. Arsenal will still want to aim for fourth place, and they face Spurs in one of their remaining fixtures.

We don’t actually think Liverpool will lose three of the last four games heavily enough to end up in fourth place on goal difference. We certainly don’t think they’ll lose all four.

All in all, we expect Liverpool to finish at least third, maybe even second. We certainly expect the Reds to be playing in the Champions League qualifiers next season at the very least. We just wish results would quickly go our way so the calculators can go away again.

Like any real football supporters we find sometimes we are so annoyed about things that we have to get it off our chest. The main Anfield Road site is more about news than views though, so we quite often have to limit our rants to those that we know, either on-line in emails or off-line face to face. We decided to set this up to give us a place to air our views and feelings on events as they happen. Let’s see how often we actually update it.