As we prepare to enter this sixth quarter of the ninth three-year plan, we take joy in the chocolate ration being raised to twenty grams and in the continued success of our glorious struggle against East Manchester. And also in the English FA having not yet banned Luis Suarez for displaying his non-regulation incisors in joy or anger whilst in public...
* Reserves news might not always top of our list of concerns, but with Jonjo Shelvey's well-publicised return to Liverpool before the end of his loan spell at Blackpool in order to strengthen further a dominating midfield collective set to crush all before it, we find ourselves casting an eye towards those yet to make their mark with the first team. It is no surprise then to find that Liverpool's strength in the middle of the park carries down into the reserves, where attacking midfielders and NextGen starlets Krisztian Adorjan and Fernando Suso scored a goal each and Shelvey continued the form that had been on display at Blackpool by adding a pair himself as Liverpool cruised to a 5-1 victory over outmatched Wigan. Natchan Eccleston, fresh off a reeducation spell with League One side Rochedale, rounded out the scoring for a reserves unit who would surely crush all before them save perhaps Liverpool's senior squad.
Elsewhere, the u18s failed to progress from the first round of the Youth FA Cup, falling to Swansea and so allowing them to rightfully turn all their attention to u18 league action, thereby increasing their odds for success in the competition that always mattered more.
* Following the match against Fulham on Monday, there was talk of Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool appealing Jay Spearing's red card and the mandatory suspension that goes along with such a punishment. However, though some media outlets persist in reporting this possibility as an inevitability, it is now widely believed that Liverpool will choose to allow the FA to save face on the matter and not launch an appeal.
With the aforementioned strength in midfield there is little doubt the club will be able to survive the absence of Spearing, and it may even lead to the chance for Jonjo Shelvey to illustrate said strength in depth against Queen's Park Rangers on Saturday. Regardless of whether or not the club does challenge Spearing's red card, however, be assured by no less than Kenny Dalglish that the player himself did nothing whatsoever wrong on Monday, and that if there is any fault in the matter it is that of the officials who do not call fouls with any kind of consistency across matches:
Jay had no other thought in his mind but to win the ball, and he did win the ball. I’m not a referee so all you can say is sometimes they are given, sometimes they are not, but as long as they are consistent then it’s not a problem.
While it may be unfortunate for the player personally, take comfort in the fact that it will in any case be no problem for the club and manager, and that if Spearing does indeed miss games in the coming weeks it will only make the club stronger down to road through the chances it gives to the likes of Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey.
* Moving on from midfield issues only leads to more potential conflict with the English FA, who after weeks of tormenting Luis Suarez by endlessly dragging out the case of racism as alleged by Manchester United's Patrice Evra are now thought to be considering an immediate ban for the attacker in the wake of his flashing the middle finger to Fulham supporters as he departed the pitch on Monday. After having been declared public enemy number one by the London Press, some might understandably find themselves wondering if Suarez' confidence in and commitment to a footballing future in England has been shaken, though it seems certain that the Uruguayan is made of sterner stuff than that and will only use such obstacles as a means to push on to even greater heights. As for the London Press, they show their true selves in the glee with which they pick at the skillful attacker, conveniently forgetting, overlooking, or just plain ignoring that in the past players have avoided punishment for making obscene gestures or otherwise taunting the fans, with the most recent case being in January of last year when Manchester United's Gary Neville was caught blatantly showing Carlos Tevez the finger during a match.
With word that our friends in East Manchester may soon be joining the fight, we'll be back later on with any news of Suarez' continuing campaign against the London Press and English FA. We also may be back if there's news to report of a production surplus on tractors relative to tractor engines. But in the meantime…