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- After dragging it out over the last episode, we finally get to the Manchester City match, and the introduction is a strong reminder--especially after how the past few days have gone--of just how young this squad is. Clive Owen's commentary has become a little grating and overwrought by now, but the focus on the names and faces in the starting eleven against the defending champions is both unnerving and exciting. In one frame, Lucas leads the way at 25, followed by Fabio Borini at 21, Raheem Sterling at 17, and Joe Allen and Sebastian Coates, both 22 years old. Over two months have passed now, but this was the statement of intent, and if it's given time to grow, it's got plenty of promise.
- What doesn't have promise is the rapid deterioration of Raheem Sterling's hair. Things used to be good, Raheem. Fix it.
- I don't think anyone's come off more likable than Jamie Carragher, at least from the faces that we entered feeling somewhat ambivalent about. So to hear he and Steven Gerrard talk about their title hopes that'll likely go unfulfilled interlaced with pre-match scenes of the Kop is simultaneously inspiring and saddening, and with Carragher acknowledging that both of their days are numbered earlier yesterday, it's upsetting to think that neither will have a chance to lift a Premier League trophy before their Liverpool careers are over.
- Hey, Lucas limping off, that was fun, huh?
- Still don't know how Carlos Tevez got that shot on goal and how it didn't go in, and similarly confounded as to how Fabio Borini didn't convert the perfect cross that Sterling floated in. Forgiveness for both I suppose, as neither had an easy go of it, but Borini's was far and away the easier of the two chances to convert. The shot from Tevez was just silly, and there was really no other reaction other than stunned laughter had it gone in.
- What a fantastic half of football--it started with Lucas, Fabio Borini, Martin Kelly, Glen Johnson, and Pepe Reina fit, Liverpool got a deserved lead from a Martin Skrtel header after dominating play, and they entered the break with a really positive sentiment. We know how it unfolded after the restart, which sucked to watch, but we could probably all do well to remember what that match--warts and all--felt like.
- The free kick from Luis Suarez is probably also worth remembering:
- I don't know if I really dislike Tom Werner or not, but his choice to come into the changing room after the match shake everyone's hand, especially a clearly distraught Martin Skrtel, was tone deaf at best. Maybe have a sense of the atmosphere around the draw, which is positive in hindsight but was very disappointing in the moment, with Skrtel's backpass proving the different between one point and three.
- Even Lucas' Amish beard couldn't make me smile. Come back soon, please. Just not too soon.
- The show's ending felt really accelerated--they covered the win over Hearts, the end of the transfer window, exits for Andy Carroll and Jay Spearing, the arrivals of Nuri Sahin and Samed Yesil, and the uncovering of the Hillsborough Independent Panel's findings and the subsequent match against Manchester United all within the last half hour. Three or four of those topics deserved at least that much time in an ideal world, but we're left with a rushed ending to the period of time that Liverpool was covered and something that resembled an advertisement more than a documentary.
- On the whole we didn't necessarily learn a whole lot about Liverpool we didn't know already, but with the club in such a tumultuous time it was never likely that we'd get the entire picture. What we did see was about as expected, with nobody really coming off worse for wear and most of the more painful moments buffered for impact. Lucas is an angel, Brendan Rodgers likes football, and people feel passionately about Liverpool Football Club. Some feared a PR disaster, and there were moments that were a little cringe-worthy, but it was mostly a carefully handled and gently done series, and one that didn't see the club exit in any worse stead than it entered.
