Shadowplay

Contrary to popular belief and the Guardian minute by minute report, great football doesn’t always mean the passing genius and flair of the Brazil 1970 team. Sometimes it involves sheer determination, togetherness and other Hansen clichés. Sure it wasn’t pretty but to see Liverpool, the fancy Dans of Merseyside, tackle hard and not be bothered by Fellani, Cahill and Snoop from The Wire foul without impunity brought something warm to the soul. Yesterday scapegoats became the heroes of the hour. The selfless running from Ngog, the fortitude of Dirk Kuyt and the courage of Lucas in the face of boot studs and a General Melchett of a referee were simply beautiful to behold. Sometimes we can play like that. Brute strength is important in this game, ask Rooney or Drogba and then ask Wenger about his trophy haul since 2005. Too many times this season have we turned a lily-livered troupe onto the pitch (Wolves away, Reading, Arsenal second half) and got precisely what we deserved but now there is more resolve to our play.

We’re nothing like there yet but credit where it’s due, Rafa’s finally got us a run, a Torresless one at that and things are freeing up. If we continue on our present course we may make it all the way to, erm, the glory of our worst finish since 2005. Let’s be clear about this, a Europa League victory would be nice but there are Holy Grails and there are Holy Grails. This season has been terrible but if it encourages fight like that then maybe it’s not been entirely in vain.

For once, Moyes played down the Heysel references as he could boast a pretty decent run. No defeats since, well he didn’t go into specifics, and his big players are coming back. With Fellani being in good form and Arteta, a superb little player, returning maybe he could get something without playing to the gallery, the hands-over-mouths gallery at that. Perhaps a little dignity crept in.

Nice dream.

To find Moyes biggest fans you don’t need to go to Goodison but to Sky Sports – the same people who praise Big Sam TM and the directness of Stoke City. The Gobshite Council, the Mount Rushmore of intellectual mediocrity, duly predicted draws and Everton wins once they learned of Aquilani’s absence. Yes, lads. You need a glass Italian with a history of injuries against a team who maim wherever possible. If that match screamed for Lucas and Masch in the middle it was this one but once again the critics had a stick with which to beat Rafa. Christ, we even lost Masch from the middle and still got through. I’m far from Rafa’s biggest fan but who else would have picked a side with Aquilani in it?

A word here about Richard Keys. I think I love you, Richard. I love your gleaming eyes, trying in vain to comprehend the most basic argument from a stupid ex-footballer. I’ve long stopped taking offence from Sky as I quite like a pantomime but Keys never fails to dazzle me with his ‘I’ve just thought of this, whaddya reckon?’ contentions. Yesterday he stuck doggedly to an accusation of our winning through violence. Er, Pienaar, Fellani, Cahill…Their interviewer asked Gerrard if we’d ‘crossed the line’ with our tackling. The captain seemed quite pleased with this and took it as a compliment. Keys frowned on the next link, failing to see the irony behind the fact that we won by shadowing Everton mid nineties tactics that were fine before the game but not once the final whistle blew.

Nowadays I tick through a check list of feeble accusations and ill thought out Sky conclusions. Rafa’s 4th place guarantee – check, no League in decades, check etc. For this game I also employed a second list just for our worthy opponents. Moyes is a magnificent manager (an 11th and 17th finishing League position in his tenure), check, poorer cousins, check, unlucky injury list (Aurelio, Torres, Gerrard, Johnson, Agger), check. It’s this sort of coverage that makes the result all the sweeter. Keep laughing lads. Fourth place isn’t much in the grand scheme of a ‘successful season’ but our taking it will annoy a lot of people and sometimes that’s enough to keep you going.

Seven games unbeaten, conceding one goal and seventeen points in twenty one. Arsenal have one point in three games and will either be all over us or will capitulate if we can play like that again. A draw wouldn’t be ruinous but the last seven games give us hope and an away end that mirrors the Stoke game could reap dividends.

I’m back to hoping again, Damn it.

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