Yesterday's victory felt the same. My waking thoughts were "£46 to see us lose to this lot" as we never do well here. Since we last won there I've changed jobs twice and moved house once. The omens were not good. I've strolled down the Earls Court Road thinking "if they want it, they have to win it here" too many times and only been rewarded with nothing but a cold (why do we always play them when it's freezing?). Yesterday felt different. I asked a mate for his prediction and we settled on Chelsea 0. That was about as optimistic as we could muster but in recent years we would have just taken a goal and not being smacked outside.
The second richest club in the world do not have a working scanner to scan tickets. It was nice of them to not delay the kick off when their system broke down. It was our fault apparently for not sitting patiently while they checked the warranty. Damn those pesky Scousers and their criminal desire to want to see the game!
Once we were in things became a little easier. The man of the match was Liverpool. It's hard to give one man credit when his ten brothers worked just as hard. Gerrard was outstanding and 'wanted it' this time. Sometimes he sulks but yesterday he had the run of the midfield thanks to Alonso and Mascherano. Dirk and Bert gave their wingers and full backs hell. Jamie and Danny were like Lawrenson and Hansen at times. It was also the best performance I've ever seen from Alf and Aurelio. We left them with long shots, sulky faces and disappointed fans - exactly what we've been like over the past eight years.
Rafa's right to talk about Portsmouth and Spurs being the priority rather than resting on our laurels as then, and only then, can we think about this being Rafa's spring to glory. It's unusual saying that about a man who has already won us the European Cup but his League epiphany may have arrived. Maybe.
Do you agree? Have your say on the forums