Why did we root for Liverpool in 2005?

[Dennis Bendtner]

I have been contemplating this incredibly important and by no means pointless question.

I remember being really quite happy when Liverpool completed the comeback in the CL final. As was basically the whole country.

But why?

I certainly wouldn't now. What was different back then? Have we turned into ****s?

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

I don't think Arsenal and Liverpool have had any particularly heated rivalry over the years. Certainly not in the same way you have with United, or we have with Chelsea. It's always been reasonably friendly, considering we're both successful clubs.

And at the same time, it was only the start of the English domination of the CL for the next few years so there was probably a little bit of patriotic pride (I'm making this up as I go along since I've never given it a second thought either) whereas the next times it wasn't as big of a deal, so rather it was that it was us, it was as much that it was an English club.

I guess for next time (:pray:) it would depend on who we were up against.

Edit: Though I daresay there were many Arsenal fans who wanted us to lose horribly, as well.

[Marc Overmars]

I wasn't rooting for them, why would I want to see a rival achieve something we ourselves are so desperate to do? After the comeback though I didn't begrudge them the win, it was a great night.

I suppose that Liverpool team was quite poor and given it had been 6 years since there was an English finalist, them reaching the final itself was no mean feat, so it captured the imagination.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Perhaps you have a point about English domination. It had been six years since the last ones to appear in the final. But even 1999 was after a long time. Did anyone cheer for United? Fuck that! Or maybe they did but I was a kid and definitely didn't. Your point about rivalry is true but does it account for the actual willingness for Liverpool to win? I would've thought it'd be ambivalence at best. Out of the entire country probably only United and Everton fans were dead against them.

I guess the magic of the Kop got to us.

[Dennis Bendtner]

I wasn't rooting for them, why would I want to see a rival achieve something we ourselves are so desperate to do? After the comeback though I didn't begrudge them the win, it was a great night.

I suppose that Liverpool team was quite poor and given it had been 6 years since there was an English finalist, them reaching the final itself was no mean feat, so it captured the imagination.

Maybe I misinterpreted the vibe, making this thread stupid. :unsure:

I actually did want them to win.

Maybe I should change my name to Coney.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

United are unquestionably the most hated club in the country though, no one wants them to win. Ever.

But I don't know if people actively wanted us to win, or whether it was just a case that the cup run and comeback was a memorable one and because of that people weren't repulsed by us winning it and had a begrudging respect for it. Many would have been dead set against us winning it though, not least Chelsea fans :pal:

Fuck it, I'm off to find a video of it...

[Marc Overmars]

Yeah, and I'm off to find a video of our 1-0 win over Barca in 2006.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

I was reading Old GW the other week (I was incredibly bored) and the 2006 Match thread.

You all had such optimism for the future and in the project. What a difference 6 years makes...

[Özim]

I wasn't rooting for them either. Sorry.

I don't want any other English club to win it, sadly they seem to....except us.

[Dennis Bendtner]

I didn't even know they had a match thread for that. How many posts were there, 10?

This thread was really prompted by flicking through the Chelsea-Bayern thread and reliving our bitter tirades. Not sure why I went through it again.

In conclusion, the relative goodwill in 2005 was because Liverpool are less ****y than Man Utd and Chelsea and had a Bollywood run to the final. cool /thread

[Syn]

Decided to go through the Chelsea-Bayern final -

http://www.goonersweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=340&page=440 (http://www.goonersweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=340&page=440).

We just continued to cry for 40 pages. It's actually quite funny. It was actually DSL's muller puns that inspired Satan to intervene.

Also, in the Liverpool 05 final, at the start I didn't care. When they were 3-0 down at HT it was hilarious. But when they started to get back into it, I can't imagine there were that many 'neutrals' who didn't want to see Liverpool go on and take the game. It was an incredible game - one of the last great games before football was ruined by bored billionnaires and shit.

[Dennis Bendtner]

^ that was a theory I had too. A great football game before the axis of evil made themselves comfortable.

The muller puns were great. Also brilliant how we all turned on the British core. Carl Jenkers having a pint with Sheringham :haha:

[Syn]

It was just full-on abuse.


Lets see if he is still saying that after a paternity test on his son.

Dickhead.

:cold:

[Kano]

I have been contemplating this incredibly important and by no means pointless question.

I remember being really quite happy when Liverpool completed the comeback in the CL final. As was basically the whole country.

But why?

I certainly wouldn't now. What was different back then? Have we turned into ****s?
just in the one off game, seeing a team come back from certain death is always fun - except for tottenham and chelsea.

but in all their cl games that season and before under houllier and benitez, i could never watch their dull boring approach. at least i could respect man utd for always putting on a show.

[Cripps_orig]

United are unquestionably the most hated club in the country though, no one wants them to win. Ever...

Right about the former but all true football fans wanted them to win the 2009 and 2011 finals. Fact they didn't makes them hated even more.

[IBK]

I wasn't rooting for them either. Sorry.

I don't want any other English club to win it, sadly they seem to....except us.

This.

[LDG]

Nope. Wanted them to lose bad.

I wouldn't support any English team in Europe other than Arsenal.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I wanted them to lose as well. Nothing strange in that. The sentiment seemed to be similar in Italy as well regarding the aspirations people had for their domestic rivals.

I saw a lot of graffiti related to it and the local train station in Ricadi was emblazoned with, "Thank-you Liverpool!", in English.

[Marc Overmars]

I'd support Swansealona next year in the Europa League should they make it, just like how we all rooted for Fulham in 2010, but I could never wish success upon a big club aspiring for the same things we are.

[Letters]

I wanted Liverpool to lose but I remember in the early 90's being pleased that Utd won the Cup Winners Cup (I think it was).
'Cos I didn't care about them then.

By default I want English sides to do well in Europe unless those sides are ones I hate. And unfortunately I hate pretty much all the English sides who are in Europe. I was rooting for Fulham in the Europa League final because, again, I don't really care about them so have no reason to want them to lose.

[Cripps_orig]

I didn't really care if Liverpool won or not. I had no particular hatred for them then and I don't now. They are one of those insignificant little clubs, like a Fulham or a Charlton or a WBA. Haven't been our rivals for the league since the first season I became a gooner

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

I didn't really care if Liverpool won or not. I had no particular hatred for them then and I don't now. They are one of those insignificant little clubs, like a Fulham or a Charlton or a WBA. Haven't been our rivals for the league since the first season I became a gooner
:lol: That's just poor.

I wanted Arsenal to win it in 2006 (in the final, not before obviously) but then I dislike (hate is probably too strong a word) very few clubs. Well OK, I hate United and Chelsea.