With Istanbul still reverberating in my memory I couldn’t treat the start of last season seriously. I’m sure the players did, at least I hope so, but for me the events of at the Attaturk rendered all football meaningless for months. It was so intoxicating to look back upon, day to day league football seemed inadequate in comparison. That’s not to say last season wasn’t a blast, we improved so much in the league and the FA Cup final was special, all the better for being at Cardiff. Still, last year I didn’t really get that buzz as the season started. Already this season feels different.

The Liverpool squad is beginning to look like Rafa’s team, resembling a side built in the image of it’s manager. Each position has a number of possible occupants, from seasoned pro’s to promising youngsters. Although perhaps the outgoings have been a little disappointing. Such is the burgeoning squad as we struggle to get rid of the fringe players it’s starting to resemble Rafas waistline. A couple of outward transfers might’ve given the manager more freedom in the market.

Whatever the frustrations concerning Alves and Kuyt seemingly out of our reach we’ve made good progress in this transfer window. It’s a lot harder to find an obvious weakness in this side than at the same time last year. We look like a squad which is set for a sustained tilt at the title. It will be tough, the standard Chelsea set last year will be difficult to match but there’s every reason to hope that this year could see the title back at Anfield for the nineteenth time.

With sufficient time and distance Istanbul is now a glorious memory rather than a heady distraction. I’m ready for a new season, ready to see dreams become reality once more. Bring it home Rafa!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 31st, 2006 at 8:05 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.