England (30-05-2014)

England 3 – 0 Peru (International Friendly), 30^th May 2014

Tea (at services) = £2-40

Tea (at Wembley) = £2

Programme = £6

Coach = £35

Match ticket = £32-50

Pasty (at services) = £2-75

Total = £80-65

This was my final game of the 2013/14, and an appropriate one to finish on before the England side set off to Brazil. There was a bit of a gap between the previous live match I’ve been to (Liverpool-Newcastle), mainly due to my desire to chill and watch the UCL and FA Cup finals from the comfort of home.

I’d opted for the coach again as it’s simply a no-brainer - £35 return from Sheffield to Wembley stadium.  Even a dirt cheap train/coach ticket down to central London would involve an overnight stay, so this was again well worth it. The only slight down side of today’s coach was the lack of a toilet, but a stop at the iconic Watford Gap services sorted that out!

On the coach, and around Wembley, there was a real family atmosphere building. Kids with face paint and flags walked past, and I realised this was the end of half-term, so an ideal one for taking families to. As I made my way into turnstile K (for block 546), it seemed busier than at the previous games I’d been to against Ukraine and Montenegro, even though those were pretty crucial qualifiers. After a tea (at £2 this was cheaper than many coffee chains!) I took up my seat in the upper tier, and had my sandwiches as kick-off approached. During the national anthem, we held up white cards to form a St George’s cross in the stadium, and these cards doubled up as ‘clackers’ for cheering on the team. For once I felt relaxed as the game kicked off – we were safely in Brazil, the season had pretty much ended and there was a strange sense of optimism around the ground.

The first half an hour was slow to be honest. Peru seemed capable of playing a neat passing game in triangles across midfield, but never looked threatening or like they would impose themselves. The thing I noticed most early on was how deep Henderson and Gerrard were sitting – one or two early attacks caused some confusion when they seemed to be stood directly in front of the two central defenders. Central defence is a weak point in this side, and at a major tournament, lapses of concentration can cost you dear. We didn’t look poor in the first 30 minutes, just lacking in purpose sometimes. Danny Wellbeck and Adam Lallana were keen to run with the ball, but couldn’t seem to attack with real purpose or vision, frequently running into a Peruvian brick wall. At the back, Joe Hart looked solid and confident in foiling a couple of rare away attacks, which is nice to see going into a World Cup. Then, almost completely out of nowhere, Sturridge controlled Johnson’s throw-in, turned his man, and found the tiniest space to curl a superb strike into the top corner. This was the kind of quality we know that Sturridge has, and I hope he can deliver this consistently on the big stage. After going behind, Peru looked jaded, and England’s strategy of going ‘slow, slow, quick, quick’ seemed to be paying dividends, with fast passing from the flanks enabling the attack to get in behind the away defence.

The second half opened up far more, and was full of neat interchanges in the England midfield, who seemed calm and confident. Against the run of play, Devez tried an audacious long-range effort which dipped just over the bar. It was that kind of freak attack which could undo England in a split second. Then the ever-reliable Gary Cahill calmed any vague nerves with a header from a corner. It’s strange how centre-backs score at such key moments – a la Sergio Ramos in the UCL final. On 69 minutes, Jagielka made it 3-0 when he tapped in after a mistake from Fernandez in the Peru goal. After that, it was a procession of substitutions, as younger players like Wilshere, Stones and Sterling came on. The main entertainment of the final 20 minutes was when numerous paper aeroplanes (forged from the cards we held up earlier) were launched around the ground, and a couple landed on the pitch. One actually hit the Peruvian right-back before landing! While I’ve since heard grumbles about this and how all these ‘tourists’ are ruining the game, I can’t see a problem with it. The atmosphere inside Wembley was exactly as it should be for a World Cup send-off – relaxed, optimistic, and noisy. Let’s hope they do something special over in South America.

Liverpool (11-05-2014)

Liverpool 2 – 1 Newcastle United (Premier League), 11^th May 2014

Train = £34

Bus to Anfield = £4

Match ticket = £49

Tea = £2-40

Programme = £3

Parking (£14 divided by 2) = £7

Total = £99-40

The theme song for this day has to be ‘Anthem for a Lost Cause’ by the Manic Street Preachers. After the results against Chelsea and Palace, the title was all but on its way to the Etihad. Going into today’s game, Liverpool sat two points behind City, who also had a far superior goal difference. So, West Ham (another London club) had to do Liverpool a massive and unlikely favour today. I didn’t put it past them, but I did think that it was unlikely that a team like City would miss a second opportunity to win the league.

Looking at the costs above, it looks like one of the more expensive games of the season, and I suspect it probably came to more when we threw food into the equation. Like Fylde, for some reason today was expensive, but I figured this was worth it given the context of the title race. Today, we were again sat to the right of the main stand, about 5 rows back from where we were for Chelsea. Despite its rather cramped seats and crowded concourse, this is perhaps one of the nicer stands at Anfield for atmosphere and ease of access.

Liverpool had surpassed expectations this year, and to be going into the final day still challenging for the title was remarkable. Clearly, the disappointment was beginning to show as they had let that 5-point lead slip, but I think most Liverpool fans would have taken this position at the start of the season. Like the Chelsea game, and for the last 15 minutes of the Palace game, Liverpool looked devoid of ideas and short on confidence. Suarez looked tired, while Sturridge seemed to lack concentration on the ball – a consequence, I believe, of relying too heavily on one or two front-men all season. Newcastle were out to spoil any end-of-season party, and took the lead on 20 minutes when a bending cross was stumped into his own net by Skrtel. This was typical of their luck in the last few games – plenty of possession, but getting caught with a sucker punch at the other end.

Losing 1-0 at half-time, and the nerves were clear around Anfield. Perhaps if they had gone in ahead, it would have put some pressure on City at the Etihad. In the second-half, Liverpool continued in the same manner, but started to forge more opportunities against a tired-looking Newcastle. Two quick-fire goals from Agger and Sturridge (both from set pieces) took Liverpool ahead, and back into something nearing contention. From here-on in, Newcastle imploded, with Shola Ameobi and Dummet red-carded for a combination of time-wasting and bad tackles. There was something of an anti-climax as the final whistle approached, and as the players did a rather weary lap of honour round the stadium with kids in tow. No title back at Anfield, but Liverpool were back near the top of the English game. What a massive contrast to the dead rubber last year against an already-relegated QPR! The test now will be to sustain this challenge next season, push on in the Champions League, and perhaps grab a domestic cup next year.