Dazed In The Life

Liverpool. I give up. There really is no team like them. 2-0 down after twenty minutes against Hull – at Anfield, I might add – and stormed back to 2-2 thanks largely to the footballing equivalent of a kick up the arse from Steven Gerrard. With a barnstorming display, the Reds were level by half-time and, by all accounts, should have been three or four goals ahead. The onslaught continued in the second half. A victory seemed assured. The goal that would seal it was surely coming.
No. Yet again. For the fourth time this year. A draw at Anfield against a team Liverpool should beat. Just when it looked like the wheels were back on the wagon with two 3-1 wins over Blackburn and PSV, Liverpool showed they still need to find the formula. This season has many games to go – Arsenal and Man United both drew today as well – but if Liverpool want to win the league, this simply must end. New Years resolution: Win games when they are there to win.
On a different note – a musical one, if you will – I turned on “The X-Factor” final today and, I must admit, the lure of human emotion and great music worked its magic. Aside from the constant self-congratulation of the production and the repetition upon repetition of “Carmina Burana” and Dermot O’Leary’s stock lines, the real stars were Eoghan Quigg, JLS and the eventual winner Alexandra Burke who were all superb. I began thinking “Oh, an Irishman” supporting Eoghan; I followed with a conversion to the harmony and ready-made star quality of JLS; however, with a stunning duet with Beyoncé and a heart-rending version of what I initially thought a disastrous choice of winner’s single, “Hallelujah”, Alexandra proved she was a worthy winner. JLS should and surely will have a long career in showbusiness, but Alexandra’s tears at the end of the show were enough to melt even the most hardened of anti-reality TV hearts!