So after 3 long months, it’s back!...Premier League football (amongst other leagues) restarted last week after seemingly-endless rumblings, meetings, accusations and debate. For a live sport-starved nation, this was fantastically-welcome news!
March 9th saw the last Premier League football action in the UK when Aston Villa were thrashed 4-0 by Leicester City before it was rudely interrupted, along with everything else in modern societal life as the Covid-19 pandemic raged across the UK and rest of the world in unprecedented fashion.
Clearly, when placed in the context of the appalling effects of the lethal pandemic (with the current global death toll sitting at a terrifying 0.5 million) missing some live sport naturally seems like a pretty inconsequential thing. And it is, of course.
However what it has highlighted in the indisputable unifying power of sport, for both competitors and spectators. So many have breathed a collective sigh of relief since the resumption of some live sport, arguing that the positive effects on mental wellbeing are incalculable. At one stage, many were calling for the English football season to be scrapped, all that had gone before declared null and void. Well, it wasn’t and boy how grateful some are for that decision! Red Glory...At long last, thirty painful years to be precise, the once-mighty Liverpool have finally reclaimed what used to be their permanent plaything, namely English football’s top tier league title! A whole generation of Anfield reds weren’t even born when they last won the then-Division1 title in 1990. Names like Dalglish, Barnes, Beardsley and Hansen were distant echoes of past glories. Many felt it would never happen again!
In fairness, at the point of football’s pandemic cessation, the Anfield reds were a gigantic 25 points ahead of soon-to-be-deposed Champions, second placed Manchester City...So only the most anti-Liverpool fan would surely have argued that to deny them their hard-won title would be anything but extremely harsh!
Following the restart, Liverpool held their nerve amidst the eerily-crowdless and silent games and on Thursday June 25th, Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea meant that Liverpool FC had won the title whilst their squad was sat watching the game together in an unnamed hotel….Red scouse fans across the country subsequently rejoiced through the night, waving classic blood red Liverpool FC flag that proudly displays the club crest of the Liver Bird. This officially licensed product is available to buy online at The Flag Shop. Liverpool FC flags measure five feet by three feet with two brass eyelets and quality grommets for hanging. The flag of Liverpool FC is printed with bright and vibrant colours onto a tough quality polyester. These Liverpool flags were flapping away like a sea of red fabric on the night Liverpool won the league, and it was some sight to behold, even if the 2 metre social distancing rule was seemingly only sparsely applied, to say the least!
Geordie Renaissance?One other huge club a little further back in their planned renaissance but no less passionate are the King Geordies themselves, Newcastle United FC! At the time of writing, the city of Newcastle (and their global supporters) still anxiously await their pending takeover being approved by the Premier League. Human rights and TV Piracy controversies have dogged the move from a Saudi-based consortium, but if they get the thumbs up, Geordie fans will soon forget all that and virtually explode with excitement and anticipation at the idea of limitless investment funds to be potentially poured into the club to help attract the world’s biggest stars! Newcastle United flags have been seen in even greater numbers than usual around the city, as lockdown fever fails to dampen the dreams of a long-suffering support who dream of nothing more than their beloved club being able to escape the mediocrity of recent regimes. Is this their time?
Why not join them, if you love a bit of Geordie football madness? An official licensed product, this Newcastle United flag is available to buy online at The Flag Shop. The Newcastle United FC flag measures five feet by three feet and boasts two brass eyelets and grommets for hanging. These Newcastle Utd flags are printed with sharp and vivid colours onto quality polyester, offering great durability and effect. You can nail your black & white colours to the mast, so to speak!
MUFC challenge?The once-mighty Manchester United FC is another behemoth slowly but surely starting to rumble back into life. Numerous false dawns since the 2013 retirement of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson have left Red Devil fans around the world in despair, especially as rich neighbour upstarts Manchester CIty and famed rivals Liverpool have become the dominant forces! But former Red Devils hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has carefully built a powerful young team with a plethora of young attacking talent. The Old Trafford faithful have now caught the mood, with MUFC undefeated in 14 games at the time of writing….A trip around the North West results in you seeing various Manchester United flags draped around bridges, closed pubs and garden walls….They are rebuilding for an assault on Liverpool, it would seem! Whether it comes next season is yet to be seen, but many seem to have faith! If you are one of them, why not join in and show your support?
Whoever you support, or if you’re not even affiliated with one particular team...Isn’t it just great to have it back?