We're Blackburn fans this weekend." And there were no smiles when they said it, either.
It was the climax to the 1994-95 season, I was playing for Liverpool and we had Blackburn at Anfield on the final day. They were in a title battle with Manchester United, two points ahead of them with a worse goal difference and United were going to West Ham, who were managed by my dad.
It's easy to see the parallels to this season, with Tottenham about to host Manchester City tonight and their fans worried that if they get a result it could set up Arsenal to win the league on Sunday.
It's a strange position to be in, the fans of your club not wanting you to win, and I remember seeing a scattering of Blackburn shirts in the home areas at Anfield.
Did it affect me as a player or any of my Liverpool teammates? Absolutely not because it just can't. The reason why footballers are footballers is that, since the age of five or six, they have wanted to win.
That's how they've been brought up and to act any differently would be to go against everything they are. How could you miss a challenge or a shot on purpose? It's not possible.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin May 14, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin May 14, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
India Modi's weakened rule may herald shift in tycoons' fortunes
Weeks before the election that weakened Narendra Modi's grip on India, the rich, powerful, and beautiful descended on his home state of Gujarat for what one Indian writer described as \"likely the most ostentatious pre-wedding ceremony the modern world has ever seen\".
Dutch progressive alliance just ahead of far right in EU elections, exit polls suggest
Leftwing and Green parties in the Netherlands have said the far right can be beaten, after exit polls showed a progressive alliance narrowly ahead of their nationalist rivals on the first day of European elections.
Billionaire brother sells stake in Asda to private equity
The billionaire brothers who partown Asda have gone their separate ways, with Zuber Issa selling his shares in the supermarket to the private equity firm TDR Capital.
'When will it be enough?' Children killed in airstrike on UN school, say survivors
Survivors of an Israeli airstrike on a UN school in central Gaza have described finding children's bodies that had been torn apart by the blast, as Israeli attacks on the area continued for a second night.
Water firm seizes stake in protester's home over withheld bill payments
South West Water has taken a legal stake in a customer's home after the owner withheld her bill payments in a protest over sewage dumping in rivers and the sea.
Look who is back Eminem storms to top of UK charts
Just over a week ago, Eminem released his 62nd single, Houdini.
From tracksuit to black suit The Piano makes a star of a fostered child prodigy
Not many acclaimed pianists get stopped by the police minutes before a televised performance.
Clause V Labour signs off manifesto - but Unite holds back
Labour has signed off its election manifesto ahead of its launch next week, despite a decision by Unite not to endorse it.
Disillusionment down on the farm Tories face defeat in their traditional rural heartlands
Since I first voted for Thatcher in 1979, I've always gone Conservative,\" says the Hertfordshire farmer Andrew Watts - a longer period than the three decades he has managed his cereal farm near the village of Puckeridge.
"The final straw' Tory campaign descends into infighting
Conservative candidates and aides have looked on aghast at the missteps of Rishi Sunak's Tory campaign over the past fortnight.
