30 years worth the wait...

It was a beautiful morning yesterday, Friday 26 June 2020. The sky was slightly overcast but it did not rain. Perfect for some outdoor activity to release some sweat.

Far out west in England came the news that Liverpool Football Club has become the champions of the English Premier League after a wait of thirty long years. There are still 7 more games to go before the full fixture schedule (delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic) is completed, but the nearest rival is too far behind to catch up. We shall savour the moment and enjoy the weeks ahead as the 2019/2020 season comes to a close.

Great things happen to those who work hard and are willing to wait.

Morning brisk walk at Taman Merdeka in Johor Bahru

An old name for Great Britain

In the English Premier League football competition, I support Liverpool Football Club. I first became an LFC fan when I studied in the UK in the 1980s. Last Saturday, they played against Manchester City and got the worst drubbing that I can ever remember watching. After the exhilarating game against Arsenal the previous fortnight where the Gunners were trounced 4 to nothing, last weekend saw Liverpool on the receiving end of a City goal-scoring spree.

Damn it hurts... but I guess if you are able to dish it out, then you should be able to take it too.

The only other team in EPL that I would consider myself a supporter of is West Bromwich Albion, although I cannot call myself a die-hard fan. I became a supporter of WBA much earlier that LFC, when I was still in secondary school. The main reason for my attraction to Albion was a certain player named Bryan Robson. A stylish and hardworking midfielder, Robson later transferred to Manchester United where he enjoyed a successful career. He also became captain of the England team.

After watching the horrible Liverpool team display on Saturday, I then switched to watch the later game of West Bromwich Albion versus recently-promoted Brighton & Hove Albion. As it turned out, the new boys BHA defeated WBA by 3 - 1. A rotten Saturday of EPL football for me.

Anyway, the item that caught my interest was that two teams with `Albion' in their names are playing against each other, the first time I've come across it. This caused me to look up what `albion' means.

According to Wikipedia, Albion is the oldest known name for the island of Great Britain. The name is ancient Greek in origin (as opposed to Britain, which has Latin roots).

Okay then... enough of rolling in sorrow and looking forward to next week's game.

Klopp at the top

It's a good week to be a Liverpool FC fan. The Reds completely outclassed their latest opponent Watford by a score of 6 - 1 last Sunday. They now lead the Premier League after completion of 11 games. It's the international break next weekend and this will allow Liverpool fans all over the world to savour the view from the top.

No doubt, it's still early days and the gap in points among the top 5 teams is still too close to call. But one thing's for sure.... Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, has instilled an open attacking style of play that's truly a delight to watch.

Of course I hope that the thrilling wins would continue and God-willing, we'll clinch that championship that's been so elusive.

Top 10 positions for week ending 6 Nov 2016