Above Us Only Sky

Well, for most practical purposes, United have done it. When the famous Liverpool chant of ‘Come back when you have 18′ started out in 1994, no one in England would have imagined we would come back within 17 years. And yet here we are, on the cusp of what will be a truly mind-blowing achievement of a 19th league title, with 11 of them coming in the last 20 years! There has of course been all the talk about the f***ing erch and Sir Alex’s obsession with it which has surely been beaten to death by now. However I think there is one more phrase filled with delicious irony which we can now wave in the faces of all Liverpool and their global fanbase – a phrase coined by the most famous Liverpudlian before King Kenny, John Lennon. Once we get our 19th in the coming week or the week after and go top of the list of ‘Most Succesful Club in England’, I think it will surely be fair to say- Above Us Only Sky.

For those in red who saw the ‘could-be-title-decider-oh-wait-it-was’ against Chelsea on Sunday, two things would have stood out clearly. First, this is not the team of 2008-09 by any means, that with the raw pace of Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez flowing all around the master conductor that was Berba. How many times in that season did we hear ‘The Fab Four are on the pitch for United, can they win this one’. Needless to say, we always did, because that’s what United do. Sunday however was not about any Fab Four. It was a team performance like none else, with no one having off-days and everyone delivering, as they would say in the professional world, ‘beyond their expected duties’. Ji-Sun Park cannot be held solely culpable for the Arsenal goal the previous weekend, but boy did he act like he was. In the first 20 minutes, United played with 15 men on the pitch, Park being the 4 extra men. Those 20 minutes were enough, the game had been won by then.

Who else do we pick out as ‘Standout’ on the day? Vidic, with what proved to be the winner as he shackled all of Chelsea’s front three with able assistance from Rio? Sir Ryan of Giggs, who has missed a couple of sitters over the past few games but has now redefined how a Central Midfield role is not only about bullying? Wayne Rooney, Public Enemy No. 1 over the winter for daring to take on Man United, the establishment and Sir Alex, the legend and getting away with it, who is now effectively the new Paul Scholes? Antonio Valencia, whose season was believed to be over after a horrible break against Rangers, skinning ‘world’s greatest left back’ Cashley Cole like he was an Under-15 Sunday Leaguer? Or heck, was it the man who went from Chicha-who to Chicharitttoooooooooo over the course of just 30-odd games in Red? The answer, as Steve McMahon, a Liverpool man through and through gurdgingly accepted, was everyone.

The second standout moment on Sunday has to be how as one, all of Old Trafford resounded with a pressure-cooker-release of celebratory noise as the 4 minutes of stoppage time ticked down. Sir Bobby Charlton, who did his utmost best to contribute to the 18 so far was applauding in sync with the 75000 others, each of whom also surely did their utmost best to contribute to the 18 till date. Cut from Sir Bobby to Javier Hernandez, a man who has been associated with United for about 1/50th the time that Sir Bobby has been, and yet shedding tears of joy at the final whistle as the realization sank in that was now an integral part in a little piece of footballing history. Cut straight to Sir Alex, a man at 70 marshalling players 40-50 years younger than him and making a complete mockery of the term ‘generation gap’, bowing to the 75000 at Old Trafford in a rare moment of exaggerated display of his emotions. It was a moment where thoughts of ‘still not mathematically won it’ was set aside and thoughts about Barca ‘doing us’ at Wembley relegated to later times. This was a moment to savour, getting to within touching distance of upstaging the Most Succesful Club ever by beating the Most Succesful Club from the previous season. It couldn’t have come together any better, and boy did Old Trafford show its emotions.

No doubt, thoughts about Barca and how we can ‘at least give them a run for their title’ and other such pessimistic noises will start very soon. But this little bit of footballing silence after the storm feels nice right now, because heck, the pressure is no less on us fans biting our nails through every 90 minutes, hotly debating penalties that weren’t, cards that should have been, and this new nonsense of ‘based on video evidence…’. All that can wait. Right now is the time to lie back, look up and see Above Us, Only Sky.