Pocket Sized Season Review 2012/2013

Well it's all over, the season has finished and that "what the hell do I do with my weekends?!" feeling has began to really settle in for many so why not spend a moment of your time having a read through The Liver Bird's pocket sized season review taking a look back at the Reds journey after finishing 7th in the Premier League.

***All images within this post are taken from www.mirror.co.uk***

July/Early August

After Brendan Rodgers was unveiled in June Liverpool spent July on a North American tour. Italian Fabio Borini was also brought to the club in July a player Brendan had already worked with. Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler also showed their faces on the North American tour as Liverpool tried to prepare themselves as best they could for the season ahead.

In other news July was a big month for The Liver Bird after it won best female football blog at the 2012 Football Blogging Awards. Thank you once again to everybody that took the time to vote for my blog! I sincerely appreciate your support :).

August

Liverpool's first game of the season saw them face FC Gomel. It was Stewart Downing who sealed the Reds' first competitive win of the season. The away leg was also successful with the Reds recording a 3-0 win. You have to turn that scoreline around though to find Liverpool's first Premier League result of the season after losing to the recently dismissed Steve Clarke's West Brom.

A tense 2-2 draw with Manchester City instilled some faith in the Liverpool side though for their second league game in August and they also picked up a win at Hearts and a draw against them at Anfield in the Europa League.


Sami Hyypia also popped over to Anfield in August with his Bayer Leverkusen side.

In the news...
- Anders Breivik is senteced to 21 years in jail in Norway.
- Disgraced athlete Lance Armstrong is banned from cycling for life.
- Category 1 Hurricane Isaac makes landfall in America.

September

September kicked off poorly for the Reds after they lost 2-0 to Arsenal at Anfield. A 1-1 draw with Sunderland and a loss to Manchester United also didn't help their league campaign but a 5-2 smashing of Norwich saw Suarez net a divine hat trick.

Liverpool also notched up wins against Young Boys in the Europa League and West Brom in the Capital One Cup in September but the real news of the month was surrounding Hillsborough.


The Hillsborough Independent Panel released their long awaited report and whilst all Liverpool fans knew the truth, now the world could see it in all its glorious light. The report revealed some information that was extremely shocking, 164 police statements had been amended and even more sickening was the information that if emergency teams had responded adequately and correctly 41 of the 96 fans who died that day may have been saved. #JusticeForThe96

In the news...
- The Hillsborough Independent Panel Report is released.
- The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games brings the whole of London 2012 to an end.
- Andy Murray wins the US Open.
- My blog turned 3 years old.

October

October was another rather dire month for Liverpool who struggled with consistency throughout the season. Michael Owen returned to Anfield with Stoke for the first league match of this month but Liverpool only managed a draw. The win over Reading after a Sterling strike provided some happiness for Reds supporters but a draw in the Merseyside derby and a disallowed goal meant the fans' thirst for victory wasn't quite met.


The legendary Di Natale spoilt the Anfield party also when Udinese came to Anfield in the Europa League  group stages but the Reds managed to pick up a win against Anzhi.

Unfortunately October ended on a real low after Swansea came back to haunt Brendan Rodgers knocking Liverpool out of the league cup with ease, they won the match 3-1.

In the news...
- The decision to award the West Coast Mainline to First Group is scrapped.
- The oldest woman ever dies aged 132.
- A football fan is jailed after attacking Chris Kirkland.
- A group of scientists in Italy are jailed for "failing to predict" the L'Aquila earthquake.
- #RIPUncleRay

November

November saw Liverpool pick up 4 draws against Newcastle, Chelsea, Swansea and Young Boys in the Europa League. Steven Gerrard played his 600th game against Newcastle. The Reds also notched up wins against Wigan and Anzhi in the Europa League but they were unable to beat Spurs. Gareth Bale scored at both ends in this game.


In the news...
- Hurricane Sandy batters the American East Coast.
- Turin is chosen as the 2015 European capital of sport.
- Bradley Wiggins ends up in hospital after being hit by a car whilst cycling.
 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores that bicycle kick against England.
- I turned 23.

December

December consisted of 6 league games and 1 Europa League game for the Reds. It was a decent month for the Reds mainly marred by a poor performance against Aston Villa which annoyed me to the hilt as I attended that match, it's typical that when I finally get a window to go I see a match as terrible as that!


The Reds ensured they kept their Europa League hopes up in December after beating Udinese via a Henderson goal. They also collected wins against Fulham and West Ham but they lost to a forceful Stoke. They ended the month on a high though after putting 3 goals past QPR. Daniel Agger and Luis Suarez were on the score sheet. Brendan Rodgers was actually ill that day if you remember leaving Colin Pascoe in charge.

In the news...
- The High Court quashes the accidental death verdicts after the Hillsborough Disaster.
- Sir Patrick Moore dies.
- Typhoon Bopha causes hundreds of deaths in the Phillippines.
- Lionel Messi wins the player of the year award.

January

Liverpool opened January on a positive note after beating Southampton 3-0. Luis Suarez bagged two goals with Raheem Sterling also finding the back of the net. Daniel Sturridge scored as a new signing against Mansfield in the FA Cup for the Reds but Liverpool were knocked out of the competition in their clash with Oldham a couple of weeks later.

Sturridge also scored after coming on as a substitute against Manchester United at Old Trafford but the Reds didn't have enough left in the bag and lost the game 2-1. Norwich also came to Anfield in January and the Reds put 5 past them once again. An own goal along with a cracking Henderson effort, a Suarez goal, a Gerrard goal and a Sturridge goal left Norwich fans pretty red faced.


Liverpool ended January with a draw after going 2 nil up against Arsenal, goals from Giroud and Walcott though meant the game ended level. At the January stage Liverpool were out of two cups but still in the Europa League and in 7th place, a space they would eventually end up in.

In the news...
- Malala Yousafzai leaves a Birmingham hospital.
- 130+ wildfires were burning on Australia's East Coast.
- Horse meat was in EVERYTHING.

February

February wasn't really a fun month for Reds fans again. This month saw them knocked out of their last cup competition as Zenit beat the Reds at home, they lost at Anfield but picked up an away goal that sealed their progression.


February saw another City draw with Steven Gerrard and the ever impressive Sturridge on the score sheet. An emphatic win over Swansea at Anfield saw Coutinho, Sturridge, Gerrard, Suarez and Jose Enrique scoring. The Swansea game was the first time in the season that Liverpool had beaten a side above them in the table. The Reds also lost to Steve Clarke's West Brom again.

In the news...
- Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
- Nigeria win the African cup of nations.
- The Pope resigns, the first one to do so since 1415.

March

March consisted of 4 league games for Liverpool who could now solely concentrate on the league. March perhaps best portrayed Liverpool's inconsistency throughout this season after the Reds picked up wins against Wigan (Suarez bagged a hat trick), Aston Villa and the highly placed Tottenham Hotspur. Steven Gerrard sealed the Spurs win with a penalty.


Annoyingly for the Reds though they were confidently beaten by Southampton. The game ended 3-1 with Coutinho on the score sheet and spoiled the Reds otherwise perfect month of March.

In the news...
- Latvia makes an application to enter the Eurozone.
- The president of Venezuela; Hugo Chavez dies after battling cancer.
- Snow cripples parts of the UK, as always it cleared and most of the disaster was averted.

April

April started with West Ham at home but there would be no return of Andy Carroll or Joe Cole. The game ended 0-0 and was followed the week after by another 0-0 against Reading. The match against Chelsea provided some entertainment for Liverpool fans and Rafael Benitez was given a heroes welcome, much more appreciation was on show from the fans at Anfield than his own fans but as soon as the whistle was blown it was all about finding 3 points. Neither side was able to do so and the game ended 2-2. Suarez and Sturridge scored. The game will always be remembered though for that bite from Suarez on Ivanovic, a moment that meant we would be without our star forward for the rest of this and the start of next season.


April ended on a real high for Liverpool though after they absolutely trounced Newcastle proving that they could still win without Suarez. Two goals from Sturridge and Henderson were met with goals from Borini and Agger to create the biggest away win for any side in the Premier League this season.

In the news...
- The 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster was marked with a memorial ceremony at Anfield.
- The inspirational Anne Williams dies after a hard fight against cancer.
- The not so inspirational Margaret Thatcher dies.
- Terrorists target the Boston Marathon, 3 people were killed and hundreds injured.

May

May would signal the end of Liverpool's rather average season and it would also be the last time the legendary Jamie Carragher would play for Liverpool Football Club. A 0-0 draw with Everton was one of the least exciting Merseyside Derbies I've seen but the next match against Fulham helped with the cheering up process after the Reds won 3-1 after a Sturridge hat trick.



Carragher's final game against QPR was perfectly ended with a goal in the 23rd minute from Coutinho, an accidental tribute to the masterful defender that the Reds have relied on for so many years, it was also apt that Liverpool ended the game with a clean sheet.

In the news...
- A huge tornado strikes causing 24 deaths and miles of damage in Oklahoma, USA.
- A soldier is murdered in a barbaric terrorist attack in London.
- Jamie Carragher retires from football.
- Football remembers the 39 people who lost their lives in the Heysel disaster.

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And so, that was that, the Reds finished in 7th place on 61 points. I don't think anybody was expecting to really finish in the top 4 in Brendan's first season but I must admit I was expecting to finish a bit more strongly than we did. If I'm being honest I've felt pretty bored this season and very frustrated, there have only been flashes of genuine excitement and this is a real shame.

Despite this feeling it is also clear that there is something to build on here, Liverpool at times have looked like a well oiled machine, I've been extremely happy with the addition of both Sturridge and Coutinho and I think if Rodgers can buy well in this window Liverpool may just be able to pull off a good season next year. At the moment I don't feel myself being as optimistic to predict us getting back into the Champion's League but I am predicting 5th place at this moment in time for next season, of course I hope for better!

Thanks again for sticking with me this season folks and for reading/sharing the posts, as always it has been a pleasure! #YNWA