Clean On The Other Side: Liverpool 3 - Newcastle 0

I'm trying to not fall into the trap that I have of past seasons, where wins like this merely pass me by and into the ether of the deepest parts of the memory bank with little feeling. We used to do that when we were entrenched in the top echelon of the league, and a ho-hum win at home was expected and hardly ever celebrated. It felt like paying a bill on time.

But considering where we've been, and where we're going, I'm trying to enjoy every win, every simple afternoon, every point banked more than I normally would have. There was nothing remarkable about yesterday's victory over a Newcastle side that couldn't be arsed at all. Liverpool weren't great, they were just enough. The opponent thought about threatening, but upon discovering it would take actual work to break through, though better of it. And Liverpool took the chances presented, and that was that.

But it was around November that I gave up ever experiencing an easy win again. Fuck, any win was seemingly beyond hope. So to return to the afternoon's of the easy-chair, where you pay your bill on time, well, it's good to have that back.

-I thought Flanagan would have a tough time with Jonas, and so it proved. I wondered why they didn't flip him over to the left side earlier, but halftime was as good of a time to do it I suppose. Though it's not exactly like Glen Johnson is a Master Lock in his own half. But it worked.

-Jay Spearing seems to get better every game, but I'm trying to not be too enchanted by him. After all, to challenge for honors it's his status that you want to improve upon. It may be hard on him to just be a squad player next season when Gerrard is fit, but that's probably where he fits best. A Europa League campaign would provide enough games for everyone as well.

-Same goes for Dirk Kuyt. While we love the goals he's been pouring in and the understanding he has with Suarez and his work ethic, to improve this team we'll need better in the advanced midfield positions that Kuyt usually occupies (rhymes with Bashley Fung). With Suarez and Carroll the top two strikers, it would seem a crime that your leading scorer from the previous season won't get as many games. But that's just he way it goes. Hey, there was a time we found enough starts for Bellamy, Kuyt, and Crouch, right? Or maybe we didn't...

-According to the chalkboards, Lucas didn't miss a tackle yesterday.

-Joey Barton missed on 25 of his 73 attempted passes, and they must all have been freekicks. Thankfully, when the Geordies were piling up the freekicks and genuinely threatening in the first half, Barton couldn't find his own dick.

-Maxi still sucks. Sorry.

-Newcastle fans just might be the most entertaining around. We all love their shirtless, blubber-filled antics. But this bile directed at Andy Carroll kind of got by me. I get it, he was the new God after Shearer (who was always about as interesting as watching roadies tune a guitar. At least Carroll gets pissed up every so often), and he left. But he came out and stated he didn't want to go, that he was forced into handing in that transfer request by Mike Ashley as he humped the imaginary pile of money. Considering Ashley's track record, who do you believe? Whatever, Carroll's better off now, and closing out the season with three wins will see him in another European campaign.