UGH: Mansfield 1 - Liverpool 2

Ok, I let this delay too long. But everything that went on yesterday wasn't exactly the most spiriting thing to write about. From Daniel Sturridge's dance to the missed chances to whatever that was coming out of halftime to having to bring Suarez on to you know what and to the finish, it was an occasion that I'm delighted is over and done with.

You just had to know that after a spirited defense of Suarez last week from yours truly, something else was going to pop up this week. And just like it always has, the narrative made me sick.

So if I understand correctly, Luis Suarez now has to call infractions and card himself. Is that right? Is that what's expected? He's supposed to do something that I only remember Miroslav Klose doing in the past ten years? Think of all the infractions, handballs and dives and what not, that a player didn't own up to. So it's Klose vs. what, 100,000 others? The story on Soccernet today that Suarez missed a chance to clean his image is laughable at best. So instead of worrying about playing the game and making his runs and scoring goals and helping Liverpool win, he's supposed to at first concerned with how his image will benefit from what he does?

Whether he handled intentionally really doesn't matter. From that distance, isn't that a normal reflex? For the record, I don't think he did do it intentionally, as he appears to try and move his hand after it was struck from an impossibly short distance to get it out of the way in time. And Suarez is waiting for a whistle. He turned around expecting one. Anyone else and everyone is losing their mud over the referees. But Suarez? Oh, it's his fault.

And it couldn't come at a worse time. Now we're going to get a whole week of piling on bullshit for Suarez, and by the time he takes to the Old Trafford turf on Sunday -- in a match that's hard enough for him as it is -- the weight of the world is going to be on his shoulders. How much can one man take? It's utterly ridiculous, and more and more of us wouldn't be surprised or even angry if Suarez decided to stick two fingers up in the summer and head of to Juventus or something and not have to deal with this silliness.

Fuck everyone.

Other thoughts:

-I could get upset that Sturridge only buried one of his five chances. But he clearly is nowhere near match sharpness, and even against this non-league opposition, I'll give him something of a pass.

-If you're reading this and you're over 6-3 and 200 pounds, you can give Liverpool's central defense a hard time. Yes, you.

-I'm going to be really angry when Rodgers starts Joe Allen ahead of Jordan Henderson against United. Really angry.

-Wasn't Coates promising at one point? I thought I remember it.

-The pitch didn't help at all, but I'd feel better if Lucas would start to look improving very soon.

Ok, that's enough. It's through to the next round against more lower league opposition. Because Liverpool have proven that can be so easy, right?