Who killed the Anfield pigeon?
For some, the fact that many people were talking about the Anfield pigeon after Liverpool’s win against Huddersfield on Friday night demonstrated, once again, that there was something lacking in the title race.
Nobody can dispute the excellence of the two teams but the charge is that the drama is missing because they aren’t dropping points. Where are the twists? What happened to the turns?
But maybe it’s time to consider this title race in a different light. It might not have the upsets, but within each game – well, nearly every game – there is an intense moment, a hint that one of the sides could falter, before they continue on their way.
That could be what makes this title race special and why we have to reconsider it. Liverpool and Manchester City are like Federer and Nadal and this title race is a five-set grand slam final. There will be fewer errors than we are used to but that is what it makes it so special. This is a title race like few others because there are two teams excelling.
We are used to one team running away with it like last year and, if we are lucky, we have two sides fighting it out, stumbling and hesitating. But here we have two sides who seem incapable of falling and that’s what makes it gripping.
On The Football Spin, Dion Fanning, Paddy McKenna and Reuben Pinder try and get to the bottom of the mystery of the Anfield pigeon but they also discuss the title race and whether it’s boring watching two teams excel as Liverpool and Manchester City are doing. How has the allocation of television money changed things and would Dion’s radical plan to fix things work or is it against the spirt of the game?
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