It's taken me quite a while to get over Wednesday but the pain of it all was somewhat lessened by getting a chance to see the Reds in action against Manchester City at Anfield this afternoon in a typical end of season testimonial type non event.
Neither side went hell for leather and it made for a pretty dour affair. Some had Euro 2008 in the back of their minds, others just couldn't wait to sack it off for the summer.
There was much the same feelings in the crowd. Anfield was very quiet. Unlike in recent seasons we did not have the prospect of a European Cup final to look forward to and that probably explains it.
It was a dour game notable only for our shiny new kit and an encouraging performance from Emiliano Insua at left back. The young Argentinean was the only youngster given a chance despite the rumours of Anfield debuts for Damien Plessis and Kristian Nemeth.
Both did grace the hallowed turf today but it was at half time when the reserve squad were presented with the Barclays Northern Premier League title and with the second string aiming for the national title against Aston Villa at Anfield on Wednesday that's probably why they didn't play today.
El Nino added another fine goal to his collection, making mince meat out of the normally excellent Richard Dunne before finding the far corner. It's 32 for the season now and he equals Roger Hunt's record of scoring in eight consecutive home league games. If he brings such great form into next season then there will be many more records broken.
It's been an amazing debut season for the lad, far beyond any of our expectations, probably even his. But every defender in the league will know him just a bit better next year.
Xabi Alonso, while still a fantastic and important player to the side, has never quite hit the heights of his debut season. But Torres has mental strength in abundance and that will count for a lot. Anything close to the form he has shown this season will be more than acceptable next term.
The exclusion of John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch perhaps speaks volumes about their futures at the clubs. Question marks too over Alonso. A summer of change is on the horizon after an up and down season that was never helped by the off field instability.
We've improved massively in the league despite what some may think. We lost ten league games last term, we've lost just four this time around, one less than champions elect Man U.
Clearly the problem lies with draws which we need to cut out and be more clinical against sides, particularly at home.
But Rafa has come upon a formation that gets the best out of our two best players in Gerrard and Torres. A few key additions in the summer and we'll be on the right track.
We've been saying for a good ten years that we're just a couple of players away from challenging for the league but I genuinely believe that is now the case. But only if Rafa gets the funds and support necessary to continue the great work he has done so far.
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