Don’t worry Liverpool, it's the taking part that counts

The words of Ricky Bobby. Who you say? Sacrilege. For Ricky Bobby is the lead in the Warm-Up’s all-time top boy film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby from way back in 2006. How that bag of guff The Departed took home the Oscar for Best Picture, the Warm-Up will never know but that is another story for another day.

Anyway, the basics of the quote are quite simple but allow the Warm-Up to translate into 2019 football twitter parlance: Jurgen Klopp is a fraud. He came second, ergo, he was last. Now it pains us to go against its main man Ricky Bobby but Jurgen Klopp is NOT a fraud. Nope. Absolutely not. The opposite in fact.

But let’s get something else out of the way early doors: it's hilarious that Liverpool have finished the season on 97 points and have not won the league. However, Liverpool’s failure to claim the Premier League title with a points haul that would have won the Premier League every other year it has been in existence bar last year when City hit a century can be both hilarious and seriously impressive.

Liverpool are the real deal. They have built a team that should be the envy of much of Europe and have landed themselves a spot in the Champions League final for the second year in a row. It would not be hyperbole to say that they are in the top two teams in Europe. Unfortunately for those of a Liverpool persuasion, the other best team in Europe happens to reside in the Premier League and their name is Manchester City.

The Citizens last dropped a point in the Premier League on January 29. That is madness. They will probably take home a domestic treble and, if it was not for VAR, might have secured a quadruple. So, to conclude, second ain't last; second is second and this season it is a highly impressive achievement.

This time the taking part did actually count.

Feeling sorry for yourselves, Liverpool fans? Get your collective chins up because you are not Manchester United fans. Sorry to break it to you folks but United as a serious Premier League contender are done and dusted.

The innards of the club are rotten and there is only one way from here: down. The marquee signings they have made are, well, not getting on like marquee signings, they made a mess of the timing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment but the kicker? Their wage structure. That mess has, to delve into the Eurosport phraseology notebook, left them absolutely snookered.

Central to this are the wages and form of Alexis Sanchez - he is getting paid a small fortune for performances that would get you an absolute rollicking at amateur level. How much did Ed Woodward’s skewed wage structure impact on the decision of Ander Herrera to up sticks and do one to PSG? Well, if reports are to be believed, much.

And therein lies United’s problem – they have thrown so much money at a problem that could never really be sorted by lobbing money at it that they are in a real tight spot. They need a reset. However, any agent worth their salt will ask for a small fortune. They have priced themselves out of a reset. Herrera, for example, was apparently asking for £250,000 each and every week of the year. Each week. Madness. This madness was brought to you by Woodward, who, as well as knowing absolutely nothing about football, is apparently an accountant.

There is a theory that elite-level sports people have a completely delusional sense of self-worth – it is part of what makes their confidence impregnable.

Now, those delusions of grandeur will vary depending on the individual but the Warm-Up can only presume that Zinedine Zidane’s delusions are off the chart. For delusion is surely the only explanation to his inexplicable decision to return to Real Madrid. The 46-year-old’s move to leave after claiming a third European crown last May marked him down as a soothsayer.

Alas not, as for reasons known only to the man himself, Zidane came charging back. It was a disaster waiting to happen and, guess what, it is happening. They are dreadful. They lost again on Sunday - this time to Real Sociedad. They have now won just two of their last six in the league. They also need a reset.

What is the phrase the youth of today use? Noel Gallagher, here, living his best life. Absolute. Best. Life.

First the ‘tache, now this Instagram message.

Someone make an intervention for this fella is lost.

Rory Smith on the collective excellence of City and how the brilliance of Pep Guardiola has made the Etihad club the best team in the Premier League for the second year on the bounce is well worth a gander.

This was the state of Manchester City in 1993.

You the man Pep, you the man.

Maaaaaaaaaate, the season is over. Done. Dusted.