IT happened for the first time on Wednesday night.
Not Manchester United being predictably devoid of the physical or mental sturdiness to compete at the levels they once set.
Not Manchester City showing a glimmer of their fragility before becoming an overpowering swarm of a football team it seems nobody in a domestic fixture can live with.
It was me, for the first time I very nearly gave up. Bereft of any glimmer of hope, chimpanzee on my shoulder telling me this is the end, your oldest friend, the end. There I was, walk nowhere near me, the absolute state of me.
This lasted until yesterday afternoon. I spent the day engulfed in self entitlement, scouring social media in the hope and desperation of some form of truth around the falsities I knew I was telling myself.
I have managed to realign the balance and return to where I was, looking at what is possible, looking at our boys at Anfield tonight, looking at Huddersfield Town.
A couple of things helped. The first was a particular quote from Jürgen Klopp’s press conference yesterday afternoon: “However the season ends up, it is only the first step. We are not finished, not the finished article. We will carry on, and we will see.”
That was all I needed to hear, that it came from the Liverpool manager was merely reinforcing a collective belief of what we all already know, regardless of how 2018-19 ends.
Perhaps it’s wise to delve a little deeper into the notion of this being only the first step. And to explore the fact that for many fans, myself included, such a statement has never really held any truth during our Liverpool-supporting lives until now.
There are examples from my own lifetime that I can draw comparisons with. The closest probably being Gerard Houllier’s treble winning team of 2000-1.
Yet everything else feels tinged. Rafael Benitez’s time as Liverpool manager will always be surrounded with the chaos and warfare that erupted at boardroom level, which ultimately ended any opportunity for unification and prosperity.
The other comparative is Brendan Rodgers’ 2013-14 Liverpool that caressed us all into its sweet spot and took us on a nine-month ride that we increasingly knew was unsustainable beyond its end due to the inevitable departure of Luis Suarez and waning effect of an ageing Steven Gerrard.
The concept of this only being the beginning is something I’ve not truly felt before. Yet the evidence is present for all of us to suggest this is the case.
Klopp has already addressed some of the issues that have hindered previous Liverpool teams from progressing or sustaining an elite status at the top of world football.
The manager has lost big influences on and off the pitch. Philippe Coutinho was seen as The Reds’ playmaker supreme when the manager arrived. The new break glass should things not be going according to plan for the team, yet Klopp did not see this as a positive, it didn’t fit with the mentality and style he was clearly building.
Off the pitch, he lost his truest confidante, Zeljko Buvac. “The Brain” as he was known, left Liverpool suddenly in a manner that left fans pondering the true effect of managers losing those around them, with the names Patrice Bergues and Pako Ayestaran ringing loud in their ears.
Liverpool is undoubtedly better off without both. Pep Lijnders has developed into one of Europe’s top assistant managers, while on the pitch there is a balance, understanding and unity to the team this season that wasn’t there with Coutinho present.
What is now in place at Liverpool is an environment where everybody is striving for success. The club has implemented the very best in every aspect, from recruitment to nutrition, to ensure they are ahead of the curve for the foreseeable future and possibly beyond.
Next year, the first team will move their training base to The Academy in Kirkby where there will be more of a sense of integration and togetherness to build the future on.
When watching Manchester United on Wednesday night, it is clear they are years behind both Liverpool and Manchester City. United is seeking solace in the nostalgia of yesteryear, of the “United Way” that once made them great. They will continue to look back as more distance emerges between them and those who choose instead to prosper now and plan for the future.
The true challenge for Klopp and Liverpool may come when he decides he needs to build another side. This will be inevitable, yet it may not be as dramatic we have previously perceived.
The odd key change to players and staff can shape a new era of a team and obviously improve it. Yet it may be that the players who leave and how they leave will show us how much this club has returned as a staying power.
There is no longer a feeling that Liverpool are a bridge to somewhere else. This is a club that have made themselves the best place for a player to be. What will be fascinating is whether the manager decides that a player needs to move on for the good of himself and the club which could result in one or two unsurprising exits in future. Trust it.
This is all part of the process, one truly at the very beginning of things. Two summer months of rest and revision will not change a thing for this Liverpool team or their rivals.
Manchester City will return in August having never won a Champions League and being fully determined to do so. The same will apply to Liverpool in the Premier League should they not end up champions after the final game against Wolves at Anfield in May.
Liverpool are that good, almost so good you feel it impossible to repeat. But they are far from their summit. Dare I say it, they can improve.
The other thing which helped me after Wednesday was a memory, and one I’ve not recollected since it happened. It was after the final whistle in Kyiv following Liverpool’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final last season.
I was stood with two friends from The Anfield Wrap you will know, one slumped head in hands, the other crying on my shoulder. I wasn’t in their place, I didn’t know why.
I consoled them in between standing on my chair, chest out, beaming with defiance as the manager and team led a procession around the pitch. I couldn’t have been prouder.
Now I realise why. It was because I knew, beyond every fallacy I had previously known or told myself, that this was only the fucking start.
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We fans love to ignore the business side of things because it is not romantic.
I just doubt that all our star players want to remain here if we dont win the big trophies. Salah, Mane, VVD, Firmino. These players want to look back at their careers and say they won big trophies. In the end footballers dont really care who they win it with as long as they do. And i dont think they will stick around long enough for it to happen with Liverpool. Why should they frankly. It’s very hard to win trophies at Liverpool. Couts has a la liga trophy. emre has a serie a trophy. It’s much easier to achieve that with their new teams but they wont care.
Also, dont see Klopp for too long at Liverpool. He said so himself. Maybe he will extend his contract for a few more years, depending on how the next few seasons will pan out. The day Jurgen decides to leave, he will leave the club and team in great condition for the next manager to step in and pounce on the situation. Maybe Klopp’s legacy will be the transformation of this club and challenging for trophies regularly. Then the next manager has it a lot simpler to win actual trophies for the club. But of course, I do hope we win with Jurgen!
I know it’s not romantic but there is always the context of business behind the game of footy.
@Titus_Red
I sort of agree with you there. Long term we need to win trophies.
Here’s hoping for something big to happen this season.
Spurs don’t seem to be having problems not winning trophies, neither did Arsenal for years and in fact Chelsea and a few others have equally had barren years and retained their best players.
@J
Not having a go at you, but I think it’s important to cap your progress and hard work with milestones.
Individual awards are awesome and rightfully earned, but the team and Jurgen want to cement their history and they are all playing for trophies make no mistake.
Do you think any of our players dream of coming second or losing a final?
What would you and I be talking about if Shankly, Paisley and Daglish had not won anything, but only came second in those 3 decades of finals, and seasons?
LFC has not won the EPL for nearly 3 decades. Now that’s a barren spell to me that I want to see end – I thought maybe this season, but maybe it’s next season.
Chelsea, City, United, Arsenal have all been winning something — FA, League, Charity Shield, EPL, Europa, and CL every 2-5 years. They can afford to go on a a few years without a trophy.
As for Spurs, they continue to flatter to deceive. VAR saved them in the CL semi, and thank goodness they knocked City out. Maybe they will go on to win the CL against one LFC/Ajax/Barca — I think not.
City is still the standard to beat in the EPL. They might get away with no punishment, and end up the PSG of the EPL.
It’s time for LFC to stop coming second and just win the trophies that matter as I think we have a very good chance to do this.
Jesus TITus! I had goose bumps there by the end of Dans article. Crying into my Peroni now! Cheer up lad…
For a person who got so passionate about defending any notion that discussed any degree of luck, this comes across as already in acceptance that this is all or nothing time.
Very sensible comment from Titus. If we remain trophyless again – we will need to demonstrate intent in the trasnfer window by investing another 150m odd to show 1) we want to win and 2) that our current world class players stay on board. Unfortunately, FSG have a track record of selling our best players regularly
You mean selling off the players who wanted out anyway?
I concur with this statement. Winning trophies either with Suarez, Couts and some others was never going to be enough. They always wanted to go to Barca and the likes.
@John Stefan
I disagree that FSG have sold our best players. I think players who left like Coutinho, Suarez and Sterling for example, forced their way out in not so professional manner to seek immediate gratification where they know they are guaranteed of that.
No player should be held back from developing their career at LFC or elsewhere, but at some point when the player has no desire, allegiance or history with the club (or city/country) to build on or fall back on, they can become untenable in many ways.
The perception is that FSG capitalizes at LFC’s expense, but I don’t think so as the player leaves them no choice at times and it would be foolish to not do so in that circumstance.
Remember we sold Torres for a huge sum, but did FSG stand in the way of LFC buying Andy Caroll?
Gerrard in all of this remains a rare gem and testament to an era gone by.
The rest are just biding their time and eventually will exit either at the manager’s behest or for their own for greener pastures.
FSG have done a great job signing Klopp and helping him try and build the green pasture here at LFC.
Let’s hope Klopp’s gardeners can harvest some trophies for our cows in the meantime so they continue grazing on the LFC pasture a few more seasons at least.
So…we’ve only ever spent big after we e sold our players. FSG must demonstrate further intent by spending big this summer on a team that is almost there. City will win a double and plough another 20 into their squad. We must try harder else the FSG trophy cabinet will remain empty. How is it that other big clubs hang on to their best?
“Spending big” does not guarantee success. Spending wisely does and it’s absolutely clear that FSG have spent wisely. In fact what they have done is put in place a system that means that the right players are bought for the team.
Our defence includes two for whom we spent big, making excellent use of the Coutinho money, one home grown full back, one for £8m, a free CB, a young cheap CB from Charlton and Degsi who cost a bit from Soton ;-). How is ‘spending big’ going to improve on that? When you look at it the same approach has been used for midfield and attack.
Man Utd have been spending big and it’s not got them very far!
Then must continue to spend wisely. It’s no secret that with a bigger and better squad this season we would have won the PL
I put this on the other article which was discussing HOPE…
I wrote a reply as soon as this article came out, for some reason it never appeared. It was about hope as I personally wish things.
My hope is that the Footballing Authorities (that’s the FA and UEFA) start to take a serious look at those who flout their rules and penalise them in the same way as the SFA penalised Rangers when they flouted the rules.
My hope is that also we finally get officials who actually understand the rules and apply them.
When you look at this season, how often have Manchester City, a financially doped up man City been rewarded unfairly in matches. Not only are they ‘bending’ the rules off the pitch, but they seem to gain more than any other team on the pitch.
Let’s go back to the game at the Eithad. The FA appointed a Mancunian Referee to officiate the game. That’s really fair isn’t it. This official then gave every key decision (and many others) all in Man City’s favour. Let’s look at the ball that didn’t cross the line for the goal that wasn’t given. I can accept the ball being 10mm still not over the line, however this meant the ball was still live. That being the case, then take the whole incident back to Mane putting the ball past Emerson and Emerson then taking out Mane. It’s a pen. Emerson is the last line of defence, so its a pen and a red card. But hey not given. We then come to Kompany, who jumped two footed and hit Salah around the knee with studs up. He did not get near the ball. He was not in control of the takle. It’s a straight red. However to make it easier, Salah is away and clean through and Kompany is the last defender, meaning again, it’s a straight red. Apply the rules and they are down to 9 men and possibly a goal down. There’s no way they go on to win, that’s then 3 points off their total and 3 points on ours. meaning they drop to 86pts and we go up to 94pts, equally it removes certain numbers off their goal for tally…. This is what really needs discussing along with the bending of FFP to their advantage.
The only time this season we have seen fair decisions in a game against City was the recent CL game at the Eithad against Spurs. We have seen none of this in their PL games.
So hope. I hope that for the last 3 games that we enjoy all the decisions that City have had all season. I equally hope that City get the same nonsense we have enjoyed, such as going to Burnley and being kicked from pillar to post with no support of the officials, having your best defender have his leg broken, as he and the ball are actually off the pitch. I then want the same sort of goals to stand that Burnley scored against us. One offside and the other a foul on your keeper. That I truly hope for today.
I also hope when they play Leicester that the weather is awful and makes it ridiculous on the pitch. That Harry Maguire can forearm smash in the face their forwards in the box to take them out and then hack down another as they are racing through on goal, to then remain on the pitch and score an equalising goal in added time that is added on to already added on time when there wasn’t any.
Equally I hope that the media would stop being the biggest gobshites on the planet and start to call it as it is, that Man City are not playing to the rules and being afforded favouritism by the officials and that it truly is bizarre that in one of the biggest games of the season that a home town Ref is appointed to oversee it.
They talk about Refs coming to Anfield and giving us everything… If that’s the case then tell me how many penalties have we had at Anfield in the last 5 years and just how many at the Kop end of the ground. You will be amazed to discover that in last seasons game against Spurs at Anfield that Tottenham got as many pens as we had in some 3 seasons in around 10 minutes at the Kop End.
So hope takes many forms. Mine is to see cheats not prosper.
@J I hear you mate. I’m with you and LFC, and have been since 1981.
We’ll get there sooner than later.
YNWA!