While title races are tense and tight affairs, Liverpool are bringing an air of calm to their own charge and easing fan fears in the process…
WHAT I like most is the calmness.
As a man prone to bile-lapping waves of anxiety in any situation, it’s always welcome when someone shoves your thoughts to one side and decides to take control.
Before any game my attitude tends to be…
a) ‘We’ll win this.’
b) ‘Though wouldn’t it be typical if…?’
c) ‘What can I do to ensure that ‘b’ doesn’t happen?’
I realise that last thought is a nonsense, as all I can really do is shout and sing if the players are in earshot or shout and sing to an empty living room. In all probability, neither case meets the mark.
But Liverpool and Arne Slot are calm. They have my back. They’ve got this. Just as well, really.
There’s a Will Smith quote I’ve always liked. Now, I’m not usually a Will Smith fan as such, but this really struck me.
He told a story about how he was in Dubai with his mates (so relatable) and, while on a drunken night out, decided to do a skydive the next day. He and his mates egged each other on and signed up online. That night with his blood full of Carling (I’m guessing, here) he didn’t sleep a wink, the same thoughts running around his head…
Why did he sign up? It was an awfully long way up. What about that whole ‘might die’ thing? Why not just call in sick with a head cold?
The next day he knew his mates were clearly in the same boat but, due to macho bravado that makes men slap other men at major film award ceremonies, they styled it out. Up they went into the clouds with reality suddenly striking from every corner. When his time came, he was edged onto the open doorway and stepped off into nothingness.
You begin the first part of the plummet without your parachute. A freefall. Plunging chest first into gravity’s waiting arms. This is the bit which makes me a bit nervy, to say the least. I could never do that.
As a man who abseiled off the Anglican Cathedral and swore freely at the photographer who asked me to smile while I was only connected to the building by my ankles, I’m used to putting myself in peril. But that would be too much.
Smith felt differently, though. He loved it. He was in heaven. The tranquillity, the view, the air, the clouds, the patchwork of land beneath and, most of all, the sense that he was flying rather than falling all made the whole experience wonderful.
During those minutes, he pondered on the fear that accompanied him to his bed the night before. What did it want? What good did it serve? Then it struck him. It added to the experience, but that’s all it did. Fear is a waste of time and energy.
‘God placed the best things in life on the other side of fear.’
I love that. You just have to get through it.
Fine advice, but it hasn’t stopped me refreshing the league table at least 14 times a day or googling ‘Joe Gomez injury.’ That’s okay, though. My fear, my anxiety and my leaps to the illogical (‘What if Howard Webb really doesn’t want us to win the league and…’) can’t influence a damned thing. Only a handful of people can do that.
And Liverpool have got this. Not the title necessarily, but they’re calming the panic in my heart by being absolutely fantastic about everything. I mean, three bits of paper and a pen would help, but they’re not worried about West Ham or Manchester United or fixture congestion or anything like that. They’ve got it.
Spurs and West Ham away are always tricky. Liverpool scored 11 goals in those two games. Liverpool have got it.
Such was their control of the West Ham game, that even Virgil van Dijk decided to leave his post and weave his way into the box and curl one in. Then Jarrel Quansah decided he wanted some of that too. What I loved most though was Diogo Jota taking on pretty much the same shot as his skipper, but with an air of ‘no, you do it this way.’ Barely any celebration. Five.
Arne Slot and his team aren’t thinking about titles. Last week, I was told that the Spurs game wasn’t significant, and it was too early to get excited about May. I echo Stu Wright’s words this week…
The club shouldn’t be thinking about titles, but there’s nothing to say we can’t. I’ve been thinking about little else lately. Not because I’m desperate for one, but because this is a Liverpool side with both ability and mindset to make it happen. So much of the battle to come will involve the reaction to pressure.
This is why I’m not employed as a mentality coach.
I wouldn’t miss this for the world. This need to have one more look at the table and scouring the fixture list. I love that I get to do that with my club while my mates are doing exactly the same. It makes football live.
And, more importantly, there’s a group of incredibly talented people who are remaining calm and focused on whatever’s next.
And the next game IS emotional. Arguably more than any other, but it’s just a unit to them. Three more points and another refresh of the table.
Thank God for calmness. I offer you none of mine.
Sing.
