This time last year: Liverpool were beginning to ride the crest of attacking upheaval and stunning football that saw them partake in – and headline – an astronomically unpredictable three-fighter dogfight for the coveted glory of the Premier League title. This year, the after effects may very well have put a damper on any thoughts of continuing to ride that cascading crest of inspiration and dreams to the top of England: alongside two factors of course; the loss of a mercurial Uruguayan and the addition of a Spanish marksman for the men in blue. When it all comes down to it, however, Liverpool are a shell of their former selves, but are they also a victim of expectations?
Yet, are things really so bad?
Well, yes. They are.
Will they continue to be this bad?
No. They can’t be.
One gaze at the numbers makes for dreary reading for any Liverpool supporter right now: fourteen points from eleven games, and though they showed immense promise in the opening halves of their two psychologically toughest games: home to Chelsea, and away to the Champions, the overriding disappointment comes from results such as Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa, and a similar scoreline present when Newcastle came to visit Anfield. If there was a term to describe Liverpool’s season so far, irrespective of their emphatic visit to White Hart Lane where everything seemed to click, it would be lacklustre.
It’s all very well to go portioning the blame onto the shoulder of the manager, the transfer committee, and the out of form players, but in reality the fault lies with the collective unit at Liverpool: the myriad of overachievement and seismic shockwaves as “Make Us Dream” resounded through the infamous halls of Anfield, creating something truly special in the lives of those who traversed the hallways through the dark times: the Hodgson times, the Hicks and Gillett times, and to see such a massive improvement from this team: being able to argue to your mates that you had the best player in the world, or the best young talent in England, or indeed the best manager in the Premier League was such a tantalising prospect that Liverpool fans clamoured to see what this season could produce.
But the bittersweet agony of that prospect really hit home when the task of breaking through the resolute Aston Villa defence set in, the same defence that conceded three against Chelsea: this was no longer last season, this was no longer the best attack in the Premier League: this was a developing attack, stock full of new signings and new formulas and new systems, all to arrange the pieces of a brand new puzzle together.
Following the pulsating excitement of the 2013/14 season, in which one 5-1 thumping seemed to set an entire fanbase alight with hope that had lay dormant for what seemed like a millennia, the step backwards could not have come at a worse time: in worse circumstances.
It’s simple: Liverpool need Champions League if they want to sit atop the perch again. Next year, the TV revenue for Champions League football will approximately double, yet no Liverpool fan seems content with the fact that their club could come into a exhorbitant sum of money: judging by the way the £120 million at Brendan Rodgers and the transfer committee’s disposal was utilised.
Now in no way, shape, or form, should the comprehensive mistakes in the transfer market be excused: Rickie Lambert lacks any form of speed or reaction time: seemingly laboured on the pitch, Daniel Sturridge possesses the reliability of a 1980’s Range Rover and the failure to adequately replace the Range Rover with a backup vehicle while it’s in the shop was a poor decision: especially considering you’d only need to take one look at Mario Balotelli’s history to see that not only does he thrive on a strike partner: it’s fundamentally mandatory if you want to obtain anything worthy of note from the man.
Adam Lallana, though a fantastic player had his price doubled by a resolute Southampton side who weren’t willing to let him go for anything less than a platinum-inflated premium, and £20 million for Dejan Lovren remains a befuddling and frankly preposterous way to show the world you’ve got money: there’s better ways to waste it.
All of this is obviously journalistic creative licensing: torturing metaphors and similes and attempting to garner something resembling a smirk from readers around the globe: Why? Because Liverpool fans don’t have much to smile about otherwise.
Where last year it was impossible to go anywhere in Liverpool without seeing a beaming, gleaming smile plastered onto a happy Red’s face, this year the doom and gloom is only heightened by the fact that not so long ago, the best player in the world was setting the Premier League alight.
Now though, Liverpool are biding their time while they wait for their saviour (who is seemingly made from glass) to click things back into gear.
It’s all well and good talking about tactical systems and philosophies, but the fact of the matter is that Liverpool fans won’t care where or how it comes: just as long as they get those beaming smiles back, the pressure of expectations will be relieved, and everyone can go back to over-analysing every Glen Johnson step or making ridiculous arguments against 20-year old Lazar Markovic, rather than damning the boss and his bosses.
Simple. Start winning games; let the expectations take care of the rest. Liverpool is a winning-club: and as much as rattling on about philosophy and play-style makes for good reading: at the end of the day that somewhat damn-filled, condemning response made by under-pressure managers that “football is a results game” rings true. Get the results, and suddenly a league table is turned on its head. Southampton’s done their job of winning the games they want to win: they’re in second, where Liverpool used to be.
Easier said than done, right? Well the more basic among us will be saying “We did it once, we can do it again.”
Though the intricate details may not be quite so simple: the fundamental fact is this. One good result, and suddenly a season is turned on its head, where hope seemed void, it’s turned on its head.
It’s never too late.
Liverpool have made a history out of that phrase.
