The Journey Ahead
All good things…
That’s what it’s been for so long. In a period where time seems to blur while living our lives isolated from the people and things we love most, it’s only natural many of us slipped deeper into the habit of using Liverpool for escapism. It was the most tempting thing in many ways. Because for the last three years, it has been as good as it can be.
Maybe that’s why this seems so difficult to accept the current situation for many of us, because in this moment where it almost feels like we need this, it’s not the same. Like everything else in this bizarro world we live in, nothing feels normal, just inevitable.
We’ve talked about it on the podcast that going to the well a third year in a row was always an unlikelihood. And yet, the Reds came through the holidays top and appeared to have managed to put themselves in a position to defend the title despite not looking their best. What we didn’t realize is that the corner toward better form was nowhere near turned.
There have been so many mitigating factors that have led to this moment, we could spend all day and in fact it feels like that’s what we do now. Some of them we could see, some of them we couldn’t. I’ve mourned the loss of Virgil van Dijk for the season like he actually died, which seems really dumb when Jurgen Klopp has been faced with the very real loss of his mother.
Loss like this does put things into perspective and it serves as a reminder that not only is this just a game, a leisure activity for us supporters, but it’s one played and managed by human beings. Their lives are as complex and nuanced as the journeys they take us on.
There is a sentiment today making the rounds that we should all be a little less critical and a bit more empathetic to the people who make this club what it is. That is always generally a good rule, but if you got sucked into the vortex of being upset by recent results, don’t feel bad. That’s what comes with the territory of being fanatical about something. You can’t be emotionally invested in something and not give it every bit of your emotions.
The key is to look past it, to keep your eye on the larger picture. Thus far, our attempts to do that as a fanbase have focused on all the things that have gone wrong this season. We’ve been so preoccupied justifying this team not defending a title that we are blind to the possibility that lies ahead.
We all know the injury list is long, that this team that was built on raw emotion and a relationship with supporters is suffering more than most from the vast emptiness that meets them any time they walk down the tunnel.
Some other things we know now through our most recent experiences watching Liverpool from the outside? This team isn’t going to be able to play the system that Jurgen and the coaching staff custom built for the stars and key figures in this squad to press and annihilate opponents with extreme pressure and precision over a matter of years. Names like van Dijk, Naby Keita and Diogo Jota don’t come cheap and can’t be replaced easily. They may be returning, but should they return to the same setup is another question. Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, characters that the entire squad has a longstanding trust in, will not be returning, just as van Dijk will be absent from the rest of proceedings.
Anyone with a pair of eyes can see three things as a result of this: 1) the knock on effect of having to play two of the best midfielders in the squad in central defense is significant for everyone from the players directly in front of them to the front three. 2) the players tasked with replacing the missing stars are struggling to provide the same impact and skills as those players and 3) if Jurgen can manage to sneak all the big names left standing onto the pitch, there is very little on offer from the bench that can change the game aside from a young, still developing Curtis Jones. That may change with the return of Jota, but should we pin our hopes to a player whose been out two months with serious injury having an immediate impact? Should we plan on Naby Keita suddenly being reliable?
We all know the talent of the others in the squad, but for a wide variety of reasons they aren’t firing on all cylinders or contributing on a consistent basis. Now, we can all keep things in perspective and understand the context this ridiculous frantic season needs to be viewed through. But at the same time, let’s all recognize the reality, for a second, that this season is going to continue and there is still a lot on offer in terms of things these Reds can achieve.
The title is gone, and that’s okay. In my time as a Liverpool supporter, we’ve had more seasons like this than not. And in my time I’ve learned that what Jurgen said before the start of the 18/19 season is the absolute truth; it’s about the journeys.
We went on a hell of a journey to get to this point and now, you might be fooled into thinking this is the end. That’s the beauty of football, it never ends and there is always a long term outlook. It’s a bit hard to see right now, but Sunday’s loss may actually be the biggest blessing this team can experience.
We saw the way City struggled last season and has recovered this campaign. The long term outlook for Liverpool is that they may well do the same, they simply have to see their way through this next three months and guarantee top 4.
The financial situation facing football clubs around the world dictates that European football and reward money for where the team finishes in the league are paramount. There will be no fans at Anfield this season to generate revenue or provide the much needed spark of energy for this team to feed off of.
For our own sanity, it’s time to move into the next phase of that journey and be open about what that means. The Reds might have to line up differently, they may have to make some awkward or difficult personnel decisions to figure out how they achieve the things they want to achieve. If the City match has done one thing, it’s free them from the obligation to defend the title, unleash them from the pressure and constraints of having to play in a way that reminds us they’re the champions.
From this point forward, they’re just a team on a journey with aspirations and something to prove. They’re just humans making their way in the world like the rest of us. They can still achieve something in Europe and finish in the top 4. If they were to succeed, that would be an impressive achievement in a year with all of those obstacles. Super human almost.
It’s normal to be disappointed, to see the opportunity lost. At the beginning of the season you start out with one idea of success and somewhere along the way you get blinded by the possibilities. Well, our eyes are clear again and this week, we’re sitting down to talk about what we see.
We hope you enjoy that content and as the team finally fits in a bit of training in a period of six days with no match, give your mind time to refresh and consider what the season still could be and what it actually means in the grand scheme of things.
The saying goes all good things must come to an end, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come again. It’s only February, there are more good things ahead.
