The past is meant to inform our future, not define it. Only the correct use of information picked up from what has gone before will help to assist the present and guide the way ahead, alone it is useless. Those that want to learn from their mistakes will forever become better, while anyone who revels in their former glory may never be able to repeat it. There are lessons to be learned in every page of the history books but you still have to apply them successfully in order to get to where you want to go.
Repetition leads to understanding. If the actions of one person illicit the same reaction every time, they will know that the two events are linked in some way. It's for that reason that so many teams feel that they can come to Anfield and get a result because so many have done in the recent past. What's important is to discover the connection and try to reverse that trend - however simple or complicated it may be - and not just accept things the way they are. That's not to say this will always be the way, for up until Saturday Liverpool had done a lot of groundwork with wins over Wigan, Reading and Southampton but now they will have to start again and be more resolute. A set back like this makes it difficult both in the present and in the future because teams know that it's possible. Just because we're capable of faltering however does not mean it should ever be likely.
Realizing that something works in a certain way is only the first step. Knowing why it operates in the manner it does will then give a broader grasp of the situation. Assuming that something will happen - whether that be winning or losing - regardless of how well informed, is a dangerous game. If a tossed coin lands on heads a thousand times in a row, that is no guarantee of it landing heads ever again. People can be very quick to draw up a line between the past and an unknown future. The premise may be based on experience but it is still very much an acceptance of an assumed reality. Whether it's beliefs are of superiority or inferiority it doesn't matter, the sports pages are always filled with stats week after week about how a certain team has never won at a certain ground or how X has never scored against Y. When they work in our favour we hold on to them, embellish these misleading facts to the point where they are all but cast iron assurances of victory. Putting too much faith in them completely ignores the idea that anyone can improve - or decline - over time.
Gathered data over a period of time mean little to the outsider, but to the participant they could mean a great deal. As with all that is psychological in the world of sport, anything that puts the athlete in a better frame of mind can only be a good thing. If two teams of similar ability are put into the same situation, it is the team that has the confidence that it will win that is far more likely and although nothing is guaranteed, any manager would like the extra ten or so percent between those who think they have it in them and those who don't.
The dangers of both ways of thinking are very severe. A team that consistently falls at the final hurdle will eventually convince itself that they cannot and as such will lose before a ball has been kicked. Those who are used to winning may eventually take it for granted and lose their focus when it really matters. Any good manager can take care of the latter - not every time but often enough - if a collection of players become conditioned to losing however, then it's almost impossible to recover. Isn't it Arsene?
Both the situation and the concerns that are arising now over at the Emirates should be very much on the mind of Brendan Rodgers and his men, perhaps moreso than any other club in the league right now. The trust with which he has put in the younger and academy players has been endearing and for the most part rewarding but it does come with a risk. Those that are just finding their feet in the world of football are by far more susceptible to defeat. Especially in the case of having a pool of raw talent, they need to experience some degree of success otherwise their game will not develop naturally and they could become held back by fear. It's for this reason that the last few games prior to the Aston Villa disaster have been potentially very important for Liverpool Football Club in the long term.
It's unlikely when listing great European triumphs that last weeks one goal victory over Udinese will be among them, still it served a purpose. There were four members of the starting eleven that night - as well as Jonjo Shelvey who came on very soon after - who are still taking part in their debut season on the continent and as such are still learning the game at that level. This will have been their first experience of a European knock-out and though defeat in the Europa League may not be enough to keep Suarez or Reina awake at night, the likes of Henderson or Allen in particular would have seen this as an opportunity missed. The pressure is sure to be different next time and the challenges bound to be harder but at least they have the experience of getting through it.
Right now there is a real strong mentality among the squad that Rodgers has around him at present but that's not to say that it won't be tested. Having ground out wins at home and starting to reverse the trend of frustrating draws, the club appears to have to start again after what happened on Saturday - just as it reacted after the defeat to West Brom in the opening day and against Swansea in the League Cup when the picture seemed familiarly bleak. It's disappointing that people have to feel these dramatic lows over the course of the season but not unsurprising. As the club enters the most hectic and potentially most crucial part of the season there was a real momentum there and it can't all be forgotten on the back of one bad result. It doesn't stop here.
Taking nothing for granted, no amount of confidence will get the job done. Things had been going well lately on the whole and there still needs to be a massive push just before the transfer window opens in January. Getting back on track as quickly as possible will help repair the damage. Winning helps get into the minds of the opposition and will in turn make them believe that for whatever reason that fate will favour Liverpool Football Club. This isn't about a roll of the dice or any kind of gamble however, football is a game of talent and the club needs to continue to showcase that, as often as possible. Then fortunes will really change.
