Echoes In Eternity

"Maximus: I am required to kill, so I kill. That is enough.  

Proximo: That's enough for the provinces, but not enough for Rome."

Gladiator (2000)

Perhaps the biggest fallacy to creep into the game off football in the last twenty years is the idea that football has to be entertaining.  A direct result of Sky TV pouring obscene amounts of money into the game and with their countless video montages and overly melodramatic language mean that it's easy to forget that the game is won and lost by who puts the ball into the net more often than their opponents.  Points aren't given for style, so why would you bother trying to have any?

Having an ideology takes a fair amount of bravery.  Anyone can have a goal in their mind, but if you're going to try and do accomplish it in a certain way there's a massive risk being taken.  Brendan Rodgers is a man who has already shown that he's not afraid to make hard decisions.  Leaving what he had built and the potential of what it could become was a risk some might not have taken.  His commitment to getting Liverpool back to where they want to be by playing the right way can only be commended.  Fortune favours the brave.

Football fans are not an audience.  It may be only a small part when compared to that which Steven Gerrard or Luis Suarez has but a match going fan has a role to play much like the players themselves.  Everyone has a part to play but none more so than the man who dictates everything; the manager.  It is from that one person that the rest of the club takes their cue.  For now at least, a higher value has been placed on the means rather than the end result and that's how the squad will be ultimately judged.

The beautiful game is called just that for good reason.  Though it's not designed to be entertainment it can be drama of the highest order and be far more compelling than any film, book or programme we could care to immerse ourselves in.  Part of that comes however, from the atmosphere created by those in attendance.  A passionate, partisan crowd goes a long way to helping the team.  We only have to look at the Champions League semi final of 2005 to know just how powerful it can be.

If enough people turn up with the intention of being a observer, what you end up with is a place devoid of heart.  Soulless and empty, the very opposite of the fervent passion coursing through the veins of the hardened loyal supporters who are there to do their part for the team.  But enough about The Emirates.  As a rebuilding job - one that needs to be done from the bottom to the top - nobody should expect a certain style, only demand the kind of effort and pride you would commonly associate with Liverpool Football Club.  That we're getting both is a testament to the man at the helm.

On Sunday, a team will arrive at Anfield that is more or less the antithesis of what Brendan Rodgers is trying to build.  Stoke are a club that nobody outside of their own fan base likes, in no small part down to the rough-house tactics they employ.  One of the reasons why this works so well for them is because everyone at the football club is on the same page.  From the boardroom right down to the everyday fan, you know what you're going to get with Tony Pulis' men and they're fine with that.  Continuously remaining at the top table in English football is a justification for their brand of football.  That's what they want and this is how they're going to get it.  Both in terms of ambition and approach, Liverpool should be wanting something more but in terms of their commitment to the cause, Stoke have it spot on.

It's very hard to sit down to watch Liverpool with the same kind of objectivity that comes with every other football match and as such they're always a heightened sense of the consequence of what's unfolding on the pitch.  That is what being a fan is about by definition, you're fanatical about the events, players and people you are watching.  There's a collective desire for success that is so strong it hurts inside at the faintest sign of weakness.  With the style that's been coming along faster than anyone could have anticipated and momentum that's starting to arrive, even these setbacks can be seen as minor progress.

Nobody likes to take pleasure in defeat, much in the same way it's doesn't seem right to find fault with a victory.  Both are necessary however, in order to move on and grow as a unit.  What's happened recently is that those recent results that have been less than satisfactory did show a glimpse into what the future might hold.  Most of these ifs and buts rely on a fair degree of patience from those involved.  The only way this will ever have a chance to become reality is in time.  Wouldn't that be something?

What the Europa League and League Cup have allowed the manager to do is blood in some of the young players to see if they are up to task and a by-product of that is now we have a crop of three or maybe even four who will be finding a lot more playing time in the league this year.  Even something like the team sheet can do a lot for the optimism ahead of a game and how refreshing it is to see such faith in our academy talent.  This will in turn force those who are established senior pros and not performing up to par - Downing, Stewart - to either up their game or face the prospect of not being involved.  This kind of healthy competition that surrounds the first team has created an enthusiasm for these kind of fixtures.  People are eager to  watch the games and see who's going to rise up next whereas for quite some time - barring the first six months of Kenny's reign - everything has been a little monotonous.

There hasn't been quite this much sense of adventure and fearlessness about a Liverpool team for some years now.  The games themselves are a lot more fun than they have been in recent years, regardless of the score line.  Inevitably there will be some slip ups along the way, that's what happens to a side that's trying to become something that they're not.  Nobody quite knows when we'll get there but the general consensus is that Brendan Rodgers will get us there.  Until then, just sit back and enjoy what happens next.  Are you not entertained?