Life. Death. The rise and fall of an empire. Just as the day has dawned, so shall the night come.
t’s only a matter of time. All which has begun will at some point come to an end. Things can change in a heartbeat. In life sometimes those alterations can be irrevocable but in sport every moment that passes arrives a new opportunity.
A shot at making it right.
The first half an hour of Liverpool’s 5-1 demolition of Arsenal may have only been a few short weeks ago but the sounds and sights of it will burn long into the memory. A performance which be put upon the mental mantelpiece of those that were able to witness it (although Gunners may be hard pressed to ever dwell on it again).
In recent history, there have been very few like it. But there was one that sprang immediately to mind. It was the time Real Madrid came to Anfield and were blown away.
Together they are arguably the two best opening halves for Liverpool Football Club in the last 20 years. When reminded of that incredible early spring annihilation of Juande Ramos’ side in the warm afterglow of that victory over Arsenal, it’s worth noting the differences between the two. Like twins that do not share each others looks, though they may share the same DNA; it is what separates them that makes them important.
Pre match tension comes in many forms for many different people but in the big games it grips us all. A thousand different football matches play out in the mind simultaneously, trying to gain some sort of credible insight as to what is about to unfold. The naturally positive will look at certain areas with an attempted rationalised hope while others will dive head first into superstition or something a little stronger in an attempt to avoid the possible worst case scenarios.
In the lead up to facing Arsene Wenger’s men, there was an air of natural trepidation given the disappointing draw at the Hawthorns a week prior and the finely balanced way the season was going. Given Arsenal’s record at Anfield as of late, it only added weight to what was already a must-win game.
Compare that to Real’s first ever competitive visit to Anfield and there wasn’t quite the same level of tension. Of course there are a multitude of reasons for this. It’s much easier to approach a one-off tie—especially one in which you already hold the lead—than that which is part of a campaign and the club’s specially affinity for the European Cup meant that it was going to be much more of a spectacle regardless. Still, there would have been few anticipating quite what happened in either encounter.
Any direct comparison between the two games is what this is about.
The merits of one team, player or even manager over another is an irrelevant discussion. What it illustrates however—in big broad red letters —is how far Liverpool have come. There were 561 days in between the aforementioned triumph over Real Madrid and – on that very same turf – losing to Northampton.
On Sunday, Swansea came to Liverpool. They have their own incredible story, book-ended by two victories. Last September when they traveled to Valencia and stunned them by three goals to nil, it was exactly ten years to the day that they defeated Huddersfield at Vetch Field. Having been a part of that journey, Brendan Rodgers and his team appear not only driven to get Liverpool Football Club back to where they once were but adequately equipped to get there.
Because of it’s competitive nature, there is no guarantee that a fall from grace will be followed by a return to glory. While Southampton and also Manchester City have been able to find a way back from having been down in League Two—the latter having had immeasurably financial aid since their return to the Premier League—there are still also tales of those who haven’t quite been able to find a way.
Nottingham Forest and Leeds have done well in terms of stabilisation following turmoil but still find themselves on the outside looking in. Just when it appeared that Wolves had gained some stability, they themselves fell backward two divisions in successive years.
Then there is the case of Portsmouth, who in five years went from winning the FA Cup to being relegated to League Two. A fan base made to suffer because of off-the-field decisions and a football club crippled by poor management and ownership.
Sounds very familiar.
There was a point where it looked like Liverpool were destined for administration. Perhaps even the beginning of a slide that could take decades to erase. Stade de Reims are the sixth most successful side in France in terms of league titles, despite having won their last of six Lique 1 titles in 1962.
It mattered not that they were heavily involved in the infancy of the European Cup (runners-up in the first two tournaments) when they were liquidated in 1993 and had to auction off their assets. After a remarkable rise from the ashes, going into this weekend they sit eighth in the French top flight.
It feels as though it’s taken forever simply to get to this part, where there is but a chance of something special. The goal from the outset this season has been to get back into the top four but it is only a subplot in a much longer quest. There is still the 23-year search for a title, a generational gap that could potentially be bridged by the end of this season.
As unlikely as it sounds, while it remains even but the faintest of possibilities, the aim should be to finish as high as possible. With 11 huge games of the season left to go and two of the top three still to play at home, it isn’t a question as to whether Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers can go all the way but whether they will.
Only time will tell.
