5 Things I’ve Learned Supporting Liverpool Since 2010

By Gordon Lee 5 years ago

 

  1. Patience & Resilience

One thing that I learned from this journey is how to be patient when the club is undergoing huge development. When I started supporting them, they were inconsistent because of the ownership and players change.

Eight games in the 2010/2011 season, Liverpool were 19th in the league and it does not seem they would turn it around anytime soon. We had players like Konchesky, Kyrgiakos, Spearing, Shelvey, Carroll and many other unpopular names to mention, played for us every single week and comfortable enough to be uncontested in the starting lineup.

Looking back to that period, I am very grateful to grow together with the club and not left them during the hard period. In fact, I think I actually have an advantage compared to the newer fans that just supported the club last year or two years ago because it teaches me how to be patient and really tested my loyalty.

Here is the comparison of the tables in 2010 vs current:

 

  1. We are not the “stepping stone” anymore

Until a few years back (before the front-three was born), we were always on the verge of losing our star players at the end of the season. I remembered the first season I supported the club, Torres was going to Chelsea because of the lack of trophy and underwhelming performance. Fans were disappointed and fearful of the transfer window because we knew with those forms, we would not be able to attract big names and to make matters worse, we have no leverage to make big players stay.

Known players like Sterling, Suarez, and Coutinho chose to leave us because they thought they had a better chance of winning silverware somewhere else. Although the fans were disappointed, I must say the way Liverpool handled it and did not do panic buying was a masterclass. Although it was true that some of them did not work out, the majority of players turn out to be an integral part of the puzzle for our success this season. Now that the table has completely turned, it’s not the matter of who will stay with us, but more like who should we reject because everyone wants to play for us.

  1. John William Henry

Everyone can easily praise Klopp or gave a pat on the back to Rodgers for almost winning the PL for us, but who was the mastermind behind all this? That’s right, ladies & gentlemen, it’s John William Henry. It’s hard enough to be an owner of such a gigantic European club, let alone turning it from 19th in the league to where we are at the moment.

Back around 2012, the majority of the fans had a neutral decision on his appointment as the new owner due to a lack of recognition. He became more unpopular with fans when Kenny Dalglish was fired from the club due to poor 2nd half of the season run even after won the league cup. His appointment of Brendan Rodgers raises more questions than answers since fans were not convinced he was the right man for the job due to the biggest club he ever managed was Swansea.

Eventually, fans started to believe about his vision and what he saw when recruiting new managers when Rodgers almost clinched the PL trophy on the 13/14 season. They were 100% on board when he decided to sack Rodgers for the appointment of Jurgen Klopp because it was clear that John was taking this club back to its glory and very serious about turning this club, not just focusing on the financial aspect of the club.

One thing that I respect the most from this man is he was never afraid to make a bold decision even if it’s unpopular among fans as long as it moves the club in the right direction.

                                               

 

 

  1. Loyalty is in the DNA

The integral part of what makes me keep going is the fans. If you think it is very easy to find a Liverpool fan nowadays, you’d be surprised by it was not much difference even back in 2010 when they through a rough patch. People were still singing and the OLSC was as passionate as of now when it comes to game day. Nothing has really changed. True that we were unhappy and sometimes pissed back then due to the performance, but I am certain that the majority of the fans were not thinking to support other clubs.

I also checked the total attendance of almost every home game. They almost average around 40,000 on attendance regardless of the form. The fans are also buzzing and become a proper 12th man ever since I supported this club.

Both the owners and the fans are also loyal not just to the team, but the stadium itself, which is impressive because most clubs wouldn’t mind the stadium name changed if it means more income. Qatar’s Ooredoo almost took over both the names and kit sponsorship back in 2013 before the FSG said no to the deal. Fans were also strongly disagreed for obvious reason. Looking back it shows what differs us from another club like Manchester City, who prioritizes money in order to boost performance on the pitch. We chose to go the hard way and it pays off without having to disregard the club’s culture.

Can you imagine if we have to call our home pitch, Ooredoo arena?

  1. Future is bright

You probably saw this coming from miles, right? What more I can say about this beautiful club?

We have:

  • Talented young players both in the first team & reserve
  • Champions’ mentality
  • Brilliant team chemistry
  • Big names who are looking to stay
  • Extremely attractive in the transfer market
  • World-class goalkeepers
  • Owners & Coaching staff who knows what they’re doing
  • Leaders on the pitch
  • Divock Origi

The list goes on and on. #YNWA

-Kenny Winson

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