Do You Believe?
The league is our bread and butter. The champions league is our dessert. Cups are a bonus. Jürgen Klopp joined Liverpool 7 years ago and what have we done since?
1) We won the Premier League in 2020
2) We won the Champions League in 2019
3) We won the European Super Cup in 2019
4) We won the World Cup in 2019
5) We won the FA Cup in 2022
6) We won the League Cup in 2022
7) We won the Charity Shield in 2022
8) We were Champions League finalists in 2018 and 2022
9) We were Europa League finalists in 2016
10) We were League Cup finalists in 2016
It has been a golden era for the club. It is important to appreciate what we have and to appreciate it while we have it.
There have been many false dawns. The loss and the slip against Chelsea in 2014 are still raw all these years later. That season produced some scintillating performances and results. Look back at a highlights reel and see the amazing win at home to Man City, destroying United at Old Trafford and battering Arsenal at Anfield. The league was within our grasp and the reality is that we truly only recovered in January 2020 when Mohammed Salah raced away to put us 2-0 up at home to United, the day we knew the title was returning to Anfield Road.
Read More: Stabilizing the Liverpool Ship – David Jennings
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Heartaches of the Past
The 2008/2009 season brought us close with a team including Gerard, Mascherano, Alonso, and Torres. We were unbeatable and had great moments like a 4-1 win at Old Trafford, but ultimately came up short again. We were ten games from greatness in 2001/2002 and ultimately missed out on the title again. 96/97 saw us finish fourth in a two-horse race. Being a Liverpool fan can be hard. We have had joys and highs along the way. Champions League finals, FA Cups, League cups, but the reality is that we were always close, but not close enough.
So What Now for 2022/2023?
We are now in the middle of a truly special time. Has the season started off well? Probably not. However, even when playing at our best over the last 30 years, it would not have been out of the question to lose at Old Trafford or to drop points at Goodison. We are starting to get our players back fit, and while we tinker with the starting lineup and systems, the team is getting stronger week by week. There is no title awarded in September. We are 5 points behind Man City. Haaland looks unplayable at the moment. Yet, a win against them in October, and there may only be 2 points between us. This is going to be a long season and no one knows what impact the World cup will have.
However, if you look at the history of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, it would take a lot of courage to bet against another special season like those in the years gone by. We have had a bumpy start, but as the song goes, “at the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky”. I know that I’m going to be there, win lose or draw.
I still believe. Do you?
