Where’s Your Famous Atmosphere?
Anyone who remembers the brutality in which Liverpool was bounced out of the Europa League by eventual winners Atalanta last season may well have had their backs prickled by the news of a protest at Anfield. Last year’s ticket price increases led to fan group Spion Kop 1906 calling for a banner blackout in protest, leaving much of the sound and animation in the first leg at Anfield to come from the away side. The lack of atmosphere in combination with sapped energy from news of Klopp’s retirement was widely credited for the abysmal 0-3 result that was the beginning of the unraveling of a season in which it was hoped we would send our gaffer off with a Continental Quadruple. It was also a stunning object lesson in the importance of fan support at home.
READ MORE: My Liverpool Story: The Gift by Jack Champagne
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Reclaiming The Atmosphere
No such complaints could be made about the atmosphere in Saturday’s matchup with Brighton. It was an instant classic game that demonstrated the power of the collectivity at the core of Liverpool’s identity. Arguably, no one player was excellent. It was quite the opposite. A fragile performance in the first half was rightly punished by a Brighton goal. We underestimated Brighton at our peril. The Seagulls are a highly respectable side that outplayed us largely on the strength of good fundamentals. The halftime whistle saw Ibrahima Konate limp off the field nursing an arm injury. Thankfully it turned out to be minor. Still, the squad looked far from defeated. The 12th man responded in kind. The Anfield Roar was in full effect.
Joe Gomez gallantly stepped in for his fallen comrade and acquitted himself phenomenally. The oft-neglected defender won every duel against a strident Brighton offense. Eventually, Cody Gakpo equalized with a beautiful lob which was matched almost immediately by a screamer from the Egyptian King himself. Anfield responded with manic glee and Brighton was held until the final whistle blew. The splendor was extended by news that Arsenal and the Sky Blue menace Manchester City had both dropped points. Consequently, this returned Liverpool to its rightful place atop the Premier League table for another week.
Giving Them Something To Cheer About
It was a Liverpool performance truly greater than the sum of its parts. Arne Slot continues to beat the fraud allegations. Any suppositions that our victories are the result of sheer dumb luck or desperate papering-over of endemic issues have been increasingly difficult to sustain as he racks up more and more impressive results. The Dutchman’s savvy tactical adjustments from losing positions are being matched by a squad who have shown explosive growth from last season. This squad possesses a never-say-die attitude that would have moved Jurgen Klopp to tears. The fan support is as strong as ever at Anfield, despite the grumblings of the naysayers. More than any thus far, this game was a sterling example of the symbiotic relationship between what Bill Shankly called the Holy Trinity: the manager, the players, and the fans.
Empty Promises
Arguably, the only ones not doing their part in this relationship are the owners. They justified themselves to last season’s protest by claiming that every cent of the increased price of admission to Anfield was being invested back into the club, but it is hard to square that claim with a transfer window that was, at best, disappointing. Not to mention that Saturday’s magnificent performance was orchestrated in the looming shadow of three key contracts expiring without any tangible progress being made on their renewal.
The first is Mohamed Salah. The winger continues to score his way into the history books. Our world-class right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is the second. TAA was one of Saturday’s top performers and arguably the player flourishing the most in the Slot regime. That leaves captain Virgil van Dijk. The skipper and defensive centerpiece is arguably the most important. All three’s futures hang on by a thread. With the former two being the subject of near-constant transfer rumors coinciding roughly with some of the best soccer they’ve ever played, the sense of urgency looms large.
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Comparatively, Slot continues to evade the barrage of questions about this simple fact. The truth is that scrutiny towards the manager is misdirected. With a new club structure that arrogates increasing authority away from the manager to Fenway Sports Group hirelings, it is the board room and not the boot room that has to answer for this lapse. In the context of the protest, the sense that corporate greed and shortsightedness create an adversarial relationship between the club’s owners and its supporters is thrown into sharp relief.
Spirit of Shankly aptly and pithy sums up this fundamental disconnect with its slogan. “For the supporters, their loyalty is a key component of the club’s identity and an ingredient in their success; for the owners, it is a source of revenue.” Liverpool sits at the top of the table. They’ve collectively proven that they deserve to be there. No one could accuse the fans of a lack of enthusiasm at this point. But it’s up to everyone involved in the organization to make sure that motivation stays stoked. We can’t just rely on the ones at Anfield on gameday.
