Take one last look behind you — we’re about to be judged by a whole different set of rules. What was last season is no longer; the triumph, the glory, the crushing disappointment that sprang forth is the past and no longer counts. History is there to be cherished, but we’re growing out of it rather than living on it.
Every season is a defining season, but unfortunately this will be the one the Brendan Rodgers regime lives and dies by. It’s the ultimate “but can he do it on a wet night at Stoke?” and that’s unfair in too many ways to mention. What the Northern Irishman achieved over the course of last season was nothing short of a masterclass of footballing genius, but it’s this season that will matter. Can he follow it up or will the press have a glorious day out as he dies trying?
Pulling the team from seventh to second and scoring over a hundred league goals in the process is amazing, but it’s all quickly forgotten. We did it without the perils that come with European football we’re quick to be reminded. “That’s a whole new kettle of fish,” they all say. “Two matches a week takes a toll,” sings the peanut gallery.
Lest they forget we did more with less.
If there was textbook case of transfer window malaise for last summer, we were the central study in that frustrating tome. Stifled repeatedly as we tried to bring in one player after another, by the time September rolled around, the drop off in quality when you got to our bench was more than a bit noticeable. Couple that with Luis Suarez being suspended — yet again — for the first few weeks and it takes an even further dip in class. January, as you’ll remember, made it no better.
Not having consistent European football on offer makes it hard to attract top class talent — that’s the truth of the matter. While many of our contemporaries were able to boast back-up squads as expensive as our starting eleven, we struggled to pull together players that were up to snuff. Maybe we had it “easy” in some respects, but it was hardly the cakewalk that some will chalk it up to be.
Regardless, that was then and we’re very much in the now.
With Champions League football on offer, times are a little bit easier on Merseyside and the depth that Rodgers was talking about adding to the squad have not only been identified, but they’ve been brought in with the owners willing to back their man in the market. It’s not just bodies to flesh out the team-sheet though — thankfully. While a number of these players aren’t the potential Ballon D’Or candidates every brain-dead nincompoop dreams of, they’re the ones that have been identified as being able to fill the role and operate inside the system.
Rather than rack up a team filled with names, we’ve got a team filled with players. There’s no oil rich nonsense indulgences here brought in to sell a shirt or two and collect a hefty pay-packet. That quality drop off when you hit the bench is being eliminated, but it’s not being filled with “you’ll do” bodies. There’s a plan in place and the others are being brought in with the other members of the squad in mind.
There’s going to be growing pains — there’s no question. Navigating the landscape of European competition while trying to balance a grueling domestic campaign filed with all kinds of pratfalls is a job that even the most seasoned managers — and players — struggle with on a consistent basis. Couple that with the crushing weight of expectation, this year will in no way be easier than the last, but in a lot of ways, it won’t be that much harder either.
At least, from where I’m sitting, it shouldn’t be.
If Rodgers and his team can do so much with so little last year, the addition of a number of top quality players and the added incentive of battling to be in the starting eleven when he names the side that will run out in Europe’s most prestigious competition for the first time since 2009 adds more than a little bit of an edge to proceedings. While they’re likely to miss Luis Suarez and his 31-goals, maybe conceding twenty less with what should be a new found defensive stability will prove to be more of a boon than one could reasonably expect.
There’s a lot riding on whether or not his new charges can bed into the system and style of football favored by the Northern Irishman, but there’s really no square pegs for round holes. The lazy media narrative is that the Reds will have to avoid “doing a Spurs” after the went on a signing spree following the departure of Gareth Bale for big money, but we haven’t gone out and bought a bunch of octagons — there isn’t even a single trapezoid in sight.
I guess, what I’m dancing around, is that I trust what the manager is doing. The plan is there and we saw the groundwork from his first season in charge being built up last season. Maybe, it was a bit too quick and the building is in for a wobble or two this time out, but there’s no question that we’re ahead of schedule. Some might be expecting another title charge, but finishing in the top four and enjoying our nights back in the Champions League is the perfect ticket to success this season.
As much as last season with a rip-ride, it’s in the past. Take one quick glance behind you and smile. History is there to be cherished, and Liverpool is richer in it than most, but we’re at the precipice of something massive. Keep both eyes straight ahead — you don’t want to miss this.
–Steven
