29th Jan 2018
Rewind back to the morning of January 15 and you’d have been hard pushed to find a Liverpool supporter anywhere around the world who didn’t wake up – hangover be damned – with a broad smile on their face.
As a Red it was easy to bounce out of bed with a beaming smile and head into work with an undeniable swagger such was the joy felt after the 4-3 victory over Manchester City at an impassioned Anfield.
For 80 minutes Liverpool were magnificent and for nine minutes of that giddy afternoon at Anfield they were nigh on unstoppable.
Although the title was still out of reach, second place was a definite possibility as were strong runs in both the FA Cup and the Champions League and the promise of silveware.
Even the loss of the brilliant Philippe Coutinho – sold to Barcelona for a remarkable £142m – couldn’t put a dampener on the mood.
Sure he’d be a loss but Virgil van Dijk had moved to the club, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked like the player he’d threatened to be, Andy Robertson was still pressing everything in sight, the Reds were irrepressible going forward, the Coutinho money was there to be spent and the club was definitely on an upwards trajectory.
Liverpool were in a good position to establish themselves as the second best team in the country and put themselves forward as genuine rivals to City the following season.
A golden sky seemed to be settling over L4 with the promise of even better times to come and there was giddiness and excitement all around.
Fast forward two weeks and that feeling of joy has all but evaporated and once again storm clouds seem to be building over Anfield just as clear skies and plain sailing seemed to be on the horizon.
Poor defeats against Swansea and West Brom – the latter removing our best hope of success this season – have derailed the momentum built up over the 18 previous matches. Combine that with the club’s unwillingness to do business in the transfer market despite needing to do so and the fans are openly questioning the direction that the club is taking.
Don’t get me wrong, Liverpool are still in a good position. We have a world class manager at the helm, some excellent footballers, we’re fourth in the Premier League, in the last 16 of the Champions League and financially better off than we have ever been – but once again there is the feeling that this was the time to strike while the iron was hottest; to make hay while sun shone brighter than it has since 1990 or at least post Istanbul in 2005.
Losses are part and parcel of the game – they happen – and it’s up to the management and players to ensure that these back-to-back defeats don’t turn into something more damaging to our short-term prospects.
What is harder to stomach is the reluctance to strengthen the squad when it is apparent to Liverpool fans everywhere that a couple of injuries to key players will leave us desperately short of numbers when they will be needed the most.
Within the past 24 hours Daniel Sturridge has left the club on loan, further weakening the attacking options available to Jürgen Klopp.
The German’s first choice front three – Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mané – is set in stone. Beyond them, with the departure of Sturridge, Danny Ings, the 19-year-old Dominic Solanke and the 18-year-old Ben Woodburn are all that remain.
If, heaven forbid, one or more of Firmino, Salah and Mané suffer a serious injury, the attack that put City to the sword so ruthlessly is suddenly severely blunted. What’s more it’ll mean additional pressure and minutes for those left standing, increasing the likelihood of further injuries as the season reaches its denouement.
Klopp seems insistent that a replacement for Coutinho will not be brought in, placing his faith in those who remain at Melwood to get the job done between now and May.
That is his prerogative as manager as he sees what the players are capable of day in, day out in training.
The optimists amongst the Liverpool fan base – admittedly thin in numbers at the moment and the author included – hold the belief that this is simply all a ruse before a key signing is brought in – it has to be.
After all, the signings of Van Dijk and Naby Keita were concluded with the minimum of fuss and a similar covert transfer made before the deadline expires is the hope to which we all cling.
A midfielder or forward would be good but alternatively if it was a proven, quality goalkeeper I don't think many fans would complain.
Time, however, is running out and if Liverpool do not reinforce during the closing hours of the transfer window this lack of action is reckless at best and outright negligent at worst.
Spending for spending’s sake is not a sensible strategy but to imply there isn’t anyone out there who is capable of coming in and bolstering the squad seems preposterous – Wilfried Zaha anyone? Futhermore, to head into the business end of the season with a player just returning after two years out with serious injuries (Ings) and two teenagers (Solanke and Woodburn) as attacking backup beggars belief.
Klopp has overseen an upturn in fortunes at Liverpool and would be well within his rights to demand a little faith from Liverpool fans and there was a feeling – in the wake of victories over Leicester, Burnley, Everton and City – that the doubters were at last becoming believers – something he set out to achieve when first arriving at the club.
However, from a position of strength the club appears to be set to shoot itself in the foot once again and having witnessed so many false dawns since the Liverpool won their last league title can anyone at the club be surprised that the fan base is now so demoralised and in many cases angry.
While social media with its lunatic fringe is never the most stable of indicators, there is a groundswell of resentment being aimed at Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and even at Klopp himself.
While it’s impossible to believe that the charismatic German doesn’t retain the support of the vast majority of the fans, his standing with FSG is not in doubt, should Liverpool fail to clinch back-to-back top four finishes then it’s likely that even the more moderate fans and Klopp devotees will start to question his methods and stubbornness.
This is a club and support yearning for success. After beating City it seemed closer than it has since the peak Benitez years.
Like Macbeth and the phantom dagger in William Shakespeare’s famous play, success seems almost within our grasp and yet is still tantalisingly out of reach, and as was the case with the Bard’s eponymous anti-hero we appear architects of our own downfall.
And that’s why that unbridled joy has turned to disappointment and in many cases anger.