This is The Season
The last time Liverpool won the league title, a man was in charge of the country, the only international football people cared about was between Brazil and Argentina, Abahani vs Mohammedan meant something, and I wasn't even alive. We are constantly reminded about the 90's for all its glory, but for Liverpool it was the beginning of the end of a club tradition 31 years in the making.
For nearly all Liverpool fans in the country, this will be the first time we have a realistic chance at witnessing the Reds lift a league trophy. With only 3 games left till the roller-coaster that has been the 2013/14 season ends, it is certainly more than just a pipe dream when you look at the table to find Liverpool at the top. At the beginning of the season the title was never part of the plan. Top 4 was as high as our sights were set after 3 seasons in mid-table obscurity. 3 seasons of cagey, slow, football culminated in numerous near-goals against the woodwork. If you were to compare this season's games to those during that 3 season slump, it would certainly look like the team was in lack of any sort of system. System and belief. If this season has been a testament of anything, it is the fact that the players have finally started believing in themselves and each other under Brenden Rodgers' short tenure.
Post-1990 has seen many changes at Anfield among managers, players, owners, and a good number of fickle fans. But the one thing that has remained constant throughout these past 10 and some years has been Steven Gerrard. It's no secret that he is what makes the club tick - the engine room in the heart of the midfield. Gerrard's story can't get much more perfect than where it stands now. The legendary figure that made Istanbul and so much more happen. A one-club man who became captain of his boyhood team at the age of 23 and has won every club honour there is out there, except for one; the Premier League title. Now nearing the end of career, Gerrard might actually be able to wipe the dust and find a place for a Premier League Winners' Medal among all his other accolades.
After 3 years in what is the club's worst spell in years, most supporters would be more than happy with the fact that Liverpool has been able to secure Champions League football for next season. At this point if the title was lost, it would hurt, but it wouldn't matter. After all, the motto has always been “Next season will be our season”. But seeing as the skipper isn't getting any younger, will Gerrard ever get this close to lifting the silver trophy against a backdrop of club anthem “You'll Never Walk Alone” among a spray of fireworks and red confetti ever again? That is what makes this season, this opportunity, mean so much to Liverpool fans. Most wouldn't mind waiting another season or two to challenge for the title, but having to see Gerrard walk away without that Premier League title under his belt – that would be a true shame. A regret fans would never be able to get past and a regret other supporters will never let us live down. Steven Gerrard is that sort of a figure. He is the kind of player that can become invisible, making the short passes while he lets the others consume the limelight and then become a one man army when his team needs him to be. He hasn't once whined about being played out of position and has taken up his new task of playing deeper with much aplomb. Although his legs probably can't carry his explosive runs anymore, he is still the man to rely on when the team are in need of that little bit of inspiration, that spark.
Caught in the eye of a storm of “You'll Never Walk Alone”, “We Shall Not be Moved”, and “Liiiiiiiverpool”, Gerrard bellowed words of inspiration in a heat-of-the-moment huddle after the Reds' heart-pounding 3-2 victory over Manchester City. “We go to Norwich. Exactly the same!” he roared after surrounded by his team-mated in the sort of scene akin to Hollywood movies. It captured what that league title means to Liverpool, its fans including Gerrard.
Even after what happened with Chelsea, this does not slip now.
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