COMMENT: Win this Premier League for the right people, Liverpool
SINGAPORE — How does it feel to be on the cusp of fulfilling a dream that has been brewing for the best part of the past 30 years? A dream that, over the course of three decades, had teased, tormented and frustrated Liverpool fans around the world, including myself?
Well, immense glee, that is for sure, as the Reds stand one victory away from winning the English Premier League (EPL) title following the thumping 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Anfield on Thursday morning (25 June). And if Chelsea were to beat and draw with Manchester City on Friday morning, Liverpool can finally savour their finest hour since the 1989/90 season.
Even the excruciating three-month break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has failed to dampen the spirit of the fans.
Rival fans may try to devalue this eventual triumph, saying that the enforced break and the necessity of playing behind closed doors will somehow taint Liverpool’s eventual triumph. It is a title with an asterisk, they say.
Which is a whole lot of nonsense. There is nothing hollow about this triumph, not after trying valiantly but in vain for the past 30 years.
And the fact that the EPL has quite rightly decided to finish the season, instead of just handing the title to Liverpool before the season suspension, has allowed the Reds to win it fair and square – by gaining enough points so that all other teams could not catch them.
For new Liverpool fans who were not born or were too young to enjoy their last top-flight league title in 1990, this will be a wondrous occasion to celebrate the team being finally able to sustain their excellence better than any other EPL teams this season.
But, of course, for those old enough to have celebrated previous triumphs, the joy is definitely tinged with a bit of poignancy, have gone through all sorts of negative emotions supporting the club through the barren years – frustration, desperation, denial and resignation, to name a few of them.
But that is the natural cycle in staying steadfast and loyal to their chosen football club for so long. Liverpool, so dominant in the 1970s and 1980s, were bound to have periods of struggle as their title-winning teams aged and managers retired.
Problem was, no one was prepared that they would struggle for so long in their quest for the trophy so coveted by everyone associated with the club.
Desperation after years of torture from near-misses
Some years were brutally bad – and merciful in a way. Liverpool’s title hopes would vanish by the time Christmas came, and fans would curse the club’s ineptitude and move on quickly. There was always the next season to build the dream up again.
It was the years when Liverpool came up just short that were agonising. They came intermittently, starting in 1996/97 when the Reds led for much for the season but Manchester United caught up. Or in 2001/02 when they finished above United, but not Arsenal. Or in 2008/09 when they lost just twice, but still finished behind United.
But it was in 2014 and 2019 when it hurt the most. By then, fans were tortured long enough by decades of longing, of trying to somehow will the club to the title. Desperation was palpable – another year of missing out would be hard to swallow.
Then, an error by one of the club’s greatest players in 2014 (Steven Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea), and one draw too many in 2019 (losing to Manchester City by a single point), and the dream was shattered again and again by the slimmest of margins.
By this time, there were bitter fans who stopped caring. Those who continued to support Liverpool carried deep wells of doubt and anxiety. The old adage is true: it is hope that eventually kills you.
Relief at last for long-time fans
So, besides glee, the other overwhelming emotion among fans will be that of relief.
Relief at the decades of mental investment not going to waste. Years of shouting themselves hoarse during victories; of countless pints of beer consumed to drown the sorrows of defeat; and of doggedly believing that terrible Reds players could somehow turn the corner and become match-winners.
For most die-hard Reds fans, there are lots of material investment as well, with all the replica jerseys, memorabilia, trips to Liverpool and match tickets to watch their beloved team at Anfield.
Relief, too, at the prospect of not ever hearing the childish taunts from rival fans that Liverpool (or Loser-fool, as they put it) have never won the EPL trophy.
Not only do the taunts conveniently ignore the Reds’ 18 top-flight league titles before the EPL was formed in 1992, they also seem to forget that Liverpool did win quite a few other trophies in the interim – which fans had thoroughly enjoyed too. It was not all doom and gloom for 30 years.
The other persistent jibe is that Liverpool fans only live on past glories. Admittedly, the nostalgia runs deep among fans, but with such an illustrious club history, who wouldn’t feel proud of the past?
In any case, the imminent EPL title – coupled with the European Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup wins last year – means that fans already have new heroes to idolise. This current squad – replete with top-class players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk – are equipped to create their own glorious chapter in Liverpool’s long history.
Win it for...
So yes, glee and relief will be overwhelming when Liverpool are finally uncatchable and seal the title.
A small part of me (okay, a big part) wants to be vindictive and unbearable to rival fans, shoving years of frustration right down their throats with incessant gloating.
But I’d like to think I will be a little more mature and gracious. Besides, a 30-year title wait is nothing when compared with other sports title droughts.
In 2004, when the Boston Red Sox were on the verge of winning their first World Series baseball title in a staggering 86 years, an online forum in Boston started a thread titled “Win It For”.
And Red Sox fans filled it with encouragement for their team to win it for their late parents, grandparents, husbands, wives, bosses, friends and even mere acquaintances. It was a heartwarming way of showing fan support, done in a most un-spiteful manner.
In that spirit, let me list the people whom I hope Liverpool Football Club will win their 19th English top-flight league title for:
Win it for those long-time fans who have stuck with the Reds through thick and thin. Others may ridicule their blind loyalty, but these fans “get” the club’s famous anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and walked with the club even through the wind and rain.
Win it for those fans who stopped supporting the club in the midst of this 30-year league title drought. It is time to forgive and forget their “infidelities”, and to tell these fans that their old team are back at their best and absolutely worth supporting again.
Win it for those fans who could not live long enough to see Liverpool win the league again. At some point in their lives, they must have wondered, “Will I live long enough to see Liverpool win the EPL?” Sadly, they could not, but hopefully this imminent title triumph will bring some peace to their beloved ones.
Win it for Steven Gerrard. There are supporters who are still bitter over his “slip” against Chelsea in 2014 that ultimately cost Liverpool their title shot that year. The ex-captain – who had shouldered the burden of carrying the team amid tough times and poor teammates – admits he is still torturing himself over that gaffe, so this title will provide him with closure as he has said in an interview. Fans, too, can stop blaming him.
Win it for Jamie Carragher, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman. Local Liverpool lads who fulfilled their personal dreams of being top football professionals representing the club, but could not fulfil the dreams of their legions of fans.
Win it for Kenny Dalglish. The manager when Liverpool last won the league title in 1990, he resigned in 1991 after suffering a mental breakdown. As a Reds player he was legendary, as manager he was the epitome of grace during the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. He should be most glad that Liverpool have returned to the top.
Win it for Graeme Souness, Roy Evans, Gerard Houllier, Rafael Benitez, Brendan Rodgers and even Roy Hodgson. Liverpool managers who tried in vain to build squads capable of winning title No. 19. Even though none of them managed to bring the Reds to the promised land, some of them brought in other trophies which were cherished nonetheless. Even Hodgson, whose ill-fated reign coincided with Liverpool’s darkest days of near-financial collapse, won 13 matches to provide some joy to the fans. All of them will be remembered with varying degrees of fondness.
Win it for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. Had the Scot, in his own fiery words, not knocked Liverpool “off the f***ing perch”, fans might not be cherishing this upcoming title with as much joy and satisfaction. Yes, Man United provided Reds fans with a rivalry, a desperation to outdo them, and a standard to judge their teams against. So, before a momentous triumph, respect must given to arch-enemies.
Win it for Manchester City. The club that made Liverpool fans despair in 2014 and 2019, wondering how their club could ever match this club, funded by seemingly limitless money from their oil-rich Abu Dhabi owners and coached so brilliantly by Pep Guardiola. On hindsight, Man City showed the way to dominance, and Liverpool have learnt well this season to take advantage of a couple of missteps by their title rivals.
Win it for Michael Owen, Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and even Emre Can. Ex-Liverpool players who decided to move on to supposedly greener pastures, feeling that their professional ambitions could not be fulfilled in Merseyside. Fans have derided them as disloyal and traitorous, but it is time to dispel those animosity and remember them as dedicated soldiers during the lean years. Ultimately, they provided some great memories that tided fans over their title disappointments.
And win it for rival fans. Yes, they made us die-hard Reds fans feel humiliated, bitter and forlorn. On a few occasions, sick of all the taunting, we might even have secretly questioned our allegiance to the club. But those depressingly low moments only served to amplify the sheer high of the imminent victory. So this win is for all those Liverpool haters – it might be your club for the next 30 years.
The author has covered both Singapore and international sports for the past 17 years, and was formerly sports editor of My Paper. He is also a die-hard Liverpool supporter for the past 34 years. The views expressed are his own.
