The sheer sense of unrivalled joy and emotion when a goal hits the back of the net is gone.
In the away end at Old Trafford last Sunday, as the ball whipped across the box and Adam Lallana earned the Reds a crucial point, the scenes summed up exactly why supporters go every single week.
Going ecstatic and jumping around with all of your mates at Manchester United’s expense is one of the greatest feelings you can experience.
Then ten seconds later, you’re standing looking around in confusion waiting for a signal to say it was a goal. Then there is a delayed cheer again as the goal is confirmed.
It is all too stop-start.
One of the beauties of football is the talking points that take place after the match. They divide opinion and it is what we as football fans are all brought up on.
In my humble opinion, VAR could work down the line. It is helping out referees who are facing the prospect of running after 22 super human athletes for 90 minutes, in fairness.
I don’t agree that this experimental trial the Premier League is facing this season is helping matters, though.
At the minute, VAR looks like a system that is being abused by managers and players – there is no real consistency to it and nobody really knows the rules of it.
That is where the fans come in.
Twice in the away end on Sunday, we as fans faced uncertainty. Even after Lallana’s legitimate goal, the check for VAR still went up.
When there are set, concrete guidelines, the technology can be beneficial, but for now it just seems horribly inconsistent.
How can Dele Alli’s handball be ignored, then Sadio Mane’s be punished 24 hours later? It’s unfathomable.
In the long haul, it could help Liverpool a lot, but it could also punish the Reds.
One thing is for certain, it has certainly taken away the experience of watching the ball go in the back of the net and being able to celebrate radically, with no questions asked.
That’s a real shame.
