Brendan Rodgers’ first season at the helm could be best described as: promising but lacking consistency.
Cast your mind back to a month ago.
Stunned 2-0 by a plucky West Bromwich Albion, the momentum building under the Northern Irishman was punctuated in front of the reinvigorated fans, when a routine victory was expected. Instead, the terraces would be nothing more than a melting pot of extreme frustration and negative reaction.
Those who dared to dream of a credible top four push saw their slight hopes come to an abrupt end. It was a case of one step forwards, two steps back for Liverpool.
The result signified the team’s lack of finishing prowess and complete lack of fight in the face of adversity. After captain Steven Gerrard saw his tame penalty thwarted by the inspired Ben Foster, an air of inevitably swept around Anfield.
The Baggies duly obliged and following Gareth McAuley’s opener ten minutes from time, the feeble resistance from the home side painted a grim picture. At the time Liverpool were yet to beat a team in the top-half of the table, only to claim a resounding victory over their higher placed opponents Swansea a week later.
It was an barely a feat to gloat about and an immaterial statistical triumph considering the Swans fielded a weakened side ahead of their League Cup final.
What is of far more concern is the fact Liverpool have won just once when falling behind in the current term.
For all Rodgers’ supposed tactical genius, the question regarding if he has instilled any courage in his players remains unproven. But is the 39-year-old rookie the man at fault? Or is that the responsibility of every individual who wears the famous red strip?
Prior to a bittersweet defeater at the hands of his former employers, West Brom manager Steve Clarke shrouded the Reds with extreme praise, claiming they were playing the best football in the country at the time. The statement was somewhat hard to comprehend when you consider their lowly position of seventh.
Maybe the ex-assistant to Kenny Dalglish last season was merely leading his opponents into a false sense of security. As complacent as the home side was at times throughout the match, if intentional, it was a shrewd move from the Scot.
However, there was a fair degree of truth in his words after the Reds had earned two encouraging draws on their travels against Arsenal and Manchester City.
In both games the visitors took commanding leads, but a lack of composure would consign the club to the week that could have been. For Rodgers, the grave disappointment was encouragement enough to finish the campaign on a strong note and put pressure on those above them in the table.
A similar level of performance would suffice and the media barrage from iconic figures inside the club, endearing the players to seize the top four opportunity ensued during the week. Club legend, John Barnes, in particular gave the team a ringing endorsement, suggesting Champions League qualification – with a favourable fixture – was a realistic goal. How outrageous his sentiments appear in retrospect.
After all, this is the English Premier League – a division where three wins in succession has become a tall order, let alone the title form winning run Liverpool would need to produce.
The cruel blow against the Baggies, who for 80 minutes had not registered a single shot on target, told an elongated tale of a once almighty powerhouse who now sit dormant and desperate for exaltation.
If any team comes to Anfield to sit deep, soak up the pressure, defend manfully and counter-attack they habitually have a decent chance of gaining a result.
It’s now a common theme at one of the world’s hallowed stadia.
In mid-December, Europa knockout stage qualification was sandwiched in between a rise into the top half. Rogers and co were beginning to exemplify a cohesive unit, only to see that promise dented in shocking fashion at home to Aston Villa in a 3-1 defeat.
The loss at the hands of West Brom, that saw them leapfrog their counterparts into eighth, came as no surprise.
But why then does one or more pertinently, the Liverpool tragic, allow the media circus to influence their opinion so strongly? And lead the Kopites – clinging onto nothing more than proud, unwavering support and rich history – to believe the team is turning a corner?
Positive discussion and appraisals of a young and capable squad have become the backbone of Rodgers’ reign. The only problem, they are missing the most vital component – winning games of football.
The proverbial sleeping giant can demonstrate attractive tiki-taka football, but in this environment performance plays second fiddle to results. Until the club shakes themselves of a poor mental capacity, heartening words and fine displays count for nothing without the points.
Even in the 2008-09 campaign under Spaniard Rafael Benitez – a season the fans hark back to in search for hope once more – the side, despite only two losses, would rue their inability to win the games they were supposed to. The Merseyside outfit recorded a total of 86 points that season – the highest accumulative score for a second-placed side at the time – but could not overhaul imperious rivals Manchester United. That year was billed as the cornerstone to breaking their league drought, but instead has become a harrowing memory of a false dawn.
This mental fragility against smaller teams on home soil is not a recent occurrence either. Besides European and Cup exploits over the past decade, ‘must-win’ matches in the league is the club’s Achilles heel.
Almost every time the stage is set for a Liverpool revival, an unforseen result – known to others as a typical blemish – halts the opportunity to move forward.
It is a rut, which Sir Alex Ferguson would smart at, contrary to his comments of overlooking his adversary’s domestic standing. And when the disgruntled Liverpool supporter watches the team falter yet again, the resented – envious may be more appropriate – fan watches on as the Red Devils regularly conquer the country.
However painful it may be to admit, it is the organisation some 30km on the M62, which is the model Rodgers must replicate. A team, who in the current campaign have won nine games from losing positions, evidence of a never say die attitude the Reds yearn for.
The club’s 71-year-old Scot has a ruthless streak that his men heed in games when they are expected to prevail. Clinical and unforgiving, these two qualities are the very reason for their unprecedented success in the division.
The ardent Reds fan, the board, Rodgers and the most important element, the players, need to be merciless. Otherwise, teams who visit Anfield will have genuine cause for optimism and Liverpool’s vicious and traumatic cycle will remain a never-ending affliction.
Callous rhetoric it may be, but can Liverpool rubbish the pain-stricken discourse writers and the passionate supporter base delve into with agonising regularity and begin to speak glowingly about their current plight?
The visit of Tottenham on Sunday presents the perfect opportunity to do so.
Eyeing a third successive win in the league – something Rodgers and co have failed to achieve – will the momentum grow? Can the team continue their best scoring run for almost two decades? Has the team learnt their harsh lessons of the past?
Liverpool fans speak vehemently and after the weekend, one way or the other, it will be either pure optimism or miserable pessimism.
