Living in the past for the foreseeable future

A lot can and has changed for the whole world in one year.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 situation slowly began taking over UK news but little did we know what it had in store for us. For many football fans, a year ago will be remembered as the last time most of us stepped foot inside a packed, roaring stadium standing side-by-side with family, friends and strangers. Over the course of the last year, we have all had to look back at the memories we made instead of making new ones. We were, however, fortunate enough to see the Premier League complete the 2019/20 season after an unforeseen break and to see Liverpool lift arguably their most sought-after trophy after 30 years.

The 2020/21 season kicked off, albeit slightly delayed, and has been without spectators for the most part. A few thousand fans were fortunate to be able to return to their teams’ stadiums when the tiered lockdown system was introduced across England in December 2020, although the government eventually backtracked on the decision as England, Scotland and Wales remain in full lockdown since the festive period.

Prior to the pandemic, I saw football as an escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Whether the team were winning, drawing or losing, I was able to remain somewhat positive and appreciate the highs and lows that the sport had to offer in keeping us entertained. It gave me the opportunity to enjoy some great trips across the country and Europe with some great people. Over the course of this season, however, it just hasn’t felt the same, without a single fan present in the stands football as we know it has changed dramatically.

Of course, this is the “new normal” and although the surroundings are all the same, a sport that relies so heavily on fan engagement can never be the same without them. Add onto this some of the poor misjudgement we have seen from some of the Premier League’s “top” officials and the poor performances from teams when in normal circumstances they would have thrived from the support from the stands. Yes, I’m largely referring to Liverpool, but there are other teams who are desperately missing their fans as well. Decisions and performances on the pitch are all influenced by fans to some extent and we are missing that vital addition so much so that this season feels like a simulation.

I have never felt so detached from the game. As a fan, I can no longer influence the game or feel like I have played a part in the result.

The Video Assistant Referee, or VAR, has very quickly sucked the joy out of what used to be known as ‘the beautiful game’. The main aim of VAR is to ‘assist’ the referee, (who knew?!), with clear and obvious errors that they may have got wrong or missed entirely. It allows the referee to watch replays from various angles in order to ultimately make the right decision and have the right impact on the game. We haven’t seen this too often in the Premier League, especially of late. Instead, we are being subjected to abysmal decisions being made, blatant bias from officials and no instant elation from goals being scored as we wait for the final decision from Stockley Park.

As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, Liverpool have been awful. There is very little to say on a positive note on the season Liverpool have been facing and I can honestly say I did NOT see this coming. Once you remove the obvious injury crisis we have faced, coupled with the arrogant decision to not sign a single centre-back over the summer period to prepare for this exact situation, you can see that this Liverpool side are just not up for it.

Just under two weeks before Virgil van Dijk’s horrific injury courtesy of England’s number one, Jordan Pickford Liverpool were, to put it bluntly, humiliated in a 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa and most would have said that it was a one-off fluke and we wouldn’t crumble like that again. It was a game of many individual errors and a case of the high line catching our team out, which we have now seen several times over and over and over again. Instead, it was a sign of things to come. Whether this team has just burnt out (I know I have) or the mental impact of the circumstances has impacted the players in some way, something needs to change.

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Jürgen Klopp has been heavily scrutinised this season, some of which I would say is justified by poor decisions he has made. Overall, however, a lot of the issues his side has faced have been out of his control. Ultimately, the players on the pitch have the final say and the blame cannot solely lie with Klopp.

It really is difficult to comprehend the bad luck the Reds have faced. We have seen 21 different centre-back partnerships so far this season. TWENTY ONE. The injury list seems to be never-ending, with several key players missing from the squad for an extensive time and missing key games, but Liverpool will never be allowed to use that as a legitimate reason for their struggles. It simply would never be accepted.

Squad depth remains a major issue for Klopp’s team and the options we currently have simply cannot be called upon week-in week-out. A refreshing injection of quality is most certainly needed in the next transfer window if Liverpool want to get back to the top again.

Right now, the main concern is staying in Europe. Oh how the mighty have fallen, eh?
The current situation has got to be tough regardless, but not securing European football could mean that those stars we have our eyes on for that injection of quality may look the other way and join our rivals down the M62, never mind the financial implications.

To me, getting top four seems like a distant dream as we sit in 8th place with ten games remaining. How else could we do it? Well, we could just go and win the Champions League. Crazy, right? The more I think about this, the more I make myself believe that is it achievable, because IT IS! All hope isn’t lost after all!

I am, however, pinning all of my remaining hope on this. Tonight’s game is bigger than it would have been had we not imploded in the Premier League so I will be watching and praying that the Reds can do whatever it takes to get through and by some stroke of luck, bring Big Ears back home again and allow us to put our faith back in the manager, the players and the plans for the future.

It is not impossible and although it might be quite the challenge, we all need something to fight for at this point. I now know karma is very, very real because the way I was banging on about the Reds when they were flying ahead in the league last season has come back to bite me; the tables have turned and Manchester United fans have finally come back out of the woodwork. It really is painful.

At the end of the day, all I am asking for is a sliver of hope, a bit of sunshine in these dark, grey times. A bit of hope that when fans can return to football stadiums, we can be under the floodlights on a Tuesday or Wednesday night once again. A sign that the Liverpool we have made so many beautiful memories with in recent times is still there, waiting to be unleashed (even if it involves a few new faces). Is that too much to ask?