I remember when going to Anfield used to scare the hell out of me.
The thought of going there, getting a pasting and then somehow the manager has got to pick the team up after a mauling at the hands of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Emile Heskey… Alright the last one was just there for a laugh but you know what I mean.
Alan Hansen, the first reign of King Kenny, Graeme Souness and wobbly legs Brucie Grobbelaar.
These are the glory days we think of when it comes to Liverpool. They seem so far away yet in real terms it was not that long ago. I consider myself an old boy now when it comes to football – especially when you consider players like Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling were born well after 1990, but I remember those duals with Newcastle back in 1996, that day at Selhurst Park when Michael Owen scored on his debut, the year that Liverpool won FIVE trophies and of course….. that night in Istanbul.
So where has it all gone wrong? What has happened to the Liverpool we all used to fear?
Well, at the moment it looks like those days are long gone… Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez look like gods now compared to the treatment that Brendan Rodgers is getting. Is it the team? Is it the ownership? Is it just the general downfall of a giant? A new era beckons and a fresh start is just around the corner? All those in the red half of Merseyside hope and pray that this time this is it.
As has been seen with Tottenham Hotspur, the ingredients to successful and sustained growth is consistency and that has not been apparent at either club for a while. Tottenham improved with the arrival of Harry Redknapp and hopefully Liverpool will learn to build with Rodgers. You can’t keep on chopping and changing your managers and expect overnight success.
The problem at Liverpool? I put it down to the end of 18 years of Sponsorship from a large beer manufacturer… they don’t make football teams, but if they did….
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