Article 63 — Liverpool, Champions of England from a Manchester United Fan
It’s been one whole day since Liverpool were officially crowned champions of England. In reality, the title was already decided a long time ago before the enforced Corona Virus pandemic. It was just a mere formality to mathematically confirm the coronation.
First up, I would like to congratulate Liverpool for finally winning the English Premier League, breaking a drought of 30 years without winning the league title. Next, I would like to speak about the protagonists of this triumph, the manager, Jurgen Klopp and the players.
After the inept, disaster-class of David Moyes and in the middle of a disappointing, over-the-hill Louis Van Gaal era, I thought out loud of which possible candidates could bring back success to Manchester United. The candidates I narrowed down to were Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Out of the four mentioned, I felt Jurgen Klopp’s profile was the closest to Sir Alex Ferguson’s. Looking at his Borussia Dortmund sides, he made shrewd signings, developing little-known players into stars, he brought through players from the youth team and won trophies.
It was a bummer then when he was hired as Liverpool’s manager in October 2015, when Van Gaal was in his second season as United manager. I knew then that Liverpool had a strong manager in their hands. I greeted the near-misses of Liverpool losing the League Cup, Europa League and Champions League finals with relief. I was also wondering maybe Klopp had lost touch and was having a psychological block, losing three finals in a row. He came good last season and the block was broken, proving my analysis of him to be right unfortunately in my case, it was to be for my bitter rivals, Liverpool.
He took a good part of 4 years to build this winning team steadily block by block again proving my analysis right. He made astute signings like Andrew Robertson and Joel Matip for low and no transfer fees respectively, signed players from within the league like Georgino Wijnaldum, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Sadio Mane for between 20–30 million pounds, promoted Trent Alexander-Arnold into the first team from the youth team and signed Mohamed Salah and Fabinho from leagues outside of England for between 30–40 million pounds.
He had also inherited players like Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Divock Origi and James Milner from the previous management.
The signings that were the final pieces of the jigsaw were the signing of Alisson from Roma to make him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper at that time and Virgil Van Dijk who was also at that time, the world’s most expensive defender. I knew about Alisson from Serie A and I knew Liverpool had finally got a very good goalkeeper. For Van Dijk, I wasn’t really sure he was worth the fee Liverpool paid for him. He was coming from Southampton and although he was much sought after, I wasn’t sure of his fees though. He went on to prove Klopp and Liverpool right to be one of the best defenders in the world today.
Overall, Liverpool as a club between the manager and the board, they got most of the signings spot on and they deserve credit for that. They did splash the cash to sign the players with the exception of Robertson and Matip contrary to popular beliefs but it was needed to stay competitive in an inflated transfer market. There were players that United was linked to that Liverpool signed like Mane, Van Dijk and Fabinho. United’s transfer strategy and negotiations left a lot to be desired and our board have been inept in this department. Who knows what difference these players would have made for United to Van Gaal and Mourinho if they were signed.
Most United fans would have loved to have Jurgen Klopp as our manager. There will always be exceptions and some who would stubbornly deny it. He is a character for the way he connects with his players and the crowd. Now as the manager of our enemies, we find him annoying, irritating and outlandish in his ways but we wouldn’t feel the same if he managed us. Such is the fierce rivalry we share. I read yesterday that Liverpool legend and former assistant manager, Phil Thompson claimed that Klopp’s wife turned him away from moving to United when an offer was made preferring to take the Liverpool one when it came later on. Fate was in Liverpool’s favour.
Klopp got his team to play in a high pressing and high-intensity style with a false nine and the wing-backs being integral parts of the attacking strategy. It was different from the style he employed to success with Dortmund which was also proactive but was a lot more intricate with short passing between lines and a traditional centre forward.
I remember my cousin complaining when he started using Firmino as a false nine instead of a traditional striker like Daniel Sturridge. There were teething problems in some games which justified his complaints but eventually, that decision was vindicated. The part played by Firmino to drop deep and not provide a focal point of attack for opposition defenders released Mane and Salah from the wings to attack with pace centrally. This worked a treat for Liverpool who had a hard-working midfield behind them. The team is also less reliant on Salah now to score goals after his explosion of a season in 2017–18.
The other crucial aspect of their attacking play comes from the full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Their crosses and runs have played a big part in providing width to an otherwise narrow team.
Liverpool’s success this season has also been on the back of remarkable fitness levels of their key players, players that would be part of their first eleven. On the rare occasions that they do miss a player or two through injury, someone else has stepped up to the plate to cover adequately. I felt the signing of Adrian as Alisson’s understudy has been vital because Alisson has missed some periods of the season but Adrian has proved to be a more than capable deputy. Most importantly, Van Dijk has stayed injury-free because he is one player that Liverpool has no capable replacement for. Unlike Manchester City, Liverpool doesn’t strike me as a team with a deep squad depth so it has been pivotal that they have kept most of their players fit for long periods of the season.
Even as human beings, there is something likeable about most players in the Liverpool team except for the arrogant Robertson and unintended comic, Dejan Lovren. Aside from sporting rivalry, you would find it hard-pressed to dislike players like Mane, Salah and Van Dijk as human beings.
Liverpool deserves plaudits for winning the league, any team that wins any league deserves credit. The league table is always a fair reflection of how a team has performed. They have shown remarkable, superhuman, robotic efficiency and consistency this season. However, a one-horse title race, winning it so early with a huge, 20 plus points difference to second place reflects poorly on the rest of the league. Liverpool has won games ugly when they have not played well, always a sign of a champion team but no-one has really punished them for having an off-day. Watford, Manchester United and Everton have all once taken points off them so far this season. Watford is still the only team to have beaten them in the Premier League.
Liverpool has been consistent, have played well, can’t always play well but have won 90% of their league matches. There hasn’t been sufficient challenge from the rest of the teams in the league in terms of consistency, quality and tactics. That is no fault of Liverpool who has just gone about their business in the best way possible. The fault lies in the rest of the teams in the league.
I am not a sour Manchester United fan who would hide behind reasons like tainted championships or COVID champions or whatever other rubbish I have read. I felt that is just childish. Liverpool won the title fair and square and we should all look at the part our favourite team played in allowing this to happen without a fight. Not just United; Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur have all got to introspect. Liverpool has got the rub of the green with decisions and this kind of things can happen in a season. There are seasons where everything goes your way. It happens. We had that in our favour in seasons when we won the league too. You need an element of luck too to win a trophy.
As an experienced and fortunate viewer of many league title triumphs, I can spot a championship-winning team when I see one and Liverpool is the one this season. I see a lot of similarities between this Liverpool team with the ones Sir Alex Ferguson built in the past. The scary part of it as a United fan is that they could go on to dominate now. The only hope that I have of that not happening is that the lifespan and attention span of modern managers is not as long as it was in the past. Can they also evolve with time and re-invent themselves? One day, maybe sooner or later, someone will find a way to stop Liverpool and slowly more teams will catch on. Can Jurgen Klopp then find an alternative way? Time will tell.
Sir Alex’s biggest quality was his ability to evolve his tactics and man-management style over the years. This is an area that has affected Van Gaal, Mourinho, Arsene Wenger to some extent and even Ancelotti now.
As for the Liverpool fans, I have cousins and an uncle that are Liverpool fans. I am glad for them but it has also felt like a dagger in my heart. I knew for a long time this season that it was inevitable that they would win it. I knew someday this would happen. Liverpool is too big a club to go on without winning the league. The thought of a big club going 30 years without winning a league is so strange in the rest of Europe. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter and Bayern Munich wouldn’t go that long without winning their respective national league so this strange phenomena only occurs in England.
Since the league has been mathematically confirmed, there has been an understandable explosion of joy among Liverpool fans who have suffered for so long from the humiliation, insults and ridicule of others. Social media is flooded by Liverpool fans and their posts. It has been a sight for sore eyes and grating at my nerves and patience to me. Liverpool has got the tag of “Unbearables” on social media for the reaction of their fans to winning this league title. I have experienced winning many league titles, cups, the Treble but never have I reacted in this way to winning a league title. I know Liverpool fans will counter to say that United fans have been arrogant and obnoxious for so long, now it’s their time to pay back. I grate at those United fans because I didn’t agree or see it the way they saw and said things then. I understand that just because I don’t see it and don’t agree it means the rest feel the same.
For my fellow United fans, I urge you to be graceful and congratulate Liverpool. The club has not done it officially but our manager, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has and so has Sir Alex Ferguson. I always knew they both would have the grace and class to congratulate the deserving winners. Let’s not be bitter about it and start comparing the number of Premier League titles won. The fact is like we celebrate winning the league 20 times, Liverpool has won it 19 times now. The old First Division titles count. Suck it up.
I have seen Manchester City win the league and I thought that was tough to take but always felt it was tainted a bit as it was a victory that was bought. City was no-where near the top until the injection of cash from their owners. However, watching Liverpool finally win the league and the reaction of their fans has been the toughest, most painful experience as a United fan watching another team win the league. Ideally, you would want to go to a mountain or cave or a forest and stay there until all this settles down. That is not possible though as life goes on and we go a life outside of being football fans so we just got to take it on the chin. If this doesn’t light the fire in the hearts of everyone associated with Manchester United Football Club, from the owners down to the groundsman and the fans, nothing will.
Enjoy the success Liverpool. We shall see each other again next season.
