The final whistle blew amongst party cries of ‘Were
gonna win the League’ and ‘Poetry in Motion’ as Liverpool saw off a very
spirited Southamption side at St. Marys. The party had been planned ever since
Liverpool last challenged for the title, but now it’s in full swing, and the guests
have well and truly arrived.
As Liverpool’s best
season in five years nears its completion, questions are being asked as to
whether this is the start of a new era for the club, or whether it’s just the
club taking advantage of a series of managerial changes amongst their top four
rivals.
Sitting comfortably in the top four, few can deny the Reds
deserve their current placing in the Premier League, as excitement grows on
Merseyside at the prospect of hearing the famous Champions League theme under
the floodlights at Anfield.
After 4 mediocre seasons without Champions League football,
Brendan Rodgers’s men have stepped up a level quite dramatically, the last two
seasons they finished 7th and 8th, it would be, as
Brendan Rodgers has repeated on numerous occasions, ‘unprecedented’ for the
club to finish this campaign as Premier League champions.
We’re at that stage in the season where we all look back at
the pivotal moments of the season, whether that’s Liverpool’s 5-0 victory over
Tottenham or their more recently demolitions over Arsenal and Everton and
questions that were being asked of Liverpool are finally being answered.
Are Liverpool the most exciting side to watch in the Premier
League this season? Arguably, after all, they are the top scorers. Do they host
the Premier League’s best strike force? Without a doubt. Can Liverpool’s class
of 2014 improve further? You better believe it.
Many of Liverpool’s stars of the season are yet to reach
their prime. Jordan Henderson, once maligned now revered in a red shirt, is
only 23 and is one of the Premier League’s, and England’s most exciting
youngsters. Raheem Sterling has the world at his feet and despite being at the
raw age of 19, is already being described as England’s best winger, a claim you
just can’t deny.
Then there’s the small matter of the two strikers Liverpool
have. Sturridge and Suarez. Sturridge, who is now seen as England’s number one
striker above £300k a week Wayne Rooney, is only 24 years of age, can he, like
his partner in crime become one of the best strikers in the world? Of course he
can, he’s at the right club to do so.
Luis Suarez, who is undoubtedly the form player in the world
at this moment in time, has only just turned 26, still a year away from when
strikers reach their ‘prime’. After a turbulent summer few could predict the
season the Uruguayan has had. Would Liverpool be in this position without him?
You have to say no, the Premier League’s top scorer and assist maker is
invaluable, the longer he stays on L4, the better the chance Liverpool have of
building a Shankly-like dynasty.
As well as the players, you have the manager. Without
question, Brendan Rodgers is, and has been, the Premier League Manager of the
Year. There was a lot of scepticism about the Ulsterman after a turbulent first
6 months, at such a young age, there were murmurs the ‘boy’ was out of his
depth. Once the summer transfer window closed, the boy became the man, and that
man has given the Kop faithful a new lease of life.
He’s a man with words, a man of integrity and comparisons
are being drawn with a certain Mr Bill Shankly, who spearheaded Liverpool’s
most successful period in their history. It’s too early to suggest Rodgers can enjoy a similar
reign at the club to that of Shankly, his successor ‘Sir’ Bob Paisley or
(whisper it quietly) Sir Alex Ferguson, but the signs are there.
Of course, due to the disappointing nature of the majority
of Liverpool’s recent years, the attitude of fans remains that of hope not
expectation, but if ever there was an opportunity for Liverpool to return to
Europe’s big table this was it. As Tottenham and Manchester United have
undergone dramatic cosmetic surgery, Liverpool have woken up from a four year
slumber and they are only just getting started.
Liverpool’s famous anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone claims ‘At
the end of a storm, there’s a golden sky’and after recovering from the clubs
darkest days, whether they win the league or not, the Liverpool fans can bask
in the glory of their season, and most importantly, bring in the new sun that's rising over Anfield.