When Liverpool left the pitch having won a point away from
home against Arsenal, in a performance which heralded the kind of optimism that
had now been seen among the Liverpool faithful since January it seemed that
this time we were finally going somewhere. The new signings who had so far been
exposed to first team action were showing early promise and any supporter you
listened to delighted in echoing the common refrain of “tell you what I would have
taken 7 out of 9 points from these three games before the start of the season”.
Fast forward one week and that optimism had been usurped by
despair yet again. If the Arsenal game was supposed to show us how far we have
come well then the game against West Ham showed us just how much father there
is to go on our road to redemption. The fact that a performance like this came
at Anfield only added to the anguish and in the end it somehow left most of us
feeling worse than what was previously believed to be this side’s darkest day
back on the last day of last season. And with good reason too. All of a sudden
we saw how Benteke could struggle to influence a game, we saw our that defense
(which had previously kept 3 clean sheets) was far from being the impenetrable
unit it had previously appeared to be with Dejan Lovren seeming to return to
type and prove his many doubters right.
The most unwelcome international break which followed that
game couldn’t have come at a worse time for miserable reds who were left with
no escape for at least a fort night. The fact that this chance for redemption
comes against United at Old Trafford does little to inspire confidence that our
moods will be lifted much come Saturday evening. We were soundly beaten 3-0 here
last season as United completed the double over us and our record at this
ground over the years is far from impressive. You wont find many arguing with
my description that this is hardly the
greatest Liverpool side ever created. The thing is though, this is far from a
vintage United side either and if you spoke many of their fans I believe you would
find that, currently our mindsets are not so dis-similar. They had ground out a
couple of wins to start their Premier League season without ever looking truly
convincing, they then had a stale draw against Newcastle before slipping to a
damaging defeat away to Swansea. The only differences between our season is
their lack of a truly promising performance such as ours versus Arsenal and also
their lack of a home defeat like ours against West Ham. The point of my
ramblings is not to convince anybody that we are certainly going to go there
and return with all three points at 7:30 on Saturday, what I am trying to show
is that this result is not a foregone conclusion for either side.
It is far too early to talk about six pointers or the likes,
but this game definitely has more about it that simply the 3 points which are
on offer. Both managers are currently experiencing some real internal pressure and
although it seems outlandish to suggest that this single result could result in
either being removed from their position, it is not in doubt that the pressure
will be multiplied on either manager if they were to lose this game. It is of
course possible that the need to not lose this game could result in something
of a stale mate, certainly in the latter stages if the game is tied in a score
draw (the only result which could realistically see both managers saving face).
However the Old Trafford faithful will not accept a team sitting back, at home
against such a hated rival. This is the reason why I think it is possible for Liverpool
to get something from this game. We’ve shown our most promising signs against
teams that are willing to play. Whilst there is no denying our struggles at
times, I think it is clear to most that they are most clearly visible against opponents
willing to give us the ball and repel our attacks, this is why our recent home
record has been so poor as teams are so
willing to soak up pressure at Anfield. Away from home, away from the
frustrated Anfield crown, with our ever excellent away fans providing the loudest
support they can possibly muster egging us on could just prove to be exactly
what is needed at the moment.
While in truth this game offers nothing more than 3 points
to the victor, with plenty of season remaining for a loser to make up that
difference, if one team does emerge victorious it will be the perfect remedy to
their recent ills, whilst the loser will have to take another sip of the
poisoned chalice as the pressure on their leader approaches breaking point.
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