Five Favourite Wins Against - Manchester City at Anfield

Continuing the series where I look back at my five favourite wins for over their Liverpool’s next opponents.  This weekend Liverpool play against Manchester City at Anfield in a potential title-decider.  Here are my five favourite wins from past encounters.

1^st May 1978

LIVERPOOL   (1)   4   (Dalglish 24, 55, 80, Neal pen 53)

MANCHESTER CITY   (0)   0

LIVERPOOL: Clemence; Neal, Thompson, Hansen, Hughes; Case, McDermott, Souness, R.Kennedy; Fairclough, Dalglish

MAN CITY: Corrigan; Clements, Booth, Watson, Donachie; Bell, Owen, Hartford, Power; Channon, Kidd

Liverpool’s attempt to win the league for a third successive season had come to an end when Nottingham Forest were confirmed Champions on 22^nd April.  Since then, though, they had won three straight matches without conceding a goal and were looking forward to a second successive European Cup Final appearance.  Manchester City were also doing well in the League, sitting in 5^th with just one defeat in their last 10 matches.  This was the penultimate match for both sides in this season and this was Liverpool’s 3^rd game in 6 days.

This was Kenny Dalglish’s first season at Liverpool after his £440,000 move from Celtic to replace Kevin Keegan at Anfield.  When Dalglish opened the scoring it was his 18^th in the league that season, more than Keegan ever managed.  His goal still separated the two sides at the break but within 10 minutes of the re-start, Liverpool had stretched their lead beyond the visitors.

Liverpool were awarded a penalty soon after half-time, which Phil Neal tucked away with his usual confidence.  Two minutes later, Dalglish added his second and Liverpool’s third.  Then with 10 minutes to go, Dalglish completed his hat-trick.  4-0 to Liverpool and Dalglish had hit the 20 league goals mark.  Nine days later he scored his 31^st of the season when he got the only goal to beat Bruges in the European Cup Final as Liverpool successfully defended their title.

Although Liverpool finished second in the league, Forest’s shock League title was enough to galvanise the club and Liverpool broke a host of records the season after.  Manchester City finished 5^th in the table having been 2^nd the season before.

27^th December 1982

LIVERPOOL   (3)   5   (Dalglish 18, 24, 86, Neal 22, Rush 64)

MAN CITY   (1)   2   (Cross 41, Caton 90)

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Neal, Lawrenson, Hansen, A.Kennedy; Lee, Souness, Whelan (Fairclough); Rush, Hodgson, Dalglish

MAN CITY: Corrigan; Ranson, Bond, Caton, McDonald; Bodak, Hartford, Power; Reeves, Cross, Tueart

Bob Paisley’s final Christmas as Liverpool manager and his side were again top of the table.  They’d lost just once in the last 10 games and had won 4-2 at Villa just before Christmas.  Manchester City were in 9^th with just 1 win in their last 6 including being held at home by bottom club, Brighton.

This was the season when the partnership of Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish really started to come to the fore.  The pair had scored 20 between them already by the time they welcomed City the day after Boxing Day.

City managed to keep the home side at bay for almost 20 minutes but then Dalglish broke the deadlock.  This then opened up the floodgates as Liverpool scored 3 goals in just 6 minutes.  Phil Neal got the 2^nd goal, and unusually it came from open play.  Within 2 minutes Dalglish had doubled his tally for the day and it was 3-0 before City knew it.

Just before the break David Cross, who’d won an FA Cup winners medal in 1980 with West Ham, got a goal back for the visitors but it was no more than a consolation.  In the second half, City managed to repel the home side for the first 20 minutes but then Ian Rush extended the lead with his 14^th of the season.  4-1 to Liverpool and they were cruising at this point.  Dalglish then completed his hat-trick with 4 minutes to go.  He’d scored a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture four years previously and he was back to be the scourge of City again.

City centre-back, Tommy Caton, scored right on the final whistle but it flattered the visitors as Liverpool ran out comfortable 5-2 winners.  They maintained their 5pt lead at the top and went onto win the title by 11pts.  They also won the League Cup for a third successive year.  For Manchester City 1983 was a disaster.  They started the year in 9^th and by mid-May they were relegated, winning just 4 matches in the second half of the season, and suffering a further 0-4 loss to Liverpool in the return fixture.

28^th October 1995

LIVERPOOL   (2)   6   (Rush 3, 64, Redknapp 5, Fowler 47, 60, Ruddock 53)

MAN CITY   (0)   0

LIVERPOOL: James; McAteer, Wright, Scales (M.Kennedy), Babb, Harkness; Redknapp, Barnes (Ruddock); McManaman, Rush, Fowler

MAN CITY: Immel; Edghill, Curle, Symons, Brightwell (Creaney); Summerbee, Lomas, Flitcroft, Kinkladze (Brown); Quinn, Rosler

Roy Evans’ Liverpool side had just put out Manchester City in the League Cup, three days before they met in the League.  They beat Alan Ball’s side, 4-0 with three goals in the final 15 minutes.  Liverpool were unbeaten in their last 5 league games with 1 defeat in their last 8.  In contrast, City were in awful form.  A recent goalless draw at home to Leeds United had ended a run of 8 straight defeats.  They had yet to register a win all season.

Just three minutes into the game Ian Rush opened his account for the season after Jason McAteer’s shot was blocked by Eike Immel in the City goal, only for Rush to turn it in.  Then two minutes later, Liverpool had a free-kick about 20 yards out.  Jamie Redknapp took it and a deflection left the keeper rooted to the spot.  City were stunned and it was all they could muster to deny the home side any further goals in the half.

Shortly after the break, though, Liverpool extended their lead when some good play from Scales and McManaman released Mark Wright down the right win and he found Robbie Fowler just outside the area.  Fowler then beat two players before sliding a low shot past Immel.  Six minutes later Ruddock, who’d come on for the injured John Barnes, headed in Redknapp’s corner and it was 4-0.  City were still reeling when Fowler grabbed his second on the hour.  McAteer’s cross found him and his classy turn beat the defence to allow him to slip the ball home from close range.  Four minutes later it was 6-0.  Immel saved a shot from Redknapp but the ball bounced to Rush who scored, despite mis-hitting his shot.  It had been a fraught 20 minutes since the break and Liverpool had scored 4 goals, but Immel continued to frustrate them by denying any further goals.  The defeat left City rock bottom of the table, although they picked up their first win of the season in their next match, against Bolton.  But City’s poor start was not enough to keep them in the Premier League when a final day draw at home to Liverpool saw them return to the second tier of English football.

Liverpool finished 3^rd in the table behind Manchester United and Newcastle United and were also losing finalists in the FA Cup.

9^th September 2000

LIVERPOOL   (1)   3   (Owen 11, Hamann 56, 82)

MAN CITY   (0)   2   (Weah 67, Horlock pen 81)

LIVERPOOL: Westerveld; Babbel, Song, Henchoz, Traore; Gerrard (Ziege), Carragher,Hamann, Barmby; Heskey, Owen (Meijer)

MAN CITY: Weaver; Haaland, Prior, Howey, Ritchie; Horlock, Wiekens, Whitley, Kennedy (Weah); Wanchope, Dickov

Both teams came into this game with 2 wins each from their opening four games of the season.  But City had been shipping goals and Liverpool were full of confidence after Michael Owen’s hat-trick had beaten Villa in the week.

After the disappointment of Euro 2000, players like Michael Owen seemed determined to start the season with a bang and he’d hit 5 goals already this season.  11 minutes into the game and he got his 6^th.  Heskey played him in from just inside the City half and as Weaver came out to narrow the angle, Owen deftly curled the ball round him with the outside of his right foot.  Owen had now scored 6 goals in 3 games in a week and was bang in form. 

City troubled the home defence a few times but the general play wasn’t pretty.  Just before half-time Heskey was fouled by Steve Howey right on the edge of the area, but the ref gave a free-kick from which nothing came for the home side.

Owen and Heskey then both went close with chances in the second half before Liverpool went 2-up.  Play began out on the right but the ball floated into the area was headed away by Howey, who beat Heskey to it.  The ball dropped for Dietmar Hamann, on the edge of the ‘D’ and he controlled it on his chest and then volleyed it with his left foot, giving Weaver no chance.

City manager, Joe Royle, then made a change which transformed his side.  George Weah came on for Mark Kennedy and within 10 minutes he danced through the defence before hitting an unstoppable shot to bring the visitors back into the game.  With just under 10 minutes to go, Traore brought down Haaland in the area and Horlock converted the penalty to level things up.  But before City could dream of earning a point from a seemingly hopeless position, Christian Ziege, making his debut, delivered a long throw and Hamann was on hand to blast his 2^nd of the day and Liverpool had won dramatically.

Of course this was a record season for Liverpool as they won 3 cups, FA, League and UEFA Cups with each one containing a dramatic finish.  In the League they finished 3^rd, grabbing a Champions League place on the final day.  For Manchester City, this was another season to forget as they were relegated. 

11^th April 2011

LIVERPOOL   (3)   3   (Carroll 13, 35, Kuyt 34)

MAN CITY   (0)   0

LIVERPOOL: Reina; Flanagan, Skrtel, Carragher, Aurelio; Kuyt, Spearing, Lucas, Meireles; Carroll (N’Gog), Suarez

MAN CITY: Hart; Boyata, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov; Milner (Silva), Barry, Toure, Johnson; Dzeko, Tevez (Balotelli) (de Jong)

Liverpool were four months into a new reign under Kenny Dalglish as new owners had brought in Anfield legend in attempt to stabilise the club.  The League form had improved picking up 21pts from the last 10 matches, including a 3-1 home win against leaders, Manchester United.  In January, Liverpool sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea and replaced him with Luis Suarez from Ajax and Andy Carroll from Newcastle.  Carroll had yet to open his goal account for his new club having only appeared in 3 league games to this point, and Suarez had only scored twice so everyone was desperate for things to take off.

Manchester City were in third place desperate to win something and justify the spending on their squad, but mindful of the threat to a Champions League place from sides below them.  When they arrived at Anfield they had one eye on an upcoming FA Cup Semi-Final against United, but if they were hoping for a nice easy confidence-building warm-up, they got anything but.

The night belonged to Andy Carroll, who finally looked like the player Liverpool thought they had bought.  Thirteen minutes in a Dirk Kuyt’s throughball hit Kompany and bounced back into the path of Carroll, about 20 yards from goal.  Carroll hit it first time with his left foot and couldn’t have caught it sweeter.  The shot, hit low, curved away from Joe Hart’s outstretched hand although the City keeper could be forgiven for being surprised Carroll hit it so well.  City then suffered a further blow when Carlos Tevez went off with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Balotelli.

Ten minutes before the break Liverpool surged forward again and City desperately tried to repel each shot but when the ball fell to Dirk Kuyt, free on the right-hand side of the area, his carefully placed shot beat Hart in the far corner.  City were a beaten team already and soon the game was over as a contest.  Raul Meireles crossed right-footed from the left wing and Carroll got up first to head the ball past Hart and that was that.  Finally, Suarez and Carroll had begun to click as a partnership and the difference between them and the City attack was stark.

Liverpool won comfortably and definitely looked more of a team than City, who resembled a disparate bunch of expensive players assembled for the amusement of men with too much money.

Liverpool finished the season in 6^th and City ending 3^rd and winning the FA Cup.

HEAD TO HEAD at Anfield

Matches: 77

Liverpool win: 46

Man City win: 13

Draws: 18

Liverpool goals: 159

Man City goals: 95

Anything is Possible For Those Who Believe

Working in sales in the late 1980’s-early 1990’s I was given a book by an inspirational American called Napoleon Hill.  “Think and Grow Rich” contains the famous line – “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.

This was continuously repeated as a mantra from managers to get their protégés to sell more with a strap-line along the lines of ‘the only person holding you back is yourself’.  As a Liverpool supporter from the mid-1970’s onwards this seemed to fit with my belief of my team’s ability to win almost anything it competed in.  It took a little while to quite understand and realise the invincibility had gone throughout the Souness era, to become an almost ‘pleased to be in with a chance of winning a trophy’ feeling from then on.  But in the last few months things have changed.

I wrote an article a week or two ago on how I believed Liverpool would finish third.  All season I feel Manchester City and Chelsea both have bigger, better squads with more depth than Liverpool’s and in reality what I couldn’t perceive as happening is that they would lose the title.  My article hinged on both teams needing to drop points somewhere in the run-in to allow Liverpool in.  Liverpool have the luxury of still to meet both sides at Anfield where they seem imperious at present.  For Chelsea, a Liverpool win could be enough to be overhauled by them, but for City they needed to lose points elsewhere as well, otherwise defeat at Anfield wouldn’t stop them winning their second title in three years.

Last weekend, I believe both City and Chelsea lost the title.

Now of course there’s still a lot of football to play and many things can happen.  I cannot remember a season quite like this perhaps since the days of the early 1990’s when Manchester United seemed to stutter to believe they themselves could be champions.  The United of last season would probably win the title this year as well, albeit they relied heavily on Robin van Persie but this illustrates further how City and Chelsea have dropped points at ridiculous times and in the end it may cost them.  Liverpool too, have not been perfect all year and those who witnessed the West Brom, Aston Villa and Hull City matches would testify to that theory.  But I saw something in Brendan Rodgers’ first season which gives me confidence for the run-in this time round.

Liverpool finished the season strongly, and remained fit and healthy to the line.  From the final game of the season I really felt we could’ve gone on for another 4-5 matches.  You don’t often get that at the end of a long, and sometimes stressful, season.  But Rodgers handling of Steven Gerrard was key to this, although he missed the final few matches there was enough confidence in the team to put some good performances together despite the absence of their talismanic captain.  Don’t forget they were also missing their star striker, Luis Suarez.

I likened Liverpool last season to a recovering alcoholic.  Despite one good performance we were never far away from falling off the wagon, and there were plenty of instances of that happening.  Aston Villa at home, Southampton away, were just two examples where we seemed to be in good form coming into the game yet seemed to have forgotten how to play together when we finally got there.  Things seemed to be so fragile you could only really look one day at a time.  Few outside of Liverpool FC understand what the club had become under the previous regime, a bitter, spiteful organisation where neither of the owners were speaking to each other, let alone the management and where the management seemed more concerned with getting one over on their employer than worrying about their players.  FSG changed all that and Kenny Dalglish changed all that.  The right man at the right time.

I’m perfectly happy to admit I didn’t feel Brendan Rodgers was the right man for Liverpool, I felt the club was too big for him.  Even throughout last season where you could see a project starting to take shape I still couldn’t see how he would negotiate European competition when it came to it.  This season we have gone one better although I still feel the squad needs strengthening to compete in the Champions League, but Rodgers’ tactical nous and coaching is really bringing out the best in the squad.

So what do I mean about a title lost?  There have been several examples over the past 10-15 years where I feel clubs threw away the title rather than someone like Manchester United winning it.  This season may end up being the same and it is Liverpool who will benefit from their rivals profligacy.  They are the team bang in form and few can see other teams containing them.  In fact, what seems to be the common theory is that it is only themselves who could stop them.

The way Liverpool are playing at the moment is the reason for their success and other teams just don’t seem to be able to work them out.  Rodgers continually changes things too, just to further flummox the opposition.  When Everton came to Anfield they pushed up, believing squeezing the space in midfield was the key, but a ball over the defence for speed-merchants like Sterling, Suarez and Sturridge to run onto was just too great a gift to give up.  When Arsenal arrived they were set deeper but sat off Liverpool, who pressed them relentlessly, believing it would rattle The Gunners.  It did and we were 4 goals up in twenty minutes.  Manchester United tried to use two midfield players wide on each side but both of them were outnumbered by Henderson and Allen combining with the full-backs.  Tottenham arrived with a rigid 4-4-2 formation but Rodgers use of Henderson and Gerrard either side of the opposition’s midfield 4 just causes havoc.  Add to this the desire and sheer will to win of both Suarez and Gerrard and you have a pretty potent recipe for success. 

Raheem Sterling too, is a player who has really developed his game and Rodgers has done well to marshall him through the season.  The use of Sterling just behind the front two against United was another reason for the home side’s impotence.  It is Sterling’s passing which has impressed me the most and we had further evidence of that against Tottenham on Sunday.  He is not afraid to sweep a long diagonal ball from his own half to either Suarez or Sturridge, which makes his presence in his own half a dangerous one.  If he cannot see the outlet up front, he can then murder the defence with his pace.

Having said all this, there are things which could derail Liverpool’s title ambitions.  Gerrard is a yellow card away from ban and until the City and Chelsea games are navigated he won’t want to fall foul of that (no apologies for the pun).  Gerrard has been immense in the last few weeks and often remains a menacing figure hanging back as Liverpool pile forward with the opposition just praying he doesn’t join in.  You would say an injury to a key player could affect things but you would probably need both Sturridge and Suarez to be out for it to have an effect on the goalscoring.

After last weekend’s results things are in our hands and for an older fan like me who just used to expect to win trophies each year we have had to get used to that not being the case.  But as the sign says at Anfield, “Anything is possible for those who believe”.

Boos, Birds & Passion

Image courtesy of @LFC_Imagery

Recently there has been discussion about atmosphere in stadiums and fans vocal support.  We have had fans booing at grounds and also people questioning pressure put on players by supporters desperate for success.  West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, made reference to the booing of some sections of the home crowd after their recent win over Hull City when there had been boos heard around Upton Park despite the team leading 1-0 at half time.  West Ham vice-Chairman Karren Brady stood by her manager’s frustration by stating “There is no way I can accept my team being booed.”  She went onto add, “Big Sam is so upset he complains that he has never heard a winning team booed.”

Others have joined the debate defending a spectator’s right to voice their displeasure.  On twitter long-time abuse-provocateur, Danny Baker, posted “So Allardyce says fans mustn’t boo. Why do they ALWAYS forget fans are the only ones who have paid to get in.  Every else [sic] is BEING PAID.”

Now personally I agree you have the right to voice your dissatisfaction and it is every fan’s right to comment on the performance of the team, the manager or indeed the club.  But, my problem with this sort of ‘support’ is that it rarely achieves what the instigators desire.

My view on the first point is that there are various ways to support your players and club and it is one of the easiest things in the world to be negative, but does it ever really motivate a player or even a team?  There are examples of players managing to turn around a rough crowd, but generally it can be very hard to keep yourself motivated if you know you’re going to receive abuse from your own fans.  When you consider the bubble most players live in which consists purely on engineering to make their lives simple, uncomplicated and constantly positive, it must be difficult for them to deal with.

Having said that, becoming a top professional footballer is such a cut-throat business where a man must be single-minded enough to sacrifice many of the temptations us mere mortals can succumb to, that you cannot imagine players being able to reach the top if they have slightly delicate skins.  These days many managers and coaches will kneel at the altar of man-management and it would seem the days of shouting and badgering players, a la Brian Clough, John Sitton or Neil Warnock, are over.  In fact even Martin Allen worships at the font of personal development, believing there’s more to management than just being mad.

Let me illustrate this point with a simple reference.  Cast your minds back to May 2005 and Istanbul.  Liverpool go in at half-time 0-3 down to AC Milan in the Champions League Final.  The Italians put in one of the finest 45 minute displays I have witnessed from any side and I had to admit we were well beaten at that stage.  But in the ground what did the fans do?  Did they boo?  Did they deride, sneer, whistle or even walk out?  No, they sang their hearts out.  The Italians themselves made mention of the fact they couldn’t understand how those fans could be singing for their side when they had been so utterly outplayed in the first half.  As Jamie Carragher wrote in his autobiography

Rafa Benitez also said “Listen to them, we’re 0-3 down and they’re singing higher than ever, do it for them.  Our coach Alex Miller’s final instructions at half-time were for us to “score a goal for those fans”, and as the players emerged from the tunnel they could hear the noise being generated from the fans and it certainly had a hand in galvanising the miracle which transpired.

Picking holes in someone or their performance is a very easy thing to do and these days fans seem to prefer to ring up radio stations or join in forums or just tweet, simply to moan.  The hardest thing in life is looking for the good in any situation.  Funnily enough it is something many religions teach, despite the press they get for being responsible for starting wars or encouraging bigotry, and maybe the demise of religion in this country has had an effect on this.  Often the simplest thing is to point out what is wrong rather than how to put it right.

Of course, booing your team is not a new occurrence but booing a side when they’re leading at half-time in a ‘must-win’ game probably is.  Is it a sign of nerves on behalf of the fans? Or is it simply a natural reaction to the frustration of seeing your side not play in the way you would like them to?  How do you think those West Ham players would’ve felt if they had received a standing ovation after going in at the break 1-0 at home to Hull?  Maybe they would’ve felt the crowd was on their side, there was nothing going to stop them now and perhaps they could put in a performance for the fans in the second half.  Similarly, how would the Hull City players have felt if they realised the crowd was in full cry and determined to will the home side on?

Don’t get me wrong, I fully support someone’s right to protest and when you’ve paid a lot of money to get in surely you have the right to demonstrate how disappointed you are with what you have been watching?  But then that is very easy to do when you’re in the safety of a crowd and, as I mentioned earlier, the easiest reaction is to complain and be negative.  It takes a lot to look for the good.  There are ways of voicing dissent and any amount of outlets which will happily channel it for you.  I just feel there are better ways of doing it rather than when your team is 1-0 up against a side they should beat and the 3pts you might gain, should ensure safety for another season.  I am sure there are many fans up and down the country who would swap places with West Ham fans at this stage of the season.

Perhaps this brings in the question of who should get who going first?  Is it the crowd’s responsibility to create an atmosphere to galvanise the team or is it the players’ who need to play well enough to bring the crowd to life?  A football match is a play in a theatre or a film in a cinema, where you sit and wait to be entertained.  A football match has more in common with a rock concert, where the crowd turns up expecting to be entertained and reacts accordingly joining in with whatever is played out on stage.

Maybe this is all synonymous with the way many supporters believe today’s footballer is separated from them.  The pampered ponce who gets to drive off in his top of the range Mercedes and have all the money, women and accolades he wants, no matter how he plays.  A guy who has clearly just turned up today to do as little as possible so he can continue to earn his vast wage and has set out with the intention of losing, or worse still, just not even trying.  But is that the truth?  Do players deliberately set out to go through the motions?  Or is it simply how us mere mortals who have never made it past playing in the park on a Sunday morning, think we would approach some games?  But then maybe the reason we have never progressed is due to the voice in our head being far less positive than the one in the head of a player who finally makes the grade.

Some players seem to positively quiver with the excitement of drawing a big club in a cup competition, whereas some fans would prefer an easier tie just to prolong the journey a little further.

Not too long ago it was offered that some players dreaded being selected to play for England as there was so much pressure and negative vibe from the media and supporters, that the whole experience of going away on international duty was a thoroughly unpleasant one.  Whether that’s still the case is up for debate, but young players still talk of the honour of playing for one’s country that you could be forgiven for forgetting they were young supporters once who dreamed the dreams we all have.

My second point in this article relates to the suggestion that, although the support at Anfield for Liverpool recently has been phenomenal, it could in fact put too much pressure on a young side unprepared for the heady heights of Premier League Champions.  Richard Beech in The Mirror made the point, “passionate support could turn into pressure for young players” but this underestimates what counts for ‘support’ in Liverpool and also the calming effect Brendan Rodgers is having on this team.

Both Glenn Hoddle and Tim Sherwood made an attempt to highlight this before the Liverpool v Tottenham game on Sunday.  Unfortunately for them it backfired severely and it was the Tottenham players who seemed overwhelmed with the home side’s vociferous support, going on to fluff their lines.  You see the support at Anfield and Liverpool FC is different from many other clubs.  I don’t say it’s different than all other clubs as many clubs have fans passionate about their team and desperate to get behind them.  It was pointed out to me a while back by a fan of another club who said “the problem with Liverpool fans is they always over-estimate a player’s ability”.  Now that in itself is an interesting observation, seen by the accuser as a negative and yet seen by me, and I would think many Liverpool fans, as a major plus.  This club has had plenty of players down the years who made the best of their abilities.  Emlyn Hughes, Kevin Keegan, Joey Jones, Alan Kennedy, Jamie Carragher, Craig Johnston and Steve Nicol are all players who weren’t particularly as gifted as some but worked incredibly hard on making the most of what they had.  Now we can add to that the name of Jon Flanagan.

Flanagan has been a revelation for me this season.  It was clear from the Channel Four documentary “Being Liverpool” that Rodgers identified him as someone with talent, but then he did the same with JonJo Shelvey and that didn’t really work out.  In November when Liverpool travelled to The Emirates, Rodgers surprised many when he plumped for Flanagan as replacement for Glenn Johnson at right-back.  Now contrary to some of the points I have made earlier, twitter was alive with negative comments about the kid’s ability, suggesting he was more Traore than triumph and he shouldn’t be anywhere near the squad.  ‘Flanno’ had a decent game but has since gone on to be one of the most improved players at the club.  On Sunday he epitomised how he has blossomed into his role with a ‘Cruyff turn’ on the left before feeding Coutinho who went onto score the third goal.  Flanagan is everything which is good about positive passionate support and how it can galvanise a player.  After initially receiving abuse on social media, in the ground he received support and for a local-boy-made-good this has transcended into performances which make him difficult to leave out.

When players give their all at Anfield the crowd loves them, and they can go onto love them forever.  Being a smaller city than London, for example, can have the effect of a player never forgetting who is playing for.  As Bill Shankly famously told the fans “these players play for you”, and he never let them forget it and countless managers have gone onto understand that bond and tap into it.  Rodgers is no different.

Now let’s not get too carried away as there were one or two dissenting voices during Kenny Dalglish’s second spell in charge, and you could make the point the home form wasn’t great during this time with too many drawn games to be able to challenge for the title.  I believe everyone was so desperate to return to the glory days and with Kenny coming back there was a belief it would just happen automatically.  But herein lies the problem.  Liverpool would start very well at Anfield but if we didn’t score in the first 15 minutes the crowd began to get nervous.  What if what you wanted so desperately didn’t happen?  This then transferred to the players and the performances became anxious.  With Brendan Rodgers coming in there was a feeling of needing to build something from the beginning and that this would take time.  Add to that his calm demeanour and this has given the fans the ability to sit back and enjoy the play and hope for the best rather than just to expect it.  Now, of course, we expect the best from the players because they are putting in the performances.

In addition, Rodgers has gone for players with the right attitude, believing his coaching methods can improve their play.  One or two have found themselves out on loan or even out of the club if they have shown any deficiency in their determination.

When Liverpool fans offer passionate support they are not saying “you better put in a performance or else you’re letting me and everyone else down”.  They are saying “we believe in you and we’d give anything to be in your position, but you have been given the faith to play for us and we believe you can do it”.

It is a subtle difference but it makes all the difference.  Misunderstanding that just makes us more determined, and I appreciate I am completely biased in this but then that is one of the reason’s I support this club rather than any other, but being supported by Liverpool fans is just a completely different experience than at many other clubs.  If you don’t believe me go and ask Xabi Alonso, John-Arne Riise, Sami Hyypia, Didi Hammann.  Players who started their careers at other clubs and didn’t necessarily understand the Liverpool fans before they came, then they move onto other clubs but still hold a real affinity with the club and the city and will often declare this is a place like no other.

At the moment everyone is just enjoying the ride which many of us weren’t expecting until next season at least.  But if you are concerned passionate support may have a negative effect on the players, just remember these players are playing every day under the constant reminder of what has gone before them at Liverpool.  They are already well aware of the expectations.