Invitations in the post for Klopp’s ’Pool party
Edited by Dave Devereux. email: devereuxdave@yahoo.ie
FOR ANYBODY other than Liverpool fans, this will probably be one of the most mundane Premier League title run-ins ever.
The Reds’ whopping lead of 16 points after 22 games has only been matched once before when Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea held the same seismic advantage in the 2005-’06 season, when they went on to claim the title by eight points easing down.
Despite the odd long-suffering Liverpool fan not allowing themselves to admit that the title is in the bag for fear of jinxing it, it’s done, it’s dusted and well on its way to being polished.
You don’t need me to tell you that, and anyone holding on to any faint glimmer of hope that Liverpool will falter are simply living in cloud cuckoo land.
After their routine win over Man United on Sunday, another 30 points would see them crowned champions and, considering their almost flawless record over the past year or so, garnering ten wins out of their remaining 16 matches would seem a pretty straightforward task and is about as much of a certainty as night following day, or Jack Wilshere facing a lengthy absence from the game due to injury.
In reality, a lot less than 30 points will most likely do the trick, because Man City certainly don’t look like going on a swashbuckling winning run similar to the one that saw Jurgen Klopp’s men lose out by a short head last time around.
It looks like Liverpool will clinch the silverware in late March or early April, which would make the long-awaited success all the sweeter, as it would break the record for the earliest Premier League win, surpassing their great rivals Manchester United, who sealed the deal on April 14 in the 2000-’01 season.
How United supporters must yearn for a return to those days as they miserably wallow a pathetic 30 points behind their fiercest foes.
With the Merseysiders on an unstoppable course to win the league at a canter, all the neutrals will have to get excited about at the tail end of the season will be the battle for the Champions League places and the hustle and bustle of a relegation dogfight.
Regarding the top four, despite the likes of Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea blowing as hot and cold as a dodgy fan heater, they all still look like they will have enough to take their places in Europe’s premier competition next term, while the has-beens battle it out with the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United for a Europa League spot.
Some Manchester United fans will try to find crumbs of comfort by revelling in the fact that it took their arch-rivals so long to get back to the top of the domestic tree, but
Red Devils supporters themselves could now be in for a long and painful wait to add to their list of league titles.
The hardest thing for the Old Trafford faithful to stomach will be that, in all likelihood, Liverpool will have streaked ahead of them again before they win their next Premier League crown, as it looks like we could be at the start of a golden era for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, with Manchester City looking like their only realistic challengers in the short to medium term.
As for the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs, they have a hell of a lot of catching up to do to reach the unprecedented heights set first by Man City and now by an outstanding Liverpool side.
Of course, money can talk loudly and brashly, and with the right investment any of the big boys could awake from their slumber, but it will take more than merely splashing the cash to stop the Klopp juggernaut.
Liverpool’s success hasn’t been just about marquee signings Alisson and Van Dijk, but less obvious recruits like Robertson from Hull City and Wijnaldum from Newcastle, who were far from the finished article. The German maestro’s greatest gift is how he has moulded them into a team where everybody knows their role.
The rest of the season certainly won’t be a white-knuckle ride for the neutrals, but after waiting three decades to add to their league title roll of honour, Liverpool fans won’t give the slightest of damns.
After falling short in agonising fashion so often in the past, they’ll be comforted by the lack of drama and savour every record-breaking minute of the run-in.
It may have been a long time coming, but you sense now that they’ve got there it could take an almighty effort to knock them off their lofty perch.