Where Has The Old Liverpool Spirit Gone

The club was also going through a rough period off the pitch with the ongoing boardroom battles between Tom Hicks and George Gillett.  I know at the time during many a debate people said that this would not affect the players.  Well I am sorry, of course it would.  If you have a stressful situation around you, things will play on your mind and as much as you try to concentrate, it won't happen.  It did not help that a change of manager took place and that the man chosen was in the end the wrong man.

We watched from the side-lines as the life of our club hung in the balance, but most of us never gave up and indeed helped the cause reach a successful conclusion.  This of course was when John Henry and FSG brought the club.  The business side recovered sufficiently enough overnight for us the supporters to yet again turn our attention to matters on the pitch.

As you all know what we were witnessing on the pitch was becoming a horror story.  Liverpool was going through their worst period of form since the 1950's and the results were not going our way. Anfield for the first time in many years could be seen with rows of empty seats because the football was dire, but many of us and without offending anyone, I suspect it was the older supporter like myself rather than one of the younger ones, who stuck by the team.

We also began to suffer with injuries, the most notable being the three month layoff that followed Jamie's shoulder injury but the team laboured on albeit in a very unhappy way and did the best they could under the circumstances that only they and a few of us were aware off.  They were being managed by a man, who very quickly appeared to be totally out of his depth and also had to cope with a fellow team member, who having lost interest in the game, quite frankly was not trying.

The New Year came and so did some major changes.  John Henry did what we the supporters had been urging him to do for weeks and removed Roy Hodgson as the club's manager.  In his place, the King has returned temporarily to his throne.  Immediately things began to change, the players, the supporters and the club became one again. 

Things also began to start happening on the pitch. The team was no longer as disjointed as it had been and with Kenny introducing some of the younger players into the squad, our results began to improve.  The transfer window was also in full swing and by the end of it, a very happy player was sold and two new players brought in.  Now these two players are as you know Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll and although they have only been playing together for the last three weeks, you can see that come next season, they will be a force to reckon with.

Unfortunately though, the injury jinx is still with us and we now have Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson out with Hamstring problems, as well as Daniel Agger with a knee problem and Stevie with his groin. As I have said though, we must not believe the end is nigh.  There is a great crop of youngsters coming through and I am sure Kenny will use them if he feels they are ready.  If he does, then it will prove to the watching world that Liverpool's academy is doing what it was built to do.  It will also send out a signal to the rest of premiership to show that we may be down but we are not giving up.

Next season the team will be better and stronger due possibly to the movement in the summer transfer window.  It may also be because some of the youngsters have claimed a place in the first team, only time will tell off course.  We may miss out on European football because we may not make fifth place this season, but in reality that is not a bad thing.  It will give Kenny time to work with his players old and new without the constant worry of a game in some far off place in Europe.  It was also give him the chance to concentrate on the League and FA Cup as well as the prize that we all want.

That prize of course is the Premiership title and I know in my heart of hearts that it is on its way back to us.  It will hurt most of you to see Manchester United claim it this season, but let them because it will be their last.  The circle of life that surrounds football is closing and with Sir Alex's career coming to an end along with an ageing team and money problems on the horizon, Manchester United will soon realise they are not the force they once were.  It will not matter who they get in to replace him, I expect the team to fall into a state of disarray for quite some time

The old Liverpool Spirit was around in 2005 when we won the Champions League.  As I am sure you remember we were losing 3-0 at half time, but something happened in the 15 minutes between the two halves and with us the supporters behind them, the team pulled the score back to take the game to penalties and the trophy now sits in the Anfield Trophy room. 

So please all of you that doubts about our beloved club and its team, cast them aside and remember we support the greatest club in the world.  We have been along a very rocky road, a road that has not yet ended, but it will and the good times will return.  When they do, we can stand by St George's Hall and salute our team as the bus rolls pass knowing that all the worry, the screaming and the crying has been worth it.

WE HAVE A SPECIAL SPIRIT BECAUSE THE LIVERBIRD WE HAVE IN OUR HEART MEANS SO MUCH TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.