Patience

Posted by cynicaloldgit.

“The best things come to those who wait.” Nobody knows for sure who first uttered this well-known saying, but many have subsequently questioned whether it’s true or not. Indeed, in today’s modern world, where instant gratification appears to be the leitmotif in so many fields, the old adage could be considered almost anachronistic.

Football, of course, is one of those areas where the world has developed at a startling pace over the last decade or so: the ball is lighter; boots more technologically advanced; the rules have been changed to (supposedly) favour attacking play; players have personalised diets; training has become more professional; microscopic analysis on television means that everyone is now an expert. These, and many other, changes have led to a game which is radically different to that with which many of us grew up. Are these changes for the better, though? While the game is faster and more exciting than it has arguably ever been, many would contend that the skill level is lower for, as players’ pace and stamina have improved, their technique is being sacrificed at the altar of high-intensity football.

At the top end of the domestic game, the dominance of the big clubs has never been more pronounced. The income which these clubs generate through television rights, sponsorship deals, official merchandising and matchday income has meant that the so-called “Big Four” in England now enjoy a virtual monopoly on the top four places in the league. This, needless to say, means that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United further increase their margin over their opponents through Champions’ League revenue. Champions’ League football in itself acts as an attractant for the best players. As a result, the gap between the Big Four and the rest is getting wider and wider with each passing season.

We, as Liverpool supporters, have become somewhat blase about finishing in the top four, so much so that the fact that we’ve been involved in a battle with Everton for fourth place has been viewed by many as a disappointment, something which is somehow beneath us. Our record in Europe’s most prestigious club competition doesn’t help, of course, as we see the European Cup as almost ours by right; although we hadn’t won it for twenty-one years until that legendary night in Istanbul, our record of three semi-final appearances (at least) in four years has made both the team and its supporters incredibly confident where Europe is concerned.

The Premier League, however, remains a source of major frustration to all involved with Liverpool Football Club. As everyone knows, we haven’t won the title since 1989-90 and, in truth, we have rarely even threatened to lift the crown during the intervening years. Gerrard Houllier lifted us to second place in 2001-02 but our record since Rafael Benitez took charge hasn’t been that impressive: in 2004-05 we finished an embarrassing 37 points behind the champions, Chelsea; the following year, we got to within nine points of the same team, although they did take their foot off the pedal once they had retained their title. In 2006-07, we finished 21 points behind Manchester United, as the old enemy reclaimed the title after a three-year hiatus. It looks as though we’ll finish at least a dozen points behind the champions this season, too, so while it’s clear that some progress has been made under Rafa it could be argued that our upward momentum has stalled.

Many web pages have been devoted to trying to establish why this has been the case. Those explanations which are most often cited include a relative lack of funds, which is certainly true when our expenditure is compared with that of Man U and Chelsea; a lack of confidence; Rafa’s poor motivational techniques; the manager’s rotation policy. This isn’t the place in which to dissect each of these hypotheses in depth, but there are strong adherents and opponents to each theory and it’s reasonable to assume that the real reason for our lack of progress is, as is the case with many things, a combination of several factors.

As it is now eighteen years since we were last crowned champions of England, and the fact that the Mancs look almost certain to move within one of our record haul of eighteen titles this month is a very bitter pill to swallow, the vast majority of Liverpool fans have become almost resigned to their fate as far as the Premier League goes, in stark contrast to the high levels of expectation attached to our Champions’ League campaigns. While we were cautiously optimistic of achieving great things at the start of the season and seemed set fair when we led the table after four games, there was a collective shrug of the shoulders when our title challenge petered out in January. We have become used to such disappointment.

Still, the signs are encouraging. While no-one can guarantee that we’re going to win the league next season, it looks as though we are going to be capable of mounting a serious challenge: the core of the team is as good as any in the division; the youngsters have just won the reserve league and Plessis has already graduated to the first team; the youth set-up is doing well. The signs are that Dubai Investment Capital will own at least half of the club before the start of the next transfer window-that being the case, we can be almost certain that Rafa will have more money to spend and that our squad will be even better by the time the 2008-09 season gets under way.

Maybe the best things come to those who wait, after all.