After seeing Manchester City hand David Moyes a second successive home defeat to a local rival, I was left with mixed emotions.
One was a tinge of frustration that City had failed to drop points in their pursuit of the title, while the other was relief that I didn’t have to hope for a Man United goal any longer.
A win for United would have given our title chances a major boost but, following Brendan Rodgers philosophy, we’ll just take it one game at a time to see how successful our season becomes.
To determine that Rodgers knows he needs to take advantage of any slipups from those above us, all the time knowing that any advantages at his disposal may well play a vital role in the run in.
In our first home game in over a month, Rodgers has called on the Anfield faithful to be in their seats early to generate an electric atmosphere against Sunderland tonight.
Rodgers knows how much of an influence the home crowd can be for his team, as well as being a nuisance for the opposition, and is encouraging them to be the advantage he’s been looking for in the remaining games.
Competing for the title alongside Man City and Chelsea, two sides with an unstoppable war chest, means that, as a club, we need to find ways to even the score between the sides on the field.
By creating a raucous atmosphere for every home game, regardless of opposition, The Kop could be giving Liverpool the advantage they require when the title rivals come to town.
When Brendan Rodgers was named as Liverpool’s new manager, his first few press conferences had a touch of Bill Shankly about them in the way that his pride and passion for this football club shone through in his tone.
By calling on the Anfield crowd to make it a special atmosphere v Sunderland, Rodgers draws similarities to Shankly’s tactic before playing Inter Milan in 1965 by getting Gerry Byrne and Gordon Milne to parade the FA Cup before kick-off. Once again, taking advantage of the power that’s in front of you.
A Man United win would’ve seen us, potentially, be labelled title favourites with the knowledge that winning every game would see us finish top of the pile. Currently this team is playing without limits and with the minimal hint of any pressure so it would’ve been interesting to see how they played tonight under that label of ‘title favourites’.
Hopefully, continuing to take advantage of the powers in front of them, we’ll get to see this for ourselves before the end of the season.
By Michael Williams (mikewilliams_05)