At Liverpool Football Club, we've had our fair share of great managers.
It's also true to say that at Liverpool Football Club; we've had our fair share of great Managers keen on tantalising us with their great philosophical statements about football and life in general.
Shanks and GH are certainly up there with the best of them when it comes to the odd one liner, the classic quip, the cutting put-down or the romantic analogy.
But it was neither of these Shakespearianesq footballing wizards who can lay claim to maybe the most poignant and appropriate of football phrases.
"FOOTBALL IS A FUNNY OLD GAME"
For the above one line is most definitely true. Especially in the context of the very fine line between success and failure.
Firstly, it is very hard to define exactly what "Success" or "Failure" is.
One man's success is another mans failure and visa versa.
It looks as though we may finish third in the league. It looks as though we may finish on top of 89 other teams in the football league. We have already qualified for the money pot at the bottom of the Champions League rainbow next year. We have won 2 trophies this season and three last year, we have the European Footballer of the year on board, a young and talented squad, sound financial backing and yet some say this year, GH has failed.
Well if that’s what the failure lollipop tastes like, then there will be plenty of managers queuing up for a suck of it next year.
Imagine if the United board had bowed to fan pressure and agreed that Fergie was a failure after his first seven years eh? After 7 years, he probably was a failure. But would anybody dare call him a failure now?
? NO. The reason being is that failure and success needs to be viewed over a period of time. Managers need to be given a chance and enough time upon witch to judge them.
Ship managers in and out every year and you end up like our neighbours across the park. Pathetic.
Success and failure is judged and perceived differently at different clubs. If the Barca manager doesn’t win anything in a season, then he’s unemployed in the summer. At Barca, it’s as simple as that. No time is given, no sympathy awarded. You are backed to the hilt, the money piled on the transfer table, but if you don’t buy the right players and fail to win, you’re fired. Some don’t even get until the end of the season.
Fortunately at Liverpool, our board isn’t quite as rash. They realise that building things the right way takes time. They’ve got the right man at the helm and have given him their total backing.
The same is true at Arsenal. I remember at the beginning of the season after an Arsenal loss, some fan on the radio [what is it with me and these radio morons eh??!]
Phoned up to say that Arsene should be sacked. “What’s he done since we won the double?” he said. “Arsene’s failure to buy a poacher in the Fowler mould will cost us, mark my words”. Oh well, a season on, and with the advantage of hindsight, that Arsenal fan has clearly been proven wrong. The @rse look like the double is theirs for the taking and that radio Gooner is probably bouncing around London somewhere singing the bosses praises.
You see we as fans are a fickle bunch.
It is a very thin line between success and failure [and even when we succeed by building, some short sighted fans don’t see it as success].
Last year when we won all the cups we were lucky.
We did not win the cups purely out of luck, but we did enjoy some of it. Every successful team needs luck and we are no exception. SHz 2 handballs in the FA cup final could have been spotted by the ref, Roma could have had a penalty at Anfield etc etc.
Without that luck, or if MO’s goal effort in the FA cup had gone wide, we would not have done as well. You get the picture. It’s quite ironic that in this multi million pound industry, careers, a country’s happiness and ultimately which side of the success and failure line a team falls can be determined so accidentely or easily.
If Emile’s header had gone in at Spurs, followed by big Sammi’s header and then the Riise header, you’d all be praising GH and asking him if he is Shankly’s reincarnation once more. But those goals didn’t go in, and so instead of success, we are a failure. The doom merchants are out, GH has a boring style of play, Emile is rubbish once more, we desperately need width, the boys at the back have no pace, Michael aint the same since his hamstring injury and he’s saving himself for the world cup, GH has no tactical acumen, Thommo is just a loud mouth, Vladdy’s a girl and Danny Murphy…..well you’re getting the picture.
You see it’s a very thin line between success and failure and the manager always bears the brunt. I’ve no problem there, as they understand this pressure. If they can’t take the heat, they leave, just ask Kenny. The Anfield Hotseat is highly pressurised. Is Kenny quitting and having two managers with heart problems in the last ten years purely coincidence I ask you? But we as fans win when we win, and when we lose it’s the managers fault!
I’m rambling again as I always do, but the gist of what I am trying to draw attention to is that sometimes there is so little difference between success and failure and that we as fans must try and distance ourselves a little [impossible I know], rationalise when things go wrong without slagging off everybody and anybody and appreciate and enjoy success without building up our aspirations and hopes too much or we’ll only hurt ourselves in the end.
Let us be objective, calm and collected in our judgement, not get too carried away, too over the top and try and visualise the bigger picture.
If we lose a game, lets not all come on these boards and go bezerk, as we WILL lose games again. Let us be POSITIVE and visualise that bigger picture.
Was it a defeat at Spurs or 1 defeat in the last 15?
Are we in a better position than when Roy left? Yes or No?
Answer = YES.
I rest my case.
So lets chill out, appreciate that there will be lots of downs as well as ups in our roller-coaster pursuit to Football’s summit, keep our fingers crossed and enjoy the ride.
REEVES@YOULL-NEVER-WALK-ALONE.CO.UK
