Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Liverpool show greater hunger

With the season bubbling to a boil, TODAY EPL analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) puts his money on Liverpool to end their 24-year drought, with a calm Brendan Rodgers at the helm.

They’re so close to the Promised Land, but Liverpool must keep their nerves and excitement under control as they target three more points against Norwich. PHOTO: REUTERS

They’re so close to the Promised Land, but Liverpool must keep their nerves and excitement under control as they target three more points against Norwich. PHOTO: REUTERS

With the season bubbling to a boil, TODAY EPL analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) puts his money on Liverpool to end their 24-year drought, with a calm Brendan Rodgers at the helm.

Let the Hunger Games begin!

They’ve each fought a wonderful fight, and there’s still precious little to choose between Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. But soon, two of the three Premier League title contenders are certain to perish.

It may come down to who wants it most, the team most desperate to be the last ones standing. If so, that’s Liverpool. They’re ravenous.

In pursuit of a prize they never dreamt imaginable back in August, the passion that made the Reds such fearsome Champions League opponents in 2005 is back and bubbling away nicely.

With every passing week the temperature at Anfield seems to rise. With every successive win, they edge closer to that magic boiling point.

I look at how calm and focused the players are standing in the tunnel waiting to be led onto the pitch. I look at how hard they run once the whistle blows. I look at how every single outfield player joins in with every single goal celebration. I look at how intently they listen to the manager’s instructions. I look at how much they enjoy sharing the elation of victory at the final whistle. I look at how strong the bond is that they share with the fans. And I really like what I see.

Under Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool are a club united in pursuit of an unexpected goal. With fire in their bellies, it’s starting to look like it could take them all the way.

A word of warning though: All great heroes need to know how to control their cravings. Those who chase hardest and with the most haste don’t always get to the Promised Land first.

So, can Liverpool keep their nerves and excitement under control?

Remember how worked up Newcastle United gaffer Kevin Keegan got (with a win or a defeat) back in 1996? You might also recall a more inexperienced Alex Ferguson (1992) and Rafael Benitez (2009) also struggling to contain their emotions during tricky run-ins. All three managers — and their teams — squandered leads at the business end of those campaigns.

It’s also easy for players to choke.

I’ll admit I’ve stepped foot on the pitch before and felt heavy with the fear of failure. Lethargy, as much as you want it to land on someone else, can take over a player’s body if you’re apprehensive.

From time to time it happens to everyone. You think too much, the legs feel slow, the air passage tightens and you lumber through the game wondering why on earth you don’t feel right. It only takes one wobbly cog in the wheel for everything to loosen and suddenly become undone. An injury, a red card or a player dipping below the standards they’ve set can trigger it.

In just the same way footballers respond positively to a great goal, an inspirational tackle or the support of their fans — it can easily turn the other way. Once someone shows weakness, teams can spiral into disarray. Five or six players do silly things. The game is lost.

With Rodgers at the helm, Liverpool, I do think have every chance of avoiding such a calamity.

In spite of the fervour gripping their city, the Northern Irishman has an impressively soothing presence on a match day, which seems to rub off on the players he’s coaching.

Rodgers is calm. Score a goal, and there’s a short fist pump, no more. The backroom staff behind him might be going bananas, but he’s already thinking of his next move. Everything he does is one step at a time. Concede a goal, taste bad luck or a tough decision, and the mellow chilled-out aura remains the same. There’s a level-headedness about his attitude, which can only be a good sign.

Steven Gerrard’s leadership will be vital too. Defender Jon Flanagan revealed this week how much the Reds squad are yearning to help their captain complete his life’s work at Liverpool with a championship winners’ medal, but the man himself seems at ease with what’s happening.

The skipper’s impromptu and impassioned speech to his fellow warriors at the final whistle last Sunday (caught on television) spoke volumes about his focus. Looking his mates in the eye, taking control of their collective emotion, he was seen and heard on camera delivering a wonderful line.

He said: “Listen, this is gone. We go to Norwich, exactly the same. We go together. Come on!”

It was a simple message, but also a wise one; another good sign.

I’m not saying Chelsea and City don’t have the necessary desire. Of course they do. They haven’t come this far in the race to let the Scouse upstarts sprint to the line without giving them something to worry about first. It’s just that both have done it before.

While boasting the experience of past success and knowing what it takes to get there first are positives in their favour, is the insatiable hunger to do it all over again as strong as the feelings Liverpool have right now?

I’m not so sure. They have bigger squads and better all-round players, but they don’t look as fired up or as unified as Rodgers’ men.

Next up is a trip to Carrow Road to take on a struggling side that needs victory every bit as much they do. A whopping 45 points separates the sides, but Norwich kept clean sheets at home to Spurs and City in February and won’t roll over without a fight.

But if Liverpool can “go together” like their captain suggests and avoid taking their eye off the ball or dropping their intensity, their task of needing four more wins will turn into three.

The Reds are hungry. This is not the time to lose their appetite.

Adrian Clarke, TODAY’s EPL analyst, is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of English football. Now a sports journalist, he writes for many publications around the world. Follow him on Twitter @adrianjclarke

Liverpool’s Luis Suarez vs Norwich City

11 goals in last five matches

22/10/2011 Liverpool 1 Norwich City 1 – No goals

28/4/2012 Norwich City 0 Liverpool 3 – 3 goals

29/9/2012 Norwich City 2 Liverpool 5 – 3 goals

29/1/2013 Liverpool 5 Norwich City 0 – 1 goal

4/12/2013 Liverpool 5 Norwich City 1 – 4 goals

Live fixtures:

Tonight 7.45pm

Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham mioTV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227

Tonight 10pm

Aston Villa v Southampton mioTV Ch 103, StarHub Ch 228

Cardiff City v Stoke City mioTV Ch 104, StarHub Ch 229

Newcastle v Swansea mioTV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227

West Ham v Crystal Palace mioTV Ch 105, StarHub Ch 230

Tomorrow 12.30am

Chelsea v Sunderland mioTV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227

Tomorrow 7pm

Norwich City v Liverpool mioTV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227

Tomorrow 9.05pm

Hull City v Arsenal mioTV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227

Tomorrow 11.10pm

Everton v Manchester United mioTV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.