Part 20 - A Quarter of a Century of Liverpool FC in the Premier League Era, 1992-2017

Running Out of Steam

In this part, we look at the period leading up to the end of Brendan Rodgers’ time in the Anfield hotseat.

Originally written by TTT Subscriber Anthony Stanley, this major series was first serialised on The Tomkins Times and then published by TTT as a book, called A BANQUET WITHOUT WINE - A Quarter-Century of Liverpool FC in the Premier League Era.

Covering the period from the onset of the Premier League in 1992 to Klopp’s arrival in 2017, the book is available from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banquet-Without-Wine-Quarter-Century-Liverpool/dp/1521850674. It remains a definitive matter of record of Liverpool FC during the period in question.

Steven Gerrard was, in his own words, feeling ‘like a caged animal’ as, from the substitutes bench, he gazed out despondently at what was transpiring on the Anfield pitch on a sun-dappled Sunday afternoon. Manchester United – now infinitely catchable by the Reds for the coveted fourth spot in the Premier League – were playing Liverpool off the park, their passing smooth, their pressing effective and relentless. Juan Mata had given the Reds’ great rivals a fourteenth minute lead and Louis van Gaal looked to have completely countered Brendan Rodgers’ system; a formation which may have yielded some months of fine form but had been partly exposed by the tactics of Swansea City a few days earlier. Now, the three at the back formation looked brittle and toothless as United relentlessly probed, cajoled and harassed.

One can imagine the seething frame of mind of the Liverpool captain as he witnessed what looked like something akin to tame capitulation against a club that – save from Everton – gave him the most abuse in the league; a side against whom he had both endured misery and excelled in triumph. Gerrard had been subjected to the familiar refrain of slipping and of not winning the league by a gleeful travelling support. Moreover, his role in the Liverpool side had been consistently questioned – both by a vocal media and his own support – and his much publicised departure from his beloved Reds was imminent. Perhaps there is little wonder that a red mist was hovering.

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