Liverpool's bid for...... history!

BCR · Apr 9, 2014

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/liverpool/id/2825?cc=5901

âLies, damned lies and statisticsâ the old saying goes -- but there is a secret fourth category, football statistics, that is more misleading than all of them.

I do love a good number crunch, though, and am rarely surprised when someone else points something out, usually because Iâve been there, done it and got the XXL t-shirt. One little factoid did almost knock me off my feet however: if this Liverpool team achieves the impossible and wins their last five league games, it will become the best Anfield league team of all time -- as well as champions.

The magic figure, 89 points, would just about edge out the Liverpool side from 1979 after that particular total has been adjusted to a 38-game, three points per win season. Of course Manchester City will have something to say about this on Sunday afternoon.

There is always a problem with comparing modern footballers with the greats of the past. The former live and play in the real world while the latter stride majestically through an iconic haze. Not that their gifts need inflating but time adds an aura of unassailable magnitude. Older supporters are prone to forgetfulness at the best of times but the flaws of their previous heroes stay locked in a vault and woe betide any youngster who dares try to open it.

The Liverpool class of 1979 has one indisputable advantage in that we know they were no fluke, no one-off. They had already won titles; 1979 was just the most impressive of them and they were about to win a few more as well as throw a few European Cups in for good measure. This seasonâs results have caught everyone off guard, so they seem magical and mysterious even as they are happening. Numerous times I have turned around to a friend, seeking confirmation of what I had just seen.

In that respect the current Liverpool outfit probably bears closer comparison to other Anfield teams with a high point count, particularly Kenny Dalglishâs wonderful side from 1988. Back then supporters marvelled at the wizardry of John Barnes, just as they do now with Luis Suarez; both indisputably player of the year. There were numerous outsider quibbles about the amount of penalties Liverpool were awarded then too, with the impressive goal tally of John Aldridge bolstered quite significantly. Dalglish would protest that his team won extra spot kicks because they were attacking far more than opponents and Brendan Rodgers will no doubt claim likewise, both with some justification. I donât recall anyone clever calling the old team Penaltypool, but there was no internet back then and it may have slipped under the radar. Perhaps our predecessors thought the other 80 goals scored from open play made such terms idiotic and petty. Charles Darwin might need to rethink his theory.

There are some differences of course. As good as the current Liverpool team has been theyâve won nothing yet. That said, itâs their misfortune to be playing in an era when the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal -- up until they were routed at Anfield, that is -- can also string together an impressive sequence of victories. In 1988 Liverpool were rarely challenged and one day in spring held a 14-point lead with two games in hand over second-placed Manchester United.

Defensively there is no comparison. Rodgers may have wanted to boost young Jon Flanaganâs confidence by evoking the name of Steve Nicol but older fans sniggered and shook their heads. If heâd mentioned Mamadou Sakho in the same breath as Alan Hansen there would be equal derision. The 1988 defence conceded a mere 24 goals, protected by a central midfield powerhouse combination of Steve McMahon and Ronnie Whelan.

The 1988 team took its foot off the gas slightly by the end of the season, thanks to FA Cup distractions and the lack of a significant chasing pack. Had they been under pressure, the much-talked about but never achieved 100 points might have been within their reach, albeit in a 40-game season. The only way their modern counterparts will achieve their total is to keep on chasing the prize that excellent Manchester City and Chelsea sides are determined to take away from them.

If anyone had said back in August that a grizzled, middle-aged relic like me would be comparing Brendan Rodgersâ team to one of the greatest sides in Liverpoolâs history, even half-seriously, the men in white coats would have been called and measuring you up for sleeves tied at the front. It is a tribute to the football they have played and the renewed hope the Reds have given every supporter eight months after the opposition seemed far too strong and there was even serious talk of Suarez joining one of them.

Back in 1988 the captain Alan Hansen was enjoying the autumn of his playing career surrounded by vitally youthful talent, the like of which even he wasnât used to. In 2014 the same could also be said of Steven Gerrard. A similarly silvery end to the season would make the fairytale complete.
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History > history.

Liverpool's bid for...... history!

BCR Well-Known Member

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Liverpool's bid for...... history!

BCR Well-Known Member

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