The night Liverpool FC and its fans got fed up of feeling miserable
Jan 21 2010 Dan Kay
SMILES abounded at Anfield last night for the first time in what seemed like forever and they weren't just about the Kop's light-hearted advice to the visiting manager about his well-documented fiscal activities.
There have been several so-called 'turning points' in this most excruciating of seasons and it would be foolhardy in the extreme to begin making rash predictions as to what the hard-fought but ultimately fully-deserved win over Tottenham might mean in the overall context of Liverpool's season.
It was mooted before the double-header either side of New Year against fellow Champions League-place contenders Aston Villa and Spurs that a minimum of four points was required to give a realistic chance of attaining a top four finish but results across the division in this most unpredictable of Premier League seasons should ensure that no-one at Anfield will be taking anything for granted.
Perhaps the most important factor to emerge from the Reds' first league win of the new decade (read match report) was a sense of Liverpudlians falling back in love with their team again.
Liverpool FC fans show of strength inspires win over Tottenham Hotspur
From the frenzied welcome dished out by hundreds of die-hards to the team bus as it edged up Anfield Road an hour and half before kick off to the trademark 'big European night' style atmosphere inside the ground, capped with a heartfelt and defiant 'You'll Never Walk Alone' at the end, the famed synergy between team and supporters, which many feels defines Liverpool Football Club, seemed to be back in fully working order.
It is one of the oldest imponderables in football: does the team feed off the crowd or the crowd feed off the team?
There is no easy answer to that but there was a real sense amongst virtually every Red who passed through the turnstiles last night that their side of the equation would not be found wanting.
Other factors can of course come into play - the old visitors' tradition of turning the teams round and making Liverpool attack the Kop first half can be counter-productive if the old terrace can suck in an early goal and ignite the Anfield atmosphere, and like the Chelsea semi-final in 2005, that's what happened against Spurs, kicking things up a notch and lifting everyone in Red.
Combine that with hard running, tough tackling and sheer will to win - as exemplified by Jamie Carragher's storming burst down the right-hand touchline to salvage a seemingly hopeless cause on the stroke of half time - and even the most morose of cynics will tap into something approaching enthusiasm.
Maybe it was the sight of so many second-stringers out there - Scousers have always been suckers for an against-all-odds scenario - combined with the many gleeful obituaries penned about the club's fate, but the kind of defiance shown last night, in the crowd and on the pitch, is the only thing that can save Liverpool's season from the depths so many have envisaged it sinking in to.
The overall picture regarding the club and it's ownership remains very serious (read here and here) while anyone expecting a smooth run-in from now until May will be in for a rude awakening but as long as there's passion and belief from those wearing Red like we saw last night, Liverpudlians can still walk on with some hope in their hearts.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/01/21/the-night-liverpool-fc-and-its-fans-got-fed-up-of-feeling-miserable-100252-25655263/
