Alan Smith: It will be an anti-climax if Liverpool are ever crowned Premier League champions

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Alan Smith13 March 2020

Can you imagine the feeling at Anfield right now?

After 30 years of trying, after 30 years of near-misses and nowhere-nears, Liverpool look set to be denied their long-awaited moment of glory. For the time being at least.

With nobody quite knowing how this Premier League season is going to be handled, Jurgen Klopp and his players must feel totally robbed. The best team in the land by quite some distance might not be able to lift the trophy in the way that they dreamed.

Because who could have thought that when Liverpool romped home in 1990 to clinch their 18th League title, that habit was about to end? My own Arsenal side won it the following year, having famously denied Liverpool in 1989. And then, as we know, Manchester United took over, knocking their old rivals off their perch.

And now, just weeks away from their big moment, football gets thrown into chaos.

In Pictures | Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid | 11/03/2020

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I know fans of other clubs won’t show much sympathy. They’ll be laughing out loud at Liverpool’s misfortune.

But looking at it from a player’s perspective, I do feel sorry for the likes of Jordan Henderson, who would have had the honour of following Alan Hansen in 1990 as a Liverpool captain hoisting the precious silverware. Henderson and his team-mates would immediately have found a place in Anfield folklore.

Now, uncertainty reigns, rather than the Reds. When, if ever, will this campaign get finished? How do the authorities handle such an unprecedented situation?

Whatever happens now, though, the gloss has gone. If Liverpool do eventually get crowned, it’s going to prove a massive anti-climax, so I can’t help but feel sorry for Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and all who deserve every plaudit going for a magnificent effort. Their consistency of performance has been something to behold.

In Pictures | Liverpool vs Bournemouth | 07/03/2020

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More generally, the club is run with fantastic precision. The management, recruitment, attitude and ability have been fine tuned to an impressive degree. After years of hard work, it has all come together in spectacular fashion.

Yet, the history books look set to include an important asterisk next to the 2019/20 season. This period will be remembered for a virulent bug rather than the club that came out on top.

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