After the winning the title in such scintillating style in 87-88, Liverpool were clear favourites to retain the title in 88-89. Things didn't go according to plan though; the first three months of the season were characterised by inconsistency and defensive frailty, very similar to what the current Liverpool team is experiencing now. Just take a look at the league results during that period:
| 27.08.1988 | W 3 - 0 | Charlton | Selhurst Park | 1st Division |
| 03.09.1988 | W 1 - 0 | Man Utd | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 10.09.1988 | D 1 - 1 | Aston Villa | Villa Park | 1st Division |
| 17.09.1988 | D 1 - 1 | Tottenham | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 24.09.1988 | W 3 - 1 | Southampton | The Dell | 1st Division |
| 01.10.1988 | L 1 - 2 | Newcastle | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 08.10.1988 | L 0 - 1 | Luton | Kenilworth Road | 1st Division |
| 22.10.1988 | D 0 - 0 | Coventry | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 26.10.1988 | L 1 - 2 | Nottm For | City Ground | 1st Division |
| 29.10.1988 | W 2 - 0 | West Ham | Upton Park | 1st Division |
| 05.11.1988 | W 3 - 0 | Middlesbrough | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 12.11.1988 | D 1 - 1 | Millwall | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 19.11.1988 | W 1 - 0 | QPR | Loftus Road | 1st Division |
| 26.11.1988 | D 1 - 1 | Wimbledon | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 04.12.1988 | D 1 - 1 | Arsenal | Highbury | 1st Division |
| 11.12.1988 | D 1 - 1 | Everton | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 17.12.1988 | L 0 - 1 | Norwich | Anfield | 1st Division |
| 26.12.1988 | W 1 - 0 | Derby | Baseball Ground | 1st Division |
| 01.01.1989 | L 1 - 3 | Man Utd | Old Trafford | 1st Division |
Played: 19
Won: 7
Drew: 7
Lost: 5
For: 23
Against: 16
Alarm bells were sounding around Anfield; fans were in a state of depression. 17 points behind Arsenal?! Surely overcoming a such a gap was an insurmountable task? Surely the league was completely out of reach?
Not for Liverpool FC.
After the United game, the club went on an amazing 18 game unbeaten streak in the league, winning 15 of those games along the way. Through sheer skill, determination, mental strength and a complete unwillingness to accept defeat, Liverpool pulled their season out of the fire and went into their final game against Arsenal at Anfield full of confidence, knowing that avoiding defeat would seal the title.
Of course, every Liverpool fan remembers the abject disappointment of what happened next (!) but the point is that Liverpool overcame a 17 point deficit to put themselves back in the title driving seat. It was a monumental achievement, and one that has not been matched since.
I am under no illusions - it is highly improbable that Benitez's Liverpool will come close to winning the title this season. Having said that, as the 88-89 season proves, turning things around is is NOT impossible, no matter how bad things may appear.
The current set of players can and should take inspiration from the fantastic achievement of Kenny Dalglish's 1989 team.
And it couldn't hurt for Rafa Benitez to sit down with Dalglish and ask him how he managed to get a misfiring team to overturn a 17 point deficit.
That kind of advice would clearly be invaluable right now.
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the thing is jamie its a completely different game these days, teams cant lose 8-9 games a season anymore, going by last seasons league winners points tally we only have 7 points to play with, thats only 3 games at the most now till the end of the season that we can drop points in, great rousting article etc but but i agree its very unlikely, all we can do now is concentrate on winning games and not even bother with table until we can get another 7 or 8 wins on the board, we're only a couple of points off 4th at the mo so that has to be a short term target, and when we get more points and wins on the board we can maybe reassess
ReplyDeleteLast season and this season is different, and i don't think the eventual winner of the premier league will achieve such high points as last season. The top 4 will lose more games this season. It is not impossible to win the premier league this season. Liverpool wlll need to start their winning run asap. Hopefully from debrecen onwards..
ReplyDeleteSharpening your knives no doubt, Kanwar.
ReplyDeletei agree i'd like nothin more for this to happen, but i see the way chelsea are playing and you just cant see them losing many games, but we need to start tonight and just go for broke now, no point being cautious anymore, we should go balls out for every win every point available, then see whats what, but like i said as things stand now top 4 has to be the target, any more than that is a bonus
ReplyDeleteAs for the tedious argument the other top teams will drop more points than in previous seasons - that's just a poor excuse for not addressing the fact we haven't looked like top 4 material in more than 3 out of 34 halfs this season. THAT, in itself should be enough to render this article unasked for. I really do not think people understand how deep our problems goes. To me it's not a question of whether to get into the top 4, let alone win the whole thing, to me it's a question of where this club is in 5 years time. I fear the worst.
ReplyDeleteThere is still 75 points up for grabs and we've already played Man United (H) and Chelsea (A), there is no reason we cannot win around 80% of our remaining games and finish the season with in excess of 80 points which I believe could be enough to win this League.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be an uphill struggle, I don't expect us to win the League but with the problems we've had finishing in the top 4 and taking home the FA Cup or the Europa League will not be a complete disaster.
I totally agree with the point being made here.
ReplyDeleteThe Prem league is certainly a different beast from 20 years ago but the principle is there. You don't go from Runners-up in the league to 6th/7th in 6 months. I understand people looking for a catalyst (from Aquilani to Sacking Rafa) but the improvement in the Reds over the last 5 years has been enjoyable to watch. CL, FA and PL have been top drawer IMO. So we've hit a 10 game stumble, it will correct and we will improve.
If Shite Heart Lane can watch their team go from bottom to 4th in 12 months. I'm pretty sure we can back to the top inside that time. Ignore the media looking for a story and back the man who brought success back to anfield.
Jamie.. looking forward to your thoughts on the Babel story in the papers today !!!
ReplyDeleteUnlikely is just another way of saying possible.
ReplyDeleteabout time you wrote something positive about our club
ReplyDeleteare u freekin kidding me ,u compare 89 with 2009?
ReplyDelete