As a Liverpool fan I look forward to each season with anticipation as finally being 'the' season in which we mount a serious title challenge. As previous seasons have shown, the wealth of rival clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester United have proved too much for Liverpool to compete with leaving nothing more than cup success to aim for.
Then when the takeover from George Gillett and Tom Hicks arose and provided Rafa Benitez with the money for big summer buys such as Fernando Torres, many people - myself included - thought that this would finally supply Liverpool with the opportunity to regain their place among those at the top and become real title contenders once again. Unfortunately, the reality was that by November the title was already beyond our reach.
It is for this reason that I can understand, albeit slightly annoyed about, many people's scepticism regarding Liverpool's prospects for the current season. Yes, we may be joint top of the league and level on points with Chelsea and yes, we may be undefeated this season - having beaten Man. Utd and Everton - but as previous campaigns have shown, Liverpool start reasonably well only to fade as the season progresses, drawing far too many games for a side with championship hopes.
However, the fact that we have drawn just two games so far this season suggests improvement as after this many games last season we had already drawn four. There can also be no denying that there is now a sense of belief and determination amongst the squad that until recently had been severely lacking. This is highlighted by the fact that four of the six league victories so far have been achieved from losing positions.
So while this new never-say-die attitude is exciting and dramatic for now, it is for this reason that I won't allow myself to start believing that this is finally the year in which we will end our title drought, as to be honest I find myself waiting for the bubble to burst. At the moment it is all too easy to assume that we will win a game 3-2 when 2-0 at half time, but soon there will come a game when we won't be able to and will end up losing - and it is then that the real test will come.
If Liverpool are to win the league they need to play well for every minute of every game, not just the last 20 minutes. There is no denying that the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United are looking more like potential champions by winning four or five nil every week but the season is a long hard battle and the title is far from already being won or lost, and with another 28 games still to play it would be foolish of anyone to suggest otherwise.
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