The Fan Hub

If you’re a Liverpool fan, the last few years haven’t been easy.

You’ve seen the promise. Steven Gerrard has performed at a high level for the club time in and time out. You’ve seen class players wearing Liverpool red such as Xabi Alonso. And you know that Liverpool’s squad currently features players who can play at a very high level, like Luis Suarez, Pepe Reina and Lucas Leiva. You’ve seen the club spend money to try and improve the squad, sometimes in the right way (Suarez) and sometimes in the wrong way (35 million on Andy Caroll looks like a poor move in retrospective.)

Yet it is easy to have a sense of renewed energy at the dawn of the first fixture day for Liverpool supporters. The club, world famous for their togetherness through their anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” has found ways to remain optimistic in their community. This year, new manager Brendan Rodgers was the main reason for the sense of renewed hope surrounding Anfield. Rodgers managed Swansea City through their first ever appearance in the English Premier League, where they managed to surpass all expectations and finish 11th, above PL mainstays Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Stoke City.

And even without a heightened sense of optimism, Liverpool has a much stronger squad than West Bromwich Albion. This fixture is a game that Liverpool should not only win, but they should win convincingly. West Brom should come into this game fighting for a draw. Yet from the opening kick off, Liverpool struggled to maintain a grasp on the pace of the game. From the very beginning, the baggies were posing questions for the Liverpool backline. Luis Suarez was the main offender on the opposite side of the pitch, carving chances at the Albion goal, albeit to no avail. His frustration showed when he was booked for dissent in first half stoppage time, right after a wonderstrike from Zoltan Gera had opened the scoring for WBA.

But what was most telling about Liverpool was not their first half — it was their second half. 15 minutes into the second period, Shane Long was through on goal and Daniel Agger pulled him down, resulting in a straight red card for Agger and a penalty for West Brom. Shane Long’s pitiful penalty was saved by Pepe Reina. The tide of the game turned from that very moment; Liverpool’s defensive cohesion and composure seemed to break down entirely. A lapse of concentration in the penalty area from Martin Skrtel allowed Shane Long to pry on the ball and draw a penalty four minutes later. Peter Odemwingie would convert to make it 2-0, West Brom. It’s already looking disastrous for Liverpool. They would never recover.

The game would go from there entirely in the hands of the baggies. On loan striker Romelu Lukaku added a third for West Bromwich Albion to put the game out of reach. For Brendan Rodgers and the kop faithful, an early start in the relegation zone was not to be expected. However, the way things have been going at Liverpool Football Club, it can’t be too much of a surprise.