John Aldridge: Why Liverpool’s title celebrations have been five years in the making

As regular Sunday World readers will know, I have been reluctant to say Liverpool are going to be champions in this column over the last few weeks because I didn’t want to curse them.

I’m still scarred from the Liverpool team I was in losing the title to Arsenal in horrible fashion with a last-minute goal back in 1989, so I never like to count my chickens too early.

But I will say it now – the job is done and the party can begin for Liverpool fans.

When I suggest the scenes we will see at Anfield today are five years in the making, I’m referring to the last Premier League title win that came amid that horrible Covid lockdown.

Jurgen Klopp’s team were magnificent champions in the 2019/20 season, but the gloss was taken off their triumph as they had to collect the trophy inside an empty Anfield at a time when the world had other problems on its mind.

Now the moment has come to enjoy this title win and Liverpool’s players and fans have every right to scream from the rooftops after a magnificent season that has confirmed Arne Slot’s team as the best in England by some distance.

I’ve seen a few critics saying this has been a second-rate Premier League season and Liverpool have been lucky to cash in on every other team falling away, but that’s total nonsense.

Fans of rival clubs might be jealous of Liverpool’s success and think they can have a dig at this title win and belittle it in some way, but their arguments are ridiculous.

No one was saying the standard of the Premier League had dropped when Manchester City were running away with it over the last few years, so stop this nonsense talk and give Liverpool the credit they are due.

If you are searching for reasons why Slot’s team are going to win the league by such a wide margin, I would suggest you look at teams like Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest as much as the failings of Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and the rest.

In my view, this season’s Premier League may have been stronger in many respects because the mid-table teams I have mentioned are all led by clever coaches who have got their teams playing intelligent and creative football.

Not so long ago, when the top teams went up against lower-ranked opposition, it was attack versus defence and didn’t make for a great spectacle.

We’ve seen a lot less of that this season, as teams that once sat back and tried to ruin games are now a real threat. Liverpool have handled the challenge they now present better than any of the other title challengers.

Arsenal dropped points against Palace on Wednesday night and they have also failed to beat Brentford, Everton and Forest in recent weeks. That’s why they are so far behind Liverpool.

City’s collapse has been a surprise and you have to say United have been a joke this season, but that’s not Liverpool’s fault. You can only beat what is put in front of you and the new champions have done that magnificently.

I have to hand it to Slot because if you had told me at the start of this season that Liverpool would be holding a title-winning party at Anfield before the end of April, I would have suggested you were losing your marbles.

After Klopp’s exit last summer, most Liverpool fans would have taken a top-four finish and maybe a cup as success this season, but they have done so much better than that.

Klopp’s team were unfortunate to lose the title on a couple of occasions to City, despite getting well over 90 points, but Slot didn’t need that many points this season and I’m sure the man who laid the foundations for this title win will get a mention in the post-match interviews today.

A lot of managers coming into a new club want to put their own stamp on it right away and shake things up, but Arne and his coaching team took a different approach.

Klopp built a team that was ready to win and Slot was shrewd enough to know he was on to a good thing when he arrived at Anfield.

The new manager tweaked the style of play a little, but this is Klopp’s team winning the title and Slot doesn’t appear to be too worried about sharing the credit with the man who gave him the tools to succeed.

There are suggestions that Jurgen will be at Anfield when Liverpool lift the Premier League title in the final home game of the season against Crystal Palace at the end of May, and that will be great to see.

He left the club for his own reasons at the end of last season and urged all the Liverpool fans to get right behind Slot as he looked to move the club forward.

I’m expecting four or five players to leave Liverpool this summer and four new faces to arrive in what will be the first big chance for Slot to make this his own team. But that debate is for another day.

Now comes the joyous part of celebrating a 20th league title win that draws Liverpool level with United on the all-time list of English champions and ends their constant suggestions that a club’s greatness should be measured by how many domestic league titles they have won.

United’s ex-players and fans pedal that line because they don’t want to mention their two Champions League wins compared to Liverpool’s six, but you’ve lost your argument now lads, as Liverpool have 20 league titles as well!

I’d also add that it would be a big surprise if United win another Premier League title before Liverpool because United are in a right mess at the moment, and they won’t get out of it any time soon.

Alex Ferguson famously said he wanted to knock Liverpool off their perch as the kings of English football when he arrived as United manager in the mid-80s and to be fair, he can claim to have achieved that aim with the success he had at Old Trafford.

Now it’s Liverpool’s time again and I will be at Anfield today to celebrate with the fans who will cheer their champions over the finishing line as only they can.