A new era?
- Liverpoolfestivalen
- May 24
- 6 min read
Everything has already been written and most of it has been said. Yet our man, Jaran Pedersen, couldn't let the keyboard rest. He also had something on his mind!
We coughed a little less than others!
When you, like me, have been around since black and white television was common (yes, because it wasn't called TV, it was called television), you've been there for a lot of moments where a captain in red raises a big silver trophy above his head. I've been a Liverpool supporter since Kevin Keegan, that is, from about 1975, and got to experience 10 league championships before we went into a long drought of 30 years, and when we first got to lift the trophy again, the world had a nasty cough that meant the trophy had to be raised in front of an Anfield completely empty of spectators.
It must be said to be an anticlimax and incredibly sad on what was still a very nice day in Gjøvik. We coughed a little less than others and were therefore able to gather a three-digit number of supporters for a party at the city's old venerable and historic "Samfundet". The place Bjørnstjerne Bjørnsson frequented from time to time and where in 1889, three years before Liverpool was founded, he gave the speech about the secession from Sweden that eventually became known throughout the country and elsewhere in the world. A speech that started the spark and the dream many Norwegians had of having their own independent country.
The secession from Sweden
So why am I bringing up Bjørnstjerne and the secession from Sweden? Not really for any other reason than that I think Bjørnstjerne would have been a Liverpool supporter if he were alive today. His good friend and leader of Samfundet, Johan Castberg, became a member of parliament in 1901 and was, among other things, thee architect behind several laws that were to protect children's rights and social laws that could make life a little easier for the disadvantaged. A typical Liverpool supporter there too, one who lived our anthem, You'll never walk alone
OK, this was perhaps a slight digression, but a little history is fine with you, we supporters are interested in history. It is actually the case that we always lean on history when things don't go quite as we would like on the pitch. Then we hit the table with everything we have achieved previously, in history. And there is no way to measure how important it has been throughout all the years we have had to endure that teams from the city that we really only know through having landed there and run out to a waiting taxi or train, have vacuumed the stadium for confetti after the last home game year after year. But now it's our turn!
Thank you Jürgen, Welcome Arne!
It is appropriate to say Danke Jürgen, thank you very much Jørgen. You came as "The Normal one" but left as an unusual guy. No wait, he made it normal again to be at the top, as was normal when I ran around in shorts and curls, and right up until the woman who became my first wife could announce that I was now going to be a father. After I became a father for the first time, the decline for Liverpool actually began, the long drought. I don't think it was my fault, or my son's. It was probably just the way football is, triumph doesn't last forever, triumph goes in a loop. Just like a leather tie in pastel and tight jeans with a lot of flare.
Klopp brought Liverpool back to the top, brought them back to where they belonged. And in recent years everyone has expected, believed and hoped for league gold a little stronger ahead of each new season. And rightly so, we became a title contender as soon as Klopp had adjusted both the squad and the playing style a little and introduced gegen football. A type of football that you just had to love when it worked and that you just had to lose your hair when it didn't. A little modification of the playing style and a little less hair loss eventually meant that we could play European Cup finals, bring home national cups and, best of all, we could finally lift the Premier League trophy.
Then Klopp disappeared and we got Slot, we went from Jørgen to Arne. Hand on heart, I had never heard of the guy. Many claim that they showed who he was and what he had achieved, I think at least half of those who claim that are lying. Who the f…. follows grassroots football down on the continent and even knows what the guy in the tracksuit on the sidelines is called? Well, I know a couple who do, but none of them had Slot on the list when a new manager was to be hired, not even on the top 10 list.
Many claim that they showed who he was and what he had achieved, I think at least half of those who claim that are judging
New head coach indeed!
Now he was not hired as a manager either, he was hired as what we in Norway would probably call a head coach, a bit like they have in the 2nd division and down in the league system with us. But Arne doesn't care, he seems happy to move to Merseyside. And what a nice guy, I liked him immediately, not because he is as unactive with the use of hair as I am but because he seemed humble and had respect for our history and most importantly, he wanted to build on what was.
So to the belief in league gold before the season, the belief that Klopp had given us back after far too many years where at least after every season I said "next season guys, next season!" To be honest, I threw myself into what the so-called and self-proclaimed football experts said that this would be a mid-season for Liverpool. It wasn't really hard to buy the arguments that Slot would need time to "set" the team, and not least make his mark on the team. In addition, he was completely new to the role of manager, er excuse me, head coach of a team in the Premier League. Which is supposed to be a bit challenging. I thought in my mind that I would be happy if we secured Champions League games next season. I didn't ask for more.
When we lift the trophy for the 20th time on May 25th, it will perhaps be the most unexpected trophy we have ever lifted, at least in my time as a supporter. At the same time, we have known it deep down since we took down the Christmas decorations earlier this year. The season has been a dream, while I have rarely experienced more criticism on social media. Slot has simply managed to turn expectations so high throughout the season that supporters have sat on social media and complained that we did not win by more goals. And we are talking about a season where we have only lost two matches in the Premier League, yes I know there are four, but the last two we have lost after the boys have thought more about Ibiza, beer, sun and celebrating the league gold than the football matches they have had to play on the way to May 25th.
A new era!
It took five years between our first title in 1901 and the next in 1906. It took us five years between the two titles in the new era that Klopp started and that Slot will continue. Now there is a smell of a new era where Liverpool will take the throne as the dominant team in England, it smells of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, it smells of Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish, it smells of a beautiful and red future with Liverpool FC. Congratulations on the league title, guys!
Here are the seasons Liverpool have won the top-flight league title in England
1900/01 - 1905/06 - 1921/22 - 1922/23 - 1946/47 - 1963/64 - 1965/66 - 1972/73 - 1975/76 - 1976/77 - 1978/79 - 1979/80 - 1981/82 - 1982/83 - 1983/84 - 1985/86 - 1987/88 - 1989/90 - 2019/20 - 2024/25
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