Begins. Falls. Rises. A Christopher Nolan/Brendan Rodgers Trilogy.
Familiarity can sometimes be a trick of the mind. Know something for long enough and it's capacity to surprise seems to disappear while never vanishing completely. The capacity to change for the better is always there and while the challenge to simply maintain becomes ever greater, let the rest of them be duped into underestimating again.
In emerging from nowhere they became larger than life. Expectations were exceeded in a way that went above what most would have ever dreamt of. No longer was the idea of a nineteenth title consigned to the shadows. Challenging for the title wasn't new for this team but it was new for this team. This is all part of a story that's been told over and over. An old story for a new generation.
So how do you reignite the fire for a conflict that everyone seems to known inside and out? For most it won't take much. Off the field there has already been a lot of work in trying to breathe new life into that which we think we already know while maintaining that which worked so well. With the right attention to detail, a vision can be made reality. Only then can you take the kind of heritage that comes with LFC and make it your own.
Some interpretations don't work at all. When you have an entity that is so ingrained into popular culture that it becomes very clearly defined – by those who like it and those who don't – then there are parameters to work within. Even in those circumstances it's possible to be unique while maintaining that which people know. In certain hands however, these marks can be missed so much so that the end result then becomes like a parody of that which it once stood for. Roy Hodgson did for Liverpool what Batman and Robin did for cinema. In this instance, Brendan Rodgers has a little more of the Christopher Nolan about him.
Legacies are defined by what's left behind, long after the aspects that established it are gone. If everything crumbles to dust the moment that it's architect is gone, then the foundations weren't quite strong enough in the first place. The truly great can stand the test of time. At Anfield, those foundations have been rocked to the core over the last decade. At last there appears to be something with which we can build greatness upon.
Tomorrow will see the start of a new chapter. The third part of Brendan Rodgers' tenure at the helm. Year one gave us an introduction to this new incarnation, then came the much lauded sequel. Does the closing chapter of this trilogy end with Steven Gerrard lifting the Premier League trophy? We'll are thirty eight games and another emotional roller-coaster ride away from finding out.
Early previews suggest that hope is lost. More will have to be found. The stakes are higher now. There's a storm coming. Isn't that always the way? A resurgent Manchester United and a buoyant Arsenal; coupled with Chelsea and Manchester City whom Liverpool fought so hard last year and suddenly the rogues gallery appears very full.
Also, this time the battle will be as much internal as it is external. History doesn't get rewritten all that often. Every miskick and every dropped point will summon forth his name. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. He was once was the bane of Premier League defenders up and down the country; this time he will be Liverpool's reckoning.
For those on the outside looking in, Luis Suarez's departure will cast a great shadow over the club. He was born in the darkness after all, we merely adopted him. With that also comes the idea that last year was a fluke. Steven Gerrard and Brendan Rodgers won't be wallowing in a pit of despair, looking on as all their hard work is destroyed. There are bigger challenges that inevitably await, that must be met head on.
“Why do we fall?” asks Michael Caine's Alfred, in a voice just the right side of parody. “So that we can learn to pick ourselves up” comes the self supplied answer. It's a theme that echoes not just on the screen but as we strive to come up against whatever problems there are in our daily lives. A nice sentiment definitely - but also massively incorrect.
Ultimately there has to be a reason behind that fall in the first place. Simply continuing to stand isn't enough. Avoiding mistakes is as advantageous as learning from them. As far as Liverpool are concerned, such sentiments serve a dual purpose. Standing up in the face of adversity is more than honorable enough but this time around it's more about not letting anyone push them to the ground in the first place.
Whatever story there is left to tell and whatever ending we have yet to arrive at, everything looks much different now than when it started. In football it's often said that it's the hope that kills you. On the screen it was said that “there can be no true despair without hope”. That might be the way it felt in the immediate aftermath of the Chelsea and Crystal Palace games, but certainly not what those on Matthew Street would have said at 2am after the Newcastle game.
Faith can be poisonous when it is blind and unwarranted. But placed in the right hands and it will be rewarded. This team has just given us a season that even without a defining piece of silverware is unlikely to fade into the memory. Continuing in the same manor and trophies will not be far behind. There were not only incredible victories but the sheer scale and method of them, the likes of which we'll be looking forward to seeing again this year.
Maybe we've seen it all. Maybe we just think we have. Maybe the best is yet to come. Maybe they've given us everything. Well, not everything. Not yet.
