Last WordNEIL MELLOR
Togetherness is one of LFC’s biggest strengths and the
players have been doing their bit
- Follow Neil on Twitter @NeilMellor33
We are going through unprecedented times
due to the Coronavirus outbreak and, like
everybody else in society, it is something
footballers are having to deal with.
Premier League footballers will be more
fortunate than players from lower-league
clubs in that most of them will have facilities
at home to keep themselves ticking over and
be able to remain in decent shape. The biggest
problem Liverpool’s players will have during this
unheard-of break in the season is the mental
side of having to stay at home and maintain
social distancing.
They have put themselves into an
unbelievable position in the Premier League, but
now there is talk that the season may or may
not finish.
Nobody knows what will transpire in the
coming weeks and months, but as it stands
there is no restart date for players to look
forward to or work towards. That uncertainty,
no matter what walk of life you are in, is difficult
to deal with.
From the age of 16, players are used to
a structure. That structure only ends when
they finish their playing careers and while this
situation is different – for instance they’re still
getting paid – this will be the first time they
have lost that structure in their careers.
It’s a new thing to have to deal with and some
players will also have contracts coming to an
end. They’ll be wondering if they’re staying at a
club or moving on.
Liverpool’s players will be thinking ‘we’ve
put everything into this season, surely we’ll get
the chance to finish the job?’ But they’ll also be
thinking there remains a possibility the season
could be scrapped.
While I don’t agree with it, I have heard a
few different people say it is possible that the
season will be voided. When you think what an
unbelievable season this Liverpool team have
had, it feels unfair that there could be such an
outcome. But in the grand scheme of things the
health and safety of everybody – our families
and friends – is the most important thing.
Personally I hope football does return this
season and I think it will return. This group of
Liverpool players deserve the reward of winning
the Premier League title and the adulation that
goes with it, but for now it’s a case of staying
safe. We’ve all got to do what is best for our
friends and families for however long it takes
and that applies to everyone from all walks of
life.
When football does restart, the players will
need a mini pre-season of perhaps a couple of
weeks as nothing replicates being out there on
the training pitch with each other. You can do
all you want on a rowing-machine or a cross-
trainer, but at the end of the day football is a
team game and you need to work together.
One of Liverpool’s biggest strengths under
Jürgen Klopp is the togetherness of the team
and while it has been reported that they are
doing group-training sessions from home via
video-link, they’ll be keen to link up together
again on the training pitch as soon as is
allowed.
Ultimately Liverpool still only need two wins
from nine remaining games to win the Premier
League. When football does resume there will
be a lot of excitement surrounding that, but
also appreciation that the game we all love is
back.
In the meantime, it’s been good to see
Liverpool players remaining connected with
supporters using social media. There can be
negativity around social media and the criticism
players get on it, but one of the positives of
Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and other platforms
is that players can still engage with the
supporters at such an extraordinary time.
Certain players have been doing their bit to
help supporters still feel part of things. Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner (right)
in particular have been very funny in some
of their videos and at times like this, when
everyone is feeling a bit down, it’s nice to get a
little pick-me-up from some of the players.
The big pick-me-up will come when we see
them all playing for Liverpool again.
But for now we must stay home, stay safe
and be patient.