By now everyone in the Premier League will more or less admit that Liverpool have been a club reformed this season, with a self-belief and energy in their football that was perhaps missing in the last few seasons under Benitez. Liverpool fans will tell you that it’s the new signings and the completion of a top-class team but there’s more to it than that.
The takeover has meant that Liverpool now have certain targets that they need to achieve – and that involves breaking the hold that the top 3 have had on the title for so long and establishing Liverpool as a genuine title contender if not league winners. Rafa Benitez is a man who loves challenges – his handling of Champions League games is evidence enough of that – and he warmed to this one, bringing about a change in style and attitude for Liverpool over the summer.
This new Liverpool is more aggressive, expects to score goals at any time of the match, goes forward at every opportunity and is capable of killing games off. In other words, the Liverpool of 2007/2008 is everything Liverpool fans have claimed their club was in the last decade or so but have never managed to be, until now.
Massive credit to Rafa for bringing about this change. Liverpool needed consistency above everything else and the only way they could have gotten that was through a radical psychological change.
Now, instead of dreaming of a title, this Liverpool team expects it. It makes them that much more dangerous, and with comparisons being drawn with the Manchester United side of last season, this is going to be a tough and open title race this season.
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