Patrick Newton (R) with his father celebrating the Liverpool title victory in his backyard.
Newly crowned Premier League champion Liverpool travels to Etihad Stadium on Thursday night to take second place in the Manchester City table, titleholders in the past two seasons. As usual, the Pep Guardiola team will give the Reds an honor guard before the kickoff. Even though there will be no fans present at the venue, every Liverpool fan’s heart is likely to be proud and there will be tears of joy when they see the end of their 30-year drought from afar.
Ken Skupski, a former top 50 doubles tennis male tennis player, was just seven years old when Liverpool won his last league title, in 1990. He doesn’t remember, but oddly, he remembers that his home club lost in 1988-89. title for Arsenal based on a weaker scoring record (both teams were tied at 76 points).
“That hurts,” he offers.
Patrick Newton, another Liverpool resident, was just four years old when Liverpool won what could be considered the most exciting Champions League final to be played in 2005. He doesn’t remember much of that game he supposed he saw at his grandparents’ house. (“Family tradition, watch all the finals there,” he explains). It was only a few months after Newton attended his first game on the ground of his favorite club, Anfield, a FA Youth Cup draw.
“My parents started taking me to games when I was old enough to leave home,” he says.
While Skupski and Newton cannot recall the last time Liverpool won the English Football League, the largest flight division until the Premier League was formed in 1992, in Leeds, Simon Plimley, 61, had spent less than half his life hoping to embrace that old lost feeling again. That feeling of seeing the Reds being crowned champions of England.
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And so it happened, when Chelsea beat Manchester City in second place, and the title was secured. This time around, however, precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic would compel subdue celebrations, including empty stands this Thursday night when City players award new champions with an Honor Guard.
“Knowing that we won’t see it and the trophy ceremony in person, that we won’t be on the ground to enjoy the moment, is a bit disappointing,” says Newton, who grew up hearing stories his grandfather told. he from the glory years of the seventies and eighties, when Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and all ruled the chicken coop.
“The previous generation, they have seen it, they have experienced it. They know how it is. So that (the younger generation) thinks that we will finally see it, to have our moment, and now they have taken it from us. It is a terrible situation in the world, so we can’t complain, but yeah, it’s disappointing. ”
Ken Skupski was just seven years old when Liverpool won his last league title.Skupski also acknowledges that disappointment. But the 37-year-old man also exudes a sense of relief.
“You have to appreciate the fact that there are bigger things than football,” says the 2017 Wimbledon men’s doubles quarterfinal. “We’ve had an incredible season, but at one point we almost had to accept that the season was going to be null. So being able to come back to finish what we started is a relief more than anything. It is disappointing not to be in the stadium, but at the end of the day, we are very excited to finally return to our position. ”
Every time he managed to take a week or two off the tennis circuit, Skupski slipped away on an excursion in Anfield, including a 5-2 victory over local rivals Everton. Newton has been to every home game this season since he was hired by The Anfield Wrap, a fan site that started posting podcasts (including interviews with former players Dalglish and Kevin Keegan, and current manager Jurgen Klopp).
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Plimley, however, is a veteran. He’s been going to games since 1969.
“In the past five decades, I have seen Liverpool win three Champions League titles, at Wembley (1978), Paris (1981) and Madrid last year,” lists the sexagenarian. “I also saw them play four FA Cup finals and four league title-winning games.”
However, this time around, once the league restarted behind closed doors in June, the match experience was different.
“I miss the camaraderie of other fans: riding the bus together, having a beer before and after the game, and making fun of opposition fans,” he says. “I can’t replicate this at home since my wife was not happy that I made a lot of noise in front of the television.”
Simon Plimley (C) at Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid ahead of the 2019 UEFA Champions League final.
The stadium may be closed to them, and visits to the pubs, a commonplace for jokes among fans, are limited due to the pandemic. But with Liverpool winning their first league title in 30 years, and 19th overall, it means The Unbearables (a label Liverpool fans were given by rival fans but embraced by citing opponents as ‘jealous’ ‘of club achievements) now boast. rights. And after three decades of waiting, there is a long list of rival fans who will be paid the “torture”, which includes, on Skupski’s list, his former doubles partner and current Andy Murray coach Jamie Thin.
“Throughout my career, I had to listen to Manchester United fans tell me how good their team was and how sad it must be to be a Liverpool fan,” says Skupski. “I have to admit that I was envious of his success. The title has been our need for far too long, as other fans have teased us for so long. But now is the time for The Unbearables to enjoy their wonderful team.”
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.