Liverpool stand on the brink of winning their first league title in front of supporters for 35 years, and no number of millionaires haggling should distract from the celebration.
Winning the league in 2020 was special. The monkey that had been clinging to our backs for three decades was shaken and the shackles lifted.
Liverpool had achieved a monumental feat of 99 Premier League points, but coronavirus denied us a chance to properly celebrate as a community – players, fans and manager as one.
The European Cup should be the pinnacle of football and most fans would usually choose to win that over the league. However, a sense of injustice, that the 30-year wait was never quite put to rest, lingers.
For this reason, the Premier League title and accompanying party have remained the Holy Grail for supporters.
There is a worry in some quarters, though, that the celebrations could be somewhat tainted by uncertainty over the future of arguably Liverpool’s three most important players.
An unexpected ride
Angst exists over the expiring contracts of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The latter is almost definitely leaving, while the others’ situations remain unresolved.
We can debate the merits and downsides of every conceivable outcome, but one thing is certain, we can’t allow it to distract from what should be a triumphant moment for the club – and it likely won’t.
At the start of the season, just one of 30 BBC Sport pundits thought Liverpool would finish in the top two, with 23 of them predicting the Reds to finish third, a position with which most fans would have agreed.
Jurgen Klopp‘s exit created understandable fear that there would be a drop-off.
While most didn’t foresee the sort of fall experienced by Arsenal or Man United when Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson left, to actually improve on last year’s points tally seemed pretty far-fetched, especially considering only Federico Chiesa had been added to the squad.
Arne Slot, though, has done an excellent job of providing continuity from the last regime at the same time as putting his own spin on the Reds’ tactics.
There have also been fewer injuries with which to contend and while Liverpool do appear to be tiring like last season, the 12-point advantage built at the top means we should be celebrating title No. 20 come May.
And that is ultimately what we are all in it for, the jubilation of scoring goals, winning games and ultimately lifting trophies.
Personal goals or team glory?
The modern world arguably puts players under a brighter spotlight than ever before, and their targets are increasingly becoming self-orientated rather than focused on team success.
When Alexander-Arnold chose winning the Ballon d’Or as his biggest goal over lifting another Champions League, it became clearer that his career could be taking a path away from Merseyside.
How he is received at Anfield will be interesting, and the reception will likely be less hostile than some expect.
An attitude of indifference would be a far better approach, because he shouldn’t get in the way of revelling in a triumph we have waited so long for.
It has been said before and it will be said again, but no player is larger than the club.
Liverpool’s title is bigger than him and for us to let his impending departure, as well as anxiety over Salah and Van Dijk, taint a trophy, it would be an injustice to us as supporters.
In 1977, Kevin Keegan left and we replaced him with Kenny Dalglish. In 1987, Ian Rush departed, only to return a year later.
Of course, having three key players leave simultaneously would pose an even greater issue. Each are vital for their own reasons, but that’s for another time.
Slot and his team will need to adapt to the changing circumstances this summer.
Thankfully, from what we know about the structure in place, there is no better personnel to deal with that than Richard Hughes, Michael Edwards and Co.
If Alexander-Arnold prefers personal accolades over team glory in a team game, let him pursue it. In the long term, Liverpool are always better off as a unit working for each other.
We need to enjoy this, the motivation for all of Liverpool’s endeavours depends on it.
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