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When Liverpool fans walked away from Anfield following the Champions League elimination against Atlético de Madrid almost 12 months ago, they already knew it could be some time before they returned.
However, few could have anticipated that his absence would be so long.
The coronavirus pandemic was already causing fear and confusion the last time Jurgen Klopp’s team played to a full house on March 11, a game many still believe should not have moved on.
In fact, Liverpool would have to wait another 102 days before its next step into action, the UK will join countries around the world blocking themselves against such a threat to life.
But when the Reds returned to the court, it was behind closed doors. Like all other clubs until the end of the season. And the start of this season. And then almost all of it.
By the end of the season, a maximum of 16,000 Liverpool fans will have come to Anfield to watch the Reds play. Another 2,000 Fulham supporters saw Jurgen Klopp’s side at Craven Cottage in December.
Home games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion saw 2,000 fans make noise of more than 10 times that number.
And now, after the government charted the path to a return to normal life on Monday, there is a possibility that 10,000 people will be allowed in for the last day of the season at the Crystal Palace.
Of course, they won’t be able to celebrate last season’s title win. That moment is long gone, fans were at least able to enjoy the ride until shortly before the 30-year wait was over with Jordan Henderson picking up the silverware on an empty Anfield last July.
But to be back in such numbers will be a relief to everyone involved.
If things go according to plan, and, let’s be brutally honest, they largely didn’t during the pandemic, the end of social restrictions on June 21 will theoretically mean there will be no crowd limit from the start of the next campaign. .
Liverpool confirmed before Christmas that they planned to resume selling season tickets for the 2021/22 period, although there is still no rush to finalize plans.
And how the Reds have missed their fan base, perhaps more than most other clubs. After all, there’s a reason Klopp was so keen on strengthening the bond between the team and the fans shortly after his arrival in October 2015.
Consider this. Since the initial lockout, Liverpool have played 18 games at Anfield in front of no crowds, without winning eight of them.
That’s the same number of games they hadn’t won during their previous 57 home games.
And after fans were again banned from Anfield late last year, Liverpool won a point from five home games, failed to score in open play and lost four straight league games on their own patch for the first time. since 1923.
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Coincidence? Probably not.
Yes, incessant injuries and consequent loss of form have been the main factors. But when the Reds, after several years of success, have needed their fans to help them get out of the mud, they haven’t been there.
The fact that they are not so until the last day at the earliest means that Liverpool players will have to find internal motivation again for the remainder of this difficult campaign.
Next season, however, Anfield’s power will be felt once again.
And no matter what transfer business Klopp does over the summer, the return of the twelfth man could be the most significant ‘signing’ of all.
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