Liverpool contenders for the EPL title for the first time since 2009 disappointment

LIVERPOOL is a contender for the EPL title for the first time since 2009, but can it avoid the same disappointment of five years ago?

FOR a club of Liverpool’s stature, it’s staggering to believe the Reds haven’t lifted the English league trophy since 1990, but they did go awfully close five years ago.

The 2008-2009 season was far and away their best since the inception of the Premier League, but even a club-record 86 points wasn’t enough as perennial winners Manchester United edged them to the title by just four points.

To add insult to injury, it was United’s 18th league trophy, and with it the Red Devils equalled Liverpool’s mark as the most successful club in English history, a record they’ve since taken sole ownership of.

News_Rich_Media: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has told Fox Sports European correspondent Daniel Garb that his side arguably could have doubled their tally against Manchester United after they beat the reigning Premier League champions 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Gloomy times followed at Anfield, with the club finishing of seventh, sixth, eighth and seventh as they struggled to re-establish themselves as a European powerhouse.

That’s all changed this season with Brendan Rodgers’ side now just four points off the Premier League lead following an emphatic 3-0 win over United on Sunday morning.

The make-up of English football has shifted dramatically between the two clubs in red, but can the Merseysiders avoid the same mistakes of 2009 or will they again fall agonisingly short of a drought-breaking championship?

News_Rich_Media: The good, the bad and the ugly from round 30 of the Premier League.

Many credit January 9 as the turning point of the 08/09 season as the then-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez unleashed a bizarre tirade at United boss Sir Alex Ferguson over his influence on the EPL’s fixture scheduling at a pre-match press conference.

Critics viewed it as Fergie - the master of the mind games - getting under the skin of the Reds’ Spanish boss and the outburst seemed to have a negative effect on the Liverpool players, who went on to draw their next three matches.

Current manager Brendan Rodgers is unlikely to make the same mistake. He’s continued to play down the team’s title hopes, leaving the likes of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge to do the talking on the field.

News_Image_File: Steven Gerrard celebrates with Fernando Torres in 2009.

“I’ve not banned it (talk of the title). We have better things to talk about,” he said after Sunday’s Old Trafford demolition.

“It is about improving and getting better. I don’t lose sleep over it.

“We are up there on merit so of course we have an opportunity.”

The Red Devils’ incredible run of 19 wins in their last 22 matches in 2009 was too hot for Liverpool to handle, and while United is well and truly out of the current race, Liverpool still has plenty of work to do if they’re to come up trumps in a title race between four.

News_Rich_Media: Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson has reminded the clubs supporters that he and his teammates are taking it one game at a time as talk of a first Premier League title on Merseyside grows.

Manchester City and Chelsea are considered the favourites, while Arsenal is also lurking, but there’s nothing to suggest Liverpool can’t get the job done.

They possess the best attack in the league, having already scored 76 goals, and with matches to come against the Blues and City, the trophy is there for the taking.

A key difference between this Liverpool and the 2009 edition is that the current crop doesn’t have to deal with Champions League football and the congested fixture list that comes with it.

News_Image_File: Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez could not manage to win the Premier League.

Skipper Steven Gerrard – one of just five players remaining from Liverpool’s ‘09 squad – says the lack of European football might be crucial.

“Man City and Chelsea are still the favourites. But I think they both know that we are a big threat because we’ve got no Europe and we can be fresh for every game,” Gerrard said.

It’s felt more like 230 years than the 23 it’s been since Liverpool won the Premier League and – at least on the form they’ve shown this season – you’d be brave to predict another such drought before the Reds stand atop the dais as English champions again.