Black Sunday, red hot Wednesday: Liverpool keep bouncing back

Well, where does one start. There’s rarely a dull moment supporting Liverpool FC. It’s either a semi-abject defeat or an emphatic win, we can’t seem to find the switch for the happy middle ground.

We either walk in heavy snow or glide blissfully through a pale blue sky. That’s how it feels, anyway: there’s very little that can be classified as routine with this Liverpool team, and this last week has been no different.

Last Sunday’s game against the Hull City Tigers was as black and abject as it gets. I love that name, by the way. It encapsulates just about everything I think is wrong with the modern game, and even though I think it’s just sad and wrong I still find it hilarious on some perverse level.

The less we write and talk about the game itself, the better – but anyway: I thought the start of the game was decent enough. Liverpool were obviously looking to set the tempo and attack in a controlled manner; with Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard patrolling the midfield, Jordan Henderson supporting the attack with his midfield runs and the two wide men looking to destabilise Hull by taking on defenders.

As the game went by though, you sort of got the sense this would be a rough day. The tempo and the intensity was pretty much absent, mistakes were made in defence and nothing really came off for the front three. Gerrard’s equaliser brought things briefly back to life, but instead of capitalising and getting on the front foot Liverpool carried on in the same gear and never really got going.

In the end, Victor Moses’ point blank miss and the comical own goal from Martin Skrtel summed up a dreadful day at the office for LFC. Enter doom and gloom – and rightfully so after perhaps the worst performance we have seen with Brendan Rodgers in charge.

Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long for the next game. Norwich City at home, the perfect opposition for bouncing back. And bounce we did, after having witnessed one of the best individual performances the Premier League has ever seen. The Luis Suarez Show keeps delivering mesmerising moments.

Scoring four goals is one thing; scoring four goals of that kind of quality, chipping in with an assist and generally being a thorn in the side for the opposition by creating numerous chances and half chances for himself and his teammates – that’s just special.

Now, one question I have after those two games is: What does this say about the mentality of this Liverpool team?

In some ways you could say the dreadful performance against Hull served as a reality check. Even though I personally think it’s an expression pundits throw around loosely – along with the infamous ‘this is the acid test’ – there is an underlying element of truth about it. Instead of a reality check though, I’d rather call it a wake-up call.

I’d argue it didn’t teach us anything about the ability of the Liverpool team; we know what they are capable of, because we have seen it throughout the whole calendar year where they have been one of the best teams in the league. What it did show us, was that you don’t get anything for free in this league. There are no easy points – every single one has to be earned.

Against Norwich the team was back to one hundred per cent. We could see it before the game, Suarez giving his teammates some last words of encouragement and stepping forward as a leader to get everyone ready for battle. He was ready for revenge and wanted to make sure everyone else was with him. Failure was never an option.

Generally speaking, Liverpool have made a habit of hitting back after a loss with Rodgers in charge. The game against Hull felt like a significant setback at the time, but looking at the bigger picture it could also be what the team needed to get through what will be a rough end to 2013.