Had Liverpool been regularly taking teams apart this summer then Sunday’s Community Shield may have been more hyped.
Viewed as the opening round in a season-long slugfest between two heavyweights who have created a rivalry not seen since Fergie’s Manchester United battled with Wenger’s Arsenal for English supremacy.
But a few Liverpool losses allied to no new senior signings has changed the narrative to one which asks if a defeat against Manchester City on Sunday will be proof they’ve lost their momentum.
And even though the absence of their biggest stars is the main reason for their form, downplaying this notion of a titanic rivalry isn’t a bad thing.
City and Liverpool are still the teams to beat next season but whether it turns into another two-horse race ending with a 25-point gap between them and the rest could be down to what happens in the next week at Spurs .
(Image: REUTERS)
Because, on the face of it, there’s every sign the team which stopped City and Pep Guardiola marching to a Champions League final showdown with Liverpool in June could make it a three-way title battle.
Or, rather, return the top of the league to how it looked for two-thirds of last term.
In mid-February, when City leap-frogged Liverpool to go back on top with 11 games left, just five points separated them from third-placed Spurs.
Then the legginess of Mauricio Pochettino’s small squad, with no new blood for two transfer windows, caught up with them. And three became two.
(Image: Getty Images)
This year it looks different. Their England stars who last summer had little pre-season, post-Russia, have had a decent break.
The Wembley disruption is over and with it the prospect of turning their new home into a fortress, plus reaching the Champions League final should give Spurs the self-belief that they are up with the very best.
So why not believe a serious title challenge could be launched?
After all City haven’t set the transfer market alight, the Champions League will be their priority, and they’ve lost their inspirational skipper Vincent Kompany.
(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool have been dragged down from their Madrid high, struggling for pre-season rhythm with fans clamouring for new signings to provide attacking cover and midfield inspiration for Jurgen Klopp.
Meanwhile, Spurs are buying again, with a club record £65million spent on Tanguy Ndombele and talk of bringing in the likes of Giovani Lo Celso, Paulo Dybala or Ryan Sessegnon.
At least there was, until a tetchy Pochettino was seen by some, in his press conference after beating Real Madrid on Tuesday, as going to war with chairman Daniel Levy by implying he had no input on transfer strategy.
Suddenly #backpoch and #levyout were trending on Twitter and fears of a disillusioned Pochettino walking away were once more in the air.
But the likelihood is, apart from being drained like most coaches by the complex demands of drawn-out pre-season tours, the Argentinian was giving Levy a timely kick up the backside.
Publicly stating that if no further targets are sealed he alone will deserve the backlash from fans tired of being the top-six paupers in the transfer market.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Levy has played a blinder in keeping Spurs in the Champions League places while building an expensive stadium, but more than anyone he can give them the impetus for a genuine title push.
By seeing the wisdom, over the next eight days, in going the extra yard for a world-class manager who is crying out for backing.
If he doesn’t, over the next nine months, he could lose a lot more than ground on the top two.
