Premier League: There’s only one asterisked moment from this season – but it’s not Liverpool’s title

The Premier League is back after a three-month hiatus with a number of critics hoping to tarnish what has gone before

Get your asterisks ready, the Premier League’s back. We might need a few of them.

A lot of people believe that the three-month break in the game has somehow cast a shadow over Liverpool’s performance. The words ‘tainted title’ have been bandied about amid suggestions that the Covid-19 pandemic should have led to the season being cancelled. The phrase is patently ridiculous.

There was never a rational argument for pretending that the 29 rounds of games played up to March did not exist and wiping them from the record books. The bleating from West Ham United, Aston Villa and the relegation-threatened null and void crew was driven solely by self-interest and undermined any sense of competitive integrity.

It would have been perfectly understandable, in the midst of a national crisis, if the decision would have been taken to end 2019-20 early – as with Leagues One and Two – and find some sort of formula to determine finishing positions. This was not what Karren Brady and her ilk wanted; the West Ham vice-chairman and her allies were trying to use the emergency to ring-fence their positions in the Premier League.

That is worth remembering. So maybe we should asterisk the bottom six and add a note explaining how some clubs would have preferred not to play because they thought they could wangle a free pass into the next Premier League season, presumably at the expense of the Championship promotion hopefuls. They were driven by naked self-interest rather than concern for the wellbeing of players, staff, fans, the nation or the game.

This would have retrospectively rebranded more than two thirds of the season as friendlies. The contempt for supporters who had already parted with their cash is breathtaking. If there was any justice, all the clubs involved would get relegated.

The Premier League is not being reconvened for Anfield’s benefit. The destination of the trophy is beyond doubt. Any way you look at it, a 25-point lead with nine games to play means there is no question about who will win the league. The worst, most disingenuous argument states that games behind closed doors undermine Liverpool’s achievement.

Yes, spectator-less stadiums change the dynamic of the contest and may have an impact on the relegation battle and the quest for European places. But at the top of the table? It was a no-contest long before the fixtures were suspended. The gap is so wide that it might be instructive to future generations to have an asterisk explaining why Manchester City and the other members of the so-called Big Six were tailed off by the end of February.

No wonder rival fans want to demean Liverpool’s feats as ‘tainted.’ It allows them to conveniently ignore the staggering levels of underachievement by the trailing pack.

Who enters the resumed league season with much credit? Certainly not City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal.

Project Restart offers them a chance of redemption. Chelsea, given their limited expectations last summer, can feel satisfied with progress under Frank Lampard. Leicester City have punched above their weight. Sheffield United, too, deserve admiration after showing no fear in the top flight. Wolverhampton Wanderers have been only slightly disappointing in that difficult second season.

But the rest? There are too many water-treaders whose idea of success is to avoid the relegation dogfight. Everton at least have ambition; it might be a painful, thwarted ambition but it does make them stand out from the mid-table ranks. The ‘bare minimum brigade’ could be flagged to up show future generations why Liverpool had it so easy.

Liverpool will win the Premier League title without a single fan in attendance (Getty)

The dynamic of matches will be different behind closed doors and it will affect results. Relegated teams or the clubs that miss out on the Champions League will have ready-made excuses. To suggest that empty grounds will mean much for Liverpool is ludicrous, though. Klopp’s first-team squad could probably remain at home watching on TV like the fans and let the kids pick up the six points they need. The title race and their season was effectively over three months ago.

Football needed to recommence for a multitude of reasons and it is not ideal. It will be different but there is just one position in the table where change is almost impossible in the next six weeks: the top spot. Even if Liverpool stutter in the rebooted fixtures, the chances of them being caught are minuscule. In that context, maybe there is a need for one asterisk when the season is completed.

It should go against Watford’s name and the footnote might read: ‘The only team to beat the runaway league leaders before the pandemic interrupted the season.’ Whatever happens now, Liverpool’s achievements between August and February were immense. No break in proceedings or starting again in empty stadiums will ever change that.