I return and so does Liverpool

Welcome back to this space, filled with delightful insightful nuggets of joy.  In seriousness, the only reason I didn't write following the match against Sunderland was my wonderful DVR decided to stop recording the match at halftime.  Even though the scoreline remained the same, I didn't feel it appropriate to do a writeup when I had only seen half the game.  Anyway, on with the festivities.

Liverpool came into the match against Aston Villa in a decent spot in the table, but still needing wins.  This match and this win was a decent measuring stick of where the squad is at the moment.  Yes, Villa have been struggling of late, but they have talent at the right positions to be able to challenge at times and give enough of a game to let the Reds see what they measure up to right now.  Liverpool's offense has sprung back to life.

Perhaps it was only one match, but it was good to see the bonafide strikers score for this team.  Liverpool came out and dominated the game the way they used to last season.  They looked cool on the ball and were making cheeky passes that were still smart and not putting the defenders in a spot if the pass did not come off.  Even the broadcasters on the match kept saying it was only a matter of time before Liverpool would find a way through.  They would in the 24th minute.

Jordan Henderson, who had a fine game in one of his first attempts to really fill the captaincy role, knocked a great ball across the area.  Fabio Borini, who had not scored a league goal for the club since the spring of 2013, made a good backside run off the defender, stuck out his boot and knocked it just past the diving Brad Guzan.  The Reds would add their final goal in the 79th minute.

Rickie Lambert, who had checked in for Borini minutes earlier, received a pass from Raheem Sterling just inside the box on the right.  Instead of making the pass to a trailing, but open, Henderson, Lambert took it on himself and put a decent right foot through it.  The shot slid on the ground to the far side post and a partially screened Guzan stood little chance of getting to it.  It was a banner day for the strikers, perhaps only enhanced had the Italian enigma, Mario Balotelli, been included and score.

One of the few drawbacks of the match, was the lack of intensity defending the ball after the first goal.  Despite having the better of possession for most of the match, Aston Villa came out in the second half and took it too the Reds.  Liverpool defended well in terms of the back three but gave up several quality chances.  As usual, they looked their most vulnerable on corner kicks.  If not for some very good goalkeeping by Simon Mingolet the match may have gone the other way.  The danger of that is a team with higher quality finishers would have, most likely, put those chances away.

Yet, overall, even the detractions from this game are fairly nit-picky.  Yes, the team gave up several quality chances during a period when they should have had their foot on the Villans throats but they did enough to not concede.  Liverpool should have been up 2-0 before the opening half even ended as Sterling was given a great open chance in the box.  Sterling, believing that Guzan was on the hard charge, tried to chip the goalkeeper instead of slotting one low.

Brad Guzan also saved several chances as well, which could have put Liverpool up by three or four by the end.  It was also good to see the team play a solid 90 without Steven Gerrard in the lineup.  Liverpool will have to get used to doing just that with the departure of their long serving captain only months away.  While Henderson is not ant may never be close to Gerrard, he did a good job at regrouping the team and keeping their composure when the Villans were on the attack.  Another bright spot gleaned from this match and some of the past few is that the team is playing for Brendan Rodgers again.

I do not believe the team had ever lost confidence in Rodgers, but you could see that the managers choices were not always successful and perhaps that thought was even creeping into the squad.  One can easily still challenge the manager on some of his team selections - the inclusion of Jordan Williams for some reason or the inclusion of at least three attacking options on the bench just weeks after having none.  But, for now, as they were last season, Rodgers' decisions are working out.  That is the bottom line really.

As fans, we can argue and pout and say this or that and love the manager or hate him.  If his decisions prove fruitful and successful for the team, however, it is all just fan conjecture.  Liverpool are winning.  Unbeaten in their last six league matches and winners of four in that span, the Reds are on the march.  Will it lead to another Champions League spot?  Hard to say.  Many matches remain and though Liverpool have reached the seventh spot in the table, it is still a long road to hoe.  Southampton seem determined to not falter as some have claimed they will.  Manchester United, though shaky and embroiled in turmoil, are still in a favorable position.  Tottenham is up and down, but still above the Reds at the moment and no matter how good or bad they look, Arsenal seems to always find a way to sneak into the top four.

Liverpool's bad days are not far behind in the mirror.  Their own manager admits as much.  But he, as well as we, can and should see how far they have come.  "There's a lot of improvement left in this team and group.  But we're building towards the future here at the club.  We have been progressing very well," said Rodgers after the Villa match.  "We obviously had a bump in the road in the early part of the season.  But in this period, the team is performing at a good level - defensively strong and playing some wonderful football.  It's pleasing, but we have to keep improving."

The calls for firings and sackings have died down and the club is turning it around.  Rodgers' words again have meaning instead of useless fluff.  The dark days are not altogether gone, but there is light.  The team, the club and all its supporters can feel it and though nothing is guaranteed, at least we have tangible positives to see.  When we all see it, we never walk alone.

* quotes courtesy of LiverpoolFC.com and Chris Shaw/James Carroll.