If you missed the sign out front indicating Epilogue was for Liverpool supporters only, you couldn’t miss the other clues on display as you entered. Patrons clad in red, a collection of the most recent kits worn by the Mighty Reds. Posters and signed jerseys hung from the wall. Liverpool pint glasses are stacked neatly behind the bar. Graphics from The Anfield Wrap hang from the doors along a back corridor.

Even if that gets sorted, the exposed right flank will remain a feature. As LFC has worked their way through the preseason, I’m not convinced they’ve sorted out ways to limit the negative impact it may have. Teams know that’s a weakness and have continued to target it. Against Bayern, the Reds were punished. I’m afraid that’ll be the case against the top six opponents in the League, too.

Liverpool fans the world over all know what happens next. LFC held on to beat AC Milan in a shootout winning their fifth Champions League/European Cup.

Within the next few days, I started to make my own comeback. The migraines subsided, my appetite returned (I’d lost nearly 20 pounds over a ten day period), and I was able to get out of bed and move around for extended periods of time.

But my hospital stay, in all of its terribleness, led me to Liverpool. I will forever link the Miracle of Istanbul to my own comeback. And for that, I will always be a Kopite, a Red, a Liverpool fan, a Scouser.

If Liverpool walk away victors after hosting Southampton on Saturday afternoon, fans will be riding high into the six-week World Cup break. Four wins on the trot - something the club hasn’t been able to do all season.

The third installment of my weekly contribution to the LFC Jury at the Liverpool Echo.

The second installment of my weekly contribution to the LFC Jury at the Liverpool Echo.

The first installment of my weekly contribution to the LFC Jury at the Liverpool Echo.

Fans, like myself, looking for a response, saw one. The Mighty Reds looked to have done a complete 180 from the performance against Brighton—and much of the rest of the season as well. They were competent, confident, and all-conquering.

At best, the squad was disjointed. At worst, shambolic. If not for the match against Napoli, it could compete for the worst 90 minutes of football in the Klopp era.

Last night’s version of Liverpool was a revelation. They looked more like the side we’ve come to expect. Energetic, intense, dangerous. Are they back? Fans sure hope so.

What’s the point of fandom if you’re only on board when it’s easy? Liverpool’s rough start to the season certainly engenders some despair, but if we were honest, we saw this coming last season.