Source: fm-base.co.uk
As the stands and terraces are painted anew, we swim across the river Mersey to preview the season that is in store for erstwhile giants of the English game, Liverpool Football Club. With the club going through some sort of confusion in the recent weeks, fans will be well-advised to not further their expectations for the coming season. Nevertheless, stranger things have happened, and for me as an ardent fan of the club, hoping for the best is always the norm and this time around too, the tools are there, only the edge is what sticks between Liverpool and the supposed success.
FLASHBACK
live4liverpool.com
Liverpool had some sort of a stop-start season last term, eventually finishing 7th with no European qualification. The Reds played well throughout, taking into account the managerial overhaul at the start of last season, where club legend Kenny Dalglish was replaced by the young Irishman Brendan Rodgers. The opening few weeks were unforgiving too, with Liverpool mercilessly pitted against the biggies. The start was tough, but the team gradually jelled together and ended the season on a flourish, the result of note being the highest away win registered by any of the 20 clubs over the whole season, the 6-0 drubbing of Newcastle. Rodgers came to the club with a fixed vision, a philosophy that was to have a taste for the aesthetic values of the game. That made the task all too hard, and coupled with their lightweight frontline thinned even more by injuries, where Luis Suarez played a stunning role by scoring goals at will in times of adversity. But with failure to progress deep into the cup competitions coupled with their league travails, last season could not be deemed as a success by any means. Even though the club finished with a higher points and goals tally than the previous two seasons, a failure to land their prime target, Champions League qualification, has marred Rodgers’ first year as not too celebratory. The club showed signs of progress, but such moments need to come very consistently for the club to have any success this season.
BUSINESS IN THE SUMMER
metro.co.uk
Liverpool have been busy negotiating and acquiring targets they deem to be appropriate and have worked their socks off in the off-season. With stability in the managerial stakes, the club actively pursued their targets in the transfer market, and results have been mixed. The likes of IagoAspas, Luis Alberto and KoloToure were all bought for the relative cheap, while the biggest bit of money spent was on Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who joined from Sunderland. The Luis Suarez saga might have reached its tipping point, but with the club adamant not to sell their star striker on the cheap and also not to any of their domestic rivals, it seems this might take up till the dying hours of the window to reach any kind of conclusion. The club have also trimmed their wage bill, with one of the club’s supposed high earner, Jose Reina, being farmed out to Italian club Napoli. Not good business in hindsight, but with financial fair play coming into question, a loss here and there might just bring about a sunnier future. The club have also rid themselves of the deadwood in Andy Carroll, JonjoShelvey and Stewart Downing, all departing for lesser money than what Liverpoolpaid for them, bar Shelvey. Academy product Jay Spearing has finally been offloaded, with the hard-working midfield man joining second division Bolton Wanderers. Overall it has been a somewhat subdued summer for the Reds with other rivals like Tottenham spending and strengthening more, and with the club losing out on most of their first choice targets, it may be quite a while before we can see marquee signings being paraded around on the Anfield turf.
2013/14 SEASON: HOW WILL THEY PLAY?
sportsnewsireland.com
With Suarez’s future turning increasingly murky, Liverpool may just have to settle with what they have right now, considering the lack of quality players in the market. The club will not forego its aesthetic principles of passing football, given Rodgers’ stern defense of his methods and his willingness to sign only players who could suit well in his setup, and if they can somehow manage to produce results consistently, the sky is the limit for this young and hungry side. Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson once controversially said, “You don’t win anything with kids.” This remark was nonchalantly dismissed by Alex Ferguson and his bunch of youngsters then, and if Rodgers can emulate what the great Scot did, Liverpool fans will be more than happy. But till then, fingers are well and truly crossed.
THE KEY MEN
mirror.co.uk
As always, club captain Steven Gerrard will be the man burdened with the responsibility of carrying his team through thick and thin. But with Gerrard’s advancing years and Suarez’s uncertain future, the onus might just fall into the young shoulders of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, who appeared to be fantastic acquisitions last season. The burly center backs in Daniel Agger and KoloToure will provide the much needed balance of youth and experience and the experienced English international Glen Johnson will also have a key role to play if Liverpool are to go far this season. With the inspirational Jamie Carragher no longer around, this season might be the time when they could need all those hardened pros more than most. Lucas Leiva has the qualities to be a leader on the pitch, and he will have a significant role to play next season.
PREDICTION
The initial flurry of new signings led everyone to ponder whether Liverpool FC are really up for it and gearing up for the season ahead. But fans and pundits have become increasingly skeptical about their Champions League chances as their rivals Tottenham have been spending big to land their targets, while Arsenal have also made the right sounds as regards to Suarez. The mercurial Uruguayan is surely on his way out, going by his public utterances and the recent animosity between the player and Rodgers, and it seems that Champions League might just be a bridge too far next season for the club. The club seemingly made progress when they added the newer players to their roster, but with Suarez leaving, fans can’t help but feel the club has actually taken a step backward in terms of progress. But one thing is for certain, no player is bigger than the club and as all the fans sing, with Liverpool FC you can never walk alone. Here’s hoping for some surprise from Rodgers and co, but gut feeling says 5th place might be the limit for the club next term.