Liverpool’s Premier League Season in Review
While most Liverpool supporters will be mortified, if not outraged, that their heroes fell short of claiming a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League, I have to admit that it is something I predicted at the beginning of the season.
In fact, my predictions were largely accurate, barring just a couple of notable errors: first, I envisaged Man City running Chelsea much, much closer for the league title; and secondly, I foresaw Manchester United claiming third place above Arsenal.
But as far as I could tell, Liverpool were always going to struggle to replicate, let alone surpass, their heroics from the 2013/14 season. The Reds were always going to be a weaker team without Luis Suarez, and while a series of players were brought in to fill the void left by the Uruguayan master, it simply proves that there is no substitute for genius.
Hopes of Mario Balotelli taking up the mantle were quickly extinguished as he simply does not have Suarez’s work rate, but then, who does? Adam Lallana is brilliant creatively, but he shouldn’t be trusted or relied upon to bury a half chance in the opposition net. And it’s much the same with Lazar Markovic.
Some have taken to laying Liverpool’s shortcomings squarely at the feet of the manager, but in honesty, the club’s new arrivals were always going to need time to adjust to the frenetic pace of the English game and fit in to the team. With this in mind, it has to be said that Brendan Rodgers was never really at his tactical best over the course of the season, given a number of ill-judged starting line-ups and substitutions.
His persistence with an ageing Glenn Johnson and an out-of-sorts Joe Allen bore little fruit when this pair featured. In fact, I had a friend note that neither player featured in Liverpool’s 13-match unbeaten run. The fact that Daniel Sturridge sat out most of that period also suggests that Liverpool simply performed better as a unit without these three players, along with a 3-4-3, and even diamond-shaped midfield, that suited the team perfectly. Or at least until opposition managers found ways of nullifying Rodgers’ tactical advantage.
Liverpool’s form of late has tapered off so badly that it’s mirrored the team’s dreadful early season performances, and as a result I’m certain that Rodgers and his charges were willing the season to end before the last round of matches over the past weekend. With the post-season break looming, Liverpool are keen to go on yet another recruitment drive, but this time not only in search of another Luis Suarez, but another Steven Gerrard as well, with perhaps the next Raheem Sterling thrown into the bargain.
Sterling’s protracted contract talks and the damning indictment the youngster’s agent made about Liverpool’s efforts to keep him, have surely conspired to see an end to his association with the club. This is a pity, as the possible arrival and integration of players such as Danny Ings and Barcelona’s Pedro would surely have been made a lot easier with Sterling’s pace and guile up front.
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