Heard an interview with Guillem Balague on talkSPORT earlier today. I’m a fan of Balague, even though I don’t agree with ALL of what he says. He has just written what will undoubtedly turn out to be quite a controversial piece in the Daily Mirror today, and will certainly divide opinion (like a lot of good articles do).
Basically, what he says is that Liverpool fans should stop thinking about 4th spot. Yes it is important, but Liverpool don’t have the finances of the other teams competing for it, and are essentially a Top 6 club now (at least until new investors come in). This isn’t something new, in fact I think writers like Paul Tomkins has said before about fans’ expectations, but truth be told I never took the idea of Liverpool as a ‘mere’ Top 6 club very seriously. I have to confess now though that it does seem like whilst we were all debating who would be the one to break into the Top 4 and who would drop out, we were the ones on the decline – even as we nearly clinched the title last season, which can be down to over achievement. I’m not advocating accepting mediocrity, but maybe we need to face up to it?
Anyway, it is still a touchy subject for Liverpool fans. Especially those who unlike me have witnessed the glory years, and spent almost every season since in the company of England’s and Europe’s elite. It will be a hard pill to swallow, and some might not even accept that clubs around us might have moved on beyond us. I’m not going to attempt to make your minds up for you, but let you read that (providing you haven’t already) and make your own minds up. Either way, the fact is that we are playing catch up, and it is time to either focus on securing our finances, or going for bust and take the bullet in the hope of winning something – which is a game that many clubs loose.