Kaustav Bose
Liverpool Fc Fading ..”Top Four” Class..No More..??
Wigan 1 Liverpool 0, “Benitez: We Deserved to Lose” ..One result, One
honest confession..both extremely dissappointing..yet undeniable
facts..Just after the Man City match..Liverpool legends like Rush and
Collymore put forth their notion that Liverpool had the easiest
run-in..and that could take them to top four..Given the club Liverpool
fc are such comments were very comforting for the fans..however in all
probability, after this match the Top four spot spot looks far from
reality for the REDS..
Sometimes it really is baffling to understand why or how a team that
showed such top form only last season can go through such a rough
patch…What could have gone wrong? The players are mostly the
same..The coach is the same..Yes, the investment of other teams have
increased, true..but still such a deplorable plight still remains a
mystery…
I say this simply because when you see the players on the pitch now
and every attribute of their play..you have to feel how could they
have ever played the way they played last season..They just don’t look
hungry enough..but Why ?
Some may agree that we needed Alonso and we miss him…that would be
the silliest answers to this gaping problem..Manchester United sold
out Ronaldo..and still they manage to fight for the top honors..Thats
what makes a great club..how hated a rival they may be, those are the
things that makes fans proud of their team..Sorry, the Reds haven’t
quite shown that mettle..
Rafa’s tactics too have been very debateable and very defensive,
however that did work for the first two months this year (or for the
most of it)..at least..
There has been injuries to players, bad luck and a host of other
factors..but if that meant Liverpool loses to the likes of Wigan or
Portsmouth(the way they have played this season..)..something is
wrong..terribly wrong..
Its time that the Reds fans start fearing a lot of things. With the
Top four spot now realistically out of their own reach and down to the
rest of the teams in the league to do them favors and too often..the
chances of CL play almost looks over..(some fans may think Why at all
did Rafa refute the play-offs..a top seven was a manageable option at
least)..
Some fans may also belive that our key players may well be sold
of..Well, I hope that don’t occur..but anyways the world is not bereft
of footballing talents anyway..
However, not getting into that..one thing is pretty sure that,
Liverpool fc really have deserved this state of affairs, going by the
poorest of poor performances..and yes, the team doesn’t that cannot
handle relegation contenders can never be expected to ward off CL
rival teams..and after this Wigan performance even the Lille match
would seem very very tough..At least Lille has more stars..
The pro-Rafa supporters are losing out on steam and that is
expected..The only way to respond to critics would be by giving out of
the skin performances and that has been thoroughly missing..Whether
the players are already thinking of the World Cup or whatever..the
club is performing as a team deserving a mid-table standing..and thats
how it stands now..
May be Winning all the matches now on ..could secure some respite from
crtitics..but even such a feat (which is quite unimaginable at least
the way they are playing now and moreover with Chelsea and Manchester
united games left..) will not power them to a top four unless the the
other contenders for the spot show that they are way ahead in throwing
away matches..
Its really a tough time, and frankly waiting for 14 months at least
for a champions league berth is highly likely..and within that period
a lot has to change at Liverpool fc and for the good..even if it means
revamping a major part of the outfit..
Some of them look sadly past their prime..and even though once great
servants to the club, LFC should be able to find better talents
replacing them..It’ll be tough..but the Reds need it..along with
investors to come to their aid..however performances like these could
affect that too in some ways..
The once “mighty” REDs are really fading away and even if top four
spot is not won at the end of the season as is seemingly
likely..Liverpool fc could still win some hearts by their displays in
the matches to come.. Reds fans like us deserve to see more efforts
put in by the players and even after such a disgraceful
performances..the only bright thing left for fans is that.. The coming
performances could and should only be better or else very few if
forced out of the club (and that includes Rafa too) will be missed..