My fate is sealed now, I will probably be accused of blasphemy for the title of this article but I really believe that we Reds need to face reality. I am usually an optimistic person but I simply can not pull myself through and look beyond this storm that has hit our club.
We went into the 2009/10 with high hopes, having finished the previous season as runners-up we believed that this was going to be the season we were going win the nineteenth title. Unfortunately nineteenth did not happen and instead we finished seventh place in the league barely qualifying for the Europa League.
So what changed from the previous season? We had the same manager and backroom staff, we had the same tactics, same zonal markings and pretty much the same players with the exception of Xabi Alonso and Sami Hyypia. So were Xabi and Sami that good that we simply collapsed after they left? They are great players however their departure could not have had such an impact. Yes we had our share of bad luck and injuries to compound to the misery however I believe that the root cause had nothing to do with what happened on the field but rather what has happened off the field.
When you stop watering a tree that same tree might flower and bear some fruit for a while however the roots might eventually dry out, the trunk and branches follow, the leaves start to fall as the tree dies. Hicks and Gillett did just that to Liverpool F.C., they did not invest the much needed cash to improve our squad and we are now suffering after two full years of their neglect. We have seen some of our top players not performing to the level they did in the previous seasons, and while some point the finger at Rafa, (and Rafa is not totally innocent) I see the bigger picture. When I look at the players they remind me of some of my fellow coworkers when our company was on the verge of bankruptcy (ironically I worked for a company that imploded after a leveraged buyout), they feel helpless, angry and are demotivated.
We have no choice but hope that the sale will happen soon and that we can hold on to what we have. Whoever the manager is next season will have a big task on hand, trying to keep Liverpool from slipping further is the first priority while hoping that the club will be sold to someone who treats the club like a living organism rather than a commodity.
We Reds are a positive bunch, we hold our heads high and sing Y.N.W.A. when the chips and down and the bets are against us. This does work on the field but unfortunately off the field it is a different story. We are now faced with the biggest financial crisis to ever hit this club of ours. We are at the mercy of the banks, a chairman (who is a Chelski fan) and two owners who want to squeeze every drop of blood that we have left.
So this summer I do not expect much investment in terms of new players while Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham will probably break their banks on signings while we will be down at the bargain rack picking up the best we can. This will make it hard for us to return to the top four, let alone challenge for the title.
What we Reds need to do is lower our own expectations, we have a great trophy cabinet but those were all from a time when trophies were earned with sweat and tears, the trophies in modern football are not earned the same way.
Y.N.W.A.
-Antoine