Saturday was hard to take

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My first thought after Liverpool lost to West Brom on Saturday was ‘Hadn’t Hodgson done enough damage to Liverpool’s season when he was managing us?’

The result was particularly hard to take because since Kenny Dalglish took over as Liverpool manager and Steve Clarke joined him in the dug out, our performances have improved significantly and qualifying for a European spot was a real possibility.

It still is.

However, with Tottenham now looking like they are out of the Champion’s League, there is less chance that their league form will stutter due to a fixture pile up. They’ll be able to concentrate on the league with the same energy as us. And it’s hard to imagine Arsenal, Chelsea or either of the Manchester teams self destructing and dropping out of the top five.

To be fair, we haven’t played with the consistency to qualify for Europe. Even under Kenny. This isn’t a criticism of him. He’s worked miracles and his aura has had a massive impact on the players, the fans and the owners. But it was a massive job that he took on and the problems at the club when he returned were not ones that could be solved overnight.

This season was all about halting the crisis, finishing as high up the table as possible and building for next season. That’s what Kenny and our owners will surely be concentrating on.

Some fans have questioned whether the team would benefit from missing out on a European place and not having to play so many games next season. They have a point. We don’t have the strongest squad and even with new signings in the summer, there are bound to be players who leave. However, I think playing in Europe is important as it makes Liverpool more appealing to potential new signings and a club of our stature shouldn’t get used to not competing against the best teams. Not playing in the Champions League is bad enough.

There are seven games left and they are difficult games. I wish I could say I think we’ll win all seven but I don’t. All the team can do is their best and see where they finish. This makes grim reading but there’s a bright side. There is a much happier atmosphere at the club compared to the start of the year and I’m not alone in thinking that we’ll be in a better position at this stage of the season next year. And as depressing as Saturday was, all Liverpool fans should be thankful for that.

More Stories Arsenal Chelsea Europe Kenny Dalglish Liverpool Manchester Steve Clarke the Champion's League Tottenham

9 Comments

  1. Truth is we dont deserve qualifying fpor Europe – we have been dreadful all season especially away from home and we cannot afford the luxury of players like Agger we is injured every other game – howcan you get a solid back four with him – time to get a few more tommy smiths mate

  2. We can more than hold our own with the big boys, however we are simply not able to break down teams like, Wigan, Wolves,Blackpool as they seem to pack their defenses and we simply cannot break them down!! It is great to have Suarez, he is gem and will get better. I do wish finances allowing we aim to have a mix of new players, some very skillful & some very industrious. The former seem to be more expensive. I would rather have one world class player in my team than many, Joves, Coles, Poulsens, Ngogs, Kyriyakos, Koncheski, Insua who collectively are not good enough to be Pool players.
    We should also try & give the likes of Pechaco a chance , bring him on like Arsenal did with Nasri & Fabregas.
    In the wings we have all our young crop of players coming through.
    It would appear that with the points dropped against Wigan, West Ham & WBA & the latest injuries our chances of qualifying for Europe have gone. Whether we finish 6th or 16th makes no difference, lets give the young ones a decent run,this to include Pechaco

    YNWA

  3. I think the bashing Spurs got at the Bernabeu will have an adverse effect on them. My fear as that we do not have the depth in squad to rise to the occasion and pip them to 5th spot. I don’t even know if we deserve it anyway.

  4. I love King Kenny but i think he should move upstairs and we need to bring Rafa back. He’s the best manager Liverpool had for years.apart from last season we played champions leauge football every season. With the backing of the FSG I’m sure he’ll get us there again.YNWA

  5. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I am grateful for the success Rafa delivered but I felt his stubborness was detrimental towards the end of his reign and for me Kenny deserves the chance to take us forward.

  6. How does the signing of marveaux mesh with our need to have wide men to supply Carroll and suarez?This is more evidence of the chaotic planning of a scottish manager,a french director of football,and spanish youth coaches.We must have crossing ability to utilise Carroll completely.United always use width.They have won soon to be 12 titles since the early 90s using width.If we dont get it you can forget ever winning another title.Stretch teams should be the only game in town.How can fans still like Dirk Kuyt?If he ever appears on the wing again fans should revolt.Cole should be sent back to London by swiftpost.He is the worst signing in our history.

  7. Rafa – NO.
    Kenny – YES.
    Bekim, Kenny will rebuild our team, and we will regain #19, and #20, as well as eventually get to 10 European Championships under our belt. Anyway not sure whether you guys caught the conversation on CNN this morning (Europe’s late evening) where Ms.Reid said that Liverpool was the best team in the world, and Ms. Manisha Tank from CNN HK said that she concurred and would have high fived Ms.Reid if there were in the same studio.
    We were down, but we are definitely not out.

    YNWA – anywhere in this or any other world.

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