Liverpool may have finished as runners up in the 2013/14 season but in the last season they were barely able to finish at the sixth spot, 2 points behind Tottenham Hotspur, 8 points behind Manchester United and 13 points behind Arsenal. In fact, there was a considerable gap between the Anfield outfit and the top four. There are certain reasons discussed below stating that why trophies won’t be knocking the door of Anfield next season as seemingly now manager Brendan Rodgers would be attempting to secure a top four spot, rather than going for the title in the upcoming season.
The first argument is that Liverpool don’t have world class profiles at the moment. Liverpool have struggled to replace stars like Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Jamie Carragher and are yet to find an adequate successor of Luis Suarez while Steven Gerrard has also said good bye to the Reds and Raheem Sterling is also on the brink of departure. Even Manchester United, after their awful seventh place finish in 2014, managed to sign players like Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao, however both of the players were unable to rock Old Trafford but that goes to some other story. If Liverpool want to set their eyes on the trophies, then they must aim higher than Danny Ings and James Milner.
Another factor is the unreliability of the strike force. Daniel Sturridge’s year was destroyed by injuries just one season after making in to the headlines while pairing with Suarez. On the other hand, the likes of Balotelli, Lambert and Borini certainly cannot assure glory the Reds want. Currently, there are few genuinely elite level strikers available in the transfer window and the club will have to put their finest negotiators forward if they want to bring players like trophy loaded Carlos Tevez away from Juventus, otherwise they’ll end up with players like Christian Benteke or Charlie Austin.
Further, there is seemingly no midfield solidity. Although, Philippe Coutinho may be Liverpool’s shining light in the middle of the park but the club lack the player Gerrard once was. They have no pass master, somebody who can retain possession before seeking the vital attacking ball, and this obstacle is backed by the fact that the club had no single player in the Premier League’s list of top 25 passers in 2014/15 season.
Next, the burden of history on the shoulder of Liverpool is very heavy. Psychologically, the weight of Liverpool’s famous history may have had a negative effect over recent seasons. The Reds continue to acclaim their past and keep singing songs showing what they were and shouting that Liverpool is one of the all-time great football clubs on the planet after all. The club have not won a major (League Cup doesn’t count) trophy since 2006 when they claimed the FA Cup, a barren run of almost a decade. During that time the squad has changed completely and that winning mentality has been lost.
With the sale of Torres, Alonso, Suarez, Mascherano and with the speculation of Sterling, Reds are edging closer to be termed as a selling club just as Spurs are said to be regardless of whether its Dimitar Berbatov, Gareth Bale or Harry Kane, the club’s superior stars seek better opportunities. Whilst Liverpool have not sunk that low yet, they did offload their best player, Suarez, last season and are about to go through another tough transfer saga this summer as they negotiate with buyers over the departure of £50m rated Sterling. So, the threat of getting a status of a “selling club” is also at the door, proving to be another obstacle for the Reds.
Until they can keep hold of their top assets, Liverpool will be unable to challenge the likes of Chelsea or Manchester City for the English title. The positivity can be taken from the signings of Milner and Ings but in order to satisfy the fans and get back to the winning terms, Liverpool must get the big names from the market to build a robust and durable squad.
source:sportpulse.net
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 