Topic: Is it that bad a season? A Rafa-free topic.

[helmboy_nige]

Bad season?  No.  Good season?  No.

People keep harping on about how when Kenny first came in he turned our season around and we were 'much better' than this season.  There are a number of reasons for that.  Firstly, bringing a legend in that gave freedom to the players completely changed the mental attitude.  Secondly, we had only an outside chance of CL footie, so we had little to play for, realistically.  But more importantly, we had a number of established players who hit form together (Raul, Maxi, Kuyt, Lucas etc).

The thing that people often forget is that despite the good performances in the second half of last season, we still needed an overhaul.  Those results were still masking a problem.  Maxi and Kuyt are towards the ends of their careers, so they need replacing.  Raul didn't want to stay and regardless of a purple patch, was poor for most of the season (this has since been shown at Chelsea as well).

So onto the summer and we made some big changes.  We all hoped these players would hit the ground running, but the truth is that this was always unlikely as changing so many players (Adam, Downing, Enrique, Henderson, plus an injury to Lucas) can have a negative impact.

My point is that overall progress cannot be judged on one half season.  That is true of the half season in early 2011 (good) and the half season in early 2012 (bad).  Progress is judged over a period and this is why a manager and a set of players should always be given time.

This is not to say that we (the club) hasn't made mistakes.  This is not to say that some of our signings haven't turned out as we expected.  This is not to say that Kenny doesn't need to settle on a way of play (as he has tinkered too much).

However, it is also the case that this season has been further hampered by a number of other things.  Gerrards injury meaning that Suarez and him hardly played together early on.  The Suarez ban, which clearly affected the team even before it took place.  The Lucas injury meaning we've had to rely on more the likes of Spearing.

Despite all of these problems, we have still (for the most part) outplayed most teams with patient, passing football.  We've won one trophy and made one other final.  That's why for me the season has been a mix of good and bad.  Think they'd call that 'average'.

Carroll and Suarez have started to show that they can play together.  Lucas coming back will hopefully bring confidence to the defence and Gerrard who will perhaps switch back to roaming forward rather than trying to be a DM.  There are big reasons to be positive and clear signs that while the recent history is poor, overall progress is being made (but hampered by other things).

[geoffstrong 1937-2013 RIP]

Bad season?  No.  Good season?  No.

People keep harping on about how when Kenny first came in he turned our season around and we were 'much better' than this season.  There are a number of reasons for that.  Firstly, bringing a legend in that gave freedom to the players completely changed the mental attitude.  Secondly, we had only an outside chance of CL footie, so we had little to play for, realistically.  But more importantly, we had a number of established players who hit form together (Raul, Maxi, Kuyt, Lucas etc).

The thing that people often forget is that despite the good performances in the second half of last season, we still needed an overhaul.  Those results were still masking a problem.  Maxi and Kuyt are towards the ends of their careers, so they need replacing.  Raul didn't want to stay and regardless of a purple patch, was poor for most of the season (this has since been shown at Chelsea as well).

So onto the summer and we made some big changes.  We all hoped these players would hit the ground running, but the truth is that this was always unlikely as changing so many players (Adam, Downing, Enrique, Henderson, plus an injury to Lucas) can have a negative impact.

My point is that overall progress cannot be judged on one half season.  That is true of the half season in early 2011 (good) and the half season in early 2012 (bad).  Progress is judged over a period and this is why a manager and a set of players should always be given time.

This is not to say that we (the club) hasn't made mistakes.  This is not to say that some of our signings haven't turned out as we expected.  This is not to say that Kenny doesn't need to settle on a way of play (as he has tinkered too much).

However, it is also the case that this season has been further hampered by a number of other things.  Gerrards injury meaning that Suarez and him hardly played together early on.  The Suarez ban, which clearly affected the team even before it took place.  The Lucas injury meaning we've had to rely on more the likes of Spearing.

Despite all of these problems, we have still (for the most part) outplayed most teams with patient, passing football.  We've won one trophy and made one other final.  That's why for me the season has been a mix of good and bad.  Think they'd call that 'average'.

Carroll and Suarez have started to show that they can play together.  Lucas coming back will hopefully bring confidence to the defence and Gerrard who will perhaps switch back to roaming forward rather than trying to be a DM.  There are big reasons to be positive and clear signs that while the recent history is poor, overall progress is being made (but hampered by other things).

[oddball]

...if Kenny would've put Aurelio in the middle against Chelsea with the same result i'd take my hat off for him...

Wow. Post of the year here. So many things wrong with that that I dont know where to start, so I wont!

[peachybum]

In the league it's been bad, obviously. In the cups it's been fantastic and we should have won yesterday. As for the owners spending big money, I don't think they have. We need to spend a big net amount to challenge for the league. No good losing a player like Torres and just getting another one in for the same price, we have to increase the squad numbers and quality at the same time. Players like Kuyt and Spearing should be kept as squad members and we need to splash the cash on some big names.

FSG are not oil rich billionaires. They're not going to 'buy' us into the top four by throwing as much money at it as it needs. There's also this thing called Financial Fair Play which means if we don't generate cash we can't splash it. And lastly, what big names are going to want to join a team who are struggling to finish in the top 10 of the premier league?

Its been a bad season and that has repercussions on next year and probably the next few years. We'll have less money to spend and be less attractive to players. Our own players who have played badly will also be much harder to sell and their value will have decreased.

[1892tillforever]

Overall, it's been a terrible season in fairness. Mid table in the league, out of reach of a CL spot in February and on course for the lowest points total/possible league finish in 50+ years. Beaten by those rentboys in the FA cup final tops off the lot. Then we had the whole Suarez affair and the assorted bullshit that brought. We more or less wasted a lot of money on poor/average players in Downing and Adam. We all hope Carroll can build on yesterday and perhaps Henderson can one day become a player. We look to be a million miles away from a CL spot whatever anyone says and our transfer policy has been subpar. To top it off, we have Kenny getting harassed and harangued and he doesn't deserve or need that kind of nonsense. I'm being Mr. Sunshine I know but positives escape me right now.

[TLW 84]

Good season. Some great performances and some great play. Results didnt go our way and refs largely corrupt/inept/shit.

Kick on next season. Given where we were, some good progress made.

Looking forward to next season and Europe!

YNWA

Really enjoyed the way we've played this season. The shackles have been loosened in the last few years when we've gone for broke but we've adopted a brave, attacking and entertaining style this season which has not had the rewards it deserved, through bad fortune in front of goal. Just some tweaking and better finishing and we can take off next season on all fronts.Of course we need the depth but it's going to be an interesting summer of transfers.

[KK Legend]

Reckon yesterday's match is a good example of how our season has went. Approx. two thirds of it poor and a third good.

Having Lucas back next season 'should' redress some of the problems, over and above that, any players coming absolutely MUST produce more than that we've seen from most of our newest signings and in the case of a couple of them at the expense of their places as well.

[RivaGe]

Yes. I am devastated that we lost the FA cup but it has a little positive effect - it won't cloud judgement about our season.

[Always_A_Red]

Different thread, same shite arguement. Have we made progress? Has it been a ggod/bad season? Is the CL better than a trophy? Like a big stupid fucking merry-go-round and we're having the same discussions as we were a month ago.

It doesnt matter what we think. Its down to what FSG think. They will sit down at the end of the season and factor in everything this season has brought and decide which direction they approach things.

If they think that finishing 8-12th in the league and winning the carling cup after spending £100m last year is progres then i'll support that.

If they decide that it is unaccpetable to finish with lower points than last year, having scored less goals in a season in a decade and having our worst home record in our history and they decide that changes need to be made on and off the pitch then i'll support that too.

I'm not getting into the arguement of which is better, CL or cups, i've made my feelings known about this plenty of times however I will say that whatever happens, we need to start a fresh next season, learn from this season and move forward as a club

[HiroProtagonist]

It's been a very bad season. Tactically outclassed on the pitch in some games, players who are about as mentally strong as a badger, off-the-pitch controversy and finishing 8th.

The end of last season had me feeling so positive that I thought we would definitely be progressing but we haven't.

The only positive is the Carling Cup.

[Legendary_Nines]

If you look at what we expected at the start of the season then it has to be classed as a poor season. At the start of the season, majority of RAWK thought we'd win a cup and a top 4 place. We've won a cup but are in 8th. Hence it's a poor season.

Just hope we keep Kenny and keep moving on.

[-Q-]

Bad season?  No.  Good season?  No.

People keep harping on about how when Kenny first came in he turned our season around and we were 'much better' than this season.  There are a number of reasons for that.  Firstly, bringing a legend in that gave freedom to the players completely changed the mental attitude.  Secondly, we had only an outside chance of CL footie, so we had little to play for, realistically.  But more importantly, we had a number of established players who hit form together (Raul, Maxi, Kuyt, Lucas etc).

The thing that people often forget is that despite the good performances in the second half of last season, we still needed an overhaul.  Those results were still masking a problem.  Maxi and Kuyt are towards the ends of their careers, so they need replacing.  Raul didn't want to stay and regardless of a purple patch, was poor for most of the season (this has since been shown at Chelsea as well).

So onto the summer and we made some big changes.  We all hoped these players would hit the ground running, but the truth is that this was always unlikely as changing so many players (Adam, Downing, Enrique, Henderson, plus an injury to Lucas) can have a negative impact.

My point is that overall progress cannot be judged on one half season.  That is true of the half season in early 2011 (good) and the half season in early 2012 (bad).  Progress is judged over a period and this is why a manager and a set of players should always be given time.

This is not to say that we (the club) hasn't made mistakes.  This is not to say that some of our signings haven't turned out as we expected.  This is not to say that Kenny doesn't need to settle on a way of play (as he has tinkered too much).

However, it is also the case that this season has been further hampered by a number of other things.  Gerrards injury meaning that Suarez and him hardly played together early on.  The Suarez ban, which clearly affected the team even before it took place.  The Lucas injury meaning we've had to rely on more the likes of Spearing.

Despite all of these problems, we have still (for the most part) outplayed most teams with patient, passing football.  We've won one trophy and made one other final.  That's why for me the season has been a mix of good and bad.  Think they'd call that 'average'.

Carroll and Suarez have started to show that they can play together.  Lucas coming back will hopefully bring confidence to the defence and Gerrard who will perhaps switch back to roaming forward rather than trying to be a DM.  There are big reasons to be positive and clear signs that while the recent history is poor, overall progress is being made (but hampered by other things).

Great post.

[Packalacky]

Absolutely terrible season given the huge opportunity we had last summer.

Kenny had improved the league form in the back end of the previous season and although we failed to get into europe despite being sat in 5th with 2 games to go and 2 points clear, the positives were that without europe it would give us an opportunity to focus on the league and get back into the top 4 as well as possibly winning a cup along the way. Kenny had used the last few months to look at the squad, assess where it needed strengthening and who was not going to be part of his plans.

The owners spent big and brought in the players Kenny wanted, and we entered the season with great confidence. Chelsea had a new coach coming in, Spurs didn't spend much and Arsenal had lost 3 key players in the summer, and there was a very realistic chance of us getting back in the mix at the top end of the table. The owners stated that not getting back into the top four would be a "major disappointment".

The season started well, and after 3 games we topped the table going into the international break. When we returned we then lost 2 league matches and all of a sudden the wheels started coming off Kenny's plans in the league. We dropped out of the top 4 placings and we would never return back to those heights in the league all season. We spent the first half of the league campaign "there or there abouts" in 5th/6th spot, always within 1-5 points of the top 4 places and kept in touching distance until November/December time.

The turn of the year, 2012, saw us head into the worst run of league form I have ever seen, and presently it stands at P17 W4 D3 L10 which is relegation form. This run of form is worse than that which saw Hodgson get sacked, and is inexcusable for a Liverpool manager given the financial and moral backing Kenny has been given.

For us to finish 8th or 9th after that level of financial backing (2011 accounts showed we started the season with the 4th highest wage bill in the league!) and with no europe to distract us and tire the players (Chelsea had 10 more games in their legs yesterday than us, and we still couldn't capitalise) it simply can't be anything other than disasterous. We will never get a better opportunity than we had this season and we fucking blew it big time.

To only get 5 home wins in the league is shocking. You can hide behind bad luck, poor ref decisions or whatever, the reality is that is as bad as we have seen in our entire History. We are trying as a club to look at increasing capacity or get a new stadium, but do we expect fans to spend their hard earned on season tickets only to be served up shite like that?

I also don't buy this line of thought that we have performed extremely well and as soon as we get a top goalscorer we will be ok. We spent £58mill on a new strikeforce last January and you want the owners to spend on another top forward? Our football in the main has been too slow, too safe and lacking in cutting edge. We get big possession stats because we pass it around at the back for an hour each match, and we get more shots at goal because we get frustrated at not being able to break a team down and just lash a 25 yarder aimlessly into the Kop once more.

The standards at this club are to be competitive for the two trophies that make this club special - the league title and the European Cup. Right now we are so far off winning either of them its a joke. Judging by the standards of many fans we have now become a mid-table team who rely on a good cup run, or even winning one, as a sign of success. Anyone calling this season a success because we won the league cup has lowered their standards to cover up the managers failings.

Yesterday, were the Fans singing "Fuck off, Chelsea FC, you ain't got no history, 7 FA Cups, and 8 League Cups, thats what we call history"? We have to get back to competing at the top table of domestic and european football.

All this nonsense that its a major rebuilding job etc is a myth too as Kenny inherited a very good group of players who simply needed 2 or 3 really quality additions to be made to it in order to compete, and instead he ripped up the squad and reshaped it to his style (just like he did at Newcastle in his last job in England) and he must take responsibility for the fact we have brought in £55mill worth of new talent to supplement the squad that came 6th last season and we have gone BACKWARDS with fewer points, fewer goals, fewer home wins, and a lower league placing. Where is the evidence (other than blind faith and the fact Kenny won league titles 17 plus years ago) to suggest he will improve on that next season and take us into the top end of the table?

Kenny focused on the domestic cups at the start of the season, and ultimately sacrificed any chance we had of getting into the Champions League in favour of winning a cup. When the owners talked about a disconnect in strategy when they removed Comolli, I could see a similar disconnect throughout the season in the ambitions of the owners and the manager. They wanted top 4 but Kenny wanted a trophy, with the owners looking to move the club in one direction while Kenny has taken us in another.

As a fan, I want Liverpool to be as successful as it can be, and whilst winning a Carling Cup is nice, its not really what helped to make Liverpool Football Club one of the finest clubs in world football, and finishing in 8th place or lower with our lowest points total in modern day history certainly won't do that long term.

Agree with every single point. One of the best posts on this forum in a long time.

[Anfield Mob]

so there you go, beaten in the fa cup has left a pretty sour and negative taste in the mouth when it comes to reflection on this season.

league cup aside, and in fairness to those that remember how the game went it wasnt a classic liverpool performance either, we have been largely terrible. only a handful of games did we look truely abysmal but to accept that as the new 'liverpool way' is not acceptable. our team is much better than the results give us credit for, but also the table does not lie. we are mediocre.

under podgeson our style of play was on another level, i wonder if this got stuck in the mindset of some players which left us looking disjointed, will never know. under kenny you can see there is a more aggresive and attacking flair which has been a major plus point, even in defeat, no matter how hard to swallow, we can at least look back and say we tried but didnt have the 'luck'!

the day lucas went on his backside and was brought off i knew deep down in my gut we would start to struggle. until that point he was our player of the season, a rock in midfield. it is that area of the pitch we have since looked empty. if we do not strengthen that area of the team over the summer we can sit here in 12 months saying all the same shite over again i feel.

carroll has bought himself another season. the last few games hes battled in true liverpool style, for all his knockbacks and critisism the lad has dug in and got his rewards. if he continues in that form he could be a legend here, if!

i felt positive at the end of last season, we got a good run in towards the end and hit good form. at no point this season have we come close to matching that kind of form, our summer signings have let kenny and the team down. how many of them stay is unknown but good quality replacements are needed more than ever. we cannot sit back and hope these players will improve, its too risky.

so on reflection i do feel it has been a bad season, the cups finals saved it from total disaster but you ask the players of liverpool if they feel it has been a good season, id wager that most would say no.

[Vinay]

Is it that bad a season?
How many games are there in the PL? - 38. How many have we won?
How many games are there to play at Anfield? - 19. How many have we won?
How many points do we have?
Who remembers the winners of Carling Cups?

[Robert_B]

Bad season? Yes.

Carling cup win was nice, but it doesn't make a dent on the week-in week-out frustration of the league.

I don't think anyone would have thought we'd do worse in the league than last season. So yes, definitely a bad season.

There is mitigation to be put forward, sure, but we shouldn't fool ourselves.

[oddball]

How many times have we hit the woodwork this season (30 something)? Isnt it some record? Lets say half of those chances went in and from that we won 7 games more. Thats 21 points which would have us sat in 3rd in the table 13 behind the Manchester pair. I know its all ifs and but, but we have dominated and battered teams this season.

For a "disappointing" (in some peoples eyes) season, it could have been so different. Im not saying all the players are fine and we dont need to improve in area's, we do. Im also not saying that all of this seasons buys have worked (and Andy), they havnt (though Andy looks to be finally coming good), but come on guys, we can build from this.

Whats even more strange about my thoughts on this season is that Im really a pessimistic glass half empty person!

[killer_heels]

It has been a pretty poor season in my opinion, and thats despite me thinking the Carling Cup is important. The signings haven't gelled and we still have a number of questions around the club, such as the DoF, the stadium etc.

That said, I am more optimistic for the future than I have been in Rafa's last season and under Hodgson. But we have to improve well in the summer otherwise it will be another season where we will struggle.

[Trousers]

I can't reconcile winning the Carling Cup and our points total so far with having a good season.
Mitigating factors aside being unlucky with woodwork etc, for the outlay we paid last summer it has to be said we've been short changed.

[Redcap]

Whatever anyone wants to say about positivity going forward is fine with me.

But let's not go forward pretending we didn't have a disappointing season.

I honestly don't think there would be a single supporter on RAWK who would have taken 8th and the Carling Cup if it was offered to them at the start of the season.

Our targets are a lot higher, and it's right to be disappointed.

But after that, let's put our faith in the people who have the power to rectify the mistakes of this season to do just that. Because really, what else can we do?

[Twelfth Customer]

How many times have we hit the woodwork this season (30 something)? Isnt it some record? Lets say half of those chances went in and from that we won 7 games more. Thats 21 points which would have us sat in 3rd in the table 13 behind the Manchester pair. I know its all ifs and but, but we have dominated and battered teams this season.

For a "disappointing" (in some peoples eyes) season, it could have been so different. Im not saying all the players are fine and we dont need to improve in area's, we do. Im also not saying that all of this seasons buys have worked (and Andy), they havnt (though Andy looks to be finally coming good), but come on guys, we can build from this.

Whats even more strange about my thoughts on this season is that Im really a pessimistic glass half empty person!

We have dominated teams, intent on defending and hitting us on the break. And many teams have done this effectively against us. Chelsea yesterday is a good example. Teams allow us to dominate, knowing that they can hit us on the counter.

Our play has become more direct under Kenny, it is the reason he has cracked the away form issue we had under Rafa. It makes sense that away from home, teams try and come at us more, making it easier for us to break them down. What we struggle with is putting away teams that stay disciplined and solid.

Hitting the post/bar, and what-if arguments are meaningless.

[Always_A_Red]

Absolutely terrible season given the huge opportunity we had last summer.

Kenny had improved the league form in the back end of the previous season and although we failed to get into europe despite being sat in 5th with 2 games to go and 2 points clear, the positives were that without europe it would give us an opportunity to focus on the league and get back into the top 4 as well as possibly winning a cup along the way. Kenny had used the last few months to look at the squad, assess where it needed strengthening and who was not going to be part of his plans.

The owners spent big and brought in the players Kenny wanted, and we entered the season with great confidence. Chelsea had a new coach coming in, Spurs didn't spend much and Arsenal had lost 3 key players in the summer, and there was a very realistic chance of us getting back in the mix at the top end of the table. The owners stated that not getting back into the top four would be a "major disappointment".

The season started well, and after 3 games we topped the table going into the international break. When we returned we then lost 2 league matches and all of a sudden the wheels started coming off Kenny's plans in the league. We dropped out of the top 4 placings and we would never return back to those heights in the league all season. We spent the first half of the league campaign "there or there abouts" in 5th/6th spot, always within 1-5 points of the top 4 places and kept in touching distance until November/December time.

The turn of the year, 2012, saw us head into the worst run of league form I have ever seen, and presently it stands at P17 W4 D3 L10 which is relegation form. This run of form is worse than that which saw Hodgson get sacked, and is inexcusable for a Liverpool manager given the financial and moral backing Kenny has been given.

For us to finish 8th or 9th after that level of financial backing (2011 accounts showed we started the season with the 4th highest wage bill in the league!) and with no europe to distract us and tire the players (Chelsea had 10 more games in their legs yesterday than us, and we still couldn't capitalise) it simply can't be anything other than disasterous. We will never get a better opportunity than we had this season and we fucking blew it big time.

To only get 5 home wins in the league is shocking. You can hide behind bad luck, poor ref decisions or whatever, the reality is that is as bad as we have seen in our entire History. We are trying as a club to look at increasing capacity or get a new stadium, but do we expect fans to spend their hard earned on season tickets only to be served up shite like that?

I also don't buy this line of thought that we have performed extremely well and as soon as we get a top goalscorer we will be ok. We spent £58mill on a new strikeforce last January and you want the owners to spend on another top forward? Our football in the main has been too slow, too safe and lacking in cutting edge. We get big possession stats because we pass it around at the back for an hour each match, and we get more shots at goal because we get frustrated at not being able to break a team down and just lash a 25 yarder aimlessly into the Kop once more.

The standards at this club are to be competitive for the two trophies that make this club special - the league title and the European Cup. Right now we are so far off winning either of them its a joke. Judging by the standards of many fans we have now become a mid-table team who rely on a good cup run, or even winning one, as a sign of success. Anyone calling this season a success because we won the league cup has lowered their standards to cover up the managers failings.

Yesterday, were the Fans singing "Fuck off, Chelsea FC, you ain't got no history, 7 FA Cups, and 8 League Cups, thats what we call history"? We have to get back to competing at the top table of domestic and european football.

All this nonsense that its a major rebuilding job etc is a myth too as Kenny inherited a very good group of players who simply needed 2 or 3 really quality additions to be made to it in order to compete, and instead he ripped up the squad and reshaped it to his style (just like he did at Newcastle in his last job in England) and he must take responsibility for the fact we have brought in £55mill worth of new talent to supplement the squad that came 6th last season and we have gone BACKWARDS with fewer points, fewer goals, fewer home wins, and a lower league placing. Where is the evidence (other than blind faith and the fact Kenny won league titles 17 plus years ago) to suggest he will improve on that next season and take us into the top end of the table?

Kenny focused on the domestic cups at the start of the season, and ultimately sacrificed any chance we had of getting into the Champions League in favour of winning a cup. When the owners talked about a disconnect in strategy when they removed Comolli, I could see a similar disconnect throughout the season in the ambitions of the owners and the manager. They wanted top 4 but Kenny wanted a trophy, with the owners looking to move the club in one direction while Kenny has taken us in another.

As a fan, I want Liverpool to be as successful as it can be, and whilst winning a Carling Cup is nice, its not really what helped to make Liverpool Football Club one of the finest clubs in world football, and finishing in 8th place or lower with our lowest points total in modern day history certainly won't do that long term.

Superb post Passmaster. Sums up my feelings entirely. I fear we are becoming a midtable team and the mentality of some of our fans who are happy with a carling cup win and an 8th place finish would slap themselves in the face at even entertaining that thought back in 2008. Our standards have dropped and that is unacceptable. Whether thats with or without Kenny is down to FSG.

[Robert_B]

How many times have we hit the woodwork this season (30 something)? Isnt it some record? Lets say half of those chances went in and from that we won 7 games more. Thats 21 points which would have us sat in 3rd in the table 13 behind the Manchester pair. I know its all ifs and but, but we have dominated and battered teams this season.

For a "disappointing" (in some peoples eyes) season, it could have been so different. Im not saying all the players are fine and we dont need to improve in area's, we do. Im also not saying that all of this seasons buys have worked (and Andy), they havnt (though Andy looks to be finally coming good), but come on guys, we can build from this.

Whats even more strange about my thoughts on this season is that Im really a pessimistic glass half empty person!

That's true re: woodwork, but you make your own luck. For every one time we've hit the woodwork, we've had 5 really promising attacks which petered out in some other, even more frustrating way.

I don't have the answers, I'm not a manager and i don't claim to be an expert, but something is clearly wrong with our attack. If I had do guess i'd say there's to many weak links (Downing, Adam, Kuyt (he does score important goals at times, but the vast majority of the time he can hinder attacks), Carroll (albeit in recent times he's stepped up). And not enough support from the other players - Henderson is promising but I think we've asked to much of him this season, Gerrard has been below par, and although you can't 'bank' on goals from the likes of Spearing, Lucas, Shelvey and fullbacks, over the course of the season you'd have hoped they'd have pitched in with a few more.

Maybe our squad is just a bit too thin, and we're a bit to short on players who can make things happen. We don't have anyone with the intelligence or grace of Alonso, we don't have anyone as clinical as Torres, we don't have anyone as unpredictable or canny as Garcia, we don't have a Gerrard of 5 years ago. We've suffered from long term injuries and suspensions to 2 of our best players, and when we're as thin as we are, losing these players means we have to call on some very average players.

We've had times in the past under Benitez where we couldn't seem to score for love nor money, but this season has been far worse. Next season we'll probably score 20 goals in our first 4 games.

[killer_heels]

Superb post Passmaster. Sums up my feelings entirely. I fear we are becoming a midtable team and the mentality of some of our fans who are happy with a carling cup win and an 8th place finish would slap themselves in the face at even entertaining that thought back in 2008. Our standards have dropped and that is unacceptable. Whether thats with or without Kenny is down to FSG.

No one is happy with and neither will Kenny be happy with it, whatever he says in the public domain. He will be pissed off and so will FSG, who have already shown their hand by firing the person they appointed and trusted with millions in Comolli. No doubt we have to improve and I am pretty sure that if this league form continues into the first couple of months of next season, they probably will sack Kenny.

But in the meantime we have to trust Kenny and look at the small positives. We have won a trophy after 6 long years and we have a far more healthier club to move forward with than we did in the past. The club made mistakes last summer but now we have to make sure we don't make them again and hopefully we target the right players and we can propel up the league.

[Robert_B]

Just want to add another comment: no matter how poor we've been this season, I'm infinitely happier than where we were under G&H, because I completely believe we can and will have the backing and positivity to put it right.

[Fontaine]

I took the attitude of if you havent got anything good to say dont say anything at all... I'd say I made about 5 posts in the Liverpoolfc forum all season.  Say's it all really.  Hopefully things will be better next year.

[walshys_mullet]

Is it that bad a season you say...that bad...

Well if you take away the fact we kept hitting the woodwork
Coming up against form of your life keepers
Failed to buy a striker and dm in Jan
The whole Suarez fiasco and how he was treated compared to terry
kennys cuckoo managing at times and forcefully trying to play his signings into form
One cup lost because we didn't turn up and one cup scraped hone against poor opposition.
Worst home league form for as long as I remember
League records broken at anfield by really crap teams
Oppo scoring with only one chance
Poor refereeing
Lucas injury

Apart from that its been mustard

[JJ Red]

Very dissapointing season. The way we just gave up in the league was unacceptable especially considering that Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal were there for the taking.

The most worrying thing, that some have already alluded to, is that we have no defined style of play or system. Under GH and RB (whether you liked their style or not) we had a very set style and way of playing and both managers signed players to fit that system. The current set up looks like some weird hybrid of slow pass-and-move (not necessarily including the move part) and a 'get the ball into the box' philosophy.

You have to worry that with 2 games left we still do not know which system or style is best for this team.

Ultimately just not good enough. Kenny certainly has difficult questions to answer and you have to wonder if FSG will be happy allowing him to invest the money again.

Every season that you are out of the CL it gets harder to get back in. The top teams are going to improve again and the 3 mentioned at the start will probably not allow us too many more chances to catch them. FSG will look at this and wonder i'm sure, "what do we do- allow Kenny another crack at it, or by doing that, are we simply delaying the inevitable and ultimately costing the club by possibly having another 2 years out of the CL". As unpleasant as it may be this complete twat of a season has allowed this type of question to be asked.

[BazC]

Absolutely terrible season given the huge opportunity we had last summer.

...

That's a sobering post. And hard to disagree with, because it's right.
This season was a fresh start, where there were no more excuses of owl-like managers who didn't 'get' the club and fans, cancerous owners bleeding the club dry of money, conflict between players and manager, conflict in general...... all of those things had completely flipped on their head. We had owners spending big amounts, Kenny's probably the one man around who 'gets' the club and fans, our senior players grew up hero worshipping Kenny...

It should have been set up for a title challenge. In my opinion that wasn't too unrealistic at the start of the season given how we played in the last part of last season and how much money had been made available to strengthen the team. Top 4 should have been a minimum requirement, and I think it was.

This season, elsewhere in the league, we've seen Tottenham and Newcastle play some great stuff- so in hindsight, it may have been considered fair enough that we didn't get 4th because it was a relatively hard year to do so. I mean even Chelsea won't qualify through their league position! However, that's no argument for us. Because we're so far behind that 'fight' I wonder how long we were ever truly in it.

If we're being truly honest, we're a midtable side. We're in the mix with the Everton, Swansea, Sunderland, Fulhams of this world and have been resoundingly left behind the top teams.

There's a lot of work to be done in the summer and a lot of big decisions to be made. Not only on the coaching side of things but on the player side. I don't agree with Gerrard's position in this team these days for example. I'd like to see the players who are young and have shown that 'spark' to play more- Andy (I've called him shite this season, because quite frankly, he has been- but lately he's been revving into life- yesterday he was immense) and Coates being the main 2. The players who haven't shown a spark need to be shown the door (in Downing's case) or be used more sparingly as they they're still too inexperienced and mentally not up to the task of being a first team player in a top side yet (Jordan).

I hope the players we  bring in add some proper steel in the middle of the park and goals. Fucking loads of goals. And still we lack creativity from the wide areas.

[Barefoot Doctor]

How many times have we hit the woodwork this season (30 something)? Isnt it some record? Lets say half of those chances went in and from that we won 7 games more. Thats 21 points which would have us sat in 3rd in the table 13 behind the Manchester pair. I know its all ifs and but, but we have dominated and battered teams this season.

Missed chances are missed chances. For me there's very little difference between hitting the bar and putting it over, both result in the same thing. Same goes for penalties.

Think confidence has been a huge issue this year. Remember Downing's run through the Sunderland defence on the opening day of the season where he cracked the bar? If that had gone in I reckon he'd have been a much better player for us. As it was, he kept missing the chances he got and his confidence deteriorated. Some players don't have the mentality to play for Liverpool - anyone we bring in needs to be able to play, but they also need to have it 'up there'.

Anyway, it has been a bad season. But we're not far off where we should be. A few new signings (combative CM, creative player or two and another goalscorer) and we should be fine. Carroll looks to turning into the player we hoped he would be and should improve next season. Lucas will be back which will help us no end in the middle of the park.

We've made plenty of mistakes this year on and off the park, but that's OK as long as we learn from them next year.

[El Ninos Black Eye]

It's been more of a draining season, with some highs and real lows. Just glad it's nearly all over, fed up of it all at the min. A few weeks break then I'll be itching for the new season. 

[killer_heels]

I know people will come out the likes of Cavani and Hazard for us to sign (haven't seen any of those play much to be honest) but I think we have to be far more smarter in the transfer window. There are good players out there that we don't need to spend huge money on and we need to find them.

I also think we need to integrate more the younger players with genuine quality, like Suso, Robinson and Sterling.

[Joga]

Depressing post. Sadly you are right.

[BazC]

I know people will come out the likes of Cavani and Hazard for us to sign (haven't seen any of those play much to be honest) but I think we have to be far more smarter in the transfer window. There are good players out there that we don't need to spend huge money on and we need to find them.

And to be fair you don't need the Cavanis/Hazards to improve our team. In fact, you could stick one of the corner flags at left wing and we'd instantly improve that position. Although knowing our luck Enrique would run into it all game and trip over anyway...

[mart356]

to be honest, its been a terrible season. A lot of bad things have conspired, and the only saving grace was the carling cup. If any other manager was in charge, they'd be gone, and rightly so.

[Twelfth Customer]

It is going to be a lot harder this year to recruit the talent we need. Players will see a club in 'decline'. Spending £100m+ was a bit of a gamble last year, that has not paid off. I frankly, see no progress at all on the pitch.


One of the things I most dislike about the current team is footballing intelligence. If there was a measure for such a thing, I think we have dropped from Mensa to Tulisa. Of course not having Lucas for most of the season greatly impacts on this.


I agree with all of Passmaster Molby's points. I can't honestly see this team getting anywhere near CL in the near future. Keeping hold of Suarez is going to get more difficult too. I can see his dream move to Barca getting a lot closer this summer.

[killer_heels]

It is going to be a lot harder this year to recruit the talent we need. Players will see a club in 'decline'. Spending £100m+ was a bit of a gamble last year, that has not paid off. I frankly, see no progress at all on the pitch.


One of the things I most dislike about the current team is footballing intelligence. If there was a measure for such a thing, I think we have dropped from Mensa to Tulisa. Of course not having Lucas for most of the season greatly impacts on this.


I agree with all of Passmaster Molby's points. I can't honestly see this team getting anywhere near CL in the near future. Keeping hold of Suarez is going to get more difficult too.

We might not be able to get the players that Man City will get or can get, but do we really need that level of quality to improve? There are loads of good players out there and we don't need to invest 100m every summer. If we can improve our scouting then I have no doubt we can improve.

We need to get smarter in the transfer window and take opportunities to sign some less well known players but players who have that potential to be excellent. They do exist.

[hugoboss]

Owners have to put their hands in their pockets now. Net spend needs to be massive for us to challenge given the financial status of clubs finishing in the top 4.

Net spend isn't our problem mate, spending wisely is.

[Tom_B]

Anyway you look at it, it's a bad season.

[stiffnuts]

This is Liverpool Football Club! This season as been an unmitigated disaster. Our league position, our scrapping the league cup on penalties, and our limp display in the FA cup final. The club, the posters on here and anyone else can spin it anyway they want. Even the club secretly in my opinion would consider this a terrible season. Hopefully next season will be better, but please please please stop spinning it, with an agenda to protect either the club, the players or Kenny.