I guess potentially they may, yes. We'll never know.
Going back to the original question, I'd take champs league qualification over the league cup every year. I understand fully that this doesn't fit in with the history of the club and the roots of football. But football has changed. As a Liverpool fan I'd rather us get into the champs league so that we can collect money to build a better squad to challenge for 'better' honours, League, FA Cup, and the Champs League its self.
I don't think anybody finds that a difficult logic to understand, all fans want to see our players up against the best of Europe... we want to see our lads and manager going head to head in a battle of wit, ability and desire.
But whilst the owners too want us to qualify for that competition, they don't really give a toss about any of that. They are solely concerned with the benefit financially it brings to the club.
And this is the line where, for me... i disengage with the current owners. I too am desperate to get back into the European Cup, so i can enjoy watching our boys.... but i was quite content watching Kenny take us to two cup finals and was quite prepared to accept a poor league season and see Kenny take the boys out next year in the belief he would do a better job in the league. The right man for us the Liverpool fans to be leading our team out.
However because of the financial loss of not instantly returning a top 4 finish, he's out the door.
This isn't a conflict of sentimentality, it's just a belief in the man and the job he was doing and the impatience to need that success yesterday, but not for the glory in our owners case, for the money it brings home.