by Homebooby » Sun Mar 07, 2010 4:44 pm
I remember the general tone of the board at the end of the season being one of general positivity/optimism that we were now around the corner and on our way to better things, almost seemingly blind to the unusual nature of the 2008/9 season that left us in a position to almost win. Utd had an awful start and Chelsea didn't do much better which left us in the driving seat after a pretty 'ordinary' season ourselves. There were a few people on here who shared my opinion in the summer that this would be a tough season for us as we would see little investment to bring us up to a standard to be consistent throughout the season, absorb the odd injury and still be in the running around now. The other was that our spinal cord is starting to get on a little and we don't see any natural successors coming through or in. I think that viewpoint was fairly accurate.
What is interesting that of the big four, the 2 clubs that have always bought big have found their wings clipped (albeit Utd more than Chelsea) and I think that is going to be the shape of things to come. Utd find themselves in a similar situation to us, Scholes, Giggs, Van Der Sar to name but a few are on their last legs and the money is starting to dry up. I think that this is the case for the premiership now and the playing ground is in the process of levelling itself out a little, especially if that rule comes in that you can only spend what you make.
For me the biggest hurdle we had to get over last year (pre-season) was all the media attention surrounding our club. I remain of the opinion that no matter how professional you are, it is impossible not to be affected by that level of attention on and off the field and that is exacerbated when you are in a highly competitive profession with a limited timespan to achieve the goals you set out for. Speculation leads to speculation and it is entirely human for players to assume that the grass is greener at other clubs, to grow tired of the same old BS and actually want to move to a club where they can almost walk into a couple of pieces of silverware per season. Regardless of the fact that it is their job to be pros, it all becomes hugely unsettling.
In that respect, this season has been a lot more stable and as the story isn't changing, there is less for the media to grab onto and we start looking at the football again. To one of the earlier points, that is why we are more critical of the team this year compared to last season...we're focussed on the game and not the stuff off the pitch. For that reason, I am partially of the opinion that I would rather not have a major shake up of either manager or owner regardless of my opinion of either because we need that stability. Combine that with the world cup coverage to keep the media busy for a good part of the summer and that could become a reality.
I still think that a lot of the 'achievement' of Benitez's tenure has been largely invisible to the average fan and that has been a stabilisation of a club in turmoil during an unprecedented period of chaos in a rapidly changing football scene. It's twice as hard (at least) in business terms to turn something around than it is to let it unravel and that has undoubtably been the primary goal since he came in. As bad as things are now, I don't think it is too much of a stretch to imagine ourselves in a similar position as Portsmouth should we have had more negligent people running the club.
Before anyone jumps on the last point, my case here is that the negligence has been everywhere for at least the last 10 years, if not longer. EVERY club in the league has felt the pressure to compete and most have lived outside of their means. For that reason it could easily have been any club in that position.
The one thing that I am truly holding out for and I hope that Rafa gets the opportunity to live by this one himself, is the future output of the Liverpool academy. We've all known it for years, but the environment has changed so drastically in the last 2 years that the quality of home grown developed talent is paramount and no one can argue that Rafa challenged the old regime which had been producing nothing (or little) and took ownership of it. He was ahead of the curve then and it could well prove to be his masterstroke.
I agree with the posters that say we have done well to stay where we have until now considering all the circumstances. We should however prepare ourselves for a final position outside of the top 4 as it will go down to the wire unless we have a resurgence similar to the end of last season and if that doesn't happen, it is mostly going to be down to luck rather than outstanding quality if the cards fall in our favour.
The pros to us getting 4th spot is the obvious needed cash and the participation in the champions league which keeps the top players at our club and also puts us in contention with players in the transfer market. It should also reduce additional media attention of us not getting it.
That said, if we don't, we need to understand that it isn't going to be the end of the world or the club.
