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da bwin： More than anyone else in the country, Liverpool fans will be able to testify to how much things can change within twelve months. This time last year Liverpool were slaying all that came before them, eventually finishing second behind United with 86 points (a total which would have been sufficient to win the Premier League this season). Along the way Liverpool finished top of the scoring charts (hitting the net 77 times), losing just twice all season. Skipper Steven Gerrard vindicated Zinedine Zidane’s claim that he was the best footballer in the world, winning the prestigious FWA Footballer of the Year and delivering a string of talismanic displays. Best of all, Liverpool fans (myself included) really thought that the club was on the cusp of delivering the elusive first Premier League title, and that this year would be THE year.
Unfortunately, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. As I write this, Liverpool sit 7th in the Premier League, a massive 18 points behind leaders Chelsea. To add further insult to injury, the season has also witnessed ignominious premature exits from both the Champions League and the FA Cup. Scribes all over Europe are preparing to write Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool obituary, and bookies are shortening the odds on Torres and Gerrard remaining at Anfield next season. Amidst all this disappointment and uncertainty, Jamie Carragher has stated that winning the inaugural Europa League trophy would salvage Liverpool’s season and banish the disappointment of the club’s Premier League and Champions League shortcomings. Would winning the Europa League constitute a success for Liverpool’s efforts this season, or merely paper over the cracks at Anfield?
They say that statistics don’t lie, and in Liverpool’s case, they really don’t. This season the Reds have thus far notched up a dismal five league wins on the road (compared to 13 last season, including wins at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge), scoring just 18 goals along the way (compared to 36 last season, including four at Old Trafford). Liverpool have already tasted defeat 18 times in all competitions this season, a figure that just isn’t good enough for a club with aspirations of challenging for the title. The club are all but assured from finishing outside the top-four, meaning that Anfield will not be hosting Champions League football for the first time since 2003/04. For a club with such an unparalleled history of domestic and European distinction and achievement, this season surely represents an unmitigated failure for Liverpool. The Europa League has been stigmatised as a ‘Mickey Mouse’ competition – the lowlier, less glamorous brother of the Champions League if you will. Would winning this really atone for everything else that has occurred this season?
Speaking to the News of the World, Carragher argued that “any season in which you win a trophy is a good one”. Carragher also cited Benitez’s debut season, and how “no-one at Liverpool will look back at 2005 and talk about losing to Burnley in the Cup. They’ll all talk about what happened against AC Milan a few months later.” Whilst this statement is true, several differences exist between that season and this one. As mentioned earlier, a gulf of difference exists between the Champions League and the Europa League; contrary to Carragher’s claims, a cursory look at any Liverpool fans forum will reveal that winning Europe’s lesser football trophy will not mask failings in the Premier League.
The 2004/05 season witnessed Benitez’s debut season as Liverpool manager. Whilst he defied the odds to beat Milan in that infamous Champions League final, it is safe to say that he had yet to stamp his mark on the Liverpool squad; the squad was for the most part a relic of Gérard Houllier’s tenure. The victory certainly indicated that things were about to change for the good at Anfield, with signs that Benitez was ready to end the stagnation that had marred the end of Houllier’s reign. Benitez has now been at the club for six years and he is entirely responsible for the current squad at Liverpool. No longer can he attribute any of the club’s failings to the squad put together by his Gallic predecessor. Winning the Europa League this time round is unlikely to ignite the enthusiasm and optimism amongst Liverpool fans that followed their success in Istanbul.
Whilst winning the Europa League would end the four-year wait for a trophy at Anfield, it seems that it is more likely to paper over the cracks than to demonstrate success and progress. Winning the Europa League is unlikely to minimise the impact of failing to land a Champions League spot – this in itself will certainly diminish Liverpool’s ‘pull’ in the summer transfer market, thus making it harder to secure the signings of the world-class players needed to re-establish Liverpool as serious title challengers. On this note, it appears that winning the Europa League would serve to act as a mere consolation prize for the most disappointing season on Merseyside since the dark, dark days of Graeme Souness.
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