Back to square one: Five things that have gone wrong for Liverpool
Suarez and Sturridge – The SASThe previous season was a joyride to remember for the Liverpool faithful as their team rode on the brilliance of SAS (Suarez and Sturridge) to rise from midtable blemishes to being genuine title challengers. The Reds had an air of invincibility about them as they bulldozed their way back to the Champions League by netting in 100+ goals in the league.However, as this season has unfolded, those memories look like a distant, faded reality. Liverpool have been lacklustre and have failed to continue where they left from. Let us see why:
#1 Poor Transfers
After Luis Suarez had joined Barcelona, Liverpool had a hefty sum at their disposal and they didn’t utilize it to perfection. Instead of looking at world class options, they preferred to settle for Mario Balotelli who has been struggling since his Manchester City days. Rickie Lambert’s purchase was equally perplexing. Even if he is a backup, why would you opt for somebody who is in the dying embers of his career and doesn’t suit your fast paced quick passing approach?
Liverpool have lost several world-class players over the past six years namely Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Arbeloa, Mascherano, Suarez, and now with skipper Steven Gerrard having recently announced his plans to leave the Reds, he could be added to that elite departure list.
Safe to say Liverpool’s acquisitions over the same period has been nowhere near to the quality of their departures and the void thus created has resulted in Liverpool missing out on Champions League football only to return for a brief stint this season or so it seems as of now.
After a successful return to the Champions League, it was imperative that Liverpool focus on quality and not quantity in the transfer market. However, Brendan Rodgers’ has managed to splash his kitty on young talents which are far from finished products. Lazard Markovic, Divock Origi, Alberto Moreno, Javier Manquillo and Emre Can – all of them look very promising on paper but we cannot undermine the fact that they would need at least a couple of years of grooming to blossom in the Premier League.