Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat to Blackpool last night was good news for Liverpool’s fans still hoping for Champions League football next season. It means that the Reds still trail fourth place by eight points with 11 games to go, but Chelsea still have a game in hand which could extend the gap to nine points if they win against Manchester United.
The prospect of Champions League next season is still more in hope than expectation though as it would require both Spurs and Chelsea to lose three games while the Reds would need to keep a perfect record. It isn’t totally impossible as we still have to face Tottenham at home, but we also have to play Arsenal away, Manchester United and City at home during that time. It is a tough ask which manager Kenny Dalglish still seems to be backing the Reds to overcome. And why not? Why should the Reds not keep fighting until the end of the season and make sure they finish as high up in the table as possible? The Reds should be looking to perform well in every game they go into.
There is however a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, a certain doubt that our priorities should be elsewhere. Dalglish rested players such as Martin Kelly, Martin Skrtel and opted not to risk Daniel Agger last week against Sparta Prague in the Europa League. In addition to the absence of the cup tied Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard was also injured and the team as a result looked very toothless in the final third. Liverpool looked to be playing for a 0-0 result and in the process, Sparta, who hadn’t played for three months, looked a lot more dangerous than they should have been. The home side had the best chances of the night and might be disappointed not to be going to Anfield with a lead.
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The quest for fourth place should be the priority instead of the mickeymouse Europa League. The 72 point maximum points total that Liverpool can reach would be enough for fourth place as Tottenham,Man City and Chelsea will all drop plenty more points.
not in doubt at all- league all the way. I hope we dont rush gerrard and carroll back for the europa league. We got a good result last night with blackpool winning. The door is ajar- we must go for it. We got spurs and man city at anfield. United too i think. They are winnable at anfield.
No doubt 72 points will be enough for fourth place,possibly third place. Back on Planet Earth is there actually anyone apart from Kenny who thinks it’s possible let alone likely? Surreal?
Europa League, without a doubt. We have no chance of 4th.
Spurs got fourth place with 73 points last season, so fourth place with 72 points this season is not impossible.
i think you scousers are in dream land,6th is the best you,ll get’no one is scared of you any more COYS
clearly 4th place and a trophy this season are both a priority
I can’t believe that anyone has put themselves in a position mentally where they believe they have to choose..
I can assure you KK will be going for both
And i hope that a lot of us will want the same too.
We’re not getting 4th this year, just give up the dream – the priority should be preparing the team for next season, and using the next couple of months as an extended pre-season to get some more experience for the younger guys, while phasing out the older guys who have no place starting for a quality team moving forwards (e.g. Kuyt, Maxi, Skrtel etc.)
I would suggest to any socalled fan who thinks 4th place is impossible to look at the remaining fixtures of Man City,Tottenham and Chelsea and they might start to realise that 4th place is definitely within reach.
Why can’t we go for both…you’re all making it sound as if we’re in a position where we have to choose between fourth place and the Europa League. We have a squad that’s good enough to go for both targets. We are more than capable of beating rubbish like Sparta Prague and Poznan/Braga. We can rest the likes of several key players and still easily beat those rubbish teams. Why do some of you think that we have to choose between the two targets when in reality Kenny is more than capable of achieving both? We have a strong enough and big enough squad to compete in both the League and Europa League. Right now we’ve two players for every position: GK Reina Gulacsi, Johnson Kelly, Carra Skrtel Soto Agger, Aurelio Wilson, Maxi Cole, Lucas Poulsen, Meireles Gerrard, Jovanovic Kuyt, Carroll Ngog, Suarez Pacheco. Of course, Suarez is cup-tied but Kenny still has a lot of options. We can change the entire starting XI and there will be no problem, especially when we’re playing rubbish teams in the Europa League.