WITH England now out of the Euro’s, it looks like the only representative Liverpool have left in the tournament is Pepe Reina.
What a horrible indictment of the lack of quality players in Liverpool Football Club, I hear some of you say.
Not me, though. I’m thrilled that most of our players are now out of the tournament and without injury too! Liverpool can ill afford any more injuries to its squad, and the more rest its players get pre-season, the better.
That being said, I’m not of the mind that the exertions of our players in this prestigious tournament has been a complete waste of time. Far from it. I believe that Euro 2012 has done many of our players a world of good, and here’s why…
Liverpool’s dismal performance last season has probably left many of our players wondering if they were good enough to cut it at the highest level. Before the Euro’s, people weren’t even sure if Steven Gerrard, for instance, was past it.
The Euro’s must have been cathartic for our players who made the trip, and judging retrospectively by the level of their performances, it looks as if they were playing to prove a point to themselves and to the world at large.
Daniel Agger was majestic at the heart of Denmark’s defence during their somewhat short run in the competition, and Glenn Johnson was consistently impressive as England’s right back.
Andy Carroll continued to build on the momentum he picked up near the end of our Premier League season, and must surely have gone quite some way towards silencing his critics.
Steven Gerrard impressed more than any other Liverpool player after captaining England magnanimously and earning the universal praise of players, managers, supporters, and pundits.
As a Liverpool fan though, as selfish as this may seem, I’m really glad that for most of our players, the tournament ended as quickly as it did. There was enough football played to ensure damaged egos were repaired, but there wasn’t too much that repaired limbs got damaged. Liverpool’s Euro 2012 representatives can now head home with their heads held high and their bodies intact, and get some well deserved rest.
All in all, Euro 2012 has been like a much needed pre-season warm-up / confidence booster for some of Liverpool’s best players, who I’m sure were reeling from the disappointment of a horrid season gone by. The fact that it ended prematurely for all of our outfield players is icing on the cake.
That being said, I still wish Pepe Reina all the best as his Spain reach the final of yet another tournament. Let’s hope also that the good form our players have shown internationally carries on at club level when pre-season training under our new manager begins.
YNWA.
[ad_pod id=’DFP-MPU’ align=’right’]
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com
Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook
Nicely said. Phew!! What a relief They have all come back with no concern of injuries. Rest well lads and come back fresh and invigorated. A big battle lies ahead.
Agree and rest up but in the meantime can someone at LFC get your arse in gear and get to grips with the quality signings we need ASAP? Other clubs are now circling and looking to close deals on players we where interested in and now we have been linked with lower division players. LFC deserve better than what’s going on at the moment – instead of looking for possible future gems why not sign a few now and then look for the rough diamonds? It’s kind of infuriating – another rumour filled close season. When Rafa was in charge he brought in a good mix but since then it’s been nothing of the sort, hence why we have been mid table sh***!
End of rant!
Ynwa