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Time To Wake Up & Smell The Coffee Before It’s Too Late

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LET’S face it; the current Liverpool side is not good enough. Never mind top 4, Europa League qualification for next season seems distant at best. And the main problem isn’t lack of quality or investment. The problem is that Liverpool seem to have forgotten that they are a big club.

Big clubs have big ambitions by default. Look at Real Madrid; they used to sack managers for not winning the Champions League, despite winning La Liga! Now that’s a big club for you.

There were two big clubs in England. Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City, Spurs are good clubs with their own unique history and traditions, but not great ones. But even Nottingham Forest have won more European Cups than all these clubs combined! But Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, who won European Cup three times between them, have failed to keep up to the pace and fell behind hopelessly.

That means that the two left are Liverpool FC and Manchester United. I hate to admit that, but Man Utd are so far ahead of LFC that there isn’t a slight hope of catching them at the moment because they remember what it means to be a part of a truly great club. It’s an ability to behave and perform.

I mean, look at their squad! Take Rooney and RVP out of it and they are so much worse than the Reds. But they finished in the top two, nine times in the last ten seasons – never mind winning Championships year in year out.

Look at the present situation at Liverpool. Four managers in three years, one League Cup in seven, and constant moaning about referees. In every interview Brendan Rodgers keeps complaining about the decisions that “cost us the game”.

He may be right on many occasions, but Liverpool used to be bigger than moaners. Remember what was said about them in the past? “The championship winning machine”, “best team in the world”, “best players in the world”. What are they saying now? “Moaners”, “Unlucky”, “Best player is a racist and a diver”, and the worst of it: “Twelfth in the league”. A win used to be a default, winning with style was normal. Now we seem to accept losing with style and cursing bad luck. Something’s got to be wrong.

So maybe the manager and players should be bigger? Should remember what a great club they are part of? And be unhappy and disgusted with the results and not referees? Because otherwise LFC may end up where Villa and Forest are. Somewhere, not on top.

“If you are first, you are first. If you are second, you are nothing” – Bill Shankly.
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38 comments

  • ken says:

    look at every game we have played and refs and linos have made mistakes that could of changed the outcome of the match every one against us.six of man u games they have made mistakes that have gone for man u so untill the refs stop getting behind man u every team will struggle to win the league look at there chelsea and liverpool games theres six points refs have give them

    • clive halsall says:

      can everyone , from the fans to the management please stop making excuses
      ?

      its all we ever hear these days . lets concentrate on being better , rather than blaming everyone except ourselves

  • Martin Badger says:

    The article is quite right except for one thing – the comment about the United squad. Sure Van Persie and Rooney are better than LFC have but the fact is so are virtually all of their other players. The LFC squad is absolutely threadbare. Take out Suarez and there is nobody I would want to keep. I go back to November ’66 and this is the worst squad I can ever recall- it’s just totally mediocre. It’s not just a question of remembering you are a big club ( in my opinion Liverpool ceased to be an important club years ago ) but you ahve to have some players too. Liverpool haven’t.

    • Scottypool says:

      I agree that we have a very thin squad, but I wouldn’t scrap the whole squad. I really rate Shelvey to be the next Gerrard. And Suso and Sterling can be stars. Problem is, we’re just too young and patience is not in the clubs vocabulary at the present. Remember, Lucas is out and Reina has been playing horribly. Whenever a player shoots at Reina’s goal I get nervous.

    • horrid henry says:

      correct ,totally correct

  • Elias says:

    Missing out on quality players cost us the past 2 seasons .i only see suarez ..but with that load on him is killing a striker.we have benat ,huntlaar,errickssen and dries mertens all these guys could cost alittle but we opt for walcotts and sturridge with high wage demands and expensive.

  • Gavin says:

    Unfortunately there will be more set-backs in the near future.The job is too big for Rodgers at present. We only have a very thin squad because of our transfer dealings in the summer. We can’t afford to make any more mistakes. He has made it clear he doesnt want Downing,Enrique,Henderson and will have to sell at a loss. Carroll and Spearing will go too. Rodgers will sink or swim in January with his chosen replacements. I fear the worse.

  • Jack The Lad says:

    Jesus! I would always have been an advocate of patience, but when you said it like that it gave me a wake up call. Having said your piece though, you have appeared to chicken out of making a call on what should be done???

    • clive halsall says:

      cant do anything without money . so we must try to get FSG out

      • sleeps with angels says:

        I stated at the very start of this lot buying our club that they are no different from itchy n scratchy the other american clowns,and i think their record in the transfer market shows this to be the case,so well said clive you are spot on mate!…it does worry me though that the liverpool
        fans seem to be in a trance while our great club just seems to be withering away the silence is almost deafening.wake up sheeple time to fight
        for the future of our club!ynwa

        • dan ward says:

          well said . the apathy + idiotic willingness to follow blindly from a lot of fans is sickening

          wake up people . together we can get the cowboys mark 2 out

  • Dale Marlow says:

    You very nearly make a very good point.

    We are going to be mid table for at least the next 18 months. For two reasons, firstly getting the whole of the playing staff, including the reserve and youth set ups playing the way BR wants to play, but also the next two or three transfer windows should see players more suited to this approach.

    The point you very nearly make is that we also during this period have an opportunity to change the culture in the club to one that existed when we steamrollered everything in our way. We used to win with humility, we would praise up the opposition and then proceed to dismatle them, we would be tremendous hosts and if we failed to win we would accept it, learn from it and move on.

    A return to the days when the players were hungry, played for each other, hunted the ball down relentlessly and simply overwhelmed teams can be achieved but it has to be done the right way, I believe BR is taking the right approach, FSG need to commit to BR 100% come hell or high water for the next three years. The club has a fantastic amount going for it, the stadium, the fans, the history, the passion.

    YNWA

  • bob says:

    excellent excellent article. unfortunately every word is truth . its about time one of the writers on this site had the honesty and intelligence to tell it like it really is .

    there is no doubt that the situation is dire , what we need is fans to face up to reality ,not wallow in the delusion that everything is going to be ok . only then can we as fans actually get something done about it .

    all the other writers seem to be living in cloud cuckoo land , believing everything their told by the club , and trying to spread their positive thinking claptrap onto everyone else.

    • Dale Marlow says:

      So what’s your answer? What’s the solution? You say only when we wake up can we as fans actually get something done about it? What would that be? Ask FSG to leave, get rid of BR? Sign Messi? What are you getting at?

      • bob says:

        yes ask FSG to leave . its the only way forward . its not like the old days where a team with no money can compete at the top , with a shrewd manager and some local talent ( ie derby ,watford , forest ) . its impossible now . even arsenal with a great manager and fantastic kids cannot find success .

        money talks . FSG are in it for the money . they have already outlined their policy of cutting wages , prudent transfer fees etc etc . meanwhile chelsea , city grow + grow . spurs + utd continue to spend big to keep up . and many others spend more than us too. we are getting left behind

        we must , for the future of our club ,stand together , and get FSG out . there will be many many rich billionaires / investors that would love to own a worldwide brand with a fantastic fanbase as liverpool .

        and we need to move today , not in a few years from now . we are already light years behind the others

      • bob says:

        as for rodgers , he doesnt have a chance with that squad . and after another year or two with a tight budget – they will probably blame him and sack him .

    • Martin Badger says:

      You are 100% right Bob.

      • pepe says:

        Right you are!

        Unless some rich Arab comes along, a-la-City expect average transfers and average results.
        A big spending spree to attract a topclass striker and keep the kids in line and the results would come.
        Liverpool is still a name but it needs a GREAT player to put them away. Suarez can’t do it all.

  • clive halsall says:

    I totally sgree with every word . judging by the other articles and comments – most fans are very naive and quite detached from reality .

    things need to change on and off the pitch , or we may never get back to the top

  • simon says:

    Finally ! An article on this site that i agree with . Things have gone from bad to worse over the last few years , and all the fans do is say

    ‘patience ‘
    ‘we are building ‘
    ‘trust roy hodgson ‘
    ‘trust FSG’
    ‘trust kenny’
    ‘trust rodgers ‘
    and the most ridiculous ‘we are improving ‘

    fans blindly follow ,and the team gets worse . and the sad thing is – as we sit here in november , 12th in the league with a thin squad , a lot of the fans STILL haven’t woken up yet

    • horrid henry says:

      patience my friend , trust FSG , they are going to build slowly , have a genius manager in place that is improving the team . they wont spend much money but will still take us back to the top !

      ….

      and if you believe that , your a bigger toaster than the man who takes our money , feeds us horsesh*t , but does it all behind a smile and pleasant demeanour .

      yes its mr john w henry

  • jessica says:

    i agree 100% with this article , we are going backwards and getting further away from where we want to be . we must stop trusting our owners and manager

  • Marvel says:

    This article barely puts into writing the state of mind of most Liverpool fans, but like ‘Jack the Lad’ has said, Nothing has bn said about the way forward.
    We have got it wrong so badly over the two decades that we have to be really careful now. FSG has outlined a very sensible plan which theoretically makes sense. It does not exclude spending money, but preaches spending wisely. I agree that actions rather than words is what we need but I would not judge FSG’s sincerity until the end of next summer transfer window. We all want to see great players coming in but the sad truth is that for more transfer windows than I care to rmbr, we’ve bn under more pressure to sell than to buy. We’ve had an average squad for years and only our ego n pride have bn pushing us on. Now the show is over. teams no longer fear us (and rightly so). We need to buy beta quality players but b4 then, we MUST throw out poor/average players who dont deserve their wages and dont plug any gap in the squad. Carroll, Joe Cole, Doni, n Downing come to mind.
    The bitter truth is we can’t compete financially toe for toe with the ManUs n Chelseas of this world. At least not right nw; but we can compete on the pitch by :
    1) spending wisely in transfer window.
    2) Be very prudent in managing wage bill. (Enough of good wages to average players) .
    3)steadily higher standards in quality of acquisitions. Its the only way we can improve on the pitch.
    4) Blood players from academy.
    5) Better PR. I thought bringing in Jen Chang will change our media perception but it obviously hasn’t.
    6) More discipline within club. We need to toughen up and stop being too damn romantic n defensive about everything. We know there’s a media witchhunt against us, BUT we need to start being the bigger man and do things better for the world to see especially nw that all our actions are under severe scrutiny from the media.
    Whether or not FSG are the real deal will be clear for all to see over the next year (as per transfer funds and stadium).
    Until then, we should support, criticize n DEMAND for higher standards and actions from Owners, manager n players collectively.
    Lest I forget, stop blaming everything on luck n poor officiation. I know the latter is painful but constantly complaining does more harm than good on the long run.

    • LFCkeano says:

      well i agree with you on two things
      – demanding higher standards
      – stop making excuses

      however ,i already know though that FSG are in it for the cash , and we cant compete until they go . your first 4 points are absolutely fine for any other team in mid table or lower , but not for us . we are one of the biggest clubs in world football .

      what your advocating is just wasting years , while the top teams get further ahead . why wait and see 2 or 3 years , when the answer will be what i already know now – that FSG must go for us to compete

  • Martin Badger says:

    I despaired of hearing any common sense from LFC fans so this article and the comments are a real breath of fresh air. Thank God there are still some fans who have a brain and don’t just repeat the nonsense spouted by the ‘everything is going smoothly’ brigade.

    • LFCkeano says:

      i too am heartened by this article and some of the comments . i was beginning to think most liverpool fans were naive , blind , unknowledgeable sheep

  • Hopper says:

    i used to be proud of liverpool fans – more knowing than most fans , quick witted , loyal .

    but recently on this site and others , all i have heard is a dumb unintelligent belief , that everything will be fine ( because they want it to be ) , and a real talent for making excuses , which liverpool fans never used to

    when i see the excuses churned out on tv by managers or staff , or by fans on sites like this – i cringe and im embarrassed

    liverpool fans used to be better , stand up – demand better standards +stop making excuses

    ps > i agree very much with this article , he must be the only writer on the site not being paid by FSG to write rubbish

  • sleeps with angels says:

    We must together get fsg out of our club,i believe
    this with my heart and soul,these are people who love only money,do you really believe they love our club?i bet half of that syndicate dont even know where liverpool is on the world map.

  • stevieG says:

    wow ! am i seeing things ? a writer that actually tells the truth on this site ? and whats even better – there are fans here who know something about football . amazing !

    i was beginning to think most liverpool fans were gibbering idiots , judging by other articles and the comments

  • kirbyking says:

    all true im afraid . FSG must be got rid

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