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This ‘Mid-Table’ Mentality Needs To Be Relegated

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A 3-0 win over QPR on 30th December was very welcome indeed. As much for the first half performance as anything, but it was the 3 points that were all-important.

For me, it was the devastating showing from our main man, Luis Suarez, which put the bottom side to the sword but it was always partly inspired by the name – and legend – of our great football club.

I’ve complained for many years that far too many sides across Europe wilt and die before they’ve even walked out onto the same pitch as Manchester United, such is their reputation. But LFC’s reputation still goes before them too, and I think that that was partly to thank for the way QPR just didn’t get started on Sunday afternoon.

The ‘This Is Anfield’ sign was put there for a very specific reason: to intimidate the opposition. It was all part of the psychology of Bill Shankly’s Liverpool FC and has been there ever since.

I noticed that QPR have had a similar sign installed at Loftus Road (although, I really do hope it was a joke) but I can’t see that inspiring fear into any visiting teams any time soon.

To infuse a sign like that with any sort of meaning or warning, you need to have a history and that is exactly what our club has: over 100 years of rich history. The last 20 or so have been rough at times but the amount of press coverage and the weight our name still carries across the world shows that we still matter a great deal to millions of people.

And this is why this attitude that I’ve seen beginning to creep in from some fans that ‘we’re just a small club/mid-table side now’ is really grating. We are not and never will be a small club. We’re up in the top 5 with Barca, Real, United (though it pains me to say) and Juve. There are few bigger in the world of sport that Liverpool FC and for us to accept anything less is to do a great disservice to the great players and managers that have gone before the club over the years.

So the next time you hear somebody say this on a phone-in show, or on a mail page of F365, give them a short reply and remind them: LFC is not and never will be a small club, or a mid-table side. The next time we get a poor result against lame opposition, keep in mind that it is not an acceptable outcome and when somebody tries to downplay your expectations, remind yourself who it is that you’re supporting and why you love the club so much – this is Liverpool and we only accept the best.
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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

57 comments

  • ste says:

    We also need to stop this ‘aiming for the top 4’ crap! it’s defeatist and a loser mentality!, if you only aim for the top 4 you will never finish 1st!, aim for 1st! the rest will take care of itself!!!.

    Liverpool is a Club with more European cups than Barcelona!, a club which has won a total of EIGHT European trophies! twice as many as Man Hoof!.

    • Ozred says:

      The vast majority would have us as the 6th best squad in the pl. It’s fine to aim to win the title but at this point and with this group, it’s completely unrealistic.

      Given the group we have aiming for top four this year is a good goal. With all things in our favor we’d be setting a realistic goal if winning the premiership in a couple of years… But slot would need to go right.

      • Dave says:

        It shouldn’t be unrealistic . Rodgers inherited a excellent squad .

        IF its out of reach this season its only because Rodgers wasted all our money on useless players that haven’t improved side

        The 40+ million could have been spent on 2 really really top attackers – then we wouldn’t be in this mess

  • Mid Table Side says:

    Sry, but you are a mid table side now is no getting away from it maybe erect two tunnel signs for the time being. Will take a number of years to become top six consistently again until then mid table would be an apt description of the current Liverpool set up. Would watch out for Everton and Newcastle these are your rivals for the next number of seasons

  • Kang says:

    yes.
    this.

  • Wilson Matilda says:

    Top 6 is a realistic target for this season and I can only see things improving in the future with the job Rodgers has done so far. It would take a real good run in the league to get into the top 4 now but recent performances show that it’s possible.

    • Gary says:

      See .. top 6 ? this kind of foolish fan has the wrong attitude . happy with top 6 – nonsense !

      • Ozred says:

        He didn’t say he was happy with it. Just that it’s realistic.

        You can’t become the best team in the league overnight simply because your history, tradition and fan base is at the top of world football. The team needs to be built.
        The only thing that’s foolish is people getting hear saying we should be aiming to realistically win the title with the squad we have.

        Kenny put us backward 2 years. Now it needs to be cleaned up.

        • Huyton Dave says:

          Dalglish put us back in contention , gave us our pride back . Now Rodgers is putting us backwards . Lets hope the next manager can clean his mess up

  • Gothmog says:

    I completely agree with you !!

    The clubs with history that are able to compare to Liverpool Football Club are (imo) …

    FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Mailand, Inter Mailand, Juventus Turin, FC Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Ajax Amsterdam only.

    • Gary says:

      In terms of – fans , revenues from merchandise , tv rights , sponsorships , and global standing -We are the 4th biggest club in the whole world , behind Real ,ManU and Barca . Those are the clubs we SHOULD be alongside

      • Huyton Dave says:

        Those were the the clubs we were alongside under Rafa . 5-0 v Real Madrid on agg wasnt that long ago . 2 champions league finals and feared throughout europe

        Now i bet you even Mansfield fancy their chances

        • Ozred says:

          And loosing to barnsly in the fa cup… And finishing 7th or 8th in his final year… Get some perspective you flogger.

        • Robbo says:

          Didnt lose to Barnsley in cup . DUMB MUPPET u dont even know your facts

  • Zinco says:

    Bad investment in players is only to blame . And loyalty to average managers is to blame . Houllier springs to mind ..6 years to not progress . Rafa did great with limited budget.he knew we were close to the top we could just not get those two quality players we needed. That’s why he lost it . But millions every summer have brought in average players . We must stop now and that’s why fsg need congratulating . It’s clear to me if a player is good enough they’ll pay if not eg Dempsey they wont . Short term fixes are not good enough they don’t win titles. Shankly signed promising youngsters so did Paisley . Keegan dalglish rush souness all early twenties it’s no coincidence were trying that formula again . Let’s aim high again were so much bigger then 4th . 4 th in Europe now were talking .,

  • Gary says:

    YES totally agree with every word . Sick of hearing from idiot fans how we are mid table club . Sick of hearing from idiot fans that they are happy with Rodgers getting us to 9th or 10th

    We are Liverpool . Standards should be set very high and if those standards are not met – well …. that person should be removed and someone else given a go

    • Ozred says:

      I haven’t heard one fan say they are happy with being ninth or tenth. Your having an argument with your imagination

  • Wilson Matilda says:

    The best fans will show the patience required to get back to the top. Football is a business now not just a game. It will take the 2-3 seasons that fsg and Rodgers said it would

    • bob says:

      rubbish

      • Ozred says:

        So we should have won the title this year just because we r Liverpool. Despite the FACT that we’ve got the 6th best squad…

        You can be pie in the sky and expect water to turn into wine simply because they wear a red shirt. Or u can live in the real world and acknowledge that we need to build a team that is capable of the consistent quality to win week in week out against the good and bad teams.

        • Dave says:

          Real world – We had excellent squad – Rodgers has wasted all our money on useless players that haven’t improved side

  • simon says:

    Very true . Too many fans are settling for mediocre . Top 4 should be minimum requirement every season . Champions league is where LFC deserve to be . If the manager doesnt get us there he has failed

    • Ozred says:

      We r not settling for anything. It breaks my heart when whenever we drop three points to stoke, villa etc.

      There’s a difference between settling for being ordinary and acknowledging that it’s going to take time to get back to the top tier of English football.

      We weren’t consistently top four under rafa, houlier, hodgson or kenny. Despite our history and tradition we have a recent history of averaging out at around the 5th best team over the past 10 years.

      The culture of mediocre performance must change however to think it’ll happen over night is folly.

    • Souey's 'tache says:

      We don’t deserve to be in the Champions League if we haven’t been good enough to qualify for it. We don’t have the god-given right just ‘because we are Liverpool’. We need to EARN that right again…god, Shankly would be turning in his grave to hear some of you saying such things

  • RED 7 says:

    Kenny left great squad that underperformed 2nd half of last season . Still it had world class players . It got to 2 cup finals .
    This squad is weaker because of Rogers bad buys , but still we should expect top 4 every season : No excuses

    • Ozred says:

      This is getting funnier by the minute. Kennys with 120m had the opportunity to catapult us back to where we belong. He blew it.

      To blame Rogers for maxi Bellamy and kuyt shows stupidity. Rogers signings have given us nothing so far. But please stop this madness over dalgliesh

    • stevieG says:

      Yes – King Kenny left a very good squad , should have finished top 4 but for poor form from Carroll , Downing and Henderson .
      It faded in the league but was strong enough to get to 2 cup finals . That squad was 1 top top striker away from being excellent

      Now under Rodgers he has made squad worse , and we are many many players from being excellent

      • stevieG says:

        He could have kept Maxi,Kuyt and Bellamy if he wanted to . Maxi, and Bellamy had 1 year contract left , and Kuyt never wanted to go but Rodgers didn’t want him

      • simon says:

        Spot on stevie – it was a top squad that was going through bad patch , it just needed tinkering not overhauling .

        Before Rodgers tampered with it , it was as good a squad as Arsenal or spurs ,.

  • simon says:

    QPR should really of won the title in 75/76. Consider that if we had of pipped you it could of been us with the fabulous history. I do like Liverpool but some of their fans should show a little humility.

  • Dave says:

    We finished 8th after a period of under performing and lack of confidence in front of goal . 2 great cup runs showed our class but didnt help league form .

    We WERE NOT far away from being excellent side last season . Up to xmas we were up there fighting for 4th . Also had the amazing hit the woodwork stat . That squad was good enough for top 4 but Rodgers has weakened it massively .

    If we fail , blame Rodgers -he bought rubbish which hasnt helped and failed so far to strengthen where was needed

    • redrum says:

      Rodgers must take responsibility for his pathetic summer transfer dealings

    • simon says:

      Yes . It is a bit sad blaming luck , but how many times did we hit wordwork last season ? Whatever it was – it was a record

      Kennys team and squad were one finisher away from being real contenders .

    • Neil says:

      Kenny’s squad was waaaaaay better . rodgers has messed up , 15m for allen LOL !

      • Ozred says:

        20m for downing lol. 16m for Henderson lol. Thiiiirty fiiiive million for Andy Carroll… Lol.

        These idiots who sit here and in one breath slag Rogers signings (2 of which are long term injured) and hail Kennys squad as premiership quality do more harm for the club than they realize.

        How can out club be taken seriously when we have people advocating the job Kenny did. He is the biggest elephant in the room sport has had for many years. A favorite son who blew it on a grand scale… But blame Rogers. Imbeciles!!!

    • Freddie says:

      Rodgers has done more harm than good
      Dalglish overspent on good players
      Rodgers threw our money away on rubbish players

      Allen Borini Sahin Assaidi – id be happy if i never saw any in a pool shirt again
      Hell … even Yesil looks like a dud . 0 goals for the u21s

      We would not be in this mid table mess if KD was still boss

      • Ozred says:

        Your right. Wed be below mid table. Somewhere along the way the king lost his mind.

        • Robbo says:

          The only fool is to lose his mind is u . Go learn about football b4 giving your idiotic comments

    • Robbo says:

      spot on dave

  • Phil Sears says:

    The ‘mid table mentality ‘ comes from the fans . The fans need to stand up and say mid table is not acceptable . The fans need to stand up and say players like Allen and Sturridge are not the sort of average player this club needs . The fans need to stand up and say Brendan Rodgers is not the sort of average manager this club needs . Rather than sitting back and accepting the rubbish FSG throw our way

    • redrum says:

      Our fans seem to swallow all the bull FSG spew out .Meanwhile each year the top gets further away

  • Neil says:

    You get mid table mentality from signing average mid table players and a average mid table manager

    If you want to succeed then you must sign quality and not the rubbish rodgers has signed

  • Huyton Dave says:

    People are stupid if they think its gonna take years to get back into top 4 . We have some great class players , and probably the best player in the whole league . Dalglish over spent but still left a formidable squad .

    A good manager and one or two top quality signings and we would be right back in top 4 next season . Simply got to get a good manager first

  • Freddie says:

    Idiots here are blaming Dalglish -Yes he overspent .. but id say a lot of that was Comollis fault . But he did build an excellent squad … Carroll , Downing Henderson are all quality ,but not worth the silly prices we paid . Dalglish also bought Suarez Enrique and Coates – all excellent

    They went yhrough a period of low confidence and bad form at end of last season ….. but yhere can be no denying – Rodgers inherited a EXCELLENT SQUAD .

    And whats he done with it ? Filled it up with average or in Allens case rubbish players . Rodgers has brought in NOT ONE quality player .

    It is Rodgers fault , he wasted 42 m ,he is to blame for the mid table mediocre squad

  • Robbo says:

    Comparing last years and this years squad – only a fool who doesn’t know much about footie could say this years squad is stronger

    Player for player – King Kennys squad was much better

  • Danny says:

    KD team 4 BR team 0 every time

  • steveO says:

    I Know Kenny overspent , but wasn’t that Comolli who was doing the deals . Apart from the over inflated prices Kenny DID sign quality . Whereas Rodgers has tossed our money away and is dumping Kennys signings he has cost us more , because their value drops

    Im just glad Rodgers isnt my bank manager , he has turned a good squad into average squad

  • Matt says:

    Wow some biased fans on here. I’m not here to defend Rodgers his signings have been poor so far and 15m on Allen was bad spending. To say Kenny left us with a good squad that finished 8th after spending 120m is being nothing but a biased idiot. Also to say he restored our pride and put us back in contention is on drugs, I’ve never heard so many opposing fans laughing at us last season after what happened. I’m not saying we are any better with Rodgers or our squad but if that was Rodgers managing last season you would not be saying this crap.

    • doug says:

      Dont know why u are always anti-Dalglish and pro-Rodgers . Dalglish did better last season than Rodgers is doing this . Dalglish won a cup , its v unlikely Rodgers will match that

      Dalglish has a history of being excellent successful manager – Rodgers doesnt and doesnt look likely to . Dalglish is a legend and hero on and off the pitch , Rodgers is nothing to LFC

      Dalglish would do anything for our cause . Many fans are slagging Dalglish this season ,but i havent met more than 1 or 2 actually from Liverpool -its all foreigners . Dalglish means everything to this club and city . Rodgers doesnt deserve to be mentioned in same breath as the man

      Its not just bias towards Dalglish . Many feel Comolli was to blame for over spending , and big players like Carroll didnt perform , he missed Lucas all season and team hit post 739 times . of course he made mistakes but we Liverpool fans dont like to see him put down unfairly especially at the expense of a no mark like Rodgers

    • doug says:

      plus , A lot more fans are laughing at us this season than they were last . My manc work mates havnt stopped telling me , that every time they look at the league table they break out laughing

    • doug says:

      Lastly Dalglish squad is better than Rodgers squad . Forget the money , man for man last season squad was stronger

      Carroll or Borini – easily Carroll
      Bellamy or Assaidi – No competition Bellamy easily
      Adam or Allen – Neither good but Adam easily wins again
      Maxi or Sahin – Maxi offered a lot more

      added to that we have lost – Spearing , Aurelio ,Aquilani and Kuyt

      Im not incl youth ,or Sturridge because he has just arrived . But how can anyone say Dalglish squad isnt way way way better than this seasons

      • Matt says:

        I never said the current squad is better than last season, I’m simply trying point out that the squad KD left was not excellent or top 4 material. I would never slag off KD, he’s a true Red and he only tried his best to help our cause and even now still does his best to help out the club. I will always remember what he contributed to the club by far the best player we’ve ever had.
        With what BR inherited it was always going to be hard to get back up there and especially with Maxi, Bellamy wanting to finish their careers at their respective clubs and Kyut wanting first team (which I would’ve given him).
        While u use hitting the post as an excuse and not taking chances for part of last season, then the same could be said this season with not taking chances again and not getting the rub of the green with officials.
        I can see what BR is trying to install and I think he needs more time to make it happen.

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