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Comparing seasons: 2012-13 – How did we do?

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Carra Liverpool anfieldANOTHER season draws to a close and this is perhaps one of the hardest ones to judge in recent times.

Frustrating would be too simplistic a summary of the season and mundane mediocrity is too harsh on a team that pulverised opponents on so many occasions.

Equally, we all know that it wasn’t a great season to be an LFC fan. So, how do we compare?

Well, if we have a look at the last 4 seasons we can compare our league form directly.

Season

Position

Pts

Goals Scored

Goals Conceded

Pts From 4th

Pts From Top

2010

7th

63

61

35

7

23

2011

6th

58

59

44

10

22

2012

8th

52

47

40

17

37

2013

7th

61

71

43

12

28

Season

Points from relegation

League Cup

FA Cup

Europe

2010

33

4th round

3rd round

semi

2011

19

3rd round

3rd round

last 16

2012

16

winner

Final

N/a

2013

25

4th round

4th round

last 32

The first obvious improvement when we look at our performance is the goals scored column. The number of 3-goal plus demolitions has been at a high this season so it is no surprise to see that Rodgers’ boys have netted more times than any of the previous 3 seasons.

An increase by 24 goals on last season though is perhaps something that no-one would have predicted at the start of the season.

Interestingly, our goals conceded column has stayed largely the same in the post-Benitez area. Perhaps that is because it is the one area of the team that has been largely unchanged in that time but, given that it has been identified as a problem area this season, one may have expected us to have shipped more goals than in previous years. This perhaps means we should alter our perception.

The perceived wisdom was that our defence was very good last season but considering that it only conceded 3 fewer goals than this season’s defence, that quality may well have been overstated.
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The most important thing for any review of the season is to ideally see improvement from the last campaign and in this respect this year’s showing has been much improved. We have finished one place higher in the league, picked up 9 more points but most importantly we have closed the gap on 4th place by 5 points and closed the gap to the top of the table by 9 points. On top of that we were further away from the relegation zone than we have been since Rafa’s last season at the helm. .

But football is not just about the statistics, last season’s dismal performance in the league was rescued by two finals, one of which saw the Reds snare another League Cup. This season, the cup performances haven’t been anything to write home about but with a punishing schedule of games in the Europa League and a thin squad it’s no surprise that LFC didn’t go deep into any of those tournaments.

In fact, if we look how we performed in the domestic cups when we have had European football to occupy our time, we’ve not got past the 4th round. It is worth noting that the only team to play more football matches than Liverpool this season was Chelsea, who have had a particularly exhausting campaign.

But looking at more qualitative points, this season has been one from which recovery can be seen. Rather than falling away further, as we have done since we mounted that incredible title challenge, we have turned the corner. The season has been punctuated with a number of positives.

Primarily, we are seeing players from the academy and youth set up actually break into the Liverpool team. Chances for football saplings have been all too rare for Liverpool in the last decade, yet this season young players have started a number of games and impressed.

Sterling, Wisdom, Suso and Shelvey have all had moments of quality and with Kelly to come back into the reckoning next year and Ibe performing ably on his debut there will be an extra level of depth next season as a result of their experience.

A further positive has been the rejuvenation of Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson, two players who struggled in their debut seasons but now look like valuable members of the squad. They are not the lamentable buys they seemed last year. Henderson has flourished having been moved into his natural central position and Downing has performed admirably albeit not spectacularly.

The signings that have been made this season have been a mix but certainly it is an improvement on last year’s record when Adam, Henderson and Downing proved unsuccessful with only Enrique and Bellamy looking like good business at the end of the 2012 season.

This year, Allen has been questionable after a decent start and with the jury still out on Borini after his injury plagued season the summer deals have been underwhelming. As for Sahin, it didn’t work out but on occasions he showed glimpses of living up to his reputation.

On the other hand, Coutinho and Sturridge have shown genuine quality and although it is still early days in their Anfield careers they look capable of carving out long stays in the first team and they are the first players in a long time who have looked easily worth their price tags.

So while the season has not been a great success, especially with Liverpool imploding whenever they were within a whiff of daring to dream of the top four, progress has definitely been made.

A debilitating start to the season has been tempered by a much improved second half of the season and that should have been expected. The reality is that this was always going to be a transitional season and there have been some surprising plusses in a season where people have been all too quick to pick up on the negatives.

The team that began the season was not a top four team as it wasn’t in 2012, 2011 and 2010 before it but now it looks a team that may progress and with some good business and some good luck in the transfer market, we could be much closer to our ambitions when we carry out our review for 2014.
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25 comments

  • Michael says:

    A few points better off , but no trophies , no cup finals , no cup runs , no wins against the top 4 all season . This season has been a step backwards. Very disappointing

  • Sir Bob says:

    Very poor season with no progress made.

    progress is gaining qualification into the Champions league and letting us supporters have a trip down to Wembly at least once ! We wont do that by Rodgers buying rubbish players like Borini, Allen,Assadi,Yetsil. As for his tactics/strategy at our Home games,it has been abysmal this season ! Ok he bought two good players in January,he now has to move several players that Kenny signed out of the club as well as some others that are deadwood. Who he brings in will determine if we make progress next season. So next season is going to be massive for the Premiership title,Man City will buy big,Chelsea will buy big,Spurs and Arsenal will buy and of course Utd will. So we have to make sure we buy QUALITY! With the Blues pumped up as well and several other clubs hanging around,for us to get in that top 3-4 will take some doing. He has till Xmas in my eyes and if we are faltering before then ,you and John Henry will have to act swiftly.

    I personally don’t call progress jumping up one place in the Premiership and going out to Oldham in the FA Cup like we did!

  • Patrick says:

    Great progress made. Last season Liverpool couldn’t even score goals properly and now they were banging them in. The key point is in Rodgers first matches and changing the style Liverpool were always going to drop points while they get used to it. I’m confident next season Liverpool will push on and be in the mix for a champions league spot. Just look at Liverpool since the turn of the year. Coutinho, Sturridge, Suarez, that’s as good as there is in the league and Rodgers built it. Hopefully more of the same in the summer transfer market and Liverpool will have a team we’re proud of again. Also watching Liverpool play now is more enjoyable since the 90’s for me. I’m more positive about Liverpool than I have been in a long time.

  • David Tobin says:

    Dress it up however you like but it’s been an awful awful season. Don’t let goals scored or any other stat cloud the fact that this season has been a tale of mediocrity from start to finish

    All the sides we hammered were bottom of the table poor sides , and the fact that we only beat 1 decent side all season is a truer reflection of our season

    Yes coutinho gives us cause for some optimism , but Rodgers needs to sign 3 or 4 more of coutinhos quality and none of Allen / Borini if we hope to improve next season

    Personally I think we would be much better off with a different manager

  • chri5jo says:

    I don’t know what planet our fans are from. Their expectations are way too high. We haven,t been in the top 4 for 4 years and lost key players and they expect to be in top 4 just like that. It does take time, just lucky that the internet and these fans weren’t around when shankly was around and first took over.

    • Red Scouser says:

      Aaaah . The old shankly nonsense you repeat every time which is pure rubbish because shanks took over a rubbish 2nd div team not a team full of internationals and shanks didn’t have 55m to spend.

      Liverpool fans DONT expect success immediately at all . We know we are a long way from the top . But we also know that without a top manager we have no chance of ever getting there

  • Red Scouser says:

    Brendan hasn’t improved the squad. Last season it won a trophy, got to another final and beat all of the best teams in the land. This season, like any season yonu measure success across all competitions. Failure to get into the Quarter finals of the League cup, failure to reach even the last 16 of Europa League and embarrassing defeat in the FA cup to a team in a lower division. One place higher in the league with a £50 million spend is not enough progress, especially when the other 3 competitons have failed miserably.

    Until FSG sell LFC to intelligent owners who appoint a proven trophy winner, the club will forever be a mediocre team competing for nothing.

  • red says:

    BR failed at LFC. The only good news was Fergie retired.

  • Emile says:

    I agree that this season has been somewhat of a success. Rodgers seems to have gotten his point across to what he wants from the players.
    We can only hope that the new players blend in with the team like Coutinho and Sturridge did.
    I’m really hopeful for the 2013-14 season.

  • Brian says:

    Sensible comments. Unfortunately though we are stuck with Rodgers until Christmas.

  • fit says:

    why?we fishe at 7 anf they say a good progres what a joke.why did they live as this american owners they all came with truble.i miss a old liverpool

  • Dennis says:

    Last season we won a trophy , got to 2 cup finals and beat all the top sides – this season … NOTHING . epic fail

  • Pnderito says:

    Early cup exits, not beaten any top 6 side, 7th league position. IS THIS WHAT YU CALL PROGRESS?? Just bcos we got 62 points asides 52 of last season? Deluded mops! Brendan has till xmas!

    • TaintlessRed says:

      If we aren’t challenging for top 4 by XMas I agree he’ll go. We’ve scored plenty of goals this season and I think that’s what’s saved his job. For me, 6th place and European qualification should have been the minimum with the squad we’ve had and barely any injuries. Kenny missed Suarez, Gerrard, Lucas and Agger for much of his last season and still won a cup.

      • Sam says:

        It doesnt make sense taintless how he is not sacked. Any other big club would have justifiably sacked him last xmas .

        Could it be …that like some fans FSG have been duped by Brendams b*llsh*t ???

  • Brigadier says:

    Beating your rivals and winning trophies is what football is all about so i’m afraid it has been a failure for BR. A few extra wins is hardly worth boasting about. Last season Reina let us down badly by letting soft goals in, this season he’s improved, that has been the notable difference.

  • Ibrahim says:

    I think we have progressed this season but not by the great leaps as being reported by some of the clubs people in power. In comparison to last season considering we have scored fare more goals, conceded 3 less, gained more points is negated by not winning any of the smaller cups that we did last season and not beating a top 4 team. To this that still think we did not beat a top 6 team Tottenham!!!. I know it was the FA cup and the dream of it and all, but lets be honest we want to be in the CL, compete for the title and in a season of transition cup exits can happen when the manager is having to rely on untested younger players.

    We need to get out of clouds and the deluded ideas that Brenda was meant to get us into CL in his first season, if he did that would have been some achievement. The fact is he had to reduce the wage bill and sell players and yes he has spent about 54mil, counter that with how much he has bought in and on top of that has reportedly reduced the wage bill by about 20mil a year.

    Unless something catastrophic happens Brenda needs to be given couple of seasons. This * about no experience and no trophies, he is an experiences manager, a young manager that has won trophies and competitions would not come to Liverpool in our current position, but the likes of Chelski, Manc *, Barca, Real, PSG, Bayern, etc are all ahead of us. FSG see potential in Brenda that she can grow as a manager and take Liverpool forward which they think is a recipe for stability and slow but sure success in the long term; therefore they are not going for a short term fix, as they attempted with Commoli and KK, when they tried that they got gang *by villa, newcastle, and sunderlund.

  • Me says:

    there’s more points to be earned beating the smaller teams than the bigger teams…id rather we beat the smaller teams consistently than do well against the big boys and fizzle out afterwards against the underdogs like we’ve been doing regularly over the past few seasons…we’ve suffered from post-big-team-burnout all too often previously

    as for the cups, i’d rather we strive for respectability in the league and the TV money that comes with a better league position than a trophy..not that 7th is respectable, mind you..it is a definite improvement over last season though, and the points earned / goals scored stats are moving in the right direction

    overall, the biggest improvement has been in terms of stability..our ship has a rudder and we’re steering in a fixed direction..you no longer get the impression that things are falling apart at our club

    unlike previous pre-seasons where major overhauls were the order for the day, this time, we’re only looking at incremental improvements…with the board behind the manager and with so much youth in our side, we’re definitely in a position to build on 2012-2013

    YNWA!!

  • Sam says:

    Absolutely NO IMPROVEMENT whatsoever !!!!

    The worst season in my 35 years of supporting.

    Last season we won a trophy , yes A TROPHY !!!! That’s what it’s all.about : trophies

    3 Wembley trips 2 finals. What does that give your club ?PRESTIGE – RESPECT – ATTENTION

    What has this season under Rodgers brought us ????
    EMBARASSMENT
    NO PRESTIGE
    NO GLORY
    NO EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION
    ….NOTHING

    So what we beat the rubbish teams and gained a few points ? So what ?
    Where did that get us ???????
    = NOWHERE . 7 th. Wow

    Being able to beat the top clubs gives us s chance of winning cups

    We have a MEDIOCRE manager. Under Rodgers we are a MEDIOCRE team . He has no tactical ability , and we will always be MEDIOCRE UNDER RODGETS. ALWAYS

    Last year we had hopes , something to aim for. Prospects of glory , possibilities of attracting big players
    …under Rodgers we have MEDIOCRITY AND NO HOPE

    Brendan Rodgers is a disaster for Liverpool football club. We should never be MEDIOCRE …but thats what Rodgers has made us

  • Ibrahim says:

    It seems like many fans want a manager who has experience, has won things, and has some clout i.e. a name that can possibly attract better players. That is all good, but what exactly is Liverpool offering that manager here and now, other than history and yesteryear glory.

    We have to be realistic better managers would rather manage teams like PSG, Man City, even Monaco, as those teams already have a very good squad or have huge transfer funds to build that team for relatively instant success.

    Yesterday Jurgen Klopp was in the CL final and I am sure these fans would absolutely love to see him manage Liverpool because he has shown he can build a successful team. What these short sighted and narrow minded people don’t know is Klopp resigned from Mainz after not gaining promotion after having had some success prior to this. Dortmund signed Klopp because they saw potential, they saw someone that could provide stability, in the hope that he would develop himself and take Dortmund forward. Brenda is signed for similar reasons, he is unproven, learning just as Klopp was at Mainz, a manager that can provide stability and hopefully will develop himself and take the team forward.

    We to need to give Brenda time or spend big with a big name/popular manager that is something the owners are not willing to do, as they have attempted that and got their fingers burnt with KK and they are still healing from the nailing they got from Sunderland, Villa & Newcastle.

    Brenda has spent about 50mil on 6-8 players, but we also have to admit and acknowledge we gained about 10mil from transfers, and in total let go about 12-15 players reducing the wage bill by about 20mil. Yes we had a shock in the cups but that can happen when we are playing young untested players in the first team.

    • asif says:

      We are not Mainz. Rodgers is not Klopp . Kop on . One thing has nothin to do with the other.

      Brainless !

      • Ibrahim says:

        We all know we are not Mainz and Rodgers is not Klopp. If you actually read and understood what I stated, you would have noticed, Klopp was unproven, relatively inexperienced and had little success and no success at all at the top level when he was at Mainz. Dortmund signed Klopp because they saw potential in him, gave him the chance to manage a under performing club that wants to challenge and compete in the best competitions. That gamble in signing Klopp and giving him time at the club, for them has worked out well. But the fact is they gave him the chance, in faith, hope, took a gamble, to manage a club that is aspiring to be a top club in the world. Brenda was hired for similar reasons, that does not mean they are the same, Liverpool are Dortmund or Brenda is Klopp, it means Liverpool have taken a gamble as did Dortmund with Klopp in the hope the Brenda will improve himself and take Liverpool forward.

        In order the gain experience the manager needs to be given time and the chance to gain that experience and we have to be honest which experienced manager with a good reputation for winning or being relatively successful at the high level would really want to manage us today. When that manager can go to other teams that could offer them a far better squad and huge transfer funds to build a team instantly. Thinking as such is not brainless it is the true reality of where Liverpool is today. We can’t keep watching ESPN Classic and think that is Liverpool of today.

        • kav says:

          Klopp earned his spurs at mainz . He did his learning there.
          And also proved himself a extremely capable manager and tactician

          Rodgers shows NO signs of being a top manager , quite the contrary really. And we don’t need a manager on a learning curve

          Also , with only really one giant rich club to beat in Germany , it’s a lot easier to achieve success over there. The premier league is a totally different situation.

          All Liverpool fans understand the intention by hiring the young potentially good manager , but the fact is that unfortunately Rodgers is all bull and not a capable manager

  • asif says:

    Terrible season , terrible manager , improvements? No

    BR deserves the sack , simple as

  • bhupendra says:

    There is no improvement from last season , this is the worst season in many years . I’m sorry to say we are going backwards under Rogers

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