Cup Success or Champions League Football?

International breaks serve as useful periods of reflection, looking back on how the season has progressed so far. In the case of Liverpool, recently it hasn’t been great, to put it mildly.

However, there are quality players at the club and a few of the summer signings are surely destined to come good as some stage this season. Hopefully, something can be salvaged from this campaign given the dire start made, although it is extremely unlikely to be as exhilarating and as incredible as a potential Premier League title that Liverpool came so close to winning last time out.

Despite a poor first third of the season, the Reds are still in the hunt on all four fronts. The FA Cup has yet to begin for Premier League clubs; Liverpool are, albeit fortuitously, into the last eight in the League Cup against Bournemouth; only three points separates Liverpool from Basel in the Champions League and only four points behind West Ham in the chase for a top four spot in the Premier League (sadly the title is out of reach).

Yet if Liverpool were to achieve success this season, where should it be?

Winning the Champions League, short of Istanbul, is seemingly a pipe dream so the two realistic options left for the Reds this season are a top four finish and a domestic trophy.

Winning the League Cup or FA Cup would bring manager Brendan Rodgers his first trophy since arriving at Liverpool and it would be welcomed gratefully given the current situation he finds himself in.

Whilst playing Champions League football is second nature to Liverpool, if they cannot compete against the best teams in the world then they are not yet the team their history deserves and what demands Champions League to be second nature to the club.

As Liverpool build under Rodgers, winning trophies inspires confidence and is ultimately the biggest association with Liverpool Football Club. The trip to Wembley, or ‘Anfield South’ back in the heydays of the 1970s and 80s, is always a special one while the Reds, despite their struggles, have a legitimate shot at the League Cup this season. Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City have all fallen by the wayside and there are three teams outside the top flight in the quarter-finals.

Liverpool have not tasted success enough in recent years – a League Cup triumph on penalties over Cardiff City in 2012 is their only major trophy in eight years. That’s not good enough for a club of Liverpool’s standards – even if they are not what they once were in the Champions League, the level in the domestic cup competitions is lower and Liverpool have suffered too many early exits to lower-ranked teams in the last few seasons.

Nevertheless, the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Southampton still lurk dangerously in the competiton this year, so perhaps an FA Cup run could materialise instead. Obviously a favourable draw will be needed, as the Reds are unlikely to pass consecutive tests if drawn at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and the Etihad.

A kind route and Wembley may yet be in sight for Liverpool fans this season, but is that better than hearing the Champions League music blast out at Anfield next season?

Certainly from a financial perspective, playing consecutive seasons in the world’s biggest club competition is a monumental, some might say necessary, boost towards Liverpool’s annual budget.

They lack the bottomless pit of a Chelsea or Manchester City and so need to bring in a large and constant supply of funds from other sources. Commercial deals are always good and the Reds have been piling those up lately but playing in the Champions League is money-spinning, particularly in the era of Financial Fair Play where those clouts are being examined a little bit more, making participation at Europe’s top table even more vital.

Furthermore, it is well-known in the world of football that the best players generally want to play for the best clubs, who are in the Champions League. If you are an outsider looking in, chances are you will be missing out on your first choice targets.

What’s more, one season doesn’t cut it – you would need to be a regular in the European Cup, which is one of the factors detailing Liverpool’s transfer activity this summer and why the signings were not of the highest calibre. Liverpool missed out on the likes of Alexis Sanchez this year and Diego Costa and Willian before that.

In order for the Reds to become a modern European giant regular Champions League football is required, even if the first couple of years are of struggle. When you leave the party it takes a while to come back in and be accepted. Liverpool are hopefully in the midst of that process while Manchester City have been experiencing the adjustment to the highest level for the last four years.

To be one of the best, you have to be playing the best for more than just one year so for Liverpool to become stronger, they have to remain a fixture in the Champions League for many years to come.

Bearing in mind the form displayed by Liverpool this season, the Reds may end up with neither goal and I don’t see anything better such as a cup double, trophy and top four or all three together.

However, there could be salvation in the Europa League.

Winning Europe’s baby sister competition carries a greater grandeur this time round, with Champions League qualification going to the winners. Therefore this would constitute the ideal scenario and whilst it may lack the glitz and glamour of the Champions League, Liverpool would still likely have to defeat some top sides – potentially teams like Manchester City.

Yet is finishing 3rd in the group this season and Europa League success better than a last 16 exit in the Champions League? Almost certainly. Yet despite the possible humiliation that lingers with any clash against the very best, Liverpool worked so hard last season in order to play games of this magnitude. Now the focus is on qualifying for the tournament again, with almost no attention paid to the actual tournament that they’re trying to qualify for, such is the financial benefits.

Personally I would rather a top four finish than a trophy this season so that Liverpool can continue to build on what they have achieved under Rodgers in order to once again compete in the future against the likes of Real Madrid on a more equal footing. Yet despite the long term benefits, the Reds cannot forget this year’s competition as anything could happen – Istanbul taught us that.

Other fans will disagree and would prefer a trophy, while many would love Europa League success and its double-edged reward.

The glory of winning or qualifying – but either would ensure a successful season for the Reds.

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