Certainly, it could be said that in the absence of players such as Suarez and Gerrard that it was right to go with a conservative approach. The resting of some players such as Skrtel and not risking Agger, suggests to me that the Europa League is not the highest priority. The second tier European competition is much maligned but considering it is the only trophy that we can win this season, I feel it needs to be at least equal to league ambitions as we head on into the final few months of the season.
I have no doubt Kenny Dalglish is fully committed to progressing in the competition and hopefully we will see a lot more endeavour tomorrow night than in the first leg, but there is an inkling that the league still holds sway over Europe. Considering we haven’t won a trophy in five years come May, it is persuading me more and more that the Europa League has to be the main aim this season. By all means attempt to get fourth place, and it is still in reach if we beat Tottenham and Chelsea slip at Manchester United, but I think we would regret a lost opportunity in the Europa League at the end of the season if we decide the league is more important.
If we get past Sparta Prague, we face either Lech Poznan or Braga. Both are good sides but we should expect to progress to the quarter finals without much of a problem. It would be a great sight to see Kenny lift the cup in Dublin come May in front of the many Irish Reds who would be present at the stadium, and hopefully there is 100% commitment to getting to the final in May and winning a trophy after a long wait.
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The quest for fourth place should be the priority instead of the mickeymouse Europa League. The 72 point maximum points total that Liverpool can reach would be enough for fourth place as Tottenham,Man City and Chelsea will all drop plenty more points.
not in doubt at all- league all the way. I hope we dont rush gerrard and carroll back for the europa league. We got a good result last night with blackpool winning. The door is ajar- we must go for it. We got spurs and man city at anfield. United too i think. They are winnable at anfield.
No doubt 72 points will be enough for fourth place,possibly third place. Back on Planet Earth is there actually anyone apart from Kenny who thinks it’s possible let alone likely? Surreal?
Europa League, without a doubt. We have no chance of 4th.
Spurs got fourth place with 73 points last season, so fourth place with 72 points this season is not impossible.
i think you scousers are in dream land,6th is the best you,ll get’no one is scared of you any more COYS
clearly 4th place and a trophy this season are both a priority
I can’t believe that anyone has put themselves in a position mentally where they believe they have to choose..
I can assure you KK will be going for both
And i hope that a lot of us will want the same too.
We’re not getting 4th this year, just give up the dream – the priority should be preparing the team for next season, and using the next couple of months as an extended pre-season to get some more experience for the younger guys, while phasing out the older guys who have no place starting for a quality team moving forwards (e.g. Kuyt, Maxi, Skrtel etc.)
I would suggest to any socalled fan who thinks 4th place is impossible to look at the remaining fixtures of Man City,Tottenham and Chelsea and they might start to realise that 4th place is definitely within reach.
Why can’t we go for both…you’re all making it sound as if we’re in a position where we have to choose between fourth place and the Europa League. We have a squad that’s good enough to go for both targets. We are more than capable of beating rubbish like Sparta Prague and Poznan/Braga. We can rest the likes of several key players and still easily beat those rubbish teams. Why do some of you think that we have to choose between the two targets when in reality Kenny is more than capable of achieving both? We have a strong enough and big enough squad to compete in both the League and Europa League. Right now we’ve two players for every position: GK Reina Gulacsi, Johnson Kelly, Carra Skrtel Soto Agger, Aurelio Wilson, Maxi Cole, Lucas Poulsen, Meireles Gerrard, Jovanovic Kuyt, Carroll Ngog, Suarez Pacheco. Of course, Suarez is cup-tied but Kenny still has a lot of options. We can change the entire starting XI and there will be no problem, especially when we’re playing rubbish teams in the Europa League.