Would Liverpool failing to make the top four this season be a disaster?
Over the past 2 seasons, Liverpool have failed to make a solid challenge for the title since they finished runners up to Manchester United in the 2008-2009 season. However since the arrival of Kenny Dalglish mid-way through last season, things have been looking promising for the Reds.
Liverpool were touted to be firm challengers for the title this year, with the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham suffering unimpressive starts, however they also have had an inconsistent and disappointing beginning to their campaign. So far they have recorded 13 points out of a possible 21 which is 6 points behind leaders Manchester United.
They face their fiercest rivals this weekend, Manchester United, and will look to stand their ground. If they are to win the game this weekend this would sent out a strong message to United, Manchester City and Chelsea and would almost certainly show they are ready for the title fight. If they are to lose the game it will give them an almighty blow and it would be there 3rd defeat already this season. United on the other hand are currently unbeaten and have already seen off the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, whereas Liverpool were able to beat Arsenal but suffered a 4-0 defeat to Spurs.
The Kop spent big this summer, which has resulted on a huge amount of pressure on the players that arrived at Anfield this summer, and last January, with the only stand out player so far to be Luis Suarez who has looked a world-class player since arrival from Ajax in January. However if Liverpool were to finish just outside of the top 4, this is highly unlikely to result in an exodus of players, as their squad is believed to need “time to gel”. This is also because they do still have areas in which they need to improve. For example Jamie Carragher is nearing the end of his playing days, and his retirement will leave a huge void in the middle of their defence. Also their star man Steven Gerrard has suffered a long time on the side lines and has not enjoyed a run of appearances for a while now. His return to the team will be a big boost which will help their Champions League expectations.
