HOW fitting. The season that started with a frustrating, disappointing away day for Liverpool ended in exactly the same way.
Yes it is possible to make excuses but the simple truth, one which is starkly highlighted by the final Premier League table, is that Liverpool were not good enough between the first trip to Tottenham and the last to Hull.
Of course our position would have been different if Fernando Torres had been available more frequently or other key men not suffered injuries but, then again, shouldn’t the players who came in have stepped up?
Looking back, there were too many days – like at Portsmouth and Wigan – when Liverpool just failed to perform and it was on the road we had most difficulty or, more accurately, it was against the ‘lesser teams’ away from home.
True, results against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United were not good enough – one win in six matches – but the teams around us, namely Tottenham, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Everton didn’t inflict too much damage to our ambitions.
The problem, of course, came in failing to beat Wolves and Wigan, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Hull; dropping 12 points in those fixtures are effectively what has cost fourth place.
Liverpool is a club with standards and, quite clearly, we have dropped below them over the last nine months but what cannot happen now is for things to rumble on and mean that people have ready made excuses if things start to go wrong when the new season begins.
It goes without saying that Liverpool need new players; Rafa Benitez and Fernando Torres have both suggested that at least four players are required and I certainly agree with that; what’s more, the Reds have got to keep their top performers at Anfield, too.
Manchester United might not have won the title but it was still just as galling to see Chelsea’s players holding the Premier League title aloft and you can only hope that the determination to make amends provides a great motivation.
Liverpool’s problems are not going to be solved overnight but this is a massive summer and it has to be hoped we can finally find investment.
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