Over the past 20 years, amazingly dating back to 1990, they have lifted; 1 Domestic League, 3 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, 3 Charity Shields, 1 Champions League, 1 EUFA Cup and 2 EUFA Super Cups. However, despite being an impressive list of trophies, one any rival fan would be envious of, they have never won the Premier League. Certainly, Arsenal have won only 8 Trophies in the same period, 4 behind their Scouse rivals, so by that margin, why aren't Liverpool as dominant in the Premier League?
At the back end of last season, it seemed Liverpool couldn't manage the push into the 4th spot, even after Rafa Benitez's (or David Guest) daft claim they would reach the coveted Champions League qualification places. It seems that despite the successes of the past 20 years, Liverpool have slowly deteriorated as a force and now suffer the embarrassment of playing in the new restyled Europa League - for a club like Liverpool, this is an under performance and no disrespect to the clubs who successful qualify for this honour.
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In addition, the doomed takeover of the club by Tom Hicks and George Gillett (the worst a man can get) has devastated the business, whacking a huge c£400m debt on the company, reducing ticket sales, additional debt from failed player transfers (a discussion point a little later) and all the while attempting to build a new home at Stanley Park - oh dear.
So how has Liverpool gone from being a force in the 70's - 80's to finishing 7th in the Premier League?
History. Liverpool, like Man Utd and Arsenal and latterly Chelsea during the 90's and 00's, dominated the domestic game during the 70's-80's. They were a formidable team which won 11 domestic titles, 3 FA Cups, 4 League Cups and 7 European Cups while being lead by football legends such as; Bill Shankly, Kenny Dalglish and Bob Paisley, as well as notable managers Graeme Souness, Gerard Houllier and now Roy Hodgson. In addition, despite being a successful club, they were feared. Fear is a great asset to any club, Man Utd used it skillfully to lift titles during the 90's and recently Chelsea, who under one Jose Mourinho, won several Premier League titles as many clubs simply gave up at the starting whistle due to Chelsea's strength. However, many clubs enjoy spells of success before the quality of player or direction of the manager fails to continue the rich vein of form. Man Utd, under Ferguson, rose to prominence, much to Liverpool's dismay, and brushed them aside as the current force in English Football.
Players. In the past, Liverpool have boasted some of the best players in their respective eras. Ian Rush, Roger Hunt, Kenny Dalglish, Phil Neal, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Peter Beardsley, Robbie Fowler, Steve Mcmanaman and Jamie Redknapp. However, today only Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (subject of a lot of transfer speculation) and Jose Reina are of any World Class quality. It is a widely known fact that without Gerrard and Torres, Liverpool are an average team, proved by the run of form which rewarded them with 7th place when the two players were out through injury during the latter stages of the 2009/2010 season.
During the torrid tenure of Houllier, a stream of average to poor players came and went, such as Henchoz, Biscan, Heskey, Lucas and Traore. In addition, Benitez purchased a staggering 53 players during his tenure, such as; Pellegrino, Bellamy, Keane (for 5 minutes), Pennant, the pitiful Veronin, Itandje, the sick note Aquilani and Nunez. All these players, while adequate for the mid-table, will never win major trophies. Therefore, Liverpool have spent poorly in the transfer market with the notable exception of Torres - but then any Manager can spot he is a quality player with no real effort. It seems while other Managers have exploited a vast network of scouts and cast their eyes over more promising prospects, Liverpool seem to have had a scatter-gun approach to player transfers, either wasting vast sums on the likes of Robbie Keane (a loss of c£9m) or not spending enough on key areas such as attack, with Veronin and Kuyt who have not played to the reputations since pulling on the red shirt.
So where do Liverpool go from here? I believe that in Roy Hodgson, they have finally landed a manager who can manage. While the likes of Benitez and Houllier exploited vast Bank loans to pay for success, Hodgson is proven to create cohesive teams with small transfer budgets. Notably at Fulham, Hodgson assembled a team who reached the Final of the inaugural Europa League, no small feat for the West London club, a season which also saw Hodgson voted Manager of the Year. Hodgson is a players manager, a motivator who can take an average player and get the best out of them. Players such as Danny Murphy and Damien Duff were castoffs of the Sky Four, however their experience and performance saw that the small club of Fulham stood on the precipice of greatness.
Hodgson also has vast experience of English and European Football. Starting in 1976, Hodgson managed Halmstad in Sweden, moving to Bristol City in 1982 and then back to Sweden to manage Orebro and Malmo FF respectively. Notable appointments include Inter Milan, Switzerland, Udinese, UAE and Finland marking a very chequered career for the Englishman. Therefore, despite not being a fashionable or "sexy" manager, Hodgson has a solid track record and brings no flamboyance but a "John Smiths" style of management and game which Liverpool need.
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Therefore, now Liverpool have the Manager, where else can they improve? Here are my steps to take Liverpool from the 7th position they deserved back into the Sky Four.
1) Players - jettison players such as Lucas, Mascherano, Aquilani, Babel and Itandje who have been purchased at a high price but offer little quality on the field. There needs to be adequate cover for Gerrard and Torres should they be injured and the gormless Carragher should be dropped. Hodgson should ensure future players, such as Joe Cole, are good value and perform.
2) Stadium - I would immediately drop any plans to move to a new stadium. Anfield, like Highbury was for Arsenal, was Liverpool's spiritual home and, frankly, the huge debt drawn up by the Americans needs to be paid and controlled before any pie-in-the-sky plans are pursued. Any plans to take out a mortgage for a new stadium will inhibit the clubs ability to purchase new players and afford, comfortably, players wages.
3) Board - Gillett and Hicks need to go, they need to be lanced like a boil. Despite being out of Hodgsons control, Liverpool need secure, stable and sensible Directors who have the interests of the Club at heart and aren't installed to make a quick buck. Americans do not understand the Premier League and only see investment potential, which, if you know anything about the sport, are anything but. However, it remains to be seen whether a viable bidder can be found, my guess is that another set of Arab Sheiks will takeover, making yet another sugar-daddy club in the big league.
4) Table consolidation. I believe Liverpool will bounce back, however in order to deal with their current misfortune, they need to accept they are no longer the force they were. Liverpool are a lot like the England Team - massively over hyped and never perform. All the talk of lifting the Premier League and another Champions League title is hot air as they consistently fall short. I would add that that Champions League win was a flash in the pan, as the Reds have never repeated success of that scale since. However I remain to be proven wrong.
Therefore, I do believe Liverpool will bounce back. Its not always a foregone conclusion that Liverpool will always remain in the top 4 and play European football every season. With the likes of Man City, Tottenham and, to an extent, Aston Villa knocking on the door, Liverpool need to improve and act like a great club, instead of living in the past. It also remains to be seen whether Hodgson can wave his magic wand and sort out the club, which is crippled by poor leadership and debt. I would suggest any Liverpool fan expecting a top four finish this season to reassess their beliefs, and hope to be at least in contention. Maybe 4th is possible, but that will require outstanding managerial leadership and for the likes of Gerrard and Torres to lead on the field, only then can this once great side reaffirm their place amongst the Sky Four.
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