You could be forgiven for thinking that there’s nothing left to play for this season. Following Tuesday night’s horror show at the hands of Hull City, we’re now seven points adrift of the Champions League places.
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Liverpool transfer news
While many onlookers have already switched their attentions to the summer transfer window, there’s still plenty of work to do for the Reds. While a top four place might be all but beyond us, Brendan Rodgers needs to spend the remaining games restoring some confidence in his players and some faith in his supporters.
If he can do that, then we’ll go into next season with a reasonable amount of optimism. If he fails to do so, then his own position is going to be under even more intense scrutiny.
Here are five things we want to see next month…
5) Steven Gerrard given a proper send-off
There will be no fairytale ending to Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool career – no FA Cup final, and no Premier League title. It’s a horrible shame for arguably our greatest ever player, who undoubtedly deserved better. After missing the game against Hull, there are just four matches left for him to complete as strong a send-off as possible. There’s little for him to aim for in truth but it’s hard to believe that he’ll go out with a whimper. An Anfield screamer would be a nice way to sign off.
4) Emre Can played in midfield
The young German has been one of our stand-out performers so far this season, adapting well to his defensive role and proving a reliable and versatile option at the back. But with Gerrard on the verge of his US exit, we surely need to be looking towards the future. Can could be the future of our midfield and it would surely be a criminal mistake if he weren’t to receive an opportunity in his favoured position between now and the end of the season. Let’s give him the chance to show what he can do.
3) Resolve the futures of Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel
We’ve heard plenty about these two over the recent weeks and months. Sterling has ruled out talks until the end of the season (via BBC Sport), while Skrtel is incredibly being made to wait on a new deal (via the Daily Mirror). With Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge having extended their deals in recent months, it’s important that we continue this trend. The core of the group must be kept together to maintain a challenge for domestic and European honours and these two are crucial to that.
2) The summer signings given a fair chance
Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren have both featured in the last couple of games, with varying success. It’s important that Rodgers pushes forward with this between now and the end of the season, to give him the best possible position to make some difficult decisions over player futures. Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana, Javier Manquillo and Rickie Lambert need to prove what they can do, or at least show some signs that they’re worth keeping hold of moving forward.
1) Passionate, attacking performances
Everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club is feeling down right now, given the evaporation of the Champions League dream. Recent performances have been poor and confidence is far lower than only a few weeks ago. The perfect way to respond and get the fans back on side is to show some fighting spirit. We all know that there’s very little left to play for but if these final games are treated like training fixtures, it’s not going to help anyone. If we can pick up some decent points and finish the season strongly – fifth place is still ours for the taking – then the pressure will start to ease on Rodgers and co.
The Europa League has plenty of flaws, but it is worth remembering both the revenue the competition could bring in and the fact that the winning team earn a Champions League spot. The squad is far bigger than two years ago, and we ought to be able to manage multiple competitions with a couple of high quality additions.
