FA Cup: An “Oldham” episode on the history channel!

Outplayed, Oustclassed, Out-thought, Outgunned, and eventually dumped out of the FA Cup. Boundary Park in Greater Manchester might be reverberating with chants like “This is the stuff of which dreams are made but this is real life”, the noise might have enough decibels to be ringing in the red half of Merseyside. On a cold night when the skies opened up for yet another glorious uncertainty, the plot had already been scripted. Last season’s Carling Cup Winners and FA Cup’s runners up would now surely not want to see hams on the dining table. From eternal shame, outrage and ignominy of repeated failures to win silverware to being called the “Laughing stock” of Merseyside, reality beckons for this famous club.

Fans and football experts have branded their favorite team as being in transition. My introspection, however, is poles apart. No, you can’t call it a conjecture of my feelings associated with my beloved club. As the legendary American actor, Tom Hanks had said in his movie, “The Terminal”, “Life Stops Here”, 27th January 2013 seemed a writing on the walls. Barely an hour before, Tottenham were dumped out by Leeds, Chelsea scored a last gasp goal against Brentford to take the tie to a replay, but the upset of the day was surely the scoreline that read Oldham 3-2 Liverpool. How ironical the opponents had “OLD” besides their name. Liverpool FC, in my opinion, are finally the history channel.

Thus its no surprise that rivals embark on hilarious and shameful jokes on the club. For example, what’s the difference between a triangle and Liverpool FC ? At least the former has 3 points. Is this an offence on the players or the manager or their most loyal fans ? The answer is not as hard as it seems.

When Brendan Rodgers was appointed as the manager in the summer, great things were expected from the Irishman. Swansea were the first Welsh team to qualify in the EPL under him. Rodgers combined a brand of possession football we hardly see in England. I still remember some of the former Liverpool greats calling the appointment of Rodgers as a massive gamble that the club had taken in a long time. It was not easy, more so when you replace one of the greatest legends of the club, King Kenny Dalglish.

Liverpool supporters would be contemplating on what has hit them since. Their beloved side has been consistently inconsistent, putting forgettable displays week in and week out in the EPL. Top four was looked upon as the ambition for the season. It’s impossible to achieve that when you haven’t beaten any of the top ten sides of the current league table. The recent run of form looked promising, as they amassed home wins against relatively easier opponents. However, when it comes to facing the top half teams, Liverpool players look like schoolkids up against boys. Anyone remember the Manchester United game? Liverpool could have been down 4-5 goals in the first half itself.

Surely, Brendan Rodgers’s philosophy hasn’t gone according to plan. Poor dealings in the transfer market have cost the team dearly. You don’t pay 15m for a player who only passes the ball sideways and backwards, has no body strength and always distances himself from a 50-50 tackle. Another 12m was wasted on another unproven Italian. You can’t pay wages to just warm the sidelines and be in the rehab centre. You don’t sell players like Maxi Rodriguez, Bellamy or Dirk Kuyt, that too on a free They had worked their socks off for the club and also adjusted to more physical opponents. Where was the motivation, Brendan? Another laughable episode was the broadcasting of “Being Liverpool”. I mean, how can a club be so incompetent and unconscious in the brand market ?

And now this. A 2-3 loss to a side hovering in a relegation battle one championship lower than the Reds of Merseyside. Brendan Rodgers might have gotten away with an angry tirade on his younger players, lamenting that they were not physical and good enough. He stressed on resting some of his key players before what he labelled an “important” clash against the Gunners on Thursday. Well, are you joking? Not playing in eight days and you still want players to be rested?

Well, he needs to look at himself before criticizing others. The mirror is right in front of him. Whenever Liverpool have played the tiki taka, they have gone nowhere. It’s only that famous “pass and move” style that has paid rich dividends. Well, you have to play ugly to get the job done before its a foregone conclusion.

Someone had rightly said Baseball club owners are an end of the world for football teams. It’s there for all for us to see. Money has been poorly spent and they now say, “We won’t spend again”. We can only joke now, recording their proclamations of “competeing with anyone” when they took over the club. Appointing someone who is too big for this club will surely not help. Their philoshopy of buying young talent to get a resale value later somehow underlines their expectations. You are not going to challenge for major honours unless you buy quality proven and experienced players capable of changing games. There is no other player than Steven Gerrard to provide the inspiration. Come summer, Luis Suarez could be sold to bigger clubs who challenge in European Champions League.

With Liverpool’s ambitions hanging loosely like a thread, top players not willing to join this famous club. It’s perhaps time to introspect. Confessing honestly and criticizing players in front of the media is not going help, unless of course, you have the history to show for.

When things are going to change for the good? Perhaps, this is the worst time to be a Liverpool supporter. Or would the scousers proclaim “You are not a supporter if you can’t remain with the team in the worst of times”. The worse might be coming soon. But the question remains “Is there a glowing rainbow at the end of the storm”?