Liverpool: Can the fallen empire rise again?

Brendan Rodgers

History has seen the rise of many empires, empires that looked invincible and unconquerable, empires that were bound to rule forever, empires that seemed to stand the test of time.

However, they all in the fullness of their era have eventually succumbed owing to their own mistakes or ascendance of some other dominion.

Only the minority among these has been able to resurrect from the ruins, to make themselves a dominant force once again.

Likewise is the empire of Liverpool FC – once the immaculate face of English football, which has witnessed the fall from grace in the last two decades and is now faced with the daunting task of reviving themselves to be an institution of enduring success yet again.

Liverpool last won the Premier League in the late 80s, and since then has been trapped in the dark ages for more than 20 years. Except for a memorable Champions League night in Istanbul in 2005, and a few domestic trophies intermittently, there is nothing much to talk about in the red half of Merseyside.

Although they have come close to winning the league several times in these years, but on every occasion, they have been eclipsed by their fierce rivals Manchester United as well as other stronger units like Arsenal and Chelsea.

But Liverpool, until 2009, made sure they finished in the top 4, consequently gaining a place in the lucrative Champions League. But since then, the Champions League has remained an elusive dream to England’s most successful club in Europe. In the past four seasons the club has gone into serious decline attributed to certain events that have had a pessimistic impact on the club, not least the sacking of three managers in three years.

It all started to go wrong when Benitez, still in charge at Anfield, sold one of the key cogs of his “Rafa-lution” era – Xabi Alonso. The graceful midfielder and the champion “pass-master” – who had made 210 appearances for the Reds, left under a cloud to Real Madrid in 2009. And with the departure of Javier Mascherano the subsequent year, Liverpool completely lost the technical edge they once had in the midfield in England.

Since 2009, one top star has exited the club every year. Unfortunately, the quality of players who left was never replaced. Instead, when club legend Kenny Dalglish took over as manager, he brought in players like Stewart Downing from Aston Villa for £20 million, Jordan Henderson from Sunderland for £16 million and Jose Enrique, Charlie Adam for around £6 million each. All the signings turned out to be exceedingly overvalued.

The signing of Andy Carroll for £35m to replace Torres turned out to be another tragedy for the Reds. Only Luis Suarez among the Daglish signing could be termed as first-rate. Also ownership issues during the time made the financial situation at Anfield very fragile.

The summer of 2012 saw the appointment of Brendan Rodgers, the young Irish manger, who was given the daunting task of bringing glory back to Liverpool. In his first season as manager, even though the results didn’t seem to pick up, he showed gradual progress in many departments. He has been able to install a sense of optimism among the Kop, with his transfer activities and tactical intellect.

In the January transfer window last season, Rogers made two shrewd signings – when he brought Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge to Anfield, which turned out to be a success.

This season too, he has been lively in the transfer market, with the signings of Kolo Toure, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet and Luis Alberto.

The under-performing Carroll and Jonjo Shelvey have been done away with. And with owners ready to dig their pockets, more signings could be expected. However, the club’s fortunes will revolve mainly around Luis Suarez and his future at the club.

Last four seasons saw Liverpool finish seventh, sixth, eighth, seventh respectively. The great name of the club and its history dictate that they shouldn’t be in such a position. But the damage has already been done. It’s increasingly difficult to resurrect from such a condition, for the reason that there is new competitors in England like Manchester City and Chelsea, who have crazy money to fall back on.

For now, winning the league looks a distant dream. Till that time arrives, the fans would at least love to hear the tunes of Champions League football being played again in the green blades of Anfield.