Liverpool FC: Damned if you do, damned if you don't!

Liverpool Football Club seems to be going through a very unfamiliar period nowadays, while the success on the field is perhaps one to question, things off it are not too well either. The club doesn’t have the money to compete with its contemporaries but it also seems to have lost its famous “Liverpool Way” of doing things. Anfield was always famous for doing things secretively without much of media interference or exposure, somewhat similar to the way Manchester United are run nowadays. The manager had details of every penny coming into the club or going out of it but it’s different with the current owners who themselves have proved to be astute businessmen.

While this summer’s transfer dealings were always about moving out the dead wood and lowering the wage bill, it has failed in a way because even though it sounded good on paper, it really isn’t the way to move the club forward. Yes, financially we may be sound for years to come but we may just remain a business model for a long time to come. The danger is we may come to remain only a mid table side with an odd cup run or an odd challenge for the 4th spot here and there. Although it may be good enough considering the financial climate, it may potentially be harmful to the club’s identity.

The famous boot room left the club at the zenith of footballing dominance but the fact remains that while others have not only closed the gap but also moved ahead, we may soon disappear far away. The pressure of managing this great club has also fallen upon the young and inexperienced shoulders of Brendan Rodgers. While it seems he is a powerful orator and appears to be a wordsmith, he can never appease the fans with whatever he says. When he said “any improvement on last year’s league position will be an improvement” he was accused of aiming too low for the size of this club and then only a few weeks later when we were on a good little run he said that,”The points difference between 2nd and Liverpool’s current position in the table isn’t too big and could be closed down”, he was was blasted for being a “loony” and “dreaming”.

No one, it seems, can satisfy the fans. Even the so called “best fans in the world” can be seen regularly arguing with each other on social platforms over who are the “proper fans?” and the scousers generally take the moral high ground by saying they regularly go to the games and hence their argument holds more weight than others. Another thing that seems to have ticked them off is the new trend of LFC’s global accounts. While being a foreigner myself, it honestly makes me cringe a bit but it is necessary; after all LFC is a global club and a touch of personalisation makes them feel closer to the team they support after breaking sleep in midnight and early morning.

Personally, I feel we lack a CEO to act as an intermediary between the staff at the club and the owners and that lack of leadership is quite visible. In my opinion, it is better Rodgers concedes this, it will only help him as this is the last chance for the club I feel and it’s better we learn from our mistakes and move on rather than regret it 10 years later. Sacking the manager is a no go for me, it will only restart the cycle and push the club back further again.