The Europa League doesn’t have the glamour of the Champions League, but if Liverpool are serious about becoming a top European team again then this competition needs to be taken seriously.
We saw Liverpool come out of the Champions League last season with one win in nothing more than an average group. With the exception of Real Madrid, there was simply no excuse to not progress past the group stage against the likes of Basel and Ludogorets. Not progressing out of the group is foreign to Liverpool supporters, but there were plenty of reasons why we didn’t.
Our short appearance in the group stage of the Champions League showed me we simply weren’t ready for Europe. We had a manager and a team that had very little European experience. Playing in England every week doesn’t prepare you for the Champions League and the only way to prepare yourself for Europe is to play in the European competitions.
Liverpool supporters will always moan about the Europa League and I understand why, but for now we just have to admit this is the best we can possibly get. We aren’t the side we were under Rafa Benitez all those years ago.
There’s no denying Brendan Rodgers is a manager very much still learning his trade and that’s exactly why I think this competition can have great benefit to not only the players, but to himself.
With the players and the manager lacking European experience, this competition can be the beginning of getting Liverpool back on track in terms of playing in Europe and competing.
It was obvious that Rodgers was not completely sure how to set his team up in the Champions League and how to get the results, but the players also looked unsure themselves.
The Europa League will give everyone the experience they need to become a more serious side. Supporters will say it’s a hindrance to our Premier League campaign and perhaps it will have an effect, but our defeat to West Ham last week suggested we might still be a little bit off finishing in the top four. I’m not saying let’s abandon our league ambitions, but let’s not put all our eggs in the one basket.
As we all know now, if you win the Europa League you are given the opportunity to play in the Champions League next season.
I’m sick of supporters claiming that top four is an achievement. Alright, I’d like us to get a spot in the four because it’s a step forward and we need to start maintaining a position, but a trophy in Europe (Europa League) and the bonus of the Champions League spot sounds more appealing than just trying to finish fourth and not even attempting to challenge in the Europa League.
We have a fairly large squad now and I believe we have the numbers to maintain a good performance level in both the league and Europe. I’d like to think Rodgers has the ability to make sure we aren’t just focussing entirely on one competition, but focus on all of them.
We need to start winning trophies again so we can get some winners in our squad. We are severely lacking players that have won a vast amount of silverware and for me that is a major concern.
I still want Liverpool to take the league more seriously than anything, but I want to see the players, the manager and the fans treat the Europa league with the same respect. It’s a great opportunity and it’s not something we should approach with a negative attitude.
Just think about it, how good would it be to see the lads lift the Europa League? We want a trophy and a Champions League spot, it’s a no brainer for me.
Look no further than Sevilla. They are flourishing as a club because they took this competition more seriously than others.
If we don’t get to the later stages of the competition then that’s nothing more than a disaster. If the fans seriously expect these players to not bring it in the Europa League but somehow do it in the Champions League than your are in the wrong mentality. We need to start somewhere and this is it as far as I’m concerned.
