The season so far: a report.
It is the 10th of February and Liverpool Football Club lie 8th in the Barclays Premier League, a underachievement to say the least. The 2012/13 season has flown by in a flurry, from qualifying to the knockout stages of the Europa League to being humiliated at Anfield by Aston Villa. As the season reaches the last dozen games, I felt it was necessary to compile a report of the season so far and to reflect on Liverpool’s progress.
August 2012
It was the start of new era for Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers had enough time to complete the transfers he requested and to integrate his style of play for Liverpool. Fabio Borini signed in July, a promising forward from Roma, and Joe Allen from Swansea was set to join him in August. So there was much reason to be excited for the return of football, after the Euro’s. Two comfortable wins over FC Gomel, including a goal on his home debut for Borini, insured Liverpool progressed to the next qualifying stage of the Europa League. However, the beginning of the Premier League season seemed to jerk Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers into reality. A heavy loss to West Brom, capped off by a Daniel Agger red card, signified Liverpool had a lot to do right from the off. The fixture’s weren’t kind to us; Manchester City at home seemed to provide an immediate challenge for the team. A magnificent free-kick from Luis Suarez couldn’t stop the champions as Tevez snatched on to Skrtel’s mistake to grab a point for the visitors. A shaky two rounds against Hearts in the Europa League ensured Liverpool would be playing in Europe over the coming months. Overall, an unconvincing start to Rodgers’ reign.
September 2012
The start of September presented Liverpool with a great opportunity to win their first Premier League fixture of the season; at home to Arsenal, who seem to bring their A-game whenever they visit Anfield. Arsenal bullied Liverpool. Actually, Abou Diaby bullied Liverpool. Fine strikes from Santi Cazorla & Lucas Podolski increased the unrest around Merseyside. A well-earned draw at the Stadium of Light followed, where Raheem Sterling offered glimmers of hope of the fantastic player he could become, setting up Luis Suarez to equalize against Sunderland. The next four games produced 21 goals; a highly controversial loss at Anfield against Manchester United sparked much debate, but a convincing win against Norwich seemed to hush the critics for the time being. Wins against West Brom and Young Boys, in the Capital One Cup and Europa League respectively, made for a nice end to a torrid start to September. There were definitely signs of improvement.
October 2012
A mixed month of results brought back old problems for Liverpool and Rodgers. An exciting game in Europe resulted in a Udinese win, one in which Antonio Di Natale proved he still was a fantastic player. A bore-draw against Stoke left doubts in the back of Liverpool fans’ minds over past downfalls, but all was forgotten as Raheem Sterling scored his first goal for the club in an unimpressive victory over Reading. A goal that should have been denied Liverpool a win over their rivals Everton, and the frustration showed in an embarrassing defeat at home to Swansea in the Capital One Cup. Life under Rodgers hadn’t taken off the way he, and everyone affiliated with Liverpool, would have wanted.
November 2012
November calmed Liverpool down; a series of steady results correlated with Luis Suarez’s outstanding form. Two incredible goals at Anfield produced a 1-1 draw against Newcastle, which took Liverpool up to twelfth. A loss in Russia raised concerns over Liverpool’s progress into the Europe League knockout stages, but all was forgotten when Liverpool went three games unbeaten, including an impressive draw at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool were improving. However, one of Liverpool’s main problems is inconsistency; a solid draw in Wales was followed by a loss to Tottenham, a day when Gareth Bale proved why Real Madrid were in hot pursuit of him.
December 2012
Arguably Liverpool’s most convincing month so far under Rodgers. 4 wins in the Premier League, including a comeback against West Ham where Jonjo Shelvey was our makeshift striker, topped off impressive wins against QPR and Fulham, lesser opponents on the day. A tough game away at Udinese resulted in a win and finally there were signs of stability in the team. However Liverpool have a funny habit of luring everyone into a false sense of security, because a battering from Christian Benteke caused an uproar at Anfield. A relatively merry Christmas. By the end of the year, it was clear to see who we needed to perform; Luis Suarez and the skipper, Steven Gerrard. Sometimes inconsistent, but normally world-class, the pair combined frequently to scare defences lifeless, and reminded Liverpool fans of the fantastic Gerrard-Torres partnership, which (back then) grabbed us second place in the Premier League.
January 2013
The start of the new year promised hope for Liverpool fans and the need to start consistently turning out good results. Liverpool’s most impressive performance yet, where Suarez and Sterling combined nicely, produced 3 points to start off 2013 positively. Daniel Sturridge completed his move from Chelsea’s bench to make an immediate impact against Mansfied, scoring with a tidy finish, and qualifying Liverpool for the 4th round of the FA Cup. Liverpool fell short at Old Trafford by narrow margins. It was a tale of two halves; one where Manchester United dominated, and one where Liverpool created a showing of quality attacking football. We were unlucky not to get all three points at the Emirates after playing superbly in the first half, but a second half assault on Liverpool’s goal was all too much for our defence. Carragher, however, won the MOTM award with a fantastic performance. Norwich, Liverpool’s favourite team, were battered at Anfield with help from the much improved Henderson, but a humiliating and frankly predictable loss to Oldham resembled Liverpool’s January Blues.
February 2013
With only one game played due to the international break, February hasn’t taken off yet. A thrilling game at the Etihad, one where Sturridge proved he could be a class player and where Gerrard reminded us of the world-class player he was once and still could be, meant that Liverpool earned a hard-fought point against the champions. Fixtures against the likes of Swansea and West Brom means that February could be the turning point to Rodger’s season, as there are many winnable games to come. The knockout stages of the Europe League begin, with Liverpool facing another tricky trip to Russia.
Overall, despite the signs of improvement in results over the last couple of months, and the big improvements of player’s performances (Henderson and Reina for example), Rodgers will not be to pleased with how his early days at Liverpool have panned out. We are currently eighth in the Premier League, not where anyone associated with Liverpool Football Club wants to be. There are areas that need to be addressed soon, but the future for Liverpool, on the whole, is a bright one.
