Paper over the cracks: Liverpool’s cup confusion

By Max Grieve

With apparently false obstinacy, both red and blue repeated the tired lines. “We’ll pick a team that will do this club justice,” said Dalglish. His captain nodded in approval: “We’ve got the game against Fulham, and then we can get ready for Chelsea”. This sentiment was echoed in London. “I have not rested players in the past,” Di Matteo declared ahead of his side’s vital league clash with Newcastle. “All the games are important – we obviously tried to stay in all the competitions. We don’t want to just throw anything away.”

Their respective home losses to Fulham and Newcastle were symptomatic of their contradictory seasons. That Liverpool and Chelsea should be defeated, despite such resolute opposition to the suggestion that they might field weakened sides, reflected a common lapse in focus for this afternoon’s FA Cup finalists. Everybody insisted that their efforts were concentrated solely on the midweek league matches, though as Wembley loomed, it was obvious that minds were wandering. The alternate opinion – that both were actually too focussed – is a similar argument: neither appeared to recognise the importance of the immediate challenge, and had their attentions turned towards the shimmering prize ahead.

Liverpool had a bittersweet luxury when facing Fulham: any serious league ambitions have been dead for months now, and with a European place already secured with the League Cup win in February, Dalglish was able to field an almost completely changed side. Though aware of his customary presence on the bench, many must have been surprised to see Fábio Aurélio labouring along the left flank. Martin Skrtel, perhaps the only player in red assured of a starting place against Chelsea, such has been his imperial contribution this season, was the man who turned the ball agonisingly into his own net. The effort was deplorable: Dalglish had given several fringe players the opportunity to prove their worth ahead of the final, and each appeared to decline the invitation with pitiful performances. “This will not affect Saturday in any way,” Dalglish seethed. “But that doesn’t mean it’s right to go about your work in that way.”

This drifting prioritisation has seen a division at Anfield – the way one swings depends more on one’s outlook on life than any affiliation to the club. Optimistic evaluations would have you believe that this has been a vast improvement on last season, and in many ways it has. Under the rather unfortunate tenure of Roy Hodgson, a man who arrived at very much the wrong time, Liverpool fell spectacularly out of the League Cup in the third round; a loss on penalties to Northampton Town one of the most pathetic displays from a club that so prides itself on its success. In more understandable circumstances, Dalglish led his side to Old Trafford just days after his appointment, where Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup.

This season, they have reached the final of both competitions, and have already emerged victorious from their previous two Wembley appearances. Their position in the league will be worse, however, and they could potentially finish out of the top half of the table. The last time they did so, Liverpool were relegated.

This is where two approaches can be taken when evaluating this campaign. Football is a game, and beyond the innocent intention of “having fun”, the primary objective of a game is to win. Regardless of the financial gains, a fourth place finish, and qualification for the Champions League, is not winning outright. Two cups, conversely, are an emphatic declaration of victory. Says Marcus Christenson, “The aim should always be to win the league. And if Liverpool do not win [the league], then it does not matter if they finish second, third, or eighth”.

A separate opinion is rather more defeatist. There was a definitive sense of optimism at the beginning of the season at Anfield. Fresh-faced signings appeared to mark the start of something new, after the disappointment that has tormented Liverpool since they last challenged for the title in 2009. This would be Dalglish’s first full season at the club in his second reign, and Luis Suarez, who had become an immediate favourite on the Kop following his immense display against Manchester United, would have a whole 38 games to show the country what he was capable of.

It is that expectations have dropped so low, more than anything, that this season could be classed a disappointment. High hopes were destroyed early, as Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle pulled ahead, and Liverpool were left drifting. Now, they sit 34 points from United and City. There is a sense that although winning cup competitions is a considerable achievement, they are nothing when the league situation is so poor. Anfield knows the League Cup was won by Birmingham last season. Similarly, the FA Cup was Portsmouth’s not too long ago. String a few wins together over a couple of months, and you’re in a final. It is difficult to say whether or not that it has been good fortune that these victories happen in the cups, rather than in the league. Such has been Liverpool’s inconsistency, and proclivity to find the woodwork rather than the goal, they could have easily enjoyed a ten-game unbeaten streak in the league, yet they find themselves eighth, in two finals.

A top-four finish would have seen Liverpool re-establish their place amongst the best in the league. The Champions League, ludicrous as it may seem now, is where a club like Liverpool belong. At the very least, they should be challenging for qualification. They may well win the FA Cup, but it won’t bring the prestige, players or financial rewards that a run in Europe’s elite competition would. The arguments either way are equally compelling.

It will, ultimately, be John W. Henry’s impression that matters most. Whatever the result later today, there will be major introspection at Anfield. That said, of course, a win over Chelsea would go a long way towards concealing the mess Liverpool have made of the league.

There was something wonderful about Kenny Dalglish’s tears as Liverpool reached the final of the Carling Cup. Craig Bellamy’s glorious equaliser snatched Wembley from Manchester City’s grasp, and though the Scot tried to hold himself, the overwhelming emotion of the moment was clear. It was a welcome departure from his dry, often maddening press conferences.

Dalglish does not need to win this final – his continued existence at the club depends on him, such is his standing. When he leaves, it will be by his own volition. Should Liverpool win the FA Cup this afternoon, it will be for the way in which they will be judged, rather than their manager. Even then, it will be difficult to know what to make of it all. 

Max Grieve is the founder of the excellent new site, The Substitution.