Another 0-0 draw against an inferior opponents, regardless of who is to blame – the ineffectiveness of the attack or some incredible day from the opposing goalkeeper, draws closer and closer to a season in which Liverpool miss out on European qualification, unless something quite extraordinary happens in the next few weeks. As a result, it might also be one of the final matches Luis Suarez plays for the team.
Because Liverpool won’t make the Champions League, they’re 8 points away from the fourth position with five games left to play while all of the teams above have played a maximum of 31, so even by beating Chelsea and Everton in their upcoming matches that have direct involvement with the clubs they’re trying to impeach won’t be enough. Blowing four points against the likes of West Ham and relegation bound Reading seems too costly to get over.
Everton, the team at sixth, where Liverpool aspire to finish, then hoping that either Manchester City or Chelsea, who are both likely to finish in the top 4, win the FA Cup, which will allow them another ticket to the Europa League. The two teams do have a match at Anfield to play, where Everton haven’t won in over a decade, but even then, without consistency against the small clubs, a European spot won’t be coming.
Brendan Rodgers can talk all he wants about next season, but it seems his players are already taking a bow in this one when not all is lost, and a need for something that’s close to perfection in order to achieve a preseason goal that looked more than reasonable before a horrible start made their chase and decent form in 2013 almost redundant.
Luis Suarez is a world class striker, and wants to play for a team that not only wants to be part of the most prestigious competition on the continent while fighting for titles on the local scene, but actually does it. Liverpool have brought in ample ammunition to help him achieve something, but the arrivals of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, backed by a rare season from Steven Gerrard, hasn’t been enough to climb out of the hole they dug themselves earlier on.
Will this be the last time Suarez wears Liverpool red? There’s going to be quite a battle to keep him at the club. Maybe even some kind of raise to make him oblivious to the fact that there will be no European football next season, while he feels his prime is being wasted on a club that isn’t fitting to his talents. Hopefully for Liverpool and its fans, Suarez won’t be too swayed by the offers that will surely come from the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and possibly Real Madrid.