Worrying Times Ahead

I’ve got this football game on my Nintendo Wii called “Fifa ‘10”. It’s really good fun to play and it has an interesting concept. In it, you accrue ‘transfer stars’ through your achievements over the season which enable you to invest in new players and improve your squad. Basically, the better you perform, the better you can make your squad.

It’s a great idea but a million miles away from real football. In real football, Liverpool finished the 2008-09 season in 2nd place but accumulated the equivalent of zero ‘transfer stars’. Meanwhile, City spent much of that season in the bottom half of the table but went into last summer with unlimited transfer stars. Spurs and Aston Villa equally had numbers of stars that were disproportionate to their achievements last season.

You see in real football, achievements are no longer rewarded with the chance to invest in the squad. In real football, you have to invest in the squad first in order to achieve. All well and good if you have been bought by an ultra rich Russian Oligarch or Sheikh or even if you’ve been bought by an American who recognises the need for steady financial investment in order safeguard the value of his asset but what if you’ve been bought by a couple of fuck-heads who had to borrow money just to buy the club in the first place and then loaded the club with that debt meaning every penny earned through the teams achievements on the pitch is wiped out?

It’s plain fucking wrong.

After last season, we should have been able to push on, strengthen and consolidate our position at or near the top of the Premiership. Instead the club’s money was stolen by these bastard petty thieves and we were turned into a selling club.

Summers used to be spent discussing which players could be signed to improve the team. This summer won’t. There are plenty of players out there who would improve the current squad but the problem is we can’t afford any. Meanwhile, the sharks are circling the few decent players we do possess and there is every chance this summer’s transfer dealings could leave the club weaker for the second successive season.

Torres is being linked with moves here, there and everywhere and just to really set alarm bells ringing our current ‘interim’ chairman is a diehard Chelsea fan no less. What is to stop him accepting a £40m bid from his beloved team, gifting them a priceless asset while claiming good business on behalf of Liverpool FC?

Other than professional pride (which will hardly be dealt a fatal blow should he fail to straighten out the chronic mess Liverpool FC is in), what incentive has he got for sorting out the chaos that engulfs Anfield?

With Benitez seemingly at war with Christian Purslow now that the latter has been leaking smear stories about the former to certain members of the press, how can a business man with no emotional connection to the club chose which employee to back? A man with Liverpool in his blood would have no hesitation in telling Purslow to sling his filthy hook but will Broughton?

Meanwhile, Carra and Stevie – two of the most influential players at the club – appear to have had enough of serving under Rafa’s management. Facing attacks from all sides, might it not be in the best interests of all for Rafa to now depart if a new man could be brought in who would restore some level of unity to the dressing room?

The question is, what would have the biggest impact: losing Rafa or losing Gerrard and Carra? At this stage of their careers I would happily move Carra on and cash in on Gerrard but for the fact that any money raised is unlikely to be available to invest in adequate replacements.

Our club is a mess. The manager is not without fault though he is the person I feel most sympathy for. The owners and board members are a disgrace. Parry and Moores are ultimately the most responsible for this whole situation. Several players have seriously let the club down this season – most notably Steven Gerrard. Numerous ex-players – Redknapp and Lawrenson being two of the worst offenders – have abused their positions in the media by talking utter shite and spreading misinformation about the situation at Anfield which has piled pressure on the manager and players. Worst of all, large swathes of the supporters – the true lifeblood of the club – have let the club down this season by giving Rafa shit without bothering to check the facts and slating honest triers like Lucas and Ngog who – unlike their captain – have given every last drop of sweat for the cause this season.

In Fifa ’10, I would ditch Lucas and Ngog after a season replacing them with Iniesta and David Villa and in reality, those are the sorts of hugely adventurous (and massively expensive) moves that would be needed to make Liverpool competitive again. In reality, Liverpool does not have a pot to piss in and honest grafters like Lucas and Ngog are the best we can hope for. If anything, we need more of their like if we are to avoid drifting further down the League table.

I’ve never known a close season which has given me less cause for optimism or a greater sense of dread. Will Rafa still be in charge come August? Will Torres, Gerrard, Mascherano and Reina still be at the club? Will Hicks and Gillett still be the club’s owners? Will we have added any new players that can actually improve the quality of our team? How bad will this situation get before it begins to get better and what will better be?

When Liverpool last lifted the League title in 1990, no one would have predicted that 20 years later they would have failed to win it again. Likewise, when we finished 2nd last season, no one would have believed we would fail to finish in the top four the following season. How long could it be before we are back amongst the big boys?