The resurgence of Liverpool FC?

The days of regular Champions League football and Premier League under Rafa Benitez seem a distant memory now. Roy Hodgson was never accepted by the fans, and his results didn’t impress much either. Then came Kenny Dalglish, who promised a lot mainly due to his reputation, but also failed to deliver (along with spending some crazy amount of cash on some not-so-brilliant players).

Last season was always meant to be a transition year for Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers, and despite some impressive outings, the team largely underwhelmed (most obvious in the results against the top 6 teams). The transfer dealings in the summer window will be crucial for the club’s fortunes in the next season. Rodgers would have learnt his lessons from last summer’s window where the squad was left short of at least one first-team striker. Liverpool moved quickly to sign Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in the winter transfer window, and both players have impressed in their short time at the club so far.

The Luis Suarez story is set to be the transfer saga of this window, and nothing is clear right now, with the player making the right noises about moving out and yet also saying good things about the club, just in case he may have to stay on. The club are trying to make Henrikh Mkhitaryan as their marquee transfer window signing. Absence of European football and interest from other top clubs, along with the player’s ownership issues, make the signing tricky.

But if the reports are to be believed, the player wants to move to Anfield, and hopefully the move can be completed soon. After Alberto Aquilani, we are now wary of judging a player from the YouTube videos, but given his reputation, Mkhitaryan should add much-needed quality and goals to the Liverpool team. The potential cash generated by sale by Suarez’s sale should be used wisely too (and not wasted like it was done when Torres was sold).

The signing of Kolo Toure was quick and neat, though Jamie Carragher can never really be replaced in the team. Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto look promising, but it is yet to be seen whether they turn out to be a Philippe Coutinho or a Bruno Cheyrou. Simon Mignolet comes in with a strong reputation at Sunderland; however it remains to be seen if he can be an improvement over the long-serving and reliable Pepe Reina.

Having said that, all these players will definitely add value to the fledging Liverpool squad, and youngsters like Sterling, Ibe, Suso will also be better prepared to handle the pressure compared to last year. Jordan Henderson is another player who is now seemingly playing to his potential, and will be key to the team’s success.

A club with such a magnificent history and fan following deserves better than just filling up the numbers in the league. The fans have backed the club in the testing times of ownership saga and now continued absence of Champions League for last few seasons. Brendan Rodgers has had his time to get the team playing his kind of football, and the next season should see a much better performance from Liverpool.

Liverpool are looking to strengthen the squad, but so will the other clubs who have been more superior off late. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of promise and hope for the Liverpool fans (including me) for the upcoming season. Whether the potential is translated into results, which will lead to the resurgence of the competitive Liverpool team that regularly challenges and wins trophies, remains to be seen….