Should Liverpool’s season be deemed a failure?

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers poor signings have cost his team this season

As we all know Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup on Sunday with a 2-1 semi-final defeat by Aston Villa at Wembley.

The defeat ended any hopes of the Reds claiming silverware this season.

Unlikely

Brendan Rodgers team also look unlikely to claim a top-four finish and a Champions League spot this season, as they are currently seven points behind fourth-place Manchester City, although they do have a game in-hand on the reigning champions.

With just six Premier League games remaining it will be difficult for the Reds to make-up the ground on Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

Poor Recruitment

The problem for Liverpool this season was that they overachieved last season in finishing second and challenging for the Premier League title. Last season’s performance raised expectations with the fans and the current squad was never going to be able to fulfil those expectations.

The likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all brought in players that strengthened their teams, but Liverpool brought in players that have been hit and miss this season.

The club obviously gave their scouts season tickets for Southampton last season, because of the arrival of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren from the south coast club last summer.

None of the trio have covered themselves in glory for the Reds this season, for one reason or another. Lambert was always going to be up against it to play regular first team football at Anfield.

Even with Daniel Sturridge out injured for a large spell of the campaign and Mario Balotelli out-of-form the England international has struggled to feature much for the Reds this season.

When Lovren played at Southampton he seemed to be the player that brought the best out of centre-back partner Jose Fonte. However from the Croatian’s performances for the Reds it looks like it may have been the other way round.

The Croatian is really struggling to justify his £20million price tag and also suffered with injury in his time on Merseyside. He still has a lot to do to convince Liverpool fans that he is worth his big price tag.

Midfielder Adam Lallana has endured a frustrating first campaign in a Liverpool shirt, with injuries hampering his debut campaign. The England international has shown glimpses of what he can do at times, but the injuries have no doubt affected his Liverpool career.

The other signings have not really excelled either. Young German Emre Can has been shifted around the team, as Brendan Rodgers has changed his team’s formation. He has shown flashes of skill and ability that could make him a star of the future though.

Spanish full-back Alberto Moreno has also shown flashes of his ability so far in his Reds career. He has probably been one of the more promising summer signings from Rodgers. The former-Sevilla man does seem to have the potential to have a decent Liverpool career.

Winger Lazar Markovic is regarded as a promising talent, but he is another player that is still young and developing. At Benfica he was regarded as a potential world-class star of the future. He cannot say he has been a great success, but at 21 he still has time to develop into a good player for Liverpool.

Maybe the biggest mistake of the summer from Rodgers was the £16million signing of Italian striker Mario Balotelli from AC Milan. The former-City striker has struggled to find the back of the net and Rodgers gamble on the forward has failed to pay-off.

Balotelli has struggled in front of goal so much that winger Raheem Sterling has at times been preferred in the lone striker role. There are now doubts over the Italian’s future on Merseyside.

Future

The problem for Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers is that a lot of his players are players who are regarded as ones with potential, or stars of the future. Liverpool needs players who are ready for the first team now.

The Reds spent a lot of money in the summer and have got very little in return for that investment this season.

Failure

I believe for most fans Liverpool failing to get into the top four will be regarded as failure in their eyes, especially after mounting a title challenge last season. It is hard to claim otherwise, as Liverpool promised so much last season, yet have delivered so little in this campaign.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will again be under severe pressure to get things right this summer in the transfer market, because last summer he completely failed to do so and his whole Reds career could hinge on his work in the transfer market this summer.

Should Liverpool’s season be deemed a failure?