Sometimes when the greats leave the stage, their prevailing emotion is relief. Rather than reliving the highs, they are relieved it is over.
Liverpool were embarrassed at Stoke City on Sunday. Steven Gerrard should be liberated. He has shouldered a colossal burden, but their wretchedness is others' problem now.
Stoke 6 Liverpool 1: it was a result that will be remembered almost as long as Gerrard himself. It brought a stark contrast: Liverpool’s greatest-ever player bowed out in their biggest defeat for 52 years.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has been mocked for much of the season for describing undistinguished displays as “outstanding”, but there was no escaping the magnitude of this. He looked visibly shaken as he apologised for a humiliating low.
Gerrard is one of life’s realists, Rodgers one of its optimists.
Evangelical managers sell the promise of a brighter future. Yet, 12 months on from one of the most thrilling title challenges of all, Liverpool’s has rarely looked bleaker. They will begin next season without their captain, talisman and top scorer, the departing Gerrard, and their sole potent striker, the injured Daniel Sturridge.
They may kick off without their brightest young talent, the refusenik Raheem Sterling. They could have a raft of new signings but, with only two unqualified successes (Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho) to show for a £240 million (Dh1.36 billion) outlay during the last three years, that is unlikely to imbue supporters with confidence.
Increasing numbers hope they start without Rodgers. A year after his coronation as manager of the year, dismissal would be harsh, yet such is the speed at which Liverpool have unravelled, it would be understandable. Fenway Sports Group would be negligent if they did not at least explore the possibility of appointing Jurgen Klopp.
The simplistic analysis of troubled clubs is to assume that a change of manager serves as a remedy to all the ills. It will not at Liverpool.
Rodgers may have lost the dressing room – the thrashing at Stoke certainly suggested so – and there are legitimate concerns over his big-game record, his curious choices and his ability to organise a defence. But he is not solely responsible for the transfer-market failings.
Liverpool have been found wanting both at player identification and at actually sealing deals.
Their infamous transfer committee ought to be disbanded and disbarred. Last summer’s £117m outlay was a chance to provide a platform for progress for years to come. Liverpool should have recruited players capable of settling debate about positions in the side for several seasons.
Instead they got Emre Can, a promising midfielder who has been more exposed with every outing in defence; Alberto Moreno, a left-back who struggles to defend; Dejan Lovren, a £20m centre-back whose confidence has been destroyed; Lazar Markovic, a £20m flair player who now ranks behind Jordon Ibe, the youngster they already had; Adam Lallana, who is neither worth his £25m fee nor good enough for Liverpool; Rickie Lambert, a Liverpool fan brought in to witness their pain; and Mario Balotelli, the misfit who has become the symbol of a squandered opportunity.
Theirs is a malaise with a multitude of fathers. Last season’s Luis Suarez-inspired surge to second place looks the anomaly. In the other five of the last six campaigns, they have finished 23, 22, 37, 28 and 25 points behind the champions.
On each occasion, they have trailed Tottenham Hotspur in the final standings. Mediocrity has become the norm, underachievement expected. Ordinary players such as Martin Skrtel become cornerstones of the team simply because there is a more pressing need to replace others.
Now Liverpool need more character and more quality. They need more goal-scorers and more match-winners. They need more dependable defenders and a better goalkeeper. They need more proven Premier League performers and more stardust. They need a system.
While Sterling and his agent, Aidy Ward, have acted terribly in their row with the club, their diagnosis of Liverpool’s prospects could be correct. It is only five months since their last Uefa Champions League game. It looks as though it could be years until the next.
Liverpool are at one of their lowest ebbs in half a century.
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