Two sides, Liverpool and Tottenham, that reached for the pinnacle in EPL 2014-15 only to fall short of their ultimate goal of European football at the top table. Season’s that promised so much ended with both sides standing on the outside looking in on qualification for the Champions League without ever really threatening a top-four finish.
LIVERPOOL
Brendan Rodgers claimed 5th is “par” for Liverpool, so what is to be said for finishing lower than par? After seeing their first genuine title challenge in years slip through their fingers in 2013-14, much was expected of Liverpool this season, and across the board they failed to deliver. Poor signings, poor performances and an overall poor season, culminating in the final insult of a frustrating campaign – sending club legend Steven Gerrard off with a humiliating 6-1 defeat away to Stoke.
What went right?
Despite finishing 6th, very little went right for Liverpool this season. They did manage a 13 game unbeaten run from mid-December to late-March, which included home wins over Manchester City and Spurs, but this is about the high point in an otherwise disappointing season, with most other positives twinged with a negative. They made the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions, but the less said about the manner of the exits from those competitions, the better. Some players do rate a mention here – in Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool has one of the genuinely emerging talents of world football, and there is a growing sentiment that the club need to build around the young Brazilian moving forward.
What went wrong?
How much time do you have? Their best player, Luis Suarez, departed for Barcelona. Their next best player, Daniel Sturridge, missed almost the entire season through injury. Their next best player, rising star Raheem Sterling, (in the words of John Aldridge) disappeared up his own backside chasing a new contract. In amongst all this, Gerrard’s retirement lingered over a squad trying to integrate eight new players and juggle the first European campaign for Brendan Rodgers managerial career – a perfect storm if ever there was one, and no wonder everything went tits up. The Champions League tilt – Liverpool’s first since 2009 – ended in farce, with the club securing only one win, after fighting tooth and nail to return to Europe’s top table, leaving a bad taste in supporter’s mouths. Oh, and there was the 6-1 defeat to Stoke, the club’s worst loss in over 50 years.
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Player of the Year
Coutinho, almost by default, and that is to take nothing away from him. The Number Ten continued his development this season as the Reds leading creative force, adding thunderb@astard goals Stevie G in his prime would have been proud of, to his growing repertoire. After a slow start, Coutinho was at the heart of everything good Liverpool did this season, and it can’t be stressed enough – they need to build around him moving forward.
Failed Signing
Again, how much time do you have, as there are a lot of low cards in this hand. Rickie Lambert proved to be nothing more than a feel good story, with the English striker offering next to nothing on the pitch. Players like Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic, and Emre Can were grossly mismanaged, and often deployed out of position. But special mention must be reserved for two players – Dejan Lovren and Mario Balotelli. Lovren, one of the most expensive defenders ever bought by a Premier League club, reverted to the untrustworthy donkey he had been at Lyon before joining Southampton (google his clearance against Man United, absolute amateur hour), and he is surely now clinging to his career on Merseyside. As for Balotelli, has there ever been a greater waste of footballing talent? Virtually no one, not even Rodgers, thought signing the Italian was a good idea, and so it proved with a return of one league goal for the club’s £16 million outlay. Pathetic.
Hope for the Future
Liverpool have already signalled their intention not to sit still, securing the free transfer signings of England internationals James Milner and Danny Ings already this offseason (although Ings could cost them in the vicinity of five million pounds after a tribunal meets to determine a fee payable to Burnley). They also have Belgian World Cup star Divock Origi arriving following his loan year at Lille. The club’s immediate future will depend on how Rodgers reacts to this season of disappointment, and the apparent pressures on him from ownership. If he responds well, makes more shrewd signings (and plays players in their correct positions), Liverpool could crack the top four next season. Fail to do so, and it will likely be Jurgen Klopp calling the shots at Anfield in 12 months’ time.
TOTTENHAM
2014-15 was a season where Tottenham comfortably claimed a Europa League place, without ever really threatening to break into the top four. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers could well have been talking about Spurs when saying fifth-place is about par, as this seems about where Spurs are and should be – behind the Premier League’s big hitters, but in front of everyone else.
What went right?
We’ll start with young striker Harry Kane, who came out of nowhere to score 31 goals in all competitions in his first real year in the Tottenham first team. A hot start in the cup competitions led to a regular place in the first team, from which he never looked back. Speaking of the cups, they made the League Cup Final, although they would go on to lose 2-0 to Chelsea, and made a decent showing in the Europa League, making it through to the round of 32 before losing out to Fiorentina. This was all set against a decent league campaign, where they finished ahead of Liverpool for the fifth time in the past six seasons – is it any wonder why players such as Christian Eriksen choose North London over Merseyside? The 5-3 win over Chelsea on New Years’ Day was also a highlight.
What went wrong?
The biggest factor in Spurs failing to truly challenge for a top four place was a lack of consistency, with their longest unbeaten run only spanning six games. They also failed to match it with the other big sides, with their record against the ‘Big Four’ and Liverpool reading two wins, two draws, six losses. This is simply not good enough for a side with top four ambitions, as is conceding 58 goals and relying on a largely untested 21 year old to score over a third of your league goals. Crashing out of the FA Cup to Leicester, when Leicester were still lousy, in the 4th round is also something Spurs fans would rather forget about their season.
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Player of the Year
Kane, and it isn’t even close. 31 goals, 21 in the league had the young star head and shoulders above his teammates in the club’s scoring stakes; Nacer Chadli was next best in both categories, notching 13 goals and 11 in the league.
Failed signing
Spurs really only signed squad players and ‘ones for the future’, such as DeAndre Yedlin and Dele Alli, last season, with the most expensive recruit – £8 million defender Federico Fazio – only playing 14 league games. This stance was completely understandable, given the post-Gareth Bale cash spunk from 12 months’ prior, but perhaps this is why Spurs failed to mount a sustained tilt at a top four place.
Hope for the future
They will spend money, as they always do, with manager Mauricio Pochettino no doubt keen to continue to put his stamp on the squad, but a lot will depend on whether or not those funds come from the sale of Kane, who is reportedly the subject of interest from Manchester United (Tottenham should be more worried that Kane grew up an Arsenal fan, if they were to come knocking). Spurs have some good young talent in their squad, but their future will depend on retaining them (Kane) and getting players like Eriksen and Eric Lamela to realise their full potential.