This is a little riff on Super Mario's infamous under shirt at Man City. It isn't reality, it's just how it feels. We are in a new reality. New(ish) manager, new players and worst of all new expectations.
New(ish) Manager.
Brendan is not really new, but he is a stranger in a strange land. Three English competitions and the Champions League. This is not an incremental difference, it is exponential. The challenge is to stay in the top four AND to stay in the Champion's League as long as possible. League Cup and FA Cup? Well, as far as money and players are concerned, they don't matter. To achieve the results the Club needs Rodger's has to train and play on a 3-4 game schedule and balance and rotate his squads to achieve the maximum results. He has, in my opinion the players, he has yet to truly work out the balance, especially with the numerous injury challenges he has faced all season. It is as much art as science to determine the proper balance and rotation.
New Players
This is a touchy subject. Luis Saurez cannot be replaced. Full period stop. This means that the new players cannot be expected to play like Saurez, nor can Liverpool play like they have sure in their ranks. They must play their 2014-2015 game with the very good horses they got. This will take time, and maybe more time than this season alone. It may be two seasons to get the right mix of training, playing and players to get the squad playing like a perennial Champion's League qualifier and contender. Again, art and science.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
This is the elephant in the room. It's on the players backs, the manager's back, the training staff's backs and the owners backs. Players want to succeed, and when it isn't immediate, their expectations wears them down. The Manager is expected to succeed. When he doesn't, he makes little changes and when that doesn't work he makes more, and more and more, losing opportunities for consistency and long term progress. The owners expect results and results mean money. Poor results mean change.
Fans are the baboons in the background. Howling for success that was always there, but seriously hasn't been for a long long time.
Everybody, and I mean everybody needs to lighten up. We will get there. It won't be easy, and it will take a little longer than anybody would like. We are building a foundation for long term success. Once the foundation is built, the success will follow.
I haven't written anything for more than a year because I was afraid I might jinx last years success. I was superstitious. So, for better or worse, I'm back.
YNWA
