The Season That Got Away?

Hopes ran incredibly high for Liverpool Football Club coming into this season.  In reality, it was never going to be easy with lots of new faces and the gaping hole left on the score sheet by the sale of Luis Suarez.  However, it was impossible to contain the enthusiasm of the supporters after nearly ending the long drought of a league title the year prior.  As the year progressed though, that enthusiasm has turned to exasperation as the Reds' fans have seen their team falter and slip on multiple occasions this year.

Liverpool came out positively in the FA Cup semifinal against Aston Villa.  They enjoyed the better of the possession in the first half and pushed forward a decent amount, although the chances weren't always there.  Aston Villa did have their own opportunities to go forward as well, though despite the announcers claim that they deserved better, Villa's opportunities came only due to Liverpool's lack of cohesive defending.

Liverpool even took the lead in the match as well.  The Reds did not dominate the way they should have, but they made enough of possession for much of the first half.  Steven Gerrard's tackle in the midfield led to possession.  The ball pinged around the midfield players, including Jordan Henderson and Lazar Markovic, before Raheem Sterling laid it back to Coutinho.  Coutinho ran onto the ball, took a shot that was deflected by defender Jores Okore and the ball hit the back of the net.

That was the last good run of form for the club the rest of the afternoon.  The goal was created by the hole left by injured Nathan Baker, but Liverpool failed to take advantage again.  Okore did settle in after creating the deficit, but Liverpool did little to bother the back line of the Villans. Aston Villa did do plenty to bother Liverpool's back line though.

Christian Benteke, the in-form striker in England, was the man to knot it up.  Benteke was left reasonably unmarked in the 36th minute.  Villa found him after slicing through Liverpool's defenses and he was not about to miss.  The game was tied at the half and many suspected there would be changes to the Liverpool XI and they were right.  However those changes proved to change little, if anything about this lackluster performance.

Mario Balotelli was brought on right out of the tunnel for Lazar Markovic, who was invisible during his 45 minutes on the pitch.  Balotelli's inclusion, pushed Gerrard back into a defensive role after the captain did nothing in his time spent on the attack.  Later in the half, Glen Johnson was subbed in for Joe Allen, in a bit of a head scratcher, since the Liverpool attack was the side of the game that seemed to really be suffering.

The changes, whether tactical or via substitution, did nothing to change the outcome of the game.  Aston Villa managed the game winner nine minutes after the half.  The Villans once again carved up the Liverpool defense and Fabian Delph took care of his business.  Liverpool did try their best to create chances late on in the match, but it was too little too late.

Steven Gerrard had a pair of free kicks that were sent straight at the keeper.  Mario Balotelli failed to cleanly settle the ball in the 60th minute, on the edge of the box, that could have led to a solid chance.  Gerrard had an excellent chance on a head ball that seemed to be going in only to have it headed away by the defender placed on the back post.  Balotelli charged forward quite often, but could do nothing in the end to change the fate of the Reds.  Fittingly the match ended with a blast from Dejan Lovren that went about 10 yards off target.

There will be no miraculous ending to Steven Gerrard's chapter of the long story in Liverpool history.  The Reds now have no chance at any silverware this season despite making the semifinals of both the league and domestic cups.  The chance at European football is also slipping away as Liverpool's league form has faltered at the worst possible moment as well.  A season that started with so much promise has melted into an amalgam of despair and anger for all parties involved.

Perhaps this team will prove its detractors wrong.  Perhaps they will rally themselves in the league and sneak into the top four before the season's end.  Perhaps.  More likely is that all dreams of any tangible positives for this season have been dashed like waking from a dream.  Time will tell.  Regardless, the players on this team have to prove that they belong in a Liverpool shirt because as of right now massive changes could be on the way unless things radically change.

Random Thoughts:

- Gerrard settled into the match late on, but was non-existent for most of it.  Say what you will about lack of playing time in recent months or injury or constant shifting of position, Gerrard simply was not the player we have become accustomed to seeing.  Fox Sports' Warren Barton put it very well - it is simply time for Gerrard to move on.  He does not provide enough in attack and is too slow in defense.  Nothing can take away from anyone's memories of his spectacular play over the course of his career and this was not the way anyone hoped he would leave.  However, his best days in the Premier League have faded into memory and the move to MLS looks like the best choice to be made each time.

- Linesmen need a refresher in what is offside.  Aston Villa, honestly, deserved to win that match but Liverpool were robbed of an equalizer by the incorrect offside call in the 89th minute.  Some may argue that the defenders may not have let up a step had the flag not gone up, but as it stands, Mario Balotelli was not offside and ended up slotting the ball into the back of the goal.  Unfortunately, it was called offside and the result is a loss.

Walk On