It must be a very sad Easter weekend for Liverpool fans following the 4-1 hammering by Arsenal on Saturday that now leaves the Reds faithful with the same feeling they had in their stomachs last season when captain Steven Gerrard slipped against Chelsea to throw away any chance Liverpool had of winning the Premiership title.
This time around it is not the title they have thrown away but the chance of Champions League football next season and all the rich financial rewards that come along with it, as manager Brendan Rodgers now faces up to what could prove to be a very unsettling summer at Anfield.
The Northern Irishman has not only 20-year-old Raheem Sterling to worry about, after the youngster turned down a reported £100,000 per-week deal to stay on Merseyside, but also Jordan Henderson who has been pencilled in to take over as captain from the departing Steven Gerrard who is heading stateside to play for the LA Galaxy in the North American MLS.
If anything a deal for Jordan Henderson is more pressing than the one for Sterling as the former Sunderland player’s contract enters its final year at the end of this season where as Sterling still has two years left on his current deal.
Reports suggest that Liverpool has offered him £80,000 per-week to extend his contract, but just like Sterling, he is holding out for more money.
While both players will tell you it is not about the money, but being at a club that wins trophies is what they want, we all know that the money is the main factor and the fact of wanting to win trophies can allow them to press for a big money move to a club that will be playing Champions League football next season such as Chelsea who is being linked with a possible move for the pair.
Liverpool is still a huge club with worldwide support after winning 18 domestic titles with five triumphs in Europe, but young players today hardly know anything about that with Liverpool last winning the league 25-years-ago before both Sterling and Henderson were even born.
This summer now will come down to how serious the clubs owners are for Liverpool to compete with Europe’s best or if a lack of Champions League money will stop them from giving manager Brendan Rodgers the kind of money he needs to attract top talent to the club.
Add to this the fact that he will not be able to offer Champions League football next season, and as Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez showed last summer most players would prefer to live in London rather than up north.
The truth of the matter is just like last season it will be dominated by players leaving the club rather than joining it as was the case with Luis Suarez, and just like last season when Rodgers rolled the dice on Mario Balotelli he will once more have to look to bring in young players as he tries to build a team that can bring the trophies back to Anfield.
