Fickle Fans Need Longer Memories

In the wake of Liverpool’s exit out of the FA Cup at the hands of League 2 side Oldham Athletic, fans were quick to criticize the team, the manager, the owners, and just about anyone associated with the club.

Fans called for certain players to never wear the Liverpool shirt again, for Brendan Rodgers to be sacked, and also condemned the American owners for not putting in adequate investment into the side despite the imminent arrival of Inter Milan’s Philippe Coutinho for £8.5mil, which will take Liverpool’s January spending up to £20.5mil.

Valid concerns were raised regarding the progress of the club, the readiness of certain youngsters, and the quality of both the overall squad and the man in charge.

While many of these issues hold weight and need to be addressed, many fans should add some perspective to the matter.

Just over a week ago fans and pundits alike were praising the Reds with the quote “the project is really coming together” seemingly in overdrive for the entirety of the weekend. This came after a 5-0 demolition job of Norwich City. Does one result with a weakened team against a lower league side who played like it was a cup final completely eradicate the impressive performance against Norwich? And if that is truly the way certain fans think, what does it say about them?

These types of results in the FA Cup are in no way shape or form unique to Rodgers. Here are the rounds and results in which the Reds exited the FA Cup over the last 10 years under four different managers:

Gerard Houllier:

2002/03 – 4^th round replay – Liverpool 0-2 Crystal Palace

2003/04 – 5^th round replay – Portsmouth 1-0 Liverpool

Rafael Benitez:

2004/05 – 3^rd round – Burnley 1-0 Liverpool

2005/06 – Winners – Liverpool 3-3 West Ham (Liverpool win 3-1 on pens)

2006/07 – 3^rd round – Liverpool 1-3 Arsenal

2007/08 – 5^th round – Liverpool 1-2 Barnsley

2008/09 – 4^th round replay – Everton 1-0 Liverpool (AET)

2009/10 – 3^rd round replay – Liverpool 1-2 Reading (AET)

Kenny Dalglish:

2010/11 – 3^rd round – Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool

2011/12 – Runners up – Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers:

2012/13 – 4^th round – Oldham Athletic 3-2 Liverpool

In his last two seasons at the club, Houllier struggled massively against the weaker sides, with the home loss to Crystal Palace in 2003 an extremely dark moment in the Frenchman’s tenure.

In Benitez’s first season in charge, Liverpool crashed out at the first hurdle against Barnsley after an infamous own goal from Djimi Traore where the defender tried to turn in his own 6-yard box but only succeeded in back heeling the ball into the back of his own net. Many fans were fed up with Benitez after that result with many questioning whether the Spaniard was capable of managing in England and with such a prestigious team. Fast forward four months and Steven Gerrard was holding aloft the Champions League trophy for the fifth time in the clubs history, and the following season the Reds won the exact competition fans claimed Benitez did not take seriously enough a year earlier.

Liverpool were consistently finishing in the top four under Benitez yet the club still suffered embarrassing home losses to Burnley and Reading in the FA Cup under his rule.

Dalglish’s first game in charge came against Manchester United in the 3^rd round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford and resulted in a toothless display where a dubious Ryan Giggs penalty decided the contest. The following season the Reds made it to the final only to succumb to defeat against Chelsea, with Dalglish sacked only a few weeks later.

Benitez achieved relative success with the club but aside from winning the competition in 2006, he never guided the club past the 5^th round, with most exits occurring in the 3^rd and 4^th rounds. This has not stopped most Liverpool fans from viewing Benitez as a club legend, with many calling for his return last summer when Rodgers was eventually hired.

To call Rodgers clueless for failing to overcome similar obstacles that one of the greatest tacticians in the clubs recent history struggled with is incredibly naïve and fickle.

Fans that are calling for Rodgers to get the sack should remember what Benitez achieved with the club despite numerous disappointing FA Cup exits, and those who claim players such as Sebastian Coates should never wear Liverpool red again should remember that Martin Skrtel had an absolute shocker against Havant & Waterlooville on his debut back in 2008, and has since become one of the most valuable players in the squad.

Recalling the past will prevent foolish comments in the future.