So after last night's superb victory over the Eagles of Lisbon, hope shines brighter now at Anfield. We always knew we were that good, it was just a matter of time.
I suppose that the victory was all the sweeter after the first twenty minutes when Benfica showed what a talented team they actually were. There were excellent performances across the pitch. Dirk Kuyt, as always, put in a shift, but last night there was more purpose and quality about his endeavours. Lucas surprised us all again by keeping a cool head when in the opposition penalty area. Danniel Agger was more effective as a left back than Insua has been this season,and there was less of a threat down that side than there has been in recent months. Pepe was always (well nearly always) in command of his area and, other than one chance that ping ponged across the goal line, Benfica were only ever going to score from a set piece.
As a traditional football supporter, I've asked myself the following question. Do I want to win the Europa League or finish fourth in the Premiership this season?
I know what is most important for the future of the club. Or at least I thought I did. Entry into the Champions League is financially essential for our club to move forward for the future. But can coming fourth be considered a success. Who was it who once said "First is first, second is nowhere."?
If fourth is good enough for you, then rejoice. We are already fourth or better in this seasons Europa League (we could use this Sunday's game against Fulham as a third/fourth play off in case we both get beat in the semis). So that is a successful season after all. Except it isn't really is it? To me, the number one priority every season is to win as many trophies as we can. Of course I have a preference of which ones I would like but winning a trophy is what we support our team for. Everything else is just about doing as good as we can. Whilst fourth place in the Premiership might be financially better than winning a cup, it doesn't feel as satisfying.
Look back to 2001. Which result gave you the biggest pleasurable feelings? The 12th of May victory over Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium, the Dortmund classic against Alaves 4 days later, or our final game of the season on the 19th of May when we clinched a Champions League place by beating Charlton 4-0 to finish third. I would hazard a guess that the first two come pretty close together whereas the Charlton game was a game you knew we had to win for the money, not the glory.
I would love to finish fourth in the PL, not just for the riches it brings but also, in fact mainly, for the opportunity to win the CL again. As I've said in my previous post, I hope we can finish fourth but I don't believe we will.
But at least we are still in with a chance of winning a significant tournament this season.
Question. If Manchester United come second this season and we win the Europa Cup, who would you say has had the most successful season?
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