In my eyes, what I am watching now and the players playing (Suarez excluded) are better players than the 11/12 season..that is what my eyes tell me BBB.
Whether it is true or not..I have no idea.
You are right mate, we are but after three seasons, twenty odd players and over £200m spent it should be.
Is it really enough of a sign of progress when the best we can offer, by way of 'argument', is that; this squad is playing better (with better players) than the 2011/12 squad? Not in my opinion.
Have our expectations really been dumbed down [subtly and cleverly] to the extent that we 'should' be happy that 'at least we are playing better' and, 'if we just wait... we will be able to afford top quality, "ready made" players in another three seasons'? I hope not.
See I'm not sold on the notion that Brendan either needed, or wanted, to sign twenty odd "players with potential" to get us to where we are now - i.e. 'playing better football than the 2011 squad'. In my my opinion; if he had been given the freedom and ability to purchase/pay wages of quality, "ready-made" footballers then we would have seen very few of the twenty. And you know what?... We [the football team] would have been better off - certainly no worse off.
You made a very valid point that, by the time 2017/18 season come round, our current batch of young guns will be entering their prime but (there's always a but) I'd be very surprised if all those lads are still playing here come then. The chances are they'll be moved on - either for profit because they've been exceptional or because they haven't fulfilled their "potential" and ain't good enough. At which point we do what: buy more "potential", take yet another step back and reset our target date?
Brendan Rodgers is, as you put it, very much "their man" but he's working to a remit and strategy which is very clearly defined and dictated by FSG. Unlike a few posters, I am convinced that the 'strategy' is more about optimising, (with little financial risk to themselves), FSG's business plan/portfolio/profit before they cash in than it is about making us champions.
Furthermore; I also believe that, by convincing many fans that all will be good in yet another three, four, five seasons, FSG have pulled off the biggest con of all- merely buying time before they cash in and withdraw. And...
Unless they give "their man" the latitude to sign what he now calls "ready made", quality players they'll be withdrawing without ever having had to deliver.
If they are serious about football - give Brendan the tools; start building on what we have "now". They could have built on a team, decimated by injury but sitting 2 points off 4th, in January 2012 [by buying "ready-made" quality] but didn't; could have built on a team, flying high in the league last January [buy buying "ready-made" quality] but didn't and they could have built on a team which finished 2nd last season [by buying "ready-made" quality] but didn't.
Instead Brendan had to make do with the "long-term"
strategy of buying young players "with potential" [i.e. buy low/sell high] because... wait for it.... top quality players wanted to play in London
Let loose with, "ready-made", top quality players - Brendan would deliver... of that I have no doubt. * By "deliver" I mean win NOT compete for a top four finish (which, although is the height of ambition for many, it seems - ISN'T good enough for Liverpool F.C. in my opinion, of course.)