How would you rate our season? It would have to be by our standards, obviously compared to the whole Premiership, English football or European football then we're right up in the top bracket. Hopes were high, we had Torres and Gerrard in top form and probably now have the best CB quartet around. Problems continue on the flanks and at LB, and in finding a striker to score goals and support Torres.
League : 4th on 76 points.
One place worse off, eight points better off than last season. Only six points shy of our best points tally under Rafa, but still eleven behind the Champions.
Champions League : Semi-Finalists
Losing in extra time to Chelsea at their's, if only we had scored the goals we deserved from our chances. But we can't expect to reach the final almost every season, all in all this was the one competition we actually did very well in. Maybe not as far as we could have gone, but nonetheless we got a lot closer to winning this than any other competition we were in.
FA Cup : 5th Round.
Beaten at home by Barnsley because we couldn't score our chances/beat their keeper. We had maybe too easy a path, never facing top flight opposition.
League Cup : Quarter-Finalists
Beaten at Stamford Bridge, not an easy draw and a ground Rafa has yet to come away with better than a draw at. The reserves did a good job in this competition, first top opposition we faced and we went out.
If I could vote I would probably rate this season as average. There were some positives if you want to draw those, such as not many defeats, decent points tally, semis of the Champions League. But all in all was there any progress? We've finished fourth and without a trophy is the bottom line.