What Constitutes a Successful Season?

Well, what a week that was!

Last Wednesday evening, a fantastic performance, most notably from Craig Bellamy, saw Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the Carling Cup final. Only three days later, a Manchester double was completed as United were dumped out of the FA Cup, thanks to a late Dirk Kuyt winner. There was a worry that Wolves on Tuesday night would be a case of "after the Lord mayor's show", but a professional and dominant performance saw the Reds run out comfortable 3-0 winners.

So, after the shambolic performance at Bolton Wanderers and subsequent public lambasting by Dalglish, those 3 games in 7 days have revitalised the Reds season. A trip to Wembley in late February to face Cardiff City is booked, a FA Cup 5th round home tie with Brighton represents a great chance to move a step closer to another visit to the big arch-thingy (much easier to refer to when the Twin Towers were there!), whilst the victory at Molineux moved us into fifth place in the league, only four points behind Chelsea and a Champions League spot. Furthermore, after a first half of the season where goals were in thin supply, we suddenly look to have worked out what that net is for at the end of the pitch, with Bellamy, Kuyt and even Andy Carroll all having notched on at least one occasion recently. Add to this the fact that our brilliant number seven Luis Suarez is now refreshed and available again after his 8-game ban, things look very rosy indeed at Anfield.

So, from where we currently are at the start of February, what outcome from the second half of the season would constitute a successful campaign?

Well, at the start of any season, the dream for everyone connected with Liverpool Football Club is to win the league. However, with King Kenny’s side still in it’s formative years, realism shows that we are still a way off even mounting a challenge for the title. Instead, a more realistic aim for the current crop is a Top 4 finish, a position which means qualification for Champions League football. It's been two seasons since we were last involved in Europe's elite competition, three if you count the terrible display we put up in the 2009-10 competition where we failed at the group stages. And, there is no doubt about it, it has been missed. From a business point of view, the loss of revenue from Champions League football is astronomical, whilst no participation in the competition can also prove a major hurdle when trying to entice, or hold on to, high quality players. From a fans point of view, Champions football is also important. There's nothing better than a European night at Anfield, although following the Reds around Europe to places like the Nou Camp and Bernabeu does come close.

But, as good as Champions League qualification is, it doesn't win you anything. It doesn’t sit proudly in the Anfield trophy room for future generations to see. As Bill Shankly, the greatest manager of them all, once said “First is first, second is nothing!”. Look at Arsenal, perennial qualifiers for the Champions League, the Gunners haven't won anything since 2005. It is that lack of success which is what they are renowned for and is the reason why manager Arsene Wenger continually finds himself under pressure.

This is where our Carling Cup final comes into play. It is imperative that we beat Cardiff City on Sunday 26th February. Of course, if we do beat the side from South Wales, there will be endless amounts of people labelling the competition as "The Mickey Mouse Cup". Yes it is a competition which some sides choose to put at the bottom of their priority list, but the truth is that it doesn't matter. At the end of the day it is a trophy and Liverpool Football Club exists to win trophies. If we manage to in it, and go on and add the FA Cup too, then imagine the confidence this would instill into this exciting evolving team. It would give the likes of Suarez, Carroll, Jordan Henderson and the other relatively new players belief that they can help Liverpool pick up major trophies. I also think sight of a Liverpool team back winning trophies again would prove a major attraction for the top players, regardless of whether or not Champions League football has been assured.

So, fast-forward to the end of May. If we have finished fourth but won nothing, would that be classed as a success? If we have won 1, maybe 2, cups but finished outside top four, would we all be happy? If we win a cup and finish in fifth place, but our arch-rivals Manchester United finish second and end the season empty-handed, who will have had the best season?

For me, both a Top four finish and cup success is important. But, for this season, if I had to choose one, I’d go with the silverware. However, on reflection, why do we have to choose? Instead, we could just do a "2001"... win both cups and finish 4th. Then we'd all be happy!