Jurgen Klopp 'ignored' £32m striker signed by FSG after promise made to Liverpool manager
If Liverpool fans were used to one thing from the first quarter century of the Premier League, it was their beloved Reds suffering a slump after finishing second in the league.
It happened in 2002/03, 2009/10, and unfortunately for Brendan Rodgers, it also occurred in 2014/15.
A big part of the problem that season was a struggle to score goals. Luis Suarez moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2014, and injuries restricted Daniel Sturridge to just 12 appearances in the league.
That pair had almost powered Liverpool to the title in 2013/14 by scoring 52 league goals between them, but the following season the whole team only managed 10 more than that.
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The men tasked with replacing Sturridge and Suarez simply failed to deliver. Mario Balotelli scored four goals in all competitions, Rickie Lambert three and Fabio Borini only one.
But for all that Liverpool struggled, the season was not a complete write off. They reached the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, where they faced Aston Villa.
Philippe Coutinho gave the Reds the lead, before Christian Benteke equalised. The Belgian was arguably Liverpool’s number one nemesis around this time, with his semi-final strike his fifth against the club at that point.
He had proven unplayable, particularly when Villa visited Anfield in December 2012 and he scored twice in a 3-1 away win.
Villa took the lead in the second half at Wembley, and Rodgers made multiple tactical and formation shifts but to no avail.
His side then lost three of their final six matches after the semi-final, winning only once, culminating in a final day 6-1 horror show
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