Liverpool’s last chance to win silverware disappeared after a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final.
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(Video) Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool FA Cup semi-final highlights: Delph scores winner to secure final berth
The surprise collapse at Wembley, which saw Villa’s Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph cancel out Philippe Coutinho’s opener, means Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is still searching for the first trophy of his managerial career.
There will be no fairytale ending for outgoing skipper Steven Gerrard, whose 35th birthday is on FA Cup final day. And more questions will inevitably be asked about an expensively-assembled squad which has failed to lift a piece of silverware and has only an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
Rodgers could be tempted to ring the changes when the summer transfer window opens and here we look at the five flops who simply don’t look good enough to play for the five-time European Cup winners:
5) Kolo Toure
In his prime Toure was a Rolls Royce of a defender, in the days of the Arsenal Invincibles. However, he had already lost a yard of pace at Manchester City, and his recent outing for the Reds against the Gunners showed he can no longer cope in high-intensity matches.
If you are a centre-half and you can’t nail down a regular berth in this Liverpool team, something is clearly wrong.
4) Mario Balotelli
It’s just not going to happen for this guy, is it? One starts to wonder if he will settle anywhere. He was unlucky to be flagged offside late on against Villa when clear through on goal, but he also found time to squander a couple of good chances.
The Italy international, with four goals in 25 appearances to his name, needs to be written off as a mistake, but the tough part will be finding a willing buyer.
3) Fabio Borini
An unused substitute at Wembley, the time has surely come to find Balotelli’s compatriot Borini a new challenge – if he will accept it. The former Swansea City man, who has netted once in 17 matches, snubbed a permanent move to Sunderland last summer but has barely featured on Merseyside.
With Luis Suarez gone and Daniel Sturridge regularly injured, this was the season for another striker to step up, but Borini hasn’t.
2) Lazar Markovic
It’s not that former Benfica winger Markovic does not have talent – far from it. But he is substituted so frequently by Rodgers that his confidence appears shot to bits.
A parting of ways might be the best solution for all parties as there appears to be a lack of faith in the 21-year-old, which is beginning to impact on his performances and he is back to square one.
1) Dejan Lovren
There is no way of sugar-coating the fact that Lovren has been an unmitigated disaster since his £20m move from Southampton last summer.
While some of the signings who came from overseas can point out that they need a year to settle in, Lovren should have been the ready-made, ball-playing, Premier League-acclimatised central defender Rodgers craved. Instead he is a mistake waiting to happen and should be sold, although it will be for a fraction of the amount of money Liverpool shelled out.