Before you can take stock of the season Liverpool have had, you have to rewind to the start of the 2012-13 season. A failed experiment with Roy Hodgson had forced Liverpool to finally remove the hated Hicks and Gillette under whom so much financial damage was done to the club. Under Hodgson, Liverpool had played some of the worst football in living memory. Even bringing back King Kenny and spending huge sums of money had not solved the League problem although we won a Cup and reached the FA Cup Final in a season and a half.

Liverpool went into the start of 2012-2013 with another new manager — Brendan Rodgers — who didn’t come with the sort of pedigree Liverpool fans are used to (neither did Hodgson mind you) so there was plenty of trepidation. We started badly and really never got going. It was only after the winter break that Liverpool found some form, played a more attacking brand of football and finally finished 7th in May 2013. Hardly an encouraging start in terms of results, as Liverpool and Rodgers struggled against the bigger sides and had plenty of away day blues.

Add to that, the summer of 2013 shenanigans of Suarez and his want-away, coupled with the club not doing great business — bringing in players that perhaps were well short of the recognition that makes for title challenges. No — at the start of the 2013-2014 season, most pundits, journalists and even Liverpool fans were not expecting the side that Rodgers built to finish any higher than fourth but common wisdom was we would finish between 5th and 6th.

Its against this backdrop — a side that finished 7th, was outspent in net terms by at least a factor of two by all our rivals (as high as three and four by our nearest title rivals) and had their main striker out banned for the first six games of the season — that Liverpool have finished second in the league and for the first time in the history of the Premier League have had a chance to win the title on the final day of the season.

Given this, its an amazing achievement. Yet even more amazing is that it could and probably should have been so much better. Three points clear at the top with three games to go, Liverpool needed just seven points to win the title. Agonisingly they got only four and were pipped at the post by Manchester City on the last day. A collapse? Maybe but when you put into perspective that up until that Chelsea defeat they had won every game of the second half of the season except one and were on an eleven game winning streak. Honestly, they had done brilliantly just to get into that position.

A more assured team would have won it. Rodgers will know his side should have but with limited resources and a young team, he will have to accept that this time, they were quite good enough. He wasn’t either. His ‘cavelier’ football style that Liverpool have played has been well praised by fans and neutrals alike but whether that style will win trophies only time will tell.

However its easy to dwell on this and forget the season as a whole. Liverpool have so much to be proud of. So many young players have stepped up for them. Sterling, Henderson, Flanagan, Sturridge. All under 25. All British and all with room for improvement. The future is frightening. Sterling especially. Last season it looked like Liverpool were done with him after he lost form and had discipline issues. He has bounced back so hard that he is now a vital cog in the side and will be an integral part of England’s World Cup campaign. His pace and skill coupled with a hunger to learn marks him as one of England’s best talents. Can be world class. Really world class.

Luis Suarez? Missed the first six games after being banned. Whined and wanted away over the summer. Was thwarted by Henry and Rodgers and most thought he would sulk. Result? Player of the year. Thirty-one goals. Best player in the world maybe. His partnership with Sturridge lit up the Premiership and they destroyed defences across the land. He will be a target for the big clubs this summer but has got what he wanted. Champions League football and now has a side to match his ambitions.

Sturridge was a revelation. He ended last season brilliantly and started this season the same. Taking up the scoring burden when Suarez was injured, he scored twenty-four goals and now certainly will be England’s starting forward at the World Cup. More to come from him. Chelsea, who discarded him, will be kicking themselves after their striker problems.

What about Mr. Liverpool — Captain Fantastic? Gerrard summed up the players feelings when he said he was ‘devasted’ on the last day of the season. Many think his best chance is gone. He knows, his best chance probably still lies ahead. He was magnificient in the second half of the season. Looked rusty and ill-at-ease in the first quarter when moved to a deeper, sweeping role. Flourished in the second half of the season when the cover and drive was provided by Henderson, who partnered the captain so well. Harsh on Gerrard that his slip allowed Ba to score. Will be remembered as a final turning point of the season. I chose to remember the good not that one blemish.

What memories these and all the other players have given us. Wins over United home and away where we blew them apart. Nine goals scored versus our hoodo team Spurs in two games. Five away, four more at home. A four goal rout of Everton in the Derby at Anfield. A 5-1 thumping of Arsenal when we were 4-0 up in 20 minutes. An amazing 3-2 win over Manchester City at Anfield which set up the prospect of lifting the title. Goals, goals, goals! One hundred and one of them. Fifty five between Sturridge and Suarez. Liverpool were the most improved side in the country and the most devastating. The fans haven’t seen days like this since the 80's. My game of the season? The Spurs game at White Hart Lane. Liverpool were off some dodgy results. We had brought Sterling back into the side and when we trounced Tottenham playing such a flowing, attacking style, I really started to believe that this side was capable of inflicting plenty of damage to the big teams. We didn’t concede either. Best performance in years.

The flip side is poor defending. We conceded 59 in 38 games and that is terrible. System to blame? Perhaps. There will always be some defensive sacrifice when you play to score more than the opponents. However too many sloppy mistakes from personnel at the back and a lack of a real defensive leader cost us in the end. We were prone to collapsing at the back. We did against City and Norwich in the run in. It hurt most at Palace where we blew a three goal lead in eleven minutes. Rodgers will know, if his side is to challenge again, this cannot repeat.

This is a long way of saying we are back. Liverpool have long been a sleeping giant in England. The 90's weren’t kind to the club and although we managed some wonderful things in the 2000's, this new decade was barren and the club had seen real hope seep away. Rodgers has brought that hope back. Liverpool fans expect now. Anfield is the fortress it once was and teams are fearful of being beaten badly by us. Look the Arsenal game (first 20 minutes) and Manchester City in the first half. Both good sides (one the champions!), stood off us, defended deep, worried about getting stretched and got stuffed anyway.

The club has to build on this momentum. It won’t be easy. Champions League football next season means more games. Liverpool need a bigger squad. Its amazing we have achieved all this basically with 11-12 players. In this modern era, that is remarkable. Chelsea and City have top five sides on their bench every week. We will need strength in depth for more mid-week games to come. We must buy well. No buying potential. We have plenty of that in the youth side and the academy. Buy solid professionals who will make the side better from day one. Lalana is mentioned. He is a good addition if he comes but we need to prioritise the defense. Agger and Johnson need replacing and Toure and Sakho aren’t the real deal. Cissoko? Send him back.

I am sure Rodgers knows this. I am sure he has his plans in place. Its been such a bittersweet season for me and Liverpool that I can’t believe its over and am happy its done at the same time. I deserve a break. So does Brendan. Watch the World Cup and then get ready for pre-season, where players, manager and fans in unison can say — “We Go Again”.

YNWA.