Kuyt is a workhorse, not a creative striker and I really think that Crouch should have entered the game far earlier. (Not that he’s a dramatic improvement)

Contrary to most of the pundits I’ve heard, I really liked Gerrard in the forward support role. He was creating a lot of chances.

Pennant looked better than he is, simply because he could easily outrun the 40 year olds that were assigned to mark him. Don’t like him much as a player, but he was in the right place last night.

Zenden was horrible. I know he’s been injured, but the little kid that walked him onto the field could’ve put better crosses and thru-balls in. I counted at least 5 solid opportunities that fell apart because he sucked.

Rafa needs to come off the checkbook and buy a couple of wingers and a solid finisher this summer if the Reds are ever going to take the next step.

But as the season went on, the games generally got worse and worse. Ultimately the role of fatigue and injuries played a bigger role in the quality of games than it should have.

An ancillary effect is that as teams progress further and if they’re nowhere near the top of the league, they start fielding what amounts to slightly better than reserve sides in the domestic competition. Understandable? Yes. Fair to fans and others who show up to games? Not really.

Maybe this is something that can’t be avoided, but by getting rid of the third and fourth place teams from big countries, the possibility can certainly be lessoned.