A simple question in the poll this week: which competition do you want to see Liverpool put more effort into as the season approaches its final quarter?
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Previously, talk was that Liverpool's only route back to Europe was to win the Europa League, but current form has them for the time safe in sixth and with an extremely slim chance of wrangling fourth. However, though not beyond the realm of possibility, with Tottenham currently eight points up with a game in hand in the final Champions League berth it would be far more difficult to move up than hold onto the current Europa spot. Meanwhile, as everyone is aware, the squad's depth is less than ideal.
Players like Kuyt and Lucas have played almost every match this season, with the former's form often suffering, possibly due to overwork. Now Liverpool go into the second leg of the Sparta Praha tie on Thursday hoping to have Daniel Agger and Steven Gerrard back, a pair integral to the club's success but also two of its most fragile members. Then you get to a player like Joe Cole, expected to at the least provide depth and options, who has come off the bench twice in 2011 and would likely take the remainder of the season to work his way back to form--assuming he stayed fit and has any form to work back to.
Does the club then put everything on Europe and the chance of silverware, doing the minimum to hold onto the top six? If that's the plan, it's hard to imagine Gerrard and Agger won't play on Thursday even if they aren't 100% fit and would have to then rest against West Ham. Or do they gamble on the chance of sneaking into the top four, abandoning any shot at silverware for the slim hope of putting the club in a better position next season, leaving it to kids and fringe players to get a run out in the Europa League as though it was the Carling Cup?