Where do Pool go from here?

History, the one thing that seemed to be on Liverpool’s side even in the worst of times, seems finally to have deserted Anfield.

For years the club’s rich past has made its failure to win a Premier League title just about bearable, even when rivals who ‘ain’t got no history’ were rubbing people’s noses in it. But on a night when Brendan Rodgers called on memories of European nights of old to inspire his players to become ‘legends’ themselves, the Liverpool muse took too long to answer.

A dramatic finale, in which Steven Gerrard rolled back the years to channel memories of Olympiakos in 2004-5, meant the Kop sung to the very end and there were no boos as Liverpool tumbled into the Europa League. But in the cold light of day this was a match that highlighted why the modern men of Anfield are struggling to hang on to their heritage.

As Gerrard pointed out afterwards, his team at least put up a fight in the last 20 minutes, but more significant was his admission that over the entire campaign – and perhaps even over this 94 minutes — Liverpool hadn’t been good enough. Real Madrid were always favourites to top the group, of course, but Basle and Ludogorets are teams that no Anfield side should be second best to.

So the big question now is where on earth do Liverpool go from here?

The men in red can touch the ‘This is Anfield’ sign as they enter the Anfield arena all they like, gaze at the life-size photographs of legends that adorn atmospheric rooms behind the scenes, and puff out their chests as You’ll Never Walk Alone echoes around their famous home. But still the club’s long-suffering fans have to cope with the uncomfortable truth that their team spent five years attempting to bring Champions League football back to Anfield, and only three months to wave it goodbye.

Who in their right minds would predict Liverpool would be there again next season? Having lost Luis Suarez in the summer, they spent wildly and un-cohesively in the transfer market in a bid to replace him, and look a million miles away from the side that challenged so dramatically for the title last year.

Make no mistake, this was an absolutely crucial game in Liverpool’s season. Victory would have bought Rodgers more time at a difficult stage in the team’s development, kept the Kop on his side ahead of the January transfer market — and kept dreams of achieving some kind of glory in 2015 alive.

A draw, and a Champions League exit, however, contributes to a growing crisis that has been created by bad results, poor performances and an unfortunate injury list; and it means Rodgers’ side must now go to Old Trafford on Sunday for a derby match against Manchester United knowing they simply cannot afford another bad day at the office.

The problem for Rodgers is how on earth he can turn things around without Daniel Sturridge to call on yet and with a hectic Christmas schedule looming over him like a dark shadow that will only grow larger. But no problem is bigger than how to replace Suarez’s goals; a point that was painfully proven against Basle as Rickie Lambert was substituted at half-time and Liverpool spent the entire second half without a recognised striker on the pitch, a problem that was exasperated when Lazar Markovic was harshly sent off.

But that red card wasn’t the reason Liverpool went out — and Gerrard’s superb free-kick and a late flurry of chances should not hide the truth either — because the problems at Liverpool far deeper than that. This was the night when the ghost of football history visited Anfield one last time — and painted a rather uncomfortable vision of the future.