Liverpool FC: Is This Season a Success or Is It a Failure?

What's gone wrong this season?

It would be a lie to say everything, because it simply isn't true.

Liverpool have a real chance of making the FA Cup final if they can beat Everton this weekend, and Kenny Dalglish has already brought silverware back to Merseyside for the first time since 2006 by way of a Carling Cup win.

But is that good enough? Most fans would probably say no.

So what constitutes a successful season versus a dismal one? Where is the line drawn?

Would TWO cup wins mean that the final league position is forgettable? Would a fourth-place Premier League finish with no cup victories be a more desirable outcome?

Depends on the individual I should imagine.

Champions League football is what Liverpool Football Club aspires to, and the Premier League title is the holy grail for Kopites, but it's also important to remember that football clubs are measured on one thing and one thing only—trophies.

Two cup wins for Liverpool—if it happens—would be an excellent season, even if Liverpool finish ninth or 10th in the league. Is there any more pride in finishing fifth than there is in ninth? Not in my book.

Liverpool have assured European football next season by way of the Carling Cup victory, so their league position only really matters if they are going to make fourth place—which they are clearly not.

Liverpool players know this, and that has likely contributed to their poor run of form which has seen them slide down the Premier League table into eighth.

If that means they are concentrating and saving their efforts for the FA Cup, then that's a tactic I can back.

HOWEVER, that's not to say that Liverpool haven't had their issues that need addressing for the 2012-13 season.

One thing that is clear to Reds fans worldwide is the lack of creativity and goals Liverpool have achieved this season. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Devoid of spark, devoid of service and devoid of finishing. It's a domino effect that ripples through the team and has resulted in Liverpool's strikers hardly contributing a goal amongst them.

In fact, in getting to the FA Cup semifinal, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll have scored one goal apiece. That just isn't good enough for £58 million worth of talent.

What happened to the days when you could rely on your striker to pinch you three points here and there? Liverpool just don't have a predator anymore.

Ian Rush, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres didn't play superbly every game they pulled on the red shirt, but they'd still grab you a goal now and then that could win you a football match.

So the answer to me is clear. Dalglish needs a creative spark in midfield and a predatory striker that lives in the six-yard box. It's a small shopping list considering what Liverpool could choose to spend this summer, but it's not all doom and gloom at Anfield from where I'm sat.

I really don't know what Liverpool fans would class as success these days, but nothing happens overnight. Dalglish has come in, won a trophy and left the door open for another.

It's up to the starting XI on the field at the weekend to walk through it, rest assured that they won't be walking alone.

On Twitter? Follow me @petercwebster where I post all my B/R content.