You say we are a big club and then say we need to be realistic?
We WERE a big club and we have the history of a big club behind us. But we have shit players, bar a couple, and we don't spend anywhere near the money required to compete up at the top of the game. So how are we a big club?
What was the plan? For Laca to fluke a goal? For us to get 2 touches of the ball in the Liverpool penalty are in 45 minutes of football? To cower behind the halfway line and beg Liverpool not to hurt us? That's not a big club. It's about as small time as you can get.
I realise we're bumping along the bottom of longstanding decline - thanks Kroenke, thanks Wenger - but there's no cause for celebration because the decline has been halted. We're still at the bottom. There needs to be some indication we are heading back up. Slowly is fine. Gradually is fine. But always up. There have been too many false dawns at this club over the past decade. The jury is still out as to whether this is another one because setbacks like the performance at Liverpool - when the results counted, as opposed to the previous two triumphs, is a clear indication we are still capable of going backwards.
Nobody is asking for the team to go out and thump Liverpool at Anfield. That's a long distant dream, and nothing more than a dream at this stage. But that's not an excuse for a lack of ambition. We should still be trying to do the things a competitive football team does, even though we are outmatched. It's not as if we are non-league opponents, turning up for the day out. We're still a PL club. Didn't Watford (IIRC) find a way to beat Liverpool when it mattered? They could maybe do that 1 in 100 attempts, but in order to do it at all there's no way they took to that pitch hoping to keep the score down.
No way you can call yourself a big club if that's the mentality.