Silence And Shock At Anfield

Liverpool’s pre season credentials were probably the same as always, a top four finish, and a decent run in the Champions League; however those credentials have clearly gone up in smoke, as the 2005 Champions League winners find themselves in a state of jeopardy.

The Reds are currently 7th in the Premier League, five points behind fourth placed Man City. It is almost certain that Liverpool will lose their top four place, as the likes of Man City, Aston Villa and Tottenham are all fighting for that lucrative Champions League qualifying spot. On the other hand last night’s FA Cup match between Reading will be a bitter pill to swallow for the Anfield faithful. Getting suckered punched by a Championship side in extra time is purely an embarrassment, however it has happened in the past as Barnsley knocked out Liverpool in the year 2008.

It’s highly unlikely that Liverpool will even win a trophy this year, the Premier League, Carling Cup, Champions League and now the FA Cup is clearly out of sight, however thankfully for the Reds they finished third in their Champions League group, meaning that they would be handed a place in the Europa League. Liverpool will have to surpass there way through a tough Unirea side, and if they are able to do that then Fenerbache could well prove to be a tougher task for Liverpool in the last 16. From then on in, the Reds could well come up against the likes of Juventus, Valencia, Wolfsburg and Benfica.

Looking at this season’s Liverpool squad, it clearly has no depth what so ever, as the Merseyside club are noted by some people as a two man team. Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are basically controlling the Liverpool side; Torres has scored twelve goals this season, while Gerrard has scored six. However stats show that the likes of Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt are also capable of scoring vital goals on Liverpool’s behalf. On the other hand if you compare the Liverpool squad to Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s it clearly shows how much class, the Chelsea and Manchester United squads have compared to the Reds. Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt are clearly not well known around the world, plus not many Chelsea players are a liability to their squad.

Liverpool fans are always questioning the performances of Lucas Leiva, Ryan Babel, Emiliano Insua and now Alberto Aquilani. Not mentioning the likes of Voronin and Dossena, both of which left the club earlier this month. From what I saw last night Ryan Babel clearly tries too hard, as his style of play clearly tells you that, he thinks he can take on every player in the World of football. Also the likes of Lucas and Aquilani’s passing have come into question. The depth in the Liverpool squad has clearly been sucked out.

New signings, Liverpool clearly need some, however from my point of view why sign Maxi Rodriguez? Liverpool has a fairly good bunch of wingers, probably their strongest point all over the field. However as he was unveiled prior to the FA Cup match between Reading last night, he seemed a fairly happy person. However when he took his seat for last night’s game, he probably thought who the hell is Reading Football Club? After the final whistle went, Rodriguez’s gut instinct probably was…What Have I Just Gotten Myself Into? All we need now is to see how he performs in a Liverpool shirt, however like summer signing Alberto Aquilani; Rodriguez will probably not feature in Benitez’s plans for a good couple of weeks.

Rafa Benitez’s time is surely up, if Liverpool continues in this disgraceful fashion he will be clearly shown the door at the end of this month. If he doesn’t sign a striker in the January transfer window, Liverpool fans will clearly want to see the back of Rafa Benitez. However with the position they are in the league, who would want to go to Liverpool Fc? The likes of David Villa and Rudd Van Nistelrooy will clearly want European football next season. If the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United were in the same amount of trouble that Liverpool are in, they would clearly have the same problem.

Sooner or later, the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will turn on Liverpool. It is getting to the stage where the Liverpool fans have enough of Rafa Benitez. New signings, new tactics and a new manager, are the things Liverpool need right now.