Seems strange I am writing this merely 4 days after an unexpected 1 - 3 loss to Reading in the premiership, but I have finally realised that Liverpool have the firepower, cool headedness and experience to carry them to a long-awaited premiership title. I will work from the back to the front…
Goalkeeper: Jose Reina. I feel he has now made himself the best keeper in the premiership after ridding himself of the mistakes and eccentricity that plagued his game since his arrival from the Spanish League. Always capable of keeping a clean sheet, and has proved that penalties are not always a given, saving something like 50% of all penalties taken against him.
Back 4: In Carragher, Hyppia and Finnan; the experience is there for the big games like cup finals and such, and with them around it’s safe to say the likes of Daniel Agger and Jack Hobbs can learn and build their own game. If mistakes are made by these younger kids, more often then not the older heads are there to clean up. With Riise, Arbeloa and Aurelio, the defence has depth to cover a number of injuries without losing any strength at the back.
Midfield: Where to begin… Truly a world class midfield that in my opinion any team in the world can envy; with names such as Gerrard, Kewell and Benayoun provide the creativity and the power to move forward and set up a number of scoring chances, and when they aren’t providing they are more then capable of putting the ball in the net themselves. To cover these men there is the likes of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva and Momo Sissoko. They are all capable of holding the midfield on their day and allowing the more attacking minded players to their own game whilst helping out in the defensive side of the game. We also have Jermaine Pennant. Umm, yeah…
The Front: Probably the weakest part of the team, I think with a few changes this can be aligned to be as strong as the other aspects of the team. Torres, I have decided, is a capable of becoming a 25-goals a season striker (in all comps). With Kewell also capable of playing alongside him, there is also Andriy Voronin who loves a good pass but probably needs to work on his finishing. Ryan Babel is only 20 years of age and he has bagged a few goals this season after playing only a limited role in the squad, and in Peter Crouch there is a chance to open up Liverpool’s game to play in a different dimension. Some would say he loves the long ball but has skill to hold the ball at his feet. Gross guy I don’t much like but he still can do the job.
Finally the Gaffer: Rafa Benitez. Quite simply has taken the team to a new level. Its safe to say the reds have not experience this much success since the days of Kevin Keegan, Joe Fagan, Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish in the late 70’s – early 80’s. Sure Gerard Houllier brought the UEFA cup and a legion of domestic cups, but he never really looked like he could bring the premiership back to the club. With Benitez the side look like they are more then capable of doing so. In recent weeks his job has come under fire, and with the likes of Gerrard and Torres publicly backing the big man, its also a sure thing that the team is harmonious under his guidance.In summary, the future looks good. The young kids like Hobbs (19), Babel (20), Lucas (20), and Torres (23) have the potential to become long serving LFC heroes, while the more experienced Gerrard, Reina, Alonso and Kewell have the heads to bring the young lads through. Domestic premiership success is knocking at the door, and I cannot wait till the mighty Reds get the success that they and their fans have so eagerly awaited…
YNWA
4 comments:
I still think domestic league success is a long way off for Liverpool. Unless I am mistaken, Pennant is the only one in the squad who has won the EPL (not sure if he even has a winner's medal). Most of Mancheter United and Chelsea's squad have all won the EPL. Arsenal have something like 8 or so players who have won the title before. I don't think this means they cannot win the title but their lack of winning it on prior occassions surely has to be a handicap. Also, Rafa enjoys rotation which doesn't condone good league form over long periods of time. The lack of a permanent strike partner for Torres also will be detrimental to a title challenge. Having said all this I believe, unless Chelsea strengthen up front in January, only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will compete. Manchester United are the team with the least weak points I still believe.
Improving a fair bit. Need a bit more dominance over several games to consider themselves a total contender. Sure they scored 20 goals in 5 games however u need big long runs of games to dominate the Premiership!
Longy, this is a well written blog and i agree with your 100%.
I believe having players who have won the premiership is a bonus to have in the team. but in no way is it a handicap to have no players who have won it. thats just a stupid thing to say. I believe Liverpool will win the premiership either this year or next and they will become a 1st place contender for many years to come. But with every team in the EPL strengthening it will get harder and harder for the same team to win it every year and i reckon the days of Arsenal Man Utd and Chelsea dominating the league are over.
Saying Chelsea have ever dominated the EPL is the stupid thing said here. Winning it for two seasons and being competetive for 3-4 years doesn't warrant dominance surely with Manchester United dominating for 13 or so years and Arsenal coming 1st or 2nd for 8 or 9 seasons running. Winning is a habit, a culture even, and so therfore winning the EPL before gives you an advantage. You "know how to win it" I suppose. Another handicap I see is boardroom to manager unrest. It is proven without full (or very close to) backing you simply cannot win the EPL. See Manchester United and Arsenal once again. Sir Alex has been at ManU for over 20 years I believe and Arsene just over 11 in North London. I doubt either of their jobs has ever been up for serious review in these times too.
Tass also makes a good point and I think Liverpool's lack of long-running good league form stems from rotation once again.
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