Title No19 after a 19-year drought is Liverpool's main
goal but can Rafael Benítez invest wisely and quickly enough to
deliver?
Glen Johnson, the England right-back, promises to
offer adventurous support to Dirk Kuyt down the Liverpool
right.
Guardian writers' prediction: 1st Odds to win league:
11-4
Nineteen years have passed without league title No19 and
still the prediction is that this could be Liverpool's
year. But now the expectation is justified at Anfield and so high,
so unforgiving, that not even Xabi Alonso's departure diminishes
the demand on Rafael Benítez. Regaining the mantle of England's
most decorated champions from Manchester United is
imperative.
First, however, there must be caution amid the exultation.
Benítez envisaged a summer of fine-tuning his squad after the first
genuine title challenge of his reign but, despite the capture of
Glen Johnson and impending arrival of Alberto Aquilani, it stands
diminished. Alonso represents a serious loss from the spine of a
first-choice XI that ranks alongside that of any
Premier League rival and several other, albeit far less
influential, players have been sold to raise funds. The loss of
Alonso, however, does not have to be catastrophic to Liverpool's
title prospects.
The club will undoubtedly miss the guile, technical ability and
experience of a player who responded to Benítez's attempts to sell
him last summer with arguably the finest season of his five-year
spell on Merseyside. Of more importance is how Benítez spends the
£30m he prised out of Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid for Alonso,
a player he signed for £10.7m and valued at £18m 12 months ago on
account of two injury-plagued but mediocre seasons; and whether
Benítez will be allowed to reinvest Alonso's full transfer fee plus
other monies promised this summer.
It is strange that the Liverpool squad has not been bolstered
when it was lack of strength in depth, plus injury to Fernando
Torres, that Benítez cited as the major reasons for falling four
points short of United last season. In terms of numbers the arrival
of Johnson and Aquilani, for instance, is offset by the departures
of Alvaro Arbeloa and Alonso to the Bernabéu.
There remains time for strengthening and Liverpool indicated
that the sale of Alonso might prompt a flurry of activity by
securing a deal for Roma's playmaker Aquilani yesterday but it is
unlike Benítez to leave money in his pocket should he have any
available, as has been the case this summer. Cover is required at
centre-half following Sami Hyypia's free transfer to Bayer
Leverkusen while quality support for Torres and Steven Gerrard up
front has not arrived seven months after Robbie Keane's return to
White Hart Lane.
Given Benítez was promised £20m to spend plus whatever he raised
in sales at the start of this summer – before the owners, George
Gillett and Tom Hicks, secured a refinancing deal that involves
repaying £60m of a £290m debt over the next 12 months – the
Liverpool manager must have more than £40m at his dis- posal
following Alonso's move. Should Aquilani overcome his injury
problems and settle instantly – a prerequisite with the title at
stake – a forward of the calibre of Valencia's David Silva arrive
and defensive cover in the form of Sylvain Distin, for example, be
brought in, then Benítez will have achieved his summer goals and
Liverpool will embark on the new campaign wiser and stronger. But
only Aquilani and a cheap defender would alter that assessment and
raise further question marks over the Americans' financial
might.
It is United, not Liverpool, who have lost more to the continued
lure of Real Madrid and superior Spanish tax rates this summer and
Sir Alex Ferguson could not ignore the foundation for Anfield's
confidence even as he sought to dismiss their title credentials
this week. "The thrust of the Liverpool team is really all about
Gerrard and Torres," the United manager said. "If they stay fit, it
improves Liverpool's chances."
Liverpool found a consistency that has long eluded them in the
Premier League last season, even with Gerrard and Torres starting
only 14 of 38 league matches together. Captain and talismanic
striker produced 30 of Liverpool's 77 league goals last term,
despite Torres suffering three hamstring strains that ruled him out
of 14 league games. When fit, they represent Anfield's greatest
hope. Injury to Torres or Gerrard would have a severe impact on the
side but that argument applies to Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford.
Benítez finally got the measure of his "big four" rivals last
season by taking 14 points from a possible 18 against the
champions, Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool remained unbeaten in the
league at Anfield all season, although their well-documented
achilles heel – the seven draws at Anfield – continues to pain
their manager. It is surely where a forward of Silva's ilk comes
into the reckoning.
Johnson, desperate to seize his second chance at a top-four club
following the disappointment of Stamford Bridge, appears a fine
addition to the defence, able to provide adventurous support to
Dirk Kuyt on the right and sure to improve defensively under
Benítez's tutelage. Ryan Babel, having earned a reprieve from his
manager this summer, will have to grasp his opportunity while
greater responsibility will now fall on Javier Mascherano in light
of Alonso's exit.
The Spaniard's sale means there is no prospect of the Argentina
captain being granted his coveted move to Barcelona and much rests
on his response. The title, however, may rest on Benítez's next
moves in the transfer market.
Ins: Glen Johnson (Portsmouth, £18m), Alberto
Aquilani (Roma, £20m)
Outs: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid, £30m) Alvaro
Arbeloa (Real Madrid, £3.5m), Sebastien Leto (Panathinaikos,
£1.3m), Paul Anderson (Nottingham Forest, £250,000), Sami Hyypia
(Bayer Leverkusen, free), Jermaine Pennant (Espanyol, free), Jack
Hobbs (Leicester, free), Astrit Ajdarevic (Leicester, free), Shane
O'Connor (Ipswich, free), Ryan Flynn (Falkirk, loan), Dean Bouzanis
(Wrexham, loan)
