Can Liverpool FC shock critics to peg back Manchester United?
Since 1990 fans of Liverpool have sat back and watched as their record 18 league titles dwindled away at the hands of Manchester United.
The Old Trafford side have racked up 12 Premier League titles since the leagues inception and in this year they overtook Liverpool as the country’s most successful league side by winning their 19th. That’s not to say that Liverpool haven’t been successful outside of the Premier League with their handful of domestic cups and that famous Champions League final victory in 2005.
The question is, are Liverpool ready to make a realistic challenge to knock United off their perch?Despite the hiccups against Tottenham and Aston Villa towards the end of the season, the Reds finished in good form and claimed sixth place.
They will start next season with nothing but the league to think about. Every club wants to qualify for Europe and with Liverpool failing to do so it is usually seen as a disaster, but this could be a blessing in disguise.
It has hindered them slightly in the fact that Wigan are refusing to sell Charles N’Zogbia to anybody who isn’t in the Champions League and it seems like Phil Jones and Ashley Young are ready to opt for Manchester instead of Merseyside, however the lack of European competition for Liverpool allows the club to concentrate on the Holy Grail that is the Premier League title.
Of course they will be overlooked to win the title by many in the football world but with the emergence of impressive youngsters, the return of King Kenny Dalglish and exciting new signings it would be foolish to rule them out completely.
Having already completed the signing of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland, Liverpool have also got their eyes on another young English star in the shape of Ipswich wonder kid Connor Wickham. Adding these players to their catalogue of home-grown talent such as John Flanagan, Jack Robinson and Martin Kelly could prove a masterstroke under the tutelage of Dalglish.
Dalglish will also have to keep hold of key players such as Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles who all had excellent seasons despite where the club finished. When you add January signings Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez into the mix it means Liverpool have a squad, not just of quantity but of quality aswell.
Another major turning point for Liverpool is that they have finally started to consistently beat the smaller teams which was a problem at the start of last season. They failed to beat side likes Birmingham, Blackpool and Bolton and even drew twice against strugglers Wigan Athletic. Jump forward to April and May of this year and their form against ‘lesser’ sides was completely turned around. This spring saw Liverpool thrash Birmingham 5-0, push Newcastle aside 3-0 and then put another five goals past Fulham at Craven Cottage.
A balance has finally come to the Liverpool squad and no doubt Dalglish will filter the dead-wood out of the squad to make room for sparkling new players. With King Kenny at the helm, Liverpool could be restored to their former glory and no doubt the rivalry between Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson will be in full swing next season just as it was in the late 80s.
