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Liverpool, stop praying and start dealing!

Published by Ian John on December 16, 2009

Things are so bad for Liverpool at the moment that defensive lynchpin Jamie Carragher has revealed today that he is “praying to God” that Liverpool can reverse their recent slump in form and start to put things together over the remainder of December and into 2010, with eyes firmly set on the FA Cup and Europa League.

However the veteran Anfield defender has also warned that the club may need to “grind out results” as they struggle for form and consistency during a woeful period of form that makes the past twenty years seem like the halcyon days.

Rather than invoking non-specific deity to help their cause, I do believe there are rather more practical ways that Liverpool can make changes to improve things at the club and my suggestion to Jamie and everyone at the club, including Rafa the Gaffa, would be to stop praying and start dealing.

No, I don’t mean start up their own brand of LFC ecstasy or Robbie Fowler Cocaine and sell it on the streets. What I mean is that they rid themselves of this notion that the current team is just “out of form” and realise that they are not good enough and need to make significant changes in the transfer window.

Whether the finance is there to do this remains debatable, so this advice is tempered with the understanding that Rafa is probably going to have to sell in order to buy any or all of these players. But here, if I was Rafa, what I’d be targetting in the next few weeks.

1. A striker : Fernando Torres needs help. I’m not sure Ruud Van Nistelrooy is the right partner for him to be honest and my preference would be for Tottenham reject Roman Pavlyuchenko. I think his physicality and skill on the ball and in the air would be a perfect foil for Torres to work with and alongside. I think if the Babel / Pavlyuchenko swap deal is on, Liverpool should seriously consider it, along with a proviso… which I will explain below.

2. A creative wide midfielder : Yossi Benayoun is a talented player but he is best used in a central role, rather than as a natural wide midfielder. Riera was coming good until his injury and I think his balance on the left has been sorely missed. Other than that Liverpool have nobody. What Liverpool need is a proven, talented creative wide midfielder who isn’t getting first team action and who has a point to prove and who, most importantly, is likely to be available. David Bentley anybody? Liverpool may need to add a bit of cash to the Babel / Pavlyuchenko deal to sweeten it to get them both and Bentley’s form is poor. But he will have a point to prove and on his day he is some player.

3. A central midfielder : Let’s please dispel the notion that Lucas is now good enough for the Liverpool first team. His performances have been unfairly criticised in the past and he has improved significantly, however too often he is caught behind the play, out of position and he doesn’t have the speed of thought needed to be Alonso’s replacement. With Aquilani likely to be seen about as often as Halley’s Comet, Liverpool need a reliable central midfielder dynamo to help Gerrard and Mascherano out, who can pass the ball and create and score goals. If Benayoun isn’t going to fill this role then Liverpool need to look at someone like Scott Parker at West Ham (who they have been linked with today) or, dare I say it, someone like Jack Rodwell at Everton. (Boo Hiss!)

4. A left winger. Riera is good, but he is fragile, lacks pace and is seldom the creative force that a player like Ashley Young is. If Liverpool have money available, then they could do worse than considering someone like Jesus Navas of Sevilla. However I fear he may well be out of their price bracket. A cut price alternative? Sebastian Larssen of Birmingham. Very impressed with his all round play and he has a sweet left foot.

To go? I doubt Liverpool fans would lose any sleep if they were to see the likes of Voronin, Lucas, Dossena or Babel leave the club. I’m not sure how much extra cash that would raise but I think they have all failed to reach the heights required at Anfield. They are not to blame for the poor start to the season, but they may well be made the scapegoats for it.

Image Courtesy of ***bi_thong_mac_dahn *** at Flickr.com

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