Notwithstanding the fact that the Reds have endured a horrific start to the 2010/11 season, the advent of new owners, coupled with the return of Kenny Dalglish (and another less famous Scot in Steve Clark) at the helm of the squad, has seen the team have a run of unbeaten games which has propelled them into 6th place in the PL, with a remote yet mathematical possibility of clinching the coveted 4th spot and CL football for next season. The possibility of a new era and cycle at the world-famous and universally respected Club has had the domino effect of having some of the best players linked with a possible arrival at Anfield. The prospect of playing for Liverpool has again become an enticing proposition for top players, even though the participation in next year’s CL is far from certain.
The likes of Coentrao, Kjaer, Mertesacker, Enrique, Izaguirre, Cahill, Dann, Adam, Matuidi, Maveaux, Young, Afellay, Elia, Honda, Zarate, Winjaldum and Gervinho just to mention a few (lol) have all been somehow linked to the Reds, and that’s about half the candidates.
Recent comments on EOTK have sent almost half the squad in front of the firing squad, with Konchesky, ElZhar, Insua, Aurelio, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Jovanovic, Poulsen and Degen favorites to be gotten rid of, and some went as far as including Ngog, Maxi, Kuyjt and Joe Cole in the list, while Aquilani is somehow destined to remain at Juventus. While it is highly unlikely that all the above will be shown the door, objectively, Konchesky, El Zhar, Insua, Kyrgiakos, Jovanovic, Poulsen and Degen, together with Aquilani could well be on their way out and if that is the case, it would be nothing short of an organized exodus.
The fact remains that if the intention is for LFC to be competitive on all fronts come next season, especially with regards to an attempt to get back into the Fab 4 Club on a permanent basis and possibly challenge for PL honours, there will be a need to have quality depth in squad. That would mean at least two quality players for every position. We will need to buy players, but we also need to push the upcoming stars like Kelly, Spearing, Shelvey, Wilson, Ayala, Darby and Pacheco into first team activity with more frequency, and further on the likes of Sterling, Mavinga, Coady and Suso. We need to valorize the potential we already have in-house. By doing that you do not need to play a round of the League Cup with 8 of the rising stars! What you need to do is to insert those that are ready for the leap gradually, as has been the case with Kelly and also with Shelvey and Spearing to a slightly lesser extent.
The signs all point to the intentions of adding quality and depth to the squad, so we just have to wait and see what NESV and Kenny come up with. We have already hit rock bottom, and we have already has out share of gloom. What we all need now is an era in which our Reds are capable to seriously challenge for honours and silverware, where the Reds evoke fear like they used to, and where the Club is in a position of financial tranquility which is the basic foundation of success.