By @arisekingbrenny
While Liverpool are sitting pretty on top of the league table, yet to lose in four matches and a game against Southampton on Saturday at Anfield, it isn’t a very realistic prediction that Liverpool will be in the same place come May.
But if the reds can keep playing their style, improving every week in training, develop young talent and really become a unit to the extent that every pass is good and the team all understand each other, we should be up there competing with the best teams for Champions League football next season. There are many ways that Liverpool can hurt opponents with the likes of red hot Sturridge, Coutinho, Suarez, and now Moses. Other teams have more money and buy better players, there is nothing Liverpool can do about that, however Brendan Rodgers has done brilliantly bringing in great talents for great value such as Coutinho and Sturridge who are becoming great players for way less money than say Fernandinho, and money saved can be invested elsewhere. I believe that if Liverpool are to succeed and make the top four, as seems to be the goal , they need to turn draws into wins and beat the teams in the bottom half of the table consistently. With relatively easy games in the Premier League coming up, Liverpool should really benefit from these games, using them to improve their chemistry and help get talents such as Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori to adjust and adapt to the English game. Especially Sakho, he could not have come at a better time in terms of adjusting to a new league, by the time he has adjusted he will be one of the best in the league hopefully. And by the time December rolls around when Liverpool play Chelsea and Manchester City in the span of four days as well as other tough games, Liverpool should get at least three points from those two games against Chelsea and Man City as they have had two months to gel and become even more threatening to defenses, as well as the return of Suarez who should really bolster the attack.
Regardless of what some people say about how Liverpool are better off without him, every team would benefit from having such a creative, world class talent who also knocks around 20 goals in the league a season. Even with his antics he is one of the best in the world who would be beneficial to any squad. Another key element for Liverpool finishing in the top four is that they need to cut down on unforced errors. Last year if it weren’t for individual errors from Reina, Skrtel, and Shelvey among others, but those three making the biggest impacts, we could have definitely finished above Everton and could have maybe not made the top four, but be up there and in the conversation. The second goal in the Swansea game was from team errors, not getting back and not in position which obviously lead to the equalizer which cost us two points. Lastly we need to make Anfield a fortress that even the best teams are scared of coming to, and some of that responsibility falls on the fans, who obviously are some of the very best in the word but it has to sound like a cup final every game.
The team should feed off that positive energy from their supporters which should benefit the squad greatly in their spirit and motivation resulting in wins. If the reds can get 42 points, at least, at home we should be able to get around 30 points away which would put us at the magical 70 point mark. But to achieve that, Anfield has to be the place where Liverpool win where no matter the team, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Man City should all have a hard time playing there. If Liverpool gel well in the coming few weeks or so and cut down on the individual errors that cost us points and also make Anfield into a nightmare for opponents, we should be up competing for the top spots and possibly making them and returning those European nights back to Anfield where they belong.