The legendary Liverpool manager obviously had it the other way, but with the Reds' current form even Bill Shankly would probably reconsider. And who could possibly blame him? Today's loss to local rival Everton only confirms what many of us have known for a while: Liverpool are not a very good team. Having witnessed Liverpool draw twice with an Everton team lacking any forward options and also missing playmakers Marouane Fellaini and Mikel Arteta, I just about stand by my title statement. Liverpool have now failed to beat an undermanned Toffees side in three attempts, and have looked worse and worse each time. A team with Steven Gerrard in it will always be able to posses the ball, but what has hurt the Reds lately has been their inability to put the ball in the net. Having allowed Robbie Keane back to Tottenham on deadline day, the big man Rafa has now left his side one bad hamstring away from relying entirely on two players, David Ngog and Nabil El Zhar, who are yet to register a Premier League goal between them. Torres himself is another story. After an inspirational first season in the Premier League last year, "El Niño's" hamstrings have seen more action than he has this season (I wouldn't mind a hamstring massage or two either if this is the treatment Torres receives!). While Torres's hamstring seems to be gone, its the lost mind of manager Rafa Benitez that would have me worried if I were a Liverpool supporter. I have discussed it a number of times in recent posts, but Rafa's recent lunacy seems particularly appropriate to mention here. First there was the war of words with Sir Alex, then the dropping of his £18 million signing Robbie Keane, and more recently the bizzare substitution of both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in a 1-1 game with Wigan. This is not the first time Benitez has been called crazy, in fact pundits spent much of the last few years criticizing the manager's rotation policy, and much to his credit Rafa did prove the critics wrong with three consecutive years of cup final appearances. I simply cannot see Liverpool making a serious run at any silverware this season, and I expect to see Rafa on the hotseat come May. Liverpool seem to be the king of the draw this season, having drawn 8 times in their last 16 games. Statistically, the Reds have the second best defense in the league, but as I mentioned before, they have had trouble turning possesion into goals. It is a well-documented criticism of Liverpool that they rely much to heavily on a select few extroadinary players, and do not have the depth to challenge for major titles. I believe this to be very much the case. Last season Fernando Torres scored 24 of Liverpool's 67 league goals, while this season Steven Gerrard has scored 15 of their 55 goals in all competitions, far too high a percentage for central midfield player. Liverpool's recent freefall down the table goes to show that an unbalanced team cannot maintain the length of an entire season. Over the past few years, the club has enjoyed a number of successes in cup compeititions, where inspired performances such as Gerrard's in the 2005 Champions League final can propell a team to success. The same cannot be said for a 38-game league season, where Liverpool traditionally struggle (they have never won the premier league). Until Liverpool balance out their squad, they will remain at best the third best team in the league and arguably also in Merseyside.
