Bringing in goal machine must be top of Liverpool agenda
WITH a month to go until the new Premier League season ask yourself this: As it stands, have Liverpool for the players that can score the goals to give them the title?
Personally, I don't think they have. My biggest bug-bear with Liverpool is that they need to realise it's okay to lose some games as long as you're trying to win them.
Put another way, the defence is fine, especially now Daniel Agger is back. So forget playing things safe because that's where draws come from - and Liverpool had far too many of those last year.
They took only one point from almost a third of their games but draws mean nothing now. When it was two points for a win, a draw was half a win but now it's a third, it's worthless. Especially when Manchester United and Chelsea are winning so many week-in, week-out.
So my point is, who is going to make sure that if Liverpool go all out to win games that they will score the goals to ensure it happens?
Obvious answer is Fernando Torres.
But 33 goals wasn't enough to sustain a challenge last year and the odds are he won't score that many again this season. He needs help.
And what if he falls over at Sunderland on the opening day of the season and is out for months?
Now Peter Crouch has gone that currently leaves Andriy Voronin and Dirk Kuyt - and he can't really be trusted to come in and bang the goals in as he's been more used to a role wide on the right.
There is of course the possibility of Robbie Keane coming in but good player though he is, he's more of a streaky scorer.
He'll go on a run and get 10 in 10 but the that's half his average season's tally gone in one go.
He can't guarantee the kind of regular goalscoring Torres was making a habit last season.
I have to admit that being negative this early on isn't always wise - I'm sure Rafael Benitez does have some ideas up his sleeve for when the market speeds up.
The Spaniard David Silva would be an exciting addition and although that is unlikely to come off, at least some-one of that ilk would at least get Liverpool some way towards matching the top two in terms of firepower.
But at the moment I think it must be a worry for the Anfield faithful that there isn't that kind of player they can pinpoint as being good enough to turn them into genuine contenders.
And with Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel looking set for the Olympics it could be a very tricky start to the season if Benitez is unable to boost his forward line before the big kick-off.
It's even got to the stage where I'm reading reports of Jermaine Pennant leaving for Blackburn and being concerned about losing him.
After all, he's quick and creative and in terms of players who can operate in the vital wide areas he is an option.
And Benitez is going to have to gather an awful lot of those in the next month.
Mark Lawrenson was talking to NICK SMITH
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Well, it's another goal machine that we need - now, as crouch, who unfortunately would not have been allowed to play alongside Torres anyway, was sold, I share that view. We need another outstanding striker. That's right. Moreover, we URGENTLY need one or two good wingers to feed Torres and the other forwards, whoever it will be...
As a Liverpool fan you get really frustrated these days. There are certain names you can't stand anymore to read - like Gareth Barry. Barry might be a decent player in a small, relatively average team like Aston Villa. However, I really really doubt that he will prove himself at Anfield. He will be another guy to disappoint and again we will be in trouble. I don't think we would have had the same problems last season if Agger hadn't suffered this injury and we would have finished better; but at the top of the table? Probably not. I am absolutely aware of the fact that we were very unlucky in some games; we would have deserved to win - especially in some games again ManU and Chelsea, where we were definitely the better team but the other side had pure luck, italian-international-team-like luck!! BUT: Fernando Torres, even though he is absolutely worldclass, an astonishing striker, we can not expect him to score at least the same amount of goals next season. He will score, he will be very good again, however, I doubt that he can repeat the impact he made last season. We have to get another striker, a good one, and I'm absolutely fed up with all the transfer news regarding Liverpool which are almost all about players who are obviously not good enough to play for us, or the news are fantasy stories about 35+ million players Rafa will never be allowed to buy. And here, there's the next question, the next problem! What's going on with these bloody American owners?! When they arrived you thought "ok, now there's money; now we will be able to strengthen our squad and we will finally get the title"... Rafa was allowed to buy Torres - obviously the Yanks wanted to impress, have a good standing with the fans and since then? Almost nothing! I do not say we should become a club like ManU, with an indebtedness of around 1 billion pounds (I'm fully aware that we have debts, too; however not in these regions). But I'm quite sure that worldclass players will pay off - both, on the pitch and else. Did you know that Real Madrid made 50 million only with Beckham shirts when he joined the club?! Rafa, push it through (and I don't mean Barry); go out and bring us some good news - finally!