Liverpool FC manager Rafa Benitez must wield his transfer power more forcefully

Pre-match talk of being more ruthless than we were on our last visit proved so much hot air as we palpably failed to build any sort of pressure which might have resulted in Ruth presenting herself in the first place. But the most surprising aspect of last Sunday was that most of us were expecting it; how can the optimism of last season have dissipated so quickly?

Of course, there are mitigating factors which have disrupted our preparations for the new season.

The injuries to Agger, Skrtel and Carragher have prevented the back four from bedding in, and the uncertainty over the futures of Alonso and Mascherano has been distracting to say the least. But I can't escape the feeling that we persisted for too long with the kids in our pre-season programme, and gave too little football to our more senior players, allowing them to bed down again after the summer break.

The late arrival of the Spanish contingent of course didn't help, but it wasn't until the Atletico Madrid game that we fielded our 'first team' and gave them any decent time on the pitch together.

The impression given has been one of easing into the new season, rather than replicating the flying start of last season.

The lack of verve compared to the Tottenham players' energy levels was noticeable, and it was clear that Lucas and Gerrard could not link up effectively to manoeuvre the latter into the sort of positions in which he is most dangerous.

Which brings us to personnel and tactics. It's pointless to bemoan the absence of Alonso now, that's done and dusted; what's important is how we move forward without him.

Whether Aquilani proves to be the ideal replacement we'll have to wait to find out, but in the meantime we need to think through alternative strategies rather than just plonk Lucas into the ex-Alonso role.

Lucas gave a solid performance at Spurs, but in most fans' view is not going to give you the penetration and link to the forwards that we need. So maybe we need to think about dropping Stevie back for a while and playing Benayoun or Kuyt behind Torres? Alternatively, if Aquilani is to play further forward, as Benitez has hinted, then shouldn't we be adopting this formation now and play a more adventurous player in his intended role, such as the aforementioned Israeli or Jay Spearing?

It has to be said also that the hard-fought power over transfers which Rafa wrestled from the owners last year has hardly been wielded with tremendous success. It was noticeable on Sunday that Spurs have four good quality out-and-out forwards, while we have one. Given the shortage of experienced centre-backs, it would appear that Rafa is not finding this transfer business quite as easy as he expected.

And so tonight's match is already being presented as a 'must-win' game; now that really is bats.