Torres spells it out: we need to sign four or five quality players.

Torres is not alone in his thinking. Fans all over the world have been questioning the depth of the Liverpool squad this season with even this website, Liverpool Banter, having had a 'permanent' poll on the home page since August asking if Liverpool's squad is strong enough for a title push. 71% (2,891 votes) say "No". The question is if you were to offer the entire Liverpool squad to Chelsea, Man United or Arsenal right now how many would be considered first-team contenders? Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres, Mascherano, Kuyt. Anyone else?

In The People on March 14th Torres is quoted as saying:
"If we don't sign new players, what's the point of finishing fourth only to fight for fourth again? "I want to fight to win the Champions League and the Premier League. We need four or five players of the highest level if we are to compete. They have to be better than what we've got."

According to Saturday's (March 27) Independent Newspaper Torres, like the rest of us, are set for disappointment. It states that even if Liverpool don't qualify for the Champions League Rafa doesn't expect it to affect the amount of money he will have available to buy players in the summer because there is very little money to begin with. In other words, don't hold your breath for the likes of a David Silva or David Villa to arrive anytime soon.

To his immense credit Torres also stated on his website "My place is at Liverpool, and in England....I've still got three years to run on my contract." That kind of loyalty deserves rewarding. Let's hope Rafa does get the funds he needs, gets rid of the marginal players and rebuilds the squad with quality players and not the dross we have seen in the likes of Voronin or Dossena. If not, I fear Torres, and even Gerrard, could end up wearing different shirts this time next year and that would be simply disastrous.