Can Liverpool challenge for the Premier League title?

Liverpool's £20 million purchase of Robbie Keane yesterday offers a mouthwatering prospect of flair and deadly marksmanship up front at Anfield.

Fernando Torres proved beyond doubt last season that he is one of the world's deadliest finishers and as well as Keane's eye for a killer pass, he also scored 24 times for Tottenham.

Steven Gerrard is always likely to weigh in with between 15 and 20 goals, so is Rafael Benitez closer than ever to having the side he feels can challenge for the Premier League title? Would Gareth Barry be the final link if the midfielder's protracted transfer from Aston Villa were to be sorted out?

Or has the Liverpool manager overspent on a player who often flatters to deceive? Should the Spaniard have spread the cash among three or four decent signings to bolster the squad?

Can Liverpool really challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for the title this year? Vote now and leave your comments below.

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Comments

[Kevin]

Last season it was simply home and away defeats to the Mancs that cost the title.....so correct the score in 2 fixtures, and keep the rest as is - job done!

[Bob Chippens]

Liverpool *cannot* win this league with the squad they have, there are still too many bottlers around the club.

[colin nicholas]

Of course they CAN win the premiership. So can Portsmouth or Everton or Spurs.
But it's more likely to be either ManU Chelsea or Arsenal.

This is a tricky one. Keans main weakness is speed. But Liverpool have plenty of speed and he brings a quickness of thought and deadly passing an a hard working unselfish nature. He not the huge name some fans want but if they give him a chance it has the potential to be regarded as the craftiest purchase yet.

[Josh]

Will Liverpool win the league? Unlikely - especially having wasted all that money on Keane. He's the Irish Kuyt. I can only assume he's been bought in case Torres is injured, because I can't see him getting in the side the rest of the time.

On the plus side, Babel looks like he has finally adjusted to the Premier League, so we'll see more of him.

[Gr8vel]

Man utd can attack at pace all over the pitch. Chelsea are persistant and powerful ,though i think it will be slightly different for them this year, more guile with deco. Arsenal have guile, pace and power, but hleb leaving for Barca is a MAJOR blow. Liverpool have added Robbie Keane and some unknowns. I think a lot will depend on Benitez and his team selections, where i think Wenger and Ferguson are ahead on points. though he has for once decided to buy a player who has grown up playing english football he has recognised, liverpools problem. Stevie Gerrard apart, they have NO HEART. 1-0 down against some of the weaker and more physical teams will see them off.

[Colin Blues]

personally I think this is Rafa's last chance. He has to mount a serious challenge or quit!

A serious challenge would be anything that see's them still in with a shout at easter and to finish within 10 pts.

If they are out of the race by Xmas then he should resign after CL fate, even if they win CL.

How many attempts is it now???

[Redwithenvy]

Same old guff about rotation rotation rotation. Rafa only dropped Torres for a draw against pompey away (good result in anyones book) and another match against birmingham. We drew a few in that sketchy patch of the season with Torres in the line-up also.

This season will see us coming closer than alot on here seem to think. It is generally the media, Man Utd fans and pundits that hype Liverpool up at the start of the season for whatever motives. It is plain to see however that Utd and Chelsea still have the superior squads and I like most liverpool fans i doubt with hand on heart would say we will win the thing but hopefully we will challenge and with a bit of luck with injuries who knows you gotta dream!

[Dino]

I think it'll be an interesting season. Rafa learnt a lot more last year than any other, he realised his tinkering early in the year cost us. Our results against the top 4 teams was good enough to win the leage had we won games against lower teams when he tinkered. I think he'll tinker less this time around particularly in the first half of the year and not in away games. The squad is virtually the same, but I'd argue slightly stronger. Crouch is a good striker but most would rate Keane above him. Babel has had year in the EPL and for a young player should be better for the experience, same goes for Lucas and Mash who are both still v.young. I hope Rafa brings on Plessi and Pacheo and gives them some run at some. We need to produce more of our "own" players because we cannot compete financially with Manure and Chelski, not just yet or for a few years after the Stadium is built.

[Dafydd]

i'm a liverpool fan and i think the spine of the squad is excellent with reina, carragher, agger, skrtel, mascherano, gerrard, torres and keane(depending whether rafa plays him up front with torres). this is also excluding barry who'll maybe sign in the next few days/weeks. the guy is slightly overrated but any player who is good enough to keep the likes of lampard and hargreaves out of the england team is good enough for any team in the premiership(possibly excluding united and chelsea, whose fans think they are in a different league. well some of them at least!) add to this a winger(e.g silva) and they have a good chance. but rafa has to play his best team week in, week out. he found a settled side in the second half of last season. if this is the case next season they have a great chance. but they NEED to beat united and better on the results against chelsea and arsenal. oh, AND the likes of wigan, spurs, birmingham, portsmouth away and man city away.

[Dafydd Williams]

This year Liverpool will close the gap but maybe they won't win it this year. The spine of the team is excellent with reina, carragher, skrtel, agger, mascherano, gerrard, torres and keane(if rafa plays him with torres). this is still excluding barry who'll maybe join in next few days. he is slightly overrated but any player who plays for england in centre midfield who is good enough to displace hargreaves/lampard is good enough for any team in the premiership(maybe excluding man united and chelsea). we still need a decent winger and some back-up in certain positions. if we have that maybe we have a chance this year, if not next year.

[Roger]

No. The team is not good enough, either on or off the park.

Barry is a side issue, not really relevant unless Benitez makes the mistake of stalking him further this side of Christmas, because it will be a waste of time, another reason they won't do better than fourth and could finish lower.

[Big Paul]

Well Liverpool *would* be shoe-ins for the title this upcoming season, had it not been for the arrival of the twin colossi that are Stoke and Hull into the Premier League.....

[Arvind]

Its not about the world class players in the big four, it the squad players who in the end make the difference. Liverpool's squad players are nowhere near as good as ManUtd or Chelsea's. Nani or Pennant take a guess!

[Alan Cottman]

No cause Rafa will not play his best side week in week out. He wants to keep his players fresh for the fight for 4th at the end of the season with Everton.

[Matt]

The fact of the matter is liverpool will do this off season what they have done for the last 5, that is sell 5 players buy 5 new okish players and then wonder why they dont win the league. Chelsea, Man U & Arsenal have dominated the leage over the last 10years because they have had settled sides. Chelsea won back to back titles as did Man U by having a settled side and adding to that with 1-2 quality signings. If you transfer 5 and sign 5 with one being world class then you will never win the league. I can't remember the last time a top tier team chopped and changed so much and then won the league. There is also the small matter of a gigantic points difference, Chelsea had been getting closer for years and then Mourinho took over and made the next step and therefore won the league. Houllier got close one year and then Liverpool seemed to go in the opposite direction to Chelsea. You can't expect to be 16 points behind the leaders and then the following season go from losing 8 games to losing 2. the process is much more gradual. The best they can hope for is 3rd I think. As a Man U fan it makes me laugh the expectation from Liverpool every season. There has been improvement and Torres is brilliant, but there are too many bad players in the squad. Look at the impact someone like Anderson had last year and he si 19. For every torres at liverpool there is a Peter Crouch

[John W]

Man U will not be quite as strong this year, with Queiroz gone and the uncertainty with Ronaldo. Winning it 3 years in a row will be tough and it was so close last season. Chelsea are my favourites, due to their financial resources, a good new manager and the hunger that goes with losing out 2 years in a row (add to that the CL Final in Moscow). The changes at the Bridge might take a year or so to pay, however. Arsenal are a fantastic club and I love the way they compete without spending big, but I did predict they would run out of steam last year and as much as I admire them, I think the same will happen this year and they will be 4th. They just don't look as strong now, although I think their fantastic style could land them a cup win. Liverpool are not as far behind as many seem to think. Robbie Keane will help in converting draws against mediocre teams to wins and Rafa will learn to beat Man U sooner or later... then they'd be right in the mix. More quality out wide is needed (Robbie K could provide) and staying free of injury will be critical. It will be very close again this year, decided again by small details in key games. The favourites don't always win and the Man U/Chelsea duopoly won't last for ever. Liverpool have their best chance in years to win it.

[Ricardo]

The problem is 1. Benitez is inherently cautious, settling for a 1-1 away at Blackburn whereas Man U would go for the win in the last 5 mins, 2. Man U and Chelsea still have better squads in terms of depth and overall quality 3. too much pressure 4. no outrageously talented winger 5. stadium isn't big enough contributes to too little money 6. even tottenham have more money to spend than us now.

Still, we have the best fans BY FAR in the League. No question. A European night at Anfield must make all the other green with envy - 100 times more atmos.

[thomsac]

Dear Della3 and Liverpool/Rafa haters. I am by no means the man's biggest fan and strage rotation policy beggers beliefen somtimes,but please!!

His record reads as follows. 4 seasons, Champions league winners, FA cup winners, Champions league Ruuners up, Champions League Semifinalists, Carling Cup Runners up. Super Cup Winners, World Club cup Runners up(I think thats whats it's called). I admit the premiership title is conspicuous by his absence but to say the man acheives nothing year on year is just not true. LFC will probably not win the title this year and will no doubt face a tough race to finish fourth. But at least be factual whe making comments.

[Peter Yiannis]

My response to INRAFAWETRUST is this.
Benitez has been at the club For 4 years and has spent over 180 million on players....second only to Chelsea!
Off the top of my head...Bellamy, Crouch, Alonso, Garcia Sissoko ,Benayoun, Pennant, Voronin, Torres, Skertl, Agger, Reina, Babel , Mascherano , Kuyt, Degen, Dessona , Keane ,Abeola!!, Lucas and many others i can,t remember right now.
It seems to me that he HAS had the backing of the owners that he constantly complains about.
So,after so many signings , why hasn,t he been able to have a settled squad and challenge for the P League title yet? Every year he just about makes it to the top 4!
This man is a Shop- Player- Holic !!
And he does so in order to disguise his managerial , coaching and tactical weaknesses!
He is out of his depth, he shoots in the dark, he is completely clueless!
Imagine this. If you had a Best , a Maradona , a Cryff , a Pele , a Zidane , would you ever play them out of position or rotate them?
No you wouldn,t.
Benitez would! I rest my case.

[MIke]

The fact still remains we are not a buying club.The title will be won by our consistent defensive performance.
The simple truth is Liverpool does not have the resources to compete with Real Madrid in the market place yet we are still keeping in touch with them. Liverpool are well ahead of Man Untd who got lucky by not sacking Ferguson just before he was gifted half a team of world class youngsters. Man untd then went onto using a check book to solve any problems.
The real question should be will Man u survive the loss of its manager because its yet to have a period success out last the person who delivered it. Chelsea just need to concentrate on beating Nottingham Forest before they start considering themselves within any ranking system.

[Tammerzzz]

Liverpool have no chance
please if u cant score against man u at both home and away then u have no chance

oh and what do Brown, Tevez, Ronaldo, Nani and Riise all have in common?
they all score goals against Liverpool

[Graham Corless]

Fletch says "If Liverpool had beaten Man United home and away last season instead of losing both games they would have been champions. "

No they wouldn't. IF they'd beaten United twice instead of losing to them twice, they'd have finished 3rd behind Chelsea and Arsenal. IF they'd also beaten Chelsea in one of their two drawn head-to-heads, then, they'd have finished top.

That's IF they didn't have a wobble when it got to squeaky bum time. And IF United and Chelsea didn't respond to these parallel universe defeats by kicking on harder and picking up some points they dropped in the real world.

Anyway, the upshot is that last year they'd have had to turn around 3 games against the 2 best sides in Europe to make up an effective 8 point deficit That's a big deficit when you're trying to win the league, more so when you've got to take them off the big boys.

See, you've got 3 other really good sides to leapfrog to win it, not just 1. And none of your players have ever done it. Which is why it's always going to be really, really hard.

But hey, I wouldn't want to stand in the way of a fevered scouse imagination running riot. After all - you've got Robbie Keane. I'm sure he'll make all the difference.

[InRafaWeTrust]

Peter Yiannis, can I also add the names of Reina, Alonso, Agger, Kuyt, Babel, Skrtel.....all players bought by Rafa and by no means a failure, certainly an improvement on the dross he inherited from Houllier. Rafa's biggest problem is that as much as might go out this summer and spend £50m so will Chelsea and Utd will probably spend big as well. 2nd or 3rd might be achievable, there is no doubting that the spine of the team, Reina, Agger/Carra/Skrtel, Mascherano, Gerrard, Keane, Torres is as good as any other team, just needs to pick his best team for a good period and see what happens. All those claiming Rafa will be out of a job, who is available to replace him that would do any better????

[paul]

I doubt we will win it but I think Keane is a good addition. He seems a bit on the expensive side but it is a sellers market for this type of player, look at Barry. The only thing that winds me up is people complaining about Rafa rotating. There was an article by the fink tank I believe in the Times last year that showed who rotated the most in the league. My recollection is that it mirrored the league table. Man Utd rotated the most with Chelsea second. When you are at the top it is clever selection, when you have lost a game and are third it is rotation.