28 Oct 2009

18 reasons to be positive about LIVERPOOL FC right now

Despite the doom and gloom of the last few weeks - and amid the continued misplaced vitriol towards the owners - there are plenty of reasons for Liverpool fans to be positive at the moment.

As many people who visit this regularly will know, I take a critical, realist approach to LFC. Within that approach, I always try and be fair, and there is plenty of evidence for that on the site. Contrary to popular opinion, I am definitely a fan of the club, and I always give credit where credit is due.

So - here are 18 reasons why I believe it is a great time to be a Liverpool fan...

1. The draw curse has been broken!

10 games league played – no draws! After 24 league draws in two seasons – some of which were responsible for Liverpool losing the title last season – it is great that the team is no longer drawing league games on a regular basis.

Yes, we’ve lost 4 games instead (!) but in the grand scheme of things, it is better to win more and lose a few more than draw too many games.

2. Fernando Torres

Despite not firing on all cylinders so far this season, Torres already has 9 goals and 1 assist in 9 games, which is a fantastic return. Torres is clearly one of the best strikers in world football and as long as he’s fit, Liverpool always have a chance.

It should also not be forgotten that without Hicks and Gillett at the club, Liverpool would (in all probability) not even have Torres.

3. Yossi Benayoun


It seems that Benitez has finally realized what I and others have been arguing for the last year or more: start Benayoun and he will invariably score or create a goal.

The Israeli is a fantastic creative force and he has proved this time and time again. He deserves to be an automatic starter, just like Steven Gerrard, Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Jamie Carragher.

4. Still in touch with the leaders

Despite losing 4 of the first 10 league games, Liverpool are only 6 points off the top of the table, and only 4 points behind Man United. Overcoming those gaps is an eminently achieveable task.

The 1989 side overcame a 17 point deficit to clinch top spot (before that final game with Arsenal). The league is certainly not lost yet.

5. Goals galore


Despite 4 defeats, Liverpool are currently joint second highest scorers in the league (with Chelsea), ahead of Man United.

6. Two-man team?


Once again, the spurious myth that Liverpool is a one-man/two-man team was debunked with the superb victory over Man United, achieved for the second year running without Steven Gerrard. As I’ve highlighted, Liverpool do perfectly fine without Gerrard, Torres or both.

7. Gerrard coming back from injury


Steven Gerrard is due to return from injury against Fulham this weekend, which will undoubtedly be a boost for the team.

8. Alberto Aquilani

Summer signing Alberto Aquilani has recovered from injury, and after a brief run-out with the reserves recently, is set to make his full debut against Arsenal in the Carling Cup tonight.

Liverpool have suffered because Xabi Alonso was not replaced from the start of the season, but as I highlighted above, we’re still in touch with the leaders, and if Aquilani is as good as everyone says he is then his presence in the team will only boost Liverpool even more.

9. Return of the Dane

Daniel Agger has recovered from injury and has now taken his rightful place in the team alongside Jamie Carragher. And as we saw against Man United, it’s like he’s never been away.

10. Return of the King

Jami Carragher’s form seems to be improving, and he clearly benefited from playing alongside Agger at the weekend. If that partnership is allowed to blossom then Carra’s form will undoubtedly improve even more.

11. Back-up players making their mark

The much-maligned Lucas Leiva showed his worth against United at the weekend - he was at the centre of everything positive Liverpool did; he put himself about and seriously disrupted United’s midfield, and to cap it all off he created the killer second goal.

Lucas has been steady and effective all season, but despite that, he must – IMO – make way for Alberto Aquilani and take his place as a squad player.

12. Youngsters starting to make their mark


Liverpool’s record of bringing through young players under Rafa Benitez is pretty atrocious, but could that be in the process of changing? For once, it seems we have some youngsters who genuinely have the potential to make the breakthrough.

This season, David Ngog and Emiliano Insua have put in some good performances; Martin Kelly impressed against Lyon; Dani Pacheco is showing his quality in the reserves, and Kristzian Nemeth is doing the business abroad for AEK Athens.

13. Reserves doing well

Liverpool’s reserve team is currently joint top of the Reserve League:

This is another indication that the club’s young players are making their mark.

14. Fantastic shirt deal


New managing Director Christian Purslow recently negotiated a profitable new shirt deal with Standard Chartered, which could net the club 80m of much needed income over the next 4 years.

Purslow: “I think this will almost certainly come to be seen as the best shirt sponsor deal that’s been done by anyone anywhere in the world...It’s an enormous increase on our existing shirt deal – a multiple of that. We’re not interested in being second best or third best – and I think this is an example off the park where we are going to be best in class.“

15. More cash from Carlsberg

Even though Carslberg will no longer be Liverpool’s sponsors, Purslow plans to negotiate an ancillary deal with them, which could net the club another 5m per season.

Purslow: “I must say Carlsberg have been fantastic partners for Liverpool FC over a very long time and I am very confident that we will enter into a new and different partnership with Carlsberg next season when they cease to be our shirt sponsor.

"I expect Carlsberg to be heavily involved in Liverpool Football Club going forward. Their chief executive and I have discussed that and they have expressed a strong desire for that to happen. When the ink is dry on this new shirt deal with Standard Chartered then I expect us to quickly sit down with Carlsberg and work out what that will look like"
.

16. New investors within 6 months


Liverpool continue to look for ways to increase investment in the club, and Purslow is confident that new investors will be found sooner rather than later. And with his track record so far, is there any reason to doubt him?

Purslow: "There has been a huge amount of interest in the club from some extremely wealthy and expert investors, but it will take three to six months to pull that together. It means there will be new investment into the football club. Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett have no plans to sell their shares. We will be issuing new equity to new investors, broadening our ownership."

17. Torres and Gerrard: Going nowhere


Purslow was recently explicit and absolute on the subject of Gerrard and Torres being sold, stating categorically that both players were ‘not for sale at any price’:

18. Kenny Dalglish is back at Anfield!


What a fantastic coup for the club! Having The King back at Liverpool can only have a positive effect on everyone connected with the club, especially Rafa Benitez. Indeed, Benitez has already indicated how helpful it is to have Dalglish around:

Benitez: “I had a quick chat with Kenny and said thank you [for his recent support]. He has experience, he knows the club, he knows the city, the fans, and he has more experience than me here. When we were bringing Kenny in, we knew we were bringing in someone with experience who could help us stick together.”

For obvious reasons, there is no way I can be accused of blind faith for this article (!). Things will change; mistakes will inevitably be made again - and I will highlight them - but for now, onwards and upwards! ;-)

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17 comments:

  1. Martin Kelly not david kelly, but apart from that some good points have been made.

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  2. I was just testing to see if you would spot that, Rossi, so well done ;)

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  3. Cheers pal :) , theres still many reasons to be positive. Quick question have you compared our results from this season to this season from game to game for the league? For example drew at home to stoke last year beat them 4-0 this year, just wondering what the points difference is?

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  4. Also would like to say, it worked well having 2 strikers up top instead of gerrard behind. Although Robbie Keane was deemed a failure last year, i do feel we could do with another striker in that kind of mould so we can mix it up a bit, meaning not constantly playing gerrard in the whole behind torres because sometimes i feel we get stifled when we cant get the ball to gerrard when we play him there. I wonder how the young apprentice Ngog would play if played alongside his master? Straying from the topic but worth a debate i feel

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  5. Nicely written, I truely believe Liverpool still needs a few more good players on the reserve bench or at least one more fairly good striker.

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  6. Jaimie you are being very positive these days, im waiting for the 'rug to be pulled'?, seriously though you make excellent points again. We know we still have things to sort out with H+G but the reality is that Liverpool are on the right path, Kenny is a big buffer for Rafa to use if he has any problems 'upstairs' along with Christian Purslow. Pacheco would have been on the bench tonight, only for Spanish FA to call him up, but he is quality as we will all see, time for Liverpool fans to calm down now and try to enjoy a game for a change.

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  7. three important away games in a row again ... I hope we will keep the momentum and win all three .

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  8. Oh my goodness. It is not only a turning point for Liverpool, but it also seems Jaimie Kanwar has had a turning point somewhere.

    Good stuf Jaimie. Keep it up!

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  9. keep it up boys very well done...WE ARE LIVERPOOL!!!

    Rafiek
    RSA

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  10. 19. Pepe Reina is ours

    Has shown great form, and has been very imposing. Is taking no shit at the moment. Seems to really be a team player - unusual for a goalie.

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  11. Hi Aiyic - Agree about Reina.  Seeing him celebrate Ngog's goal on Sunday was magic :)

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  12. riiiiiight lololol :)

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  13. Reason 19: This is your year!

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  14. Thought of a nick name: Quick Gun Jaimie.
    But I guess after reading this article, there seems to be some sense and I retract the name.

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  15. dear steven gerrard
    thank you aganist the manchester united.we all the fans proud o fthis ,we hope that the coming game have a good result.
    tsering dhondup

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  16. It's a case of 1 step forward and 1.5 back for Liverpool again this season.
    It's astonishing the amount of players Mr Benitez has bought and sold in his tenure.
    Is it 150+?

    Astonishing.

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