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The 2011/12 Premier League Title Race: Liverpool

The last team that we will look at as potential title challengers for the Premier League 2011/12 is the seemingly forgotten men of Liverpool Football Club. Last season saw the Reds of Manchester finally realize their manager’s biggest ambition to replace the Reds of Liverpool as the most successful club in England when they won their decisive 19^th title. How Liverpool will react to this dethroning will be very interesting to see.

 

Liverpool’s fortunes in the years since the Premier League began in 1992/93 have been mixed at best. Although they are the biggest team still to win the Premier League title, they have had strong success in other competitions including 2 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, a UEFA Cup and their fifth Champions League title. So the recent past have by no means been a disaster for the Reds, but the majority of the Kop faithful would probably trade all those trophies (apart from perhaps the Champions League) for one Premier League trophy and in Kenny Dalglish they believe they have the man capable of delivering that trophy. Since King Kenny took over as caretaker on 8^th January last season following Roy Hodgson’s dismissal, Liverpool steadied their ship and finished the second half of the season with 12 wins from their final 23 games. The 2011/12 season will be the Scotsman’s first full season of his second stint in charge and if he can build on the foundations he put in place last season then Liverpool can make things interesting at the summit of the Premier League.

 

With Liverpool spending their second successive season outside of Europe’s elite, Dalglish’s policy on bringing in predominantly young British talent in the form of Henderson, Downing, Adam (and Carroll back in January) means that although British players traditional tendencies to favour a more physical and simplified style of football is not suited to European competition, these players will be far better equipped to compete in conditions and against opposition that the foreign players that Liverpool have relied on in recent seasons were able to. However, there still remains a significant question mark over the defensive unit at Anfield. If we look more closely at the problems in that area, it was suggested by many that the evergreen Jamie Carragher was well past his best over two years ago. And I feel it’s more a case of Liverpool not finding a good enough replacement, than Carragher’s own Indian Summer of his career that sees him remain in the Starting XI. In Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, Liverpool have two proven defenders capable of playing in most teams in the Premier League but the fact that neither can stay off the treatment table long enough to put a run of games, let alone start alongside each other in a red jersey. The Anfield outfit do however have a number of good young defenders that impressed when given the chance last season. It remains to be seen whether they have the quality to make a starting place their own when all are fit.

 

Luis Suarez’s performances at the recent Copa America in Argentina saw him receive the Player of the Tournament award and worldwide praise. It’s certain that Liverpool made a real coup when they brought the Uruguayan to the club from Ajax during last season’s January Transfer Window and after his showing at the this summer’s tournament there is bound to be more than a few envious looks from top clubs around Europe at the latest Liverpool number 7. If Suarez can continue his rich vein of form into the new Premier League season, and if he and Andy Carroll can combine as Dalglish hopes, then the Reds will have a forward partnership that will strike fear into the hearts of even the most gifted of Premier League defences.

 

Verdict: Dalglish’s men will be out to prove a point this season after losing their crown as England’s most successful club, and after missing out on Champions League football for successive seasons, the club is in a much better position to challenge than previous seasons. They will come close; it will be interesting to see just how close.

Preciction: 3rd