Rafael Benitez and The Problem Areas Within The Liverpool Squad

With just over a month to go before the January transfer window is firmly pushed open, the time may be right for Rafael Benitez to juggle his squad of players to see who can be moved on, and who can be brought in to Anfield.

But which areas of the team should the Liverpool manager be addressing, and which squad members should be playing for another club when February arrives?

Goalkeepers:

This is an area that hasn't needed addressing since Benitez signed Jose Reina in 2005, for what has turned out to be a bargain price at just £6million.

Disrespectfully overlooked by pundits when they claim Liverpool are just a two-man team, the Spanish stopper has picked up three golden glove awards, countless man-of-the match performances, and broken many longstanding club records during his time at Anfield.

Benitez found his Number One very quickly, but many top clubs struggle to find an experienced and worthy backup keeper, who is happy to warm the bench whilst getting limited first team action.

Scott Carson was bought and sold on for a substantial profit; Charles Itandje was signed for minimal money, but failed to impress both the manager and the supporters; Diego Cavalieri is the current Number Two at the club, and has so far appeared competent enough to be considered reliable if Jose Reina is out of action.

Priority?

There doesn't appear to be any requirements in this position, with an excellent first choice keeper and a decent number two ready to step in if he required.

Defenders:

Centre backs have never really been a problem area for the club since Benitez took charge in 2004.

After making Jamie Carragher a permanent fixture alongside Sami Hyypia in the middle, Daniel Agger was drafted in with much success, and then Martin Skrtel followed two years later with a similar impact.

A formidable combination of experience, pace, intelligence, and mentality have led to an outstanding defensive record, up until this season had started.

One factor for this season's defensive failings has been the departure of Sami Hyypia. The Finnish international was offered a one year extension and a role as a coach within the club, but Hyypia decided he wanted to play regular first team football for the last couple of years of his career, instead of being fourth choice behind Carragher, Agger, and Skrtel.

The long serving Liverpool center back would join Bayer Leverkusen for a couple of seasons, before returning to Anfield as a defensive coach, but his height, experience, and leadership has been sorely missed at the back.

With the majority of the transfer kitty going on other areas of importance in the team, and none of the £30million made from the sale of Xabi Alonso going back to the manager, Benitez was once again unable to land the first choice transfer targets he earmarked to replace Hyypia.

This led to the acquisition of Greek international Sotirios Kyrgiakos for the bargain price of £2million, who has had a varied start to his Anfield move, and has not had enough time to be considered a decent transfer.

The fullback position has seen its fair share of players in the last five years, with a mixed bag of success and failure coming through the doors.

The last couple of seasons have witnessed Emiliano Insua and Fabio Aurelio nailing down the left back slot with more than enough positives, and the not-so successful Andrea Dossena as third-choice if required.

After just one full campaign, it looks imminent that Andrea Dossena will be heading back to Italy, either in the January transfer window or once the season has finished. After failing to impress with his defensive duties, it is highly unlikely that Benitez will recoup the whole £7million paid out for him.

One of the Liverpool managers very few failings in the transfer market, the introduction of Dossena to the team has at least meant Emiliano Insua has stepped up his game over the recent 12 months, which can now be considered a certain bargain at one million pounds.

The plus side is the money brought in from the sale of Andrea Dossena will help strengthen the attacking line-up in the fast approaching window.

However, within the defensive back four it is the right back area that needs strengthening the most, with Glen Johnson the only major player currently occupying that position.

Free signing, Philipp Degen, has not had the chance to prove his capabilities yet, although in his few appearances this season the Swiss right back looks able going forward, but still needs time to strike up an understanding with the rest of the defensive line and Dirk Kuyt ahead of him.

There is Jamie Carragher as ample back-up to Johnson, but it means taking him out of his much preferred centre back role. Which isn't a major problem unless, like this season in particular, there are injuries to Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel.

Whilst many supporters where crying out last season for Benitez to replace Robbie Keane up front, the manager rightly identified that with the departure of Alvaro Arbeloa, a player who wanted to move back to his homeland, an attacking right back was required more than a striker at that moment in time.

Priority?

There is definitely some room for improvement at the back, with cover for Glen Johnson the most obvious area to have priority. But a decent English Center back would have been a great option to have if the club had the funds to do so in the Summer.

The future back four lineup of Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, and Insua is certainly something for supporters to anticipate in the coming years.

Midfielders:

With Xabi Alonso also following Arbeloa back to his home country in the Summer, the remaining money had to be spent on a replacement who would bring most of the same passing qualities as Alonso; but also add more of an attacking threat going forward.

Whoever would be filling Alonso's boots was certainly not going to be cheap, and Benitez paid out heavily for Alberto Aquilani, on the advice that the player would be fit and ready to return from his ankle injury by the end of August.

Unfortunately, the independent medical advice given to the club was wrong, and Benitez was left to field the 22 year old Lucas Leiva for the first half of the season, a player who at the time was too inconsistent and not ready for regular first team action.

It has certainly had an effect on how this season has progressed, but the silver lining is that Lucas has now progressed a lot quicker than planned, and his game has seen many improvements during his long run in the team.

Which is a major plus if Lucas is required to fill in for injured or rested players in coming seasons.

Despite many claims, Lucas is not meant as a direct replacement to Xabi Alonso, as he is a more suitable comparison to Javier Mascherano.

The Brazilian youngster has been played alongside Mascherano for the majority of this season because of the misjudged return of Aquilani, who is the player more suited to filling the hole left by Alonso.

With a center midfield containing Javier Mascherano, Alberto Aquilani, a much improved Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard dropping back from the support attacker role if needed, and a couple of decent reserve players in Damien Plessis and Jay Spearing; the middle of the park is not an area that needs immediate attention from the manager.

The wings are more of a problem for Rafael Benitez at the moment.

There is little to argue the success of Dirk Kuyt over the last few seasons, and more recently, Yossi Benayoun, but outside of those two it is hard to find much to be happy about.

Albert Riera brings experience, a cool head, and a skillful left foot, but he has been very hit and miss in his 16 months with the club, and has not been as much of an attacking threat as many had hoped.

Riera is solid, has a good mentality, and makes a great option to utilize from the bench, but he lacks the imagination and trickery many supporters cry out for from the wings.

Ryan Babel was meant to be that much needed special something bombing down the touchlines, but a very inconsistent first two years have made it hard for the Dutchman to cement a regular run in the team.

When he is on the pitch, a poor first touch and incorrect decision making are coupled with the odd flash of brilliance, but he is yet to really show the consistency that is required from him.

Whether Ryan Babel's lack of consistency is down to Benitez not giving him a long enough run of games, or Babel's inability to develop his defensive duties and decision making; the time could be fast approaching for Benitez to cut his losses on a player who has so far failed to reach his much coveted potential.

The summer transfer window was used to fill the areas that needed urgent attention, so replacements for Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa where the first priority for the manager.

It would be foolish to think that Benitez would not buy another experienced striker and a skillful winger if he had the funds, but with a limited transfer kitty again in the Summer, he was only ever able to address the right back, center back and center midfield positions.

Priority?

With the centre of midfield containing enough good quality options, the problem areas would seem to be cover for the wide areas. With Dirk Kuyt a certain start on the right, the team could very well do with another experienced world class player in the squad, who is able to ply his trade down either flank.

A player who would either start on the left with Benayoun or Riera in reserve, or as cover for Dirk Kuyt on the right, with Benayoun or Riera starting on the left of midfield.

Attackers:

The area of the pitch that seems to be under the most criticism from supporters at the moment, Fernando Torres is the only player many seem to recognize as Liverpool's only striker.

This is of course ignoring Dirk Kuyt's now invaluable flexibility to play up front on his own in the absence of Torres. Despite being criticized for turning Kuyt in to a very productive wide midfielder, Benitez now has a player who is more than capable of playing in two positions on the field, with positive effect in either.

Ryan Babel is another player who enjoys playing as the lone striker, and has been used to such affect by the Liverpool manager before, which, despite his current poor form, still gives the club more options up front.

Whilst David Ngog was brought into the squad as a long term option, he has already shown moments of brilliance, composure, talent, and more importantly, goals, and is fast proving a sound investment at just £1.5million.

Although the 20 year old Frenchman is nowhere near ready to deputize for Fernando Torres, the experience Ngog is gaining from leading the line on a regular basis, will speed up his development a whole lot quicker than being fourth choice.

And of course, not forgetting Steven Gerrard who has played exceptionally well in the support striker role for the last couple of seasons. His goal return alone should be consideration enough for him being an attacker more than a central midfielder.

With Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres as the first choice front two, it will always be difficult to locate a player with the quality needed to fill in during Torres and Gerrard's absence, and will also be content with not playing as many games during the season.

Benitez was criticized for not bringing in a replacement for Robbie Keane in the Summer, but with a limited transfer kitty, funds from player purchases not being made available, the urgency of addressing the right back and center midfield areas taking a priority, and a team of players who had just scored the most goals in the league; it is difficult to blame the manager for not bringing in at least one more top quality front man.

Priority?

Now that the more pressing matter of finding replacements for Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso has been achieved, the manager can concentrate his funds on tracking down another quality attacker to compliment Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, and David Ngog.

This seasons injury crisis has shown that the full depth of the squad does not posses the quality needed to make a sustained run at the title.

Whether Benitez spends in January will remain to be seen. If the Liverpool owners provide more funds to spend in the forthcoming window, then Benitez may not have to use the option of getting rid of Ryan Babel to generate money for transfers.

There is still the suggestion from within the club that players like Andriy Voronin, Andrea Dossena, and Philipp Degen will still be on their way out of Anfield before the season is over. This does depend on Rafa Benitez getting in sufficient replacements for the rest of the current campaign.

The injury crisis so far this season has shown the full Liverpool squad does not contain enough quality for a sustained run at the Premier League title.

However, now that other more important areas of the pitch have been addressed, and with the option of offloading certain players in January to raise more funds, the manager will undoubtedly be on the look out for an attacking player to bring to Anfield, with the quality, mentality, and goal scoring record needed to push the club even closer to winning the title.