Liverpool Rebuilt: 5 Reasons Why Dalglish's Squad Is Champions League Contender

Less than one week before the beginning of the new 2011-12 Premier League season in England and Liverpool fans the world over are deep in discussion with both themselves and fans of other clubs over just how much the squad has improved since this time last year, and whether it is enough for the team to overtake the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal and reclaim a Champions League position.

While fans of the opposing sides will inevitably claim their team remains superior, it is hard to see why, when looking at the cold hard facts, the threat of a resurgent Liverpool is so easily dismissed.

Perhaps, though, it is done so because of fear.

A lingering, nagging doubt in the back of the mind of fans of those clubs who cherish the Champions League and want it to be theirs again after this season - understandably, of course.

Arsenal followers will point to their unbroken run of competing in the tournament and say that their squad has the capability to win trophies, not just finish inside the top four. And it is perfectly true.

Spurs fans might show how they qualified for last season's version of the event and went shoulder to shoulder with the very best Milan and Madrid have to offer, and offer that as proof that they can do it again. Also perfectly viable an argument.

But still, there is Liverpool. And there is Kenny Dalglish. And there is the lingering, nagging, gnawing little ferret at the backs of their minds: The Reds Are Coming Up The Hill.

Again.

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A Question of Balance from One Side to the Other

Hurry up Getty Images and get these two snapped in Liverpool shirts together!

Balance, then - what does that mean?

In short, this was a customary team for Liverpool (post Hodgson abyss) last season:

Reina; Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Johnson; Lucas, Spearing, Meireles, Maxi; Suarez, Kuyt.

Notice anything? Not one left footed player in the side. Not a single one in the entire starting eleven. Every time that any player got the ball there was only one direction it was likely to go in, and that was whichever direction the instep of their right boot was facing. If Meireles or Maxi were on the left flank, it was always a case of cutting inside to look for a pass or cross. Not that there is anything wrong with that per say, but wouldn't it be nice to at least have the option to go outside? Or pass the other way? Or make a first time return pass down the inside left channel, without having to check their stance or shift the ball onto their other foot first?

Take a look at the side who faced Valencia:

Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio; Spearing Adam Aquilani; Henderson, Downing, Carroll.

Five left footed players in the side suddenly; two new signings, one half-new signing and two perma-crocked would-be first teamers from last season who will be key to the team if only we can keep them fit.

If you didn't see highlights or the full game from the fixture against Los Che I strongly suggest you find a copy of the first half somewhere and revel in the fast-paced link up play between Downing, Carroll and Aurelio down the left channel, as well as Adam, Aquilani and Henderson in a more central area.

Left footed players in a left-hand role can sometimes make a second's difference (between crossing and not, tackling well or badly, shooting or hesitating...); having several left footed players to choose from against having none at all can only be a good thing.

An End to the Monotony of Wasting Set Pieces

Alright so the picture is Downing against Liverpool instead of for Liverpool, but you get the idea.

Last season—and for several years before that—Liverpool's set piece options consisted of Steven Gerrard or, if he was injured, someone else not as good and who probably didn't practice them because they rarely got to take them.

Fabio Aurelio once in a blue moon was on the pitch to take a good free kick and has certainly got good delivery, while Joe Cole is supposed to be good at them though we've seen scant evidence of the fact.

Now, however, three midfield newcomers all arrive with previous in the art of dead ball delivery.

Charlie Adam's free kicks and corners were of course oft-commented on for Blackpool last season and for good reason; I would be stunned if we got into November and the Scot hadn't hit the back of the net yet for Liverpool from one of his efforts.

Stewart Downing is equally gifted with his left foot and in addition to free kicks can deliver a wicked corner, time and time again into the danger zone.

And Jordan Henderson - much less the direct threat on goal than his two new team mates but boy can this lad deliver a good cross. Anything out wide on the right side and from 20 to 35 yards from the goal line, expect Henderson to be able to whip it in towards the six yard box or penalty spot, curling away from the goalkeeper and just begging to be nodded in by either one of the pony-tailed wonders, Carroll or Kyrgiakos.

Throw Danny Agger's random thunderbolts in there along with the magic subtlety of Luis Suarez just around the edge of the box and the Reds have several aces up their sleeves this season when it comes to set pieces.

Players Being Sold Do Not Affect the Depth of the Squad

It might sound odd, but Liverpool are able to sell up to half a dozen or so players yet without making the slightest dent on the depth of the first team.

Paul Konchesky was first out the exit door and though he was in the team under Hodgson his utter lack of contribution meant we fared better once he'd left on loan to Championship side Nottingham Forest. A permanent move to the Championship and Leicester meant it was one down, many to go - but given that Konchesky offered nothing to the first team at Anfield, his departure therefore also does not affect the numbers we have to choose from.

Milan Jovanovic was another who in the second half of the season barely featured, meaning he could effectively be written off as a part who did not contribute to the squad.

Nabil El Zhar, Emiliano Insua, Brad Jones, Philipp Degen and Dani Ayala also all spent time out on loan last season and therefore would not affect the depth of the squad if they were all to be sold on permanently.

Whether some more highly recognised faces of the first team do depart or not remains to be seen; Meireles, Aquilani and Ngog in particular have all been linked with moves away and each would leave their own hole to fill, but while the Reds still have £100,000 a week or more being paid out to players who barely featured at all for the club last term, it would appear there are more pressing needs to attend to than to offer a talented midfielder an easy route out of the club.

Fitness Issues Should Be Put to One Side with Extra Recovery Time

With no European football this season, some have said that it will benefit Liverpool by allowing them to concentrate on the league.

While I admire the sentiment, this is entirely b*****s.

Did Manchester United struggle to maintain focus en-route to winning the Premiership last season because they managed to get to the Champions League final? Were Barcelona distracted from their mundane endeavours of winning La Liga as they also clinched the title of Europe's best?

Of course not, and Liverpool should aspire to nothing other than utter domination in whichever competitions they are in.

However: I strongly believe that no regular midweek football will benefit the club enormously - by keeping certain star players fitter for longer, with the extra week's break in between games used for strengthening and injury prevention.

Daniel Agger is one of the best defenders in Europe. Fabio Aurelio, a top left back. Steven Gerrard, one of the very best footballers on the planet. But all of them suffer terribly with injuries at times, Gerrard more so over the last couple of years than the previous half a dozen perhaps but we still want and need him fit and firing now more than ever.

Make no mistake; if Agger and Carragher were our two central defenders (and Reina in goal and Lucas in midfield) for the entire League campaign we would go some distance towards getting that Champions League place, even without taking into account the rest of the team. They are that good.

In 2008-09 when Liverpool competed in the Champions League until the quarter final stage, the Reds faced six games in October and seven in November; this season it will initially be four games in October and three the following month, possibly increasing by one extra fixture due to prolonged League Cup involvement.

Such a drop in games allows far more recovery time for players, not to mention extra time for the coaches to hone their tactical instructions for the team before each match day.

Now if we could just go a whole season without ridiculous International friendly matches....

Goalscorers Prevalent Throughout the Entire Liverpool Squad

It was said for years that Liverpool relied too much on Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard for goals.

Perhaps those people had a point at times.

Last season Liverpool had just six players who managed to score more than twice in the entire Premier League campaign; Kuyt (13), Maxi (10), Torres (9), Meireles (5), Gerrard and Suarez (4 each).

With all of those players bar Torres still at the club, and with the team playing far more attacking and pro-active football than in the first slightly-more-than-half of last season, it is more than feasible that four or five players could hit double figures in the league alone this season.

Taking into account all competitions, all things being normal it might be expected that Carroll and Suarez both net in excess of 15 goals, Kuyt and Gerrard get around that figure and Downing, Meireles, Aquilani and Adam all have the ability and licence to contribute ten goals apiece. Should either of Maxi Rodriguez and Joe Cole manage to barge their way into the first team picture, they, along with Jordan Henderson, could also contribute a tally in excess of half a dozen strikes.

Agger is always liable to pop up with a goal or two while our attacking full backs should score more goals than they presently do. I'd even back Jay Spearing to break his duck this season with one of his well-hit shots from around the edge of the area.

The point is, regardless of who gets 25, 20 or eight goals, there are more options than ever before for Liverpool to find a goalscorer instead of relying on two or three to create chances for a further one or two to score them.

I've read so much stick which has been aimed at Andy Carroll this summer that it is unreal - the boy in a 1 in 2 striker, make no mistake about it, and there are not many of those left now. He will rattle a hat full of Premiership goals this season and I expect other to follow suit - firing Liverpool into next season's Champions League in the process.

Is It Enough?

So there we have five major improvements for Liverpool's squad for the 2011-12 season.

Is it enough to improve the Reds considerably? Definitely.

Is it enough to improve to such an extent that at least two sides are overtaken?

Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs are almost dead certs for three of the top four this season, leaving one spot for Liverpool and the two North London sides to battle over.

Improvement for any club pretty much comes as standard these days, what scientists like to call the "Red Queen" theory definitely applies in football: you must run as fast as you can just to stay still.

In other words, improvement is vital just to hold your position. Improvement on a much grander scale is required to overtake other teams. Have the Reds improved that much more than their rivals?

Spurs haven't sold anyone major this summer—but they haven't brought anybody in either. With doubts still lingering over the future of Luka Modric, if Spurs has remained at the level they were at last season they will have done well. For my money, we are beyond the white half of North London now.

Arsenal on the other hand...well, the signing of Gervinho is a great one, no doubts about that, while I'll make no judgement on the younger signings including Oxlade-Chamberlain—their impact in the league this season is likely to be from the bench at best and minimal at worst.

Have they improved in key areas though? Definitely not. They have yet to address their defensive weakness, replace outgoing first choice left back Gael Clichy or secure the future of current players Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

Arsenal is a fantastic side and a big threat to any team with aspirations of winning the league—but I don't think they have done enough this summer and am backing Liverpool to overtake them.