Liverpool FC: Could They Drop Out of the Premier League's Top 6?

Despite major investment during Fenway Sports Group's first year as owners of Liverpool, there is a real danger that the club will slip out of the Premier League's top six this season.

The Reds recovered from a disastrous first half of last term to finish the campaign in sixth, a position they slipped to last weekend following their disappointing 1-1 draw at home to newly-promoted Norwich City.

Their slide is accounted for by Tottenham's win at Blackburn which lifted Spurs up to fifth, just as they did at the end of last season when a 2-0 win at Anfield for the Londoners saw them pip Liverpool to a Europa League place. 

With a resurgent Arsenal now hot on their heels courtesy of their 3-1 win over Stoke on Sunday (a result rather eclipsed by concurrent events in Manchester) and high-flying Newcastle strengthening their case to be taken seriously with every passing week, are Liverpool actually in danger of going backwards this season?

It is just more than a year since John W Henry and co won their highly-publicised court battle to wrest ownership of Liverpool from the clutches of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the Statler and Waldorf of the Premier League. 

Fenway certainly did not mess around in kick-starting a revival at Anfield. The moribund reign of Roy Hodgson was ended and Kop legend Kenny Dalglish was installed. The misfiring Fernando Torres was sold for a British record fee which funded the purchases of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, and the Reds went on to finish sixth. 

The big-money recruits kept on coming in the summer, with defensive duo Jose Enrique and Sebastian Coates, midfield trio Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing and forward Craig Bellamy costing around £60 million in total.

Despite those additions, the Reds have rarely looked convincing this season. A 2-0 win at Arsenal came via an Aaron Ramsey own goal and a stoppage-time strike from Suarez against a Gunners side at a low ebb, and they followed that up with a win over a Bolton side which has since lurched from one awful performance to another.

Defeats at Stoke and Tottenham (the latter a shambolic 4-0 loss) were offset by wins over struggling pair Wolves and Everton, while the 1-1 at home with Manchester United in the game before the Norwich draw perhaps flatters them considering Alex Ferguson's conservative team selection.

Steven Gerrard returned after a long-term absence in that game against United, and the Reds will need their talisman to hit the ground running. Suarez (three goals) and perhaps Adam (four assists) aside, there are plenty of question marks over the quality among Liverpool's ranks to launch their predicted assault on the Champions League places this season.

Henry admitted in a recent interview that the club had overspent on some of their first-year purchases at Liverpool, which necessitates a reappraisal of the signings. While a drop to a more reasonable price for each of them may suggest better value for money, it also requires a change in the perception of the calibre of the new players.

With the lofty price tags taken out of the equation to allow a more objective evaluation, are Henderson (£16 million), Downing (£20 million) and Carroll (£35 million) really the players to march the Reds back up to the top table?  

The issue may already be out of their hands. 

Manchester City have now elbowed their way right to the very top, taking the top four place that was once habitually Liverpool's in the process. For all of Liverpool's huge spending over the past 12 months, the petrodollars at the Etihad Stadium eclipse anything Fenway could ever hope to invest.

Tottenham have been a major beneficiary of City's embarrassment of riches, and the addition of Emmanuel Adebayor has given them an extra dimension in attack. Their most significant summer signing, however, was Scott Parker, who has added some solidity to Tottenham's attacking verve.

Harry Redknapp's club moved above Liverpool at the weekend, and they still have a game in hand on every other club in the top half.  

A lot has been made of the advantage Liverpool have in not being distracted by European football this season, unlike their other rivals for a top four place, but Spurs currently top their Europa League group despite making full use of their squad. 

Arsenal, too, are going great guns in Europe, and for all their travails the win over Stoke on Sunday was their fourth league victory of the season, the same number as Liverpool. The victory over the Potters also showed signs that Gervinho is both finding his feet in English football and clicking with Robin van Persie, while Ramsey's influence on proceedings is growing consistently. 

The Gunners sit two points behind the Reds at the moment with Jack Wilshere, Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna all still to return from injury, and Andrei Arshavin is due a good run of form.

But perhaps the biggest concern of all for Dalglish is another club he used to manage, Newcastle. The Magpies remain unbeaten this season following their 1-0 win over Wigan, and that victory keeps them in fourth, level on points with Chelsea. 

While few would expect them to occupy the same spot come May, it is clear that the club has invested the Carroll windfall wisely in the summer. The likes of Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and even the previously maligned Gabriel Obertan have all impressed, while Hatem Ben Arfa's return from his horrendous broken leg is (cliche alert) like a new signing.

Alan Pardew is another manager with a team currently in the upper reaches of the table who does not have to worry about European football this term, and as such just concentrate on ensuring St James' Park remains the fortress it has been thus far.

Newcastle and Liverpool are slated to meet at Anfield on New Year's Eve and in Tyneside on March 31. These two sides have served their fair share of Premier League classics in their time, but those two meetings look set to have a big say in whether or not Liverpool end the season in the top six.