As we edge closer to the start of the season, I having been giving it some thought with regards to where we stand getting into the new season. As great as it would be for us to win the league this coming season, I feel Rafa has been let down by the board in them not giving him the money he needs for us to make a good challenge for the league. Don’t get me wrong, I think we can still challenge with the team we have now but we are still a player or two short to be right up there.
Most of the talk this summer centered around Gareth Barry coming to Liverpool but that move seems likely not to happen with the clubs owners saying the 18m price tag on Barry is too high. I will not get into arguing whether Barry is worth 18m or not but it is clear that Rafa wanted the player as he would have added something to our squad that we need.
We may have a strong squad at Liverpool but we need an even stronger starting lineup. Where we have come short in previous seasons is the ability to constantly beat Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in head to head games in the league. For this to be possible we need a strong starting 11. This is where the one or two players we need would come in. World Class additions such as David Silva could just be the little bit extra we need to be in a position to go to Old Trafford or Stanford Bridge and come away with 3 points. I never like comparing our team with other teams such as Manchester United and Chelsea but those two teams have bottomless budgets and can buy virtually any player they want, and thus they have been so successful over the last couple of years. As much as we may try our level best to close the gap between them and us it will be very hard if we do not have financial resources.
If Rafa were given 50m to spend this summer I am sure he would have added Barry and Silva to Liverpool and these two players may have been the difference between us winning the Premiership and us just finishing in the top four. I remember when the Americans took over and they said they will invest in the team so that we can challenge for the Premiership, yes they have invested but not enough, we still need a bit more from them. They have to pump money into the team in order for them to get a return on investment. And a return investment for them would mean winning Premiership and European titles which we are very much capable of doing. We are almost there and my plea is to the owners to just take that gamble, believe in Rafa’s call and go out and get whoever Rafa needs so that we can win this Premiership.
