A reminder that this Reds team is not half bad

With all the doom and gloom about the ownership situation and the seventh place finish last season, it has been hard for some Reds fans, including me, to see the positives about Liverpool FC. Over the last week or so, this pessimism has begun to lift as the signing of Joe Cole and the commitment of Steven Gerrard has boosted some of those despairing at the club’s plight. It can be difficult sometimes to see the wood for the trees, and see things from the right perspective when you are very close to the club. Someone who is looking in from the outside though is Bayern Munich and Holland star Arjen Robben who sees the Red’s current situation from a very surprising positive angle. He said to the Daily Star:

“With a front three of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Cole I think Liverpool will be a real force in the Premier League. Last year was a freak year [for Liverpool], but if those three click I can see them seriously challenging for the title. You look at those as a front three and you struggle to find a better front three in Europe – and I include Barcelona’s in that.”

Although I wouldn’t go as far as saying our front three are equal to Barcelona’s in every respect, the site of seeing Cole, Gerrard and Torres in the same team is no less very exciting. Of course this is predicated on Torres staying but with so much positive news coming out of the club at the moment, the Spanish striker will surely find it more difficult to leave then he would have done even a couple of weeks ago. With Gerrard likely to be staying one of the reason’s he may have cited for leaving Anfield, the fact that the Reds could no longer keep their best players, has disappeared, as well as the worry that the club weren’t likely to add any quality because of financial restrictions.

Certainly, Torres will still have question marks over whether the Reds can compete financially with the likes of Manchester City but surely he has already seen enough that indicates Roy is endeavouring to do his utmost with the difficult hand dealt to him. The Cole signing is demonstrative of this ability to make best use of what he’s got. Robben commented on Cole being worth £15m, and that his qualities will shine through:

“I read Gerrard’s words about Joe being as good as Messi on the ball and I couldn’t agree more. After training with him for so long I can tell you some of the things he can do with a football are as good as anything I have ever seen. . . He is not just about tricks though, his vision is fantastic. The chances he will create for Torres will help Liverpool to have a trophy-winning season. . . I know Joe and the decision would have definitely been a footballing one and not a money one.”

With the addition of Cole, along with the likes of Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt, Milan Jovanovic, Alberto Aquilani, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson, Pepe Reina, Ryan Babel, Jamie Carragher, all seasoned pros and established internationals, the squad doesn’t look half bad. In the last six months, it has been easy to forget that Liverpool came so close to winning the title two seasons ago with nearly the same squad; the only real stumbling block has been squad depth.

The rumoured purchase of a players like Klass-Jan Huntelaar is more positive news. He is another established international with a fantastic goals record who could support Fernando Torres very ably indeed. Roy is making all the right noises about adding a couple more players, and needing to strengthen the team at both ends of the pitch. Cole has also spoken positively of Roy’s transfer targets, and if Javier Mascherano leaves the club for good money, it frees up Hodgson to add more options to the squad. It looks as if everything is looking pretty positive at Anfield at the moment.

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