Liverpool’s inability to take their chances this season has been well documented and was put under the spotlight after Monday’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham when it was revealed that the reds have the worst conversion rate in the league.
There are many factors behind Liverpool’s shocking finishing but in order to overcome the problems in front of goal and have any chance of getting back into the Champions League, the Reds will need all of their attackers to be on song for the remainder of the campaign.
Craig Bellamy and Steven Gerrard have been absolutely fantastic in Luis Suarez’s absence, and there is no doubt that having them in the team helps makes Liverpool a match for any top team on their day. Much has been made about Suarez and his poor finishing but you can’t ignore the fact that the man creates chances for fun and that in the early stages of this season, the Uruguayan played a major role in almost every goal scored by the team. Suarez is also one of the Liverpool’s top scorers this season so for all his missed chances, he’s still proved himself to be one our most productive options in attack.
Suarez’s incredible creativity means that he no doubt needs a clinical forward playing alongside him. We hoped we would see a top new striker recruited during the January transfer window but it wasn’t to be, and I understand why. What this means though, is that two of the current forwards wearing the red shirt need to up their game for the remainder of the season if we are going to achieve the targets set during pre-season.
Dirk Kuyt and Andy Carroll have struggled to find the net consistently this year and the second half of the season will be crucial to both men for their careers. Kuyt will want to improve on his 3 goals for the season and re-establish himself in the first team before the Euro 2012 finals while Carroll will want to prove his doubters wrong and earn a place in the England squad that competes over the summer.
Kenny Dalglish stated a long time ago that he was satisfied with the attacking options at the club, and the close of the transfer window now means that we will have to rely on the same strike force we started the season with to get into the top four spots. On a pleasing note, both Kuyt and Carroll have shown signs of improvement in the past few games, and have made significant contributions in Luis Suarez’s absence.
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As for the remainder of the season, I expect that both Bellamy and Suarez will no doubt continue to impress for the reds, while Gerrard will always be able to chip in with a few goals. They will need help providing goals though, and the two men who must step forward to take more goal scoring responsibility are the same players who have been criticised for their lack of goals and form this season.
I have high hopes for Andy Carroll still and his recent performances have shown that he is capable of adapting to the system Dalglish has introduced, most notably by making himself more mobile when off the ball. Kenny is certainly making the correct decision by giving Carroll a run in the first team and I don’t think it will be too long now before the former Newcastle man starts to dominate aerially while also causing havoc with his ferocious left footed strikes at goal.
With a bit of good form towards the end of the season I can see Carroll comfortably getting into the England squad for the European Championships and the experience of representing the country at a major international tournament will no doubt prove vital for his Liverpool career.
As for Dirk Kuyt, he has been one of Liverpool’s key players for a long time now, and I’m hoping he can replicate his form towards the end of last season where a flurry of goals scored in consecutive games meant that he finished as the clubs top scorer with 15 goals. The summer will be interesting as far as Kuyt is concerned, as by next season he will be 32 and he is no longer a guaranteed first XI player.
He may be sold to make way for a younger forward or he may go on to have a prolific end to the season and also impress at Euro 2012 to earn himself another year in the red shirt. Whatever happens, I’m hoping that the firepower currently at our disposal is enough to carry the team over the top four finish line come May, as failure to do so may just leave us rueing the wasted opportunity of the January transfer window.
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