Has Roy found the key to Liverpool’s future success?

Yesterday, Liverpool fans were greeted with the news that Fernando Torres has chosen to stay at Liverpool for the foreseeable future and it comes as more than a major relief to the majority of Reds fans as it was massively feared that our number nine would be leaving the club this summer for pastures new. Constant rumours and talk of Fernando becoming disillusioned with life at Anfield after the disappointing 2009/2010 campaign that the team suffered were eventually found out to be wide of the mark as he has described Liverpool as “the best club in the country” and informs us, the fans, that he is fully committed to the cause. This news, coupled with Steven Gerrard’s recent comments declaring himself happy to stay at Anfield has ignited a huge, collective sigh of relief from Liverpool fans worldwide. Commitment is always key to a successful squad when it comes to football; if a squad is littered with players that are not committed to giving 100% for the club they play for then a football team will find it hard to work together on and off the field.

Roy Hodgson has been able to identify, pretty quickly, the players in the squad that he has inherited that are not committed to playing for Liverpool Football Club. Hodgson has held discussions with some members of the squad in order to rectify any problems with these particular players and attempt to convince them that to stay at Liverpool is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, for some of these players, it was already set in stone, in their minds, that to move elsewhere is what they desired. The most important player to have done exactly this is our Argentine central midfielder Javier Mascherano.

Once Hodgson was able to sit down, face to face, with Mascherano and have a conversation about the future of the Argentine it was clear to the manager that Mascherano was destined to ply his trade elsewhere. The same situation arose earlier on in pre-season when it became apparent that Yossi Benayoun, who has since completed a move to arch-rivals Chelsea, no longer felt as though Liverpool was the right club for him and was therefore moved on, against the desires of most Liverpool fans. Similarly, I fully expect Mascherano to be moved on, at the right price. Of course, most Liverpool fans would have liked to have seen both Benayoun and Mascherano stay at the club for the forthcoming season, however, with their disappointing lack of commitment there was only one solution; they had to be sold as not one player is bigger than the club.

It is clear to see that there is still a need for further additions to the Liverpool squad and I have the utmost confidence that the players that are identified by Roy Hodgson as his primary targets are players that he feels will be fully committed to the cause of Liverpool. Fully committed to getting Liverpool back to where they belong and back into the top four of English football. The club doesn’t need players that are just looking for a big payday or are just looking for the fame of pulling on a Liverpool shirt; the fans want to see players who will give their all to be successful at Anfield.  A squad packed with committed players is as important as anything else and is vital to any potential success and the key to the happier days that the fans and the club in general are more than willing to be a part of once again.

Follow us on twitter @live4Liverpool

Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at editor@live4liverpool.com