Sometimes in football, the chemistry between two extraordinary players are at such a high level, that it makes it a privilege to watch.

Last season, when Manchester United fumbled, the two players that came to the forefront in Liverpool’s, ultimately fruitless, challenge was Gerrard and Torres. I’ve watched United play with a swagger and a verve which won them titles. But as I sat in the North stand of Old Trafford with the enemy Liverpool coming to town, I witnessed two players defy the odds. We all know what happened that day, but it only cemented what we already knew. Torres and Gerrards partnership was special. Are Arsenal forming two players just as important?

Experience got Manchester United over the finish line and regain the Premier League title, but there was a definite buzz around Liverpool season this season. Who cares if Alonso goes to Madrid, as long as Fernando and Stevie are there, the title’s coming to Liverpool. These players have been injured and the rest of the squad look average, at best. It doesn’t take a mastermind to work out that without these two, Liverpool suffers.

Cesc Fabregas and Van Perise are getting a real understanding, with the link between midfield and the frontline almost invisible, similar to Torres and Gerrard. They are playing injury free together for the first time in ages and are starting to look invincible. Cesc was out for four months last season and Van Persie was out for a similar amount of time the season before that.

The difference, however between the two sets is that the Liverpool pair rely on directness, pace and intertwine with each other, and Cesc and Van Persie look to bring in others and don’t just look for each other. So, are Robin and Cesc as vital to Arsenal as Gerrard and Torres are to Liverpool? Bags of talent and when fit and flying, almost unstoppable.

I don’t think Liverpool have much more quality besides their diamond duo, however they are gaining experience all the time. Arsenal have Arshavin and Liverpool have Babel. Aquilani could become as good as Fabregas and Lucas could keep improving. In the last two years, Arsenal have played good football, but without consistently being able to play Van Persie and Fabregas together, haven’t won anything. Maybe if these two can continue to play together, they may achieve something. Torres and Gerard have their partnership set in stone, but just need to be fit.

I think Gerrard and Torres have more influence on Liverpool than Van Persie and Fabregas do on Arsenal. Over reliance on these two is what has encouraged Liverpool‘s poor start. Arsenal can win without these two, with Rosicky playing is Cesc’s role and Eduardo in Van Persie’s. A stronger squad in Arsenal’s corner is what makes me think that although they have two greatly talented players, they could win without them, as opposed to Liverpool.

About six weeks ago I did a piece predicting West Ham to win the Premier League based on their league position this year and Manchester United’s league position last year after 5 games.

That prediction hasn’t been working out too well (hopefully you didn’t think I was serious…although I’m pretty sure I still managed to annoy some Millwall fans…) and so I thought I’d take a look once again at where things stood last season in comparison to this season. Plus, Liverpool lost for the fifth time this weekend, and, well, you’ll understand why I want to take a look at the table exactly one year ago today when you see it.

14 Possibly Interesting Facts About The 2008/2009 Premier League Season Compared to the 2009/2010 Premier League Season That You Might Like (Redundancies should be reported to the Redunancy Department of Redundancies):

1. This time last year, Liverpool was atop the Premier League with 8 wins from 10 matches and 3 points clear of Chelski. This year, the Blues hold a two point lead over Man United for the lead while Liverpool have stumbled to their fifth loss of the season and find themselves in 7th place.

2. Wigan (8 points), Bolton (8 points) and Tottenham (6 points, 2 from 8 games if you recall…that stat will never get old) populated the wrong end of the table in the relegation zone. This year, Hull (8 points), West Ham (7 points) and Portsmouth (7 points) find themselves in the same predicament.

3. The three teams that were eventually relegated, Middlesborough, West Brom and Newcastle, stood in 9th, 16th and 17th place, respectively. Place your bets now on Stoke (9), Wolves (16) and Blackburn (17) to find themselves in the Championship come next year as they find themselves in the same spots as well. 

4. Chelsea owned the best goal differential at +18. At +20 this year, their goal differential still tops the league.

5. The worst goal differential in the league was -7, a tie between Stoke and Blackburn. Phil Brown’s (for the moment anyways) Hull City currently owns the worst goal differential at -16.

6. Chelsea stood in 2nd place. Manchester United currently stands in 2nd place. I’d tell you to place your bets on Man United to win the title, but as a Liverpool fan, I’m sorry but I simply cannot bring myself to do that.

7. The 3rd place spot was occupied by Arsenal. It still is.

8. There have been 19 1-nils this season.

9. Bolton had failed to score in 6 of their first 10 matches. Doing their best imitation of the Wanderers, Portsmouth have failed to score in 6 of their first 11 matches.

10. Chelsea have let 8 goals in this season, doubling the amount the had let in last season (for those not too savvy at math, that means they let in 4 last year). Coincidentally (and NOT ironically, as some would say), they still have allowed the least goals this season.

11. West Ham was the only team to be drawless after 10 games last season. This season, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Burnley have all taken the 3-points-or-no-points approach in each of their 11 matches as well.

12. Nicolas Anelka (19), Cristiano Ronaldo (18) and Steven Gerrard (16) lead the league in scoring last season. Fernando Torres (9), Darren Bent (8), and Didier Drogba (8) are on pace to lead the league in scoring this season. Torres is in line to score 22, with Drogba and Bent on pace to gather 19.6 goals (if you would like to know how to score 0.4 goals, go ask that blasted beach ball).

13. Robin Van Persie lead the league in assists with 11 last season. Fabregas already has 9, putting him on pace to have a hand in 22 goals by the end of the year.

14. The worst discipline belonged to Wilson Palacios and Marouane Fellaini, who both gathered 12 yellow cards to their name all of last season. So far this season there is a 9 way tie for the worst discipline. They’re all on pace to gather up 11 yellows.

11 games down and 27 to go. Who knows, maybe Portsmouth will go on a 27 match win streak and win the league. And maybe Abigail Clancy will break up with Peter Crouch and marry me. But as Andy Gray of FIFA10 likes to tell me, the table after 10 games is usually very similar to the table after 38.

Fernando Torres & Robbie Keane could have been the deadliest double act since Starsky & Hutch, had Rafa Benitez not thought otherwise. As it happens they had to settle last week for separate feats, separate plaudits, and separate points hauls.

Torres could realistically have expected to be the week’s king in the Fantasy League with a splendid hat-trick against Phil Brown’s tame Tigers, but his eschewed strike-partner grabbed the honour, four goals against Burnley meant plenty of spilt claret for Owen Coyle, as the Fantasy Premier League season took another set of twists and turns.

The Men In Form

Indeed, Torres was not even the second highest points scorer. Darren Bent’s hot-streak at Sunderland continued as he inspired the Black Cats to a 5-2 win over Wolves. Bent won, and converted, the opening goal from the penalty spot before picking up three second half assists to record a massive 18 points haul. His strike partner Kenwyne Jones was equally deadly, two goals for the Trinidad & Tobago hitman keeps him very much on the coat-tails of his team-mate.

Liverpool’s win over Hull may have been a cakewalk, it may have sounded the death knell for Phil Brown, and it may also have given Tigers debutant Liam Cooper nightmares. But it also threw up a few points in midfield for the Reds. Ryan Babel only played 29 minutes at Anfield but notched two goals, and twelve points. Albert Riera played the full 90 and managed ten. It would have been slightly different of course had the Spaniard’s late effort not looped up off Babel and put the embarrassing gloss on the victory.

Wigan may not have been in the best of form as they welcomed Chelsea to the DW Stadium, but in Titus Bramble they have one of the most improved players in the league. His errors may never totally go away, but in terms of performances, he is building a solid reputation. His opening goal, and subsequent domination of Chelsea’s much-vaunted attack, got him 10 points, and make him a useful bet for bargain-basement.

The Men to Avoid

I was tempted to say this at the start of the season, but was worried for my own reputation. Michael Owen may have scored twice off the bench in his opening six appearances for Manchester United, but his old injury concerns were never far away. A groin strain sustained in midweek will now keep him out for three weeks, and it is fair to say that Owen takes a little longer than most to get back to full form. Especially if he is trying to achieve that as a substitute.

Time was, David James was the staple diet of all good Fantasy League sides. Not any more. Pompey may have been unlucky to lose a seventh straight league game at home to Everton, but James was to blame. His cowardly attempt to thwart Louis Saha with a turned-back failed, his clean sheet went up in smoke, and Jamo is the lowest scoring regular goalkeeper in the game. Pompey may improve, but James should be ignored.

Bargain Hunt

Vito Mannone (Arsenal) – Don’t believe the hype, they say. But looking beyond hype, Mannone has had a great start to his Gunners career. A man of the match performance at Fulham last week gave him 8 points, and with neither Manuel Almunia nor Lukasz Fabianski fit, Mannone may have a chance to nail down a regular place in Arsène Wenger’s side. At £4.5m, the young Italian could be the bargain of the month.

John O’Shea (Manchester United) – It is not often that a big four player costs less than £6m, but John O’Shea is seen as a utility man, and so his value is representative. A goal at Stoke last week earned him a place in the Dream Team, and O’Shea has played 90 minutes in six of United’s seven league games this season. £5.4m well spent if you ask me.

Hugo Rodallega (Wigan) – Colombians in the Premier League are a rare occurrence. Tino Asprilla, Juan Pablo Angel, and now Hugo Rodallega. None set the world alight despite obvious talent, but Rodallega is promising to become the focal point of an attractive Wigan side. His goal last week may have been a penalty, but it is doubtful that John Terry and co will have a tougher time all season. Three goals and counting now for the big man, and £6.4m is not a bank-breaking fee.

Fixtures

• Bolton v Tottenham
• Burnley v Birmingham
• Hull v Wigan
• Wolves v Portsmouth
• Man Utd v Sunderland
• Arsenal v Blackburn
• Everton v Stoke
• West Ham v Fulham
• Chelsea v Liverpool
• Aston Villa v Man City

One fixture stands out of course, Chelsea v Liverpool could be a season-definer for both sides. Elsewhere Arsenal should give Blackburn a roughing up at the Emirates, whilst Sunderland’s porous defence travels to Old Trafford. Manchester City’s trip to Villa on Monday night looks a decent game on paper, whilst there is a chance for Pompey to get their season up and running at Wolves.

My Team

I wondered whether the lack of a Torres might have hindered me last week – how wrong I was. Darren Bent, Robin Van Persie & Didier Drogba kept my strikeforce firing, Steven Gerrard’s fluke goal meant my captain contributed 14 points, whilst my other two midfielders – Cesc Fàbregas & Charles N’Zogbia – picked up assists. At the back Michael Turner netted for Sunderland and Emiliano Insúa grabbed an assist to complement debutant Sylvain Distin’s clean sheet.

One small mistake, Tom Huddlestone remained rooted to my subs bench and promptly picked an assist, some bonus points, and 8 in total. Can’t win them all though.

For this week, there is just one change. Micah Richards’ omission for Man City on Monday may well have been down to fitness, but his form is not great. Out he goes, in comes Arsenal’s Alex Song. The thinking? Well Song is a defender on the game, but a midfielder in reality. Arsenal are at home to Blackburn, and Denílson is injured. He will play, he will score points. Simple.

The Football Media league

Tough at the top isn’t it? Jon Egger Hallsson retains top spot despite a problematic week. His lead is down to six points now after a rasper of a week from Paul Worthington and his Chilli Peppers. 98 points for them, thanks largely to captain Torres, and a ludicrously solid all round performance. He swipes second place as a result.

Elsewhere, there were some average weeks at the top of the table, allowing Torres to fire plenty of sides up the ladder. Liosa Casserley and her lads were the standout performers, 102 points in the week launched her into thirteenth spot, alongside you know who!

You can join the Football Media league here.

Seven goals, seven minutes of added time, seven players from the Big Four in the team of the week. Yes, the big boys claimed back their rightful place at the top of the Premier League table last week, the pretenders of Manchester City & Tottenham slotted firmly into their place. Wins for Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool & Arsenal meant it was a good week for the star names, as well as a few lesser ones too.

The Men In Form

When Arsenal splashed out £10m on a Belgian defender who was struggling to reach the 6ft mark, one or two eyebrows were raised. How would Thomas Vermaelen handle the physical element of the Premier League? Would he compete aerially? Is a Belgian ever really any good? The answer – on all three counts it seems – is a resounding “Yes!”. Vermaelen picked up a whopping 19 points at the weekend thanks to his clean sheet, coupled with two lovely goals. It takes him third on the defenders list, with 34 season points, and his value is rocketing skywards. Sign him up if you can.

Ashley Cole doesn’t share the same sort of affinity with Arsenal these days of course, his murky move to Stamford Bridge and the frighteningly egotistical revelations in his autobiography pretty much severed his ties with North London. Not that Chelsea mind of course, Cole is currently in the form of his life across town, his second goal of the season, allied to some clean sheet and bonus points, promotes the England left back to second in the defenders chart with 40 points – reassuringly for Fabio Capello it is the England right back, Glen Johnson, who sits atop that particular table. But then, does Don Fabio play Fantasy Football?

And how about a bit of nostalgia? Every year people take a long hard look at Manchester United’s squad, and come to the same conclusion. “Sooner or later they will have to strengthen that midfield, cos Giggs (and Scholes) can’t go on forever”. Every year they are wrong. Last season’s PFA Player of the Year is in sparkling form right now, adding three quality assists in the Manchester derby on Sunday, and picking up a richly deserved man-of-the-match award. Approaching his 36th birthday, Giggs is still running the show at Old Trafford like a seventeen year old. Long may it continue.

The Men to Avoid

Spare a thought meanwhile, for Giggs’ supposed contemporary, Michael Carrick. The former Spurs and West Ham midfielder was a model of self-improvement during his first couple of seasons at United, but has found himself firmly out of favour this term. A missed penalty at Burnley is his only notable contribution so far in this campaign, unless you count the 30 seconds added on for his late, late substitution on Sunday….

Likewise Emile Heskey. Indispensable for England, indistinguished for Aston Villa. Heskey has played just 116 minutes this season, picking up a paltry 4 points. His value is dropping fast, and with Gabby Agbonlahor and John Carew impressing each week, his chances look like being even more limited as autumn approaches winter.

Staying on the England theme, how about Joleon Lescott? Manchester City may have moved heaven and earth to persuade Lescott to swap royal blue for sky blue, but they don’t appear to have papered over the cracks in his game as effectively. Three more conceded by Lescott’s defence on Sunday means the former Wolves man has just five points to his name this season, from four games. At £7.1m, Lescott looks a bit heavily priced too.

Bargain Hunters

Peter Crouch (Tottenham) – Ok, so he hasn’t featured as much as he would have liked so far this season (that will probably be written on his gravestone come to think of it). But Crouch was in dazzling form netting a hat-trick in the Carling Cup in midweek, and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp knows he can’t rely on his little and littler strike-force of Jermain Defoe & Robbie Keane every week, so expect Crouch to enter the side at some point. Probably this week at home to Burnley actually. At £7.1m, Crouch represents a better bet than most similarly priced forwards – think Jo at Everton, Kenwyne Jones at Sunderland or Benni McCarthy at Blackburn.

Michael Kightly (Wolves) – Not many players in the current Premier League system have experience of playing non-league. Michael Kightly does, having been plucked from Grays Athletic by Wolves boss Mick McCarthy. He repaid him pretty comprehensively too, the nippy wide player was inspirational as Wolves romped to promotion last year, but a metatarsal injury has sidelined him since April. He is back now though, and keen to grasp his chance in the big time. Expect the diminutive Londoner to terrify more than a few defences this season, and expect him to represent excellent value at £5.4m.

James Collins (Aston Villa) – Some people, including me, wondered where this lad got his reputation from at West Ham. I’d never noticed anything special about him, that’s for sure. But Martin O’Neill liked him, and he has slotted in nicely alongside fellow newboy Richard Dunne in the centre of Villa’s defence. No goals conceded in both games since his arrival says it all, and with him costing just £4.6m, Collins could be a sharp piece of business for any manager.

Fixtures

Portsmouth v Everton
Birmingham v Bolton
Blackburn v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Hull City
Stoke City v Man Utd
Tottenham v Burnley
Wigan v Chelsea
Fulham v Arsenal
Sunderland v Wolves
Man City v West Ham

A quick skim of the fixtures shows Liverpool should have a home banker against Hull City, load up on Gerrards and Torreses if you can, and expect clean sheets to finally arrive for Carragher and co. Tottenham too should find Burnley a more welcoming guest than Manchester United were to White Hart Lane, whilst Chelsea should prove too strong for Roberto Martinez’s Wigan Athletic side. Arsenal have a chance to show their mettle with a trip to Fulham, and Manchester United will need to show theirs as they travel to Stoke. Manchester City complete the weekend’s action, with a home clash with West Ham.

My Team

Still going solid, all things told. Cesc Fabregas did his job as skipper with a late goal, whilst all three of my strikers performed well, including a goal for Darren Bent on his first outing for my side. Steven Gerrard picked up an assist, as did Emiliano Insua, whilst my decision to start Joe Hart proved inspired, as he was keeper-of-the-week with 8 points.

Just the one change this week, in comes Sylvain Distin of Everton to strengthen my defence. Kevin Foley’s drop to £3.9m precipitated this move, but Everton are resurgent and Distin will be integral to their improving defence. His fall in value (from £5m at the start) has worked to my advantage.

Football Media League

Jon Eggert Hallson is showing no sign of relenting at the top of Soccerlens’ league, his Handavinna side clung to top spot with a fine week – inspired by Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba & Ashley Cole. Behind him it is the battle of the Corrigans as Colin (Hats Off FC) and Dermot (Nil Satis XI) occupy second and third place, whilst a special mention must go to Greg Stark and his Ipswich Down side, who amassed 88 points thanks in part to having the likes of James Milner, Louis Saha & Gareth Barry amongst the bigger boys.

My side, the Baroque Social rose, salmon-like to 28th spot thanks to a solid week, but sit 56 points off the leaders. Wild card time anyone?

It’s one of the most tiresome cliches in football these days, yet one that most in the public eye can unilaterally agree on. Liverpool, they say, are a team of two players. No argument. G&T, Stevie & Nando, Gerrard & Torres.

Like the zonal marking debate, no conversation about Liverpool is complete without it. But yesterday’s annihilation of Owen Coyle’s much-liked Burnley side in the Anfield sunshine, whilst hardly unexpected or especially flamboyant, did at least show the world that there is more to Liverpool’s attacking armoury than their prize duo.

Rafael Benítez has been given a few headaches from his supporting cast in the past few weeks, Ryan Babel’s lethargy and fondness for an inflammatory quote or two may well have led to his omission from the squad yesterday, whilst Albert Riera was another to go public on his frustration at a lack of minutes so far this season.

But if Benítez had any problems with those two, with yesterday’s match-winners he can have no issue whatsoever. Dirk Kuyt, and hat-trick hero Yossi Benayoun are fast establishing themselves as two of the Reds’ most reliable performers, shaking off the inconsistency and quality issues that some commentators – including yours truly – believed would forever hold them back.

The pair have now chipped in with more than fifty goals in their two-and-a-bit seasons together at Anfield, no mean feat at all considering Benayoun has not always been (and probably still isn’t) an automatic choice, and that Kuyt was initially signed as a central striker, who has since shown off his admirable versatility to retain an integral role.

The Dutchman, deployed centrally behind Fernando Torres, excelled in his hour or so on the pitch yesterday, setting the tone in a quiet first fifteen minutes with his tireless running and willingness to knit midfield and attack together. And once his Israeli team-mate had opened the scoring with a well-crafted turn and finish, Burnley were swept away.

Benayoun was phenomenal, few players in the league today possess as adhesive a touch as the 29 year-old, and Benítez himself paid tribute to his “clever movement” in his post match press conference. He richly deserved his treble here, and was only denied a fourth by a dubious – nee incorrect – offside decision after Steven Gerrard’s free kick had been spilled into his path by Brian Jensen.

Kuyt had already gobbled up a similar rebound for the critical second goal before half time, as Burnley’s keeper gave Benayoun’s 25 yarder the hot potato treatment following a lightning counter attack. Benayoun would later go on to complete his hat trick with a pair of simple but effective finishes in front of an appreciative Kop End.

It all bodes well for Liverpool, who saw their skipper Gerrard enjoy a wonderful game of his own from a deeper central midfield position, whilst Benítez was gushing with praise for young Brazilian Lucas, who shrugged off the effects of a gruelling international week with Brazil to turn in a performance good enough for his manager to label him “our key player today”.

And whilst a solid and healthy victory over Burnley is not exactly pulse-racing fare, and despite important away wins for Chelsea & Manchester United, Benítez has reason to be cheerful as he surveys the league table today. His side may have suffered the same number of losses already this season as they managed in the whole of the last campaign, but the Spaniard knows that his squad is improving by the day.

Torres here was largely anonymous, yet the side still managed four goals – and could have had plenty more – whilst Gerrard proved that he can still be hugely effective in an orthodox midfield role, whilst the consistency of the likes of Pepe Reina, Glen Johnson, Emiliano Insúa & Jamie Carragher is rarely an issue.

They might not, as Reina revealed in yesterday’s Guardian, be overly-confident of a title push this season, but one thing is for sure, the best of Liverpool this season is still to come, and they have more than Gerrard & Torres to frighten teams with.

At first glance man’s best friend has little relevance to football. I mean let’s face it, if you’re sitting on the psychiatrists couch and he/she is doing that word association thing and comes up with the word dog are you likely to answer football (or vice versa)?

I didn’t .. err.. I mean… I think not! But scratch the surface a little and you’ll find that the canine world has infiltrated deeply into the football psyche whether you’re a fan, a player, a commentator or a manager and there are obvious links with WAGs.

Have I gone completely barking I hear you ask? Well hopefully not, although regular readers of this column may assure you that that happened some time ago. But read on and I’ll guarantee you a ‘treat’.

Dog Language

The world of the commentator is littered with clichés, facts and sometimes inane musings but on closer inspection you’ll find that they can’t leave the family pet out of things.

“Hanging on doggedly” is seamlessly interchanged with “dogged defending”, both feats generally carried out by “the underdog” while “what a howler!” is offered every time a decent chance goes begging.

Then there’s the pacey young substitute who’s “let off the leash” and defensive midfielders who are regularly “snapping at heels” or “like a terrier”; defenders can be “rottweilers” while wingers are far too often “as lean as (or fast as) a whippet”.

Or if you’re Joey Barton (amongst others) you’re regularly in the “doghouse”. Those whose careers have gone south may have “gone to the dogs” and the Champions are always “Top Dogs”. If you’re English you’ll want the national team to approach every match with the “British bulldog spirit” (works every time, as we’ve witnessed!).

Players like Michael Owen are the “fox in the box”, while referees need a “guide dog” according to most fans and managers stand on the sidelines and “bark instructions”, unless they’re incensed by a bad refereeing decision in which case they are “like a dog with a bone”, which inevitably leads to having a “bone to pick” with the ref at the end of the game!

Dogs on the Pitch!

In years gone by it was a regular feature of the football season to see some of our canine friends invade the pitch and display their skills. Unfortunately, ground changes and regulation has seen the decline of such cameos in recent years. These pitch invasions always added excitement to the occasion when they occurred, the referee having to stop the game as players attempted to coax the doggy visitor into their arms.

But how did dogs get on the field in the first place? According to Roger Titford, who has written on the subject:

“One suspects that men sometimes said they were taking the dog out for a walk as an excuse, when in fact they were off to the match. (Ah, the good old days!) This was much easier in the days of walking to a nearby ground and standing on half-empty terraces than it is nowadays. The dog got bored, startled by the noise or something, and escaped through a pitch-side gate or by leaping a low wall and ran for freedom all over the pitch, usually round in circles until rounded up by the referee or, for some reason, the goalie.”

And there was a famous incident during the 1962 World Cup in Chile in a quarter-final tie between England and Brazil. A stray dog avoided several players until Jimmy Greaves sunk to all fours and captured it. According to some reports, Greaves barked. This counterintuitive approach to calming the dog unfortunately (for Greavesy) sprung a leak, as the frightened animal pissed on Greaves’ England jersey. The dog, later named Bi (I assume because he was willing to play both ways!), is apparently, to this day, the envy of all German football fans!

“I smelled bad,” said Greaves, “but at least it meant the Brazilian defenders stayed clear of me.” Brazil’s Garrincha enjoyed the display so much that he adopted the dog after the tournament! (England lost and Garrincha scored 2!) A dark subtext to this anecdote is that both Greaves and Garrincha developed alcoholism in later life. I have it on good authority though that Bi was a teetotaler.

Jimmy Greaves does it doggy style

However, the pitch intrusion of our canine friends is not always as benign as the above. Check out this report and it may have you looking over your shoulder when next playing in the park on a Sunday morning!

Police Dog Feasts on Footballers

Deputy Dawg

Of all the sporting events in which dogs have interceded, few top the exploits of Pickles. The mixed-breed Scottish Border Collie became an overnight hero while out for walk with his owner, a Thames barge worker, one evening in South-East London’s Beulah Hill on March 27, 1966, as he drew the man’s attention to a package wrapped in newspaper.

Pickles’ owner David Corbett picks-up the story:

“I picked it up and tore some paper and saw a woman holding a dish over her head (you gotta think that it was a stroke of luck that he wasn’t down the pub all night as he could easily have mistaken that for the missus and run for his life, leaving the trophy forever lost!) and disks with the words Germany, Uruguay, Brazil. I rushed inside to my wife. She was one of those anti-sport wives. But I said, ‘I’ve found the World Cup! I’ve found the World Cup!’”

Unfortunately, it does not report what her response was but as an ‘anti-sport wife’ the potential is enormous! All suggestions welcomed!

One week earlier, the Jules Rimet trophy had been stolen from its glass display case at an exhibition hall in Westminster. The English FA consulted Scotland Yard and started ransom negotiations with the thieves. The FA also surreptitiously commissioned a replacement trophy in case the £30,000 (big money in those days!) solid-gold statuette could not be recovered in time

But Pickles saved the authorities from greater embarrassment. The theft, remembers Corbett, gained such attention that it “knocked [Prime Minister] Harold Wilson off the front pages.” Now there’s a bit of history! I thought only Posh Spice or Paris Hilton could do that….who would have thought that the tale [tail] of Pickles and WAGs [wags] could have such parallels in a single story?

Pickles was more newsworthy than Ronaldo at the time (he too could roll-over at will). He lived life as a celebrity dog, starring in a film, The Spy with the Cold Nose, earning medals from canine-advocacy groups and receiving a year’s food supply. The medals, attached to Pickles’ red collar, remain on view at the National Football Museum in Preston, England. But eventually enough was enough for Pickles and, like Ronaldo, he had to go to ground, sadly dying in 1973.

‘Pickles’… without him England would never have held the World Cup!

Dogs with Ability

Yes, there is no shortage of talented ball players out there in the canine world as Fernando Torres found out to his embarrassment. ‘Thou shalt not pass’ is the motto of this pooch!….Vidic at Old Trafford last season he is not!

And I’ll include this one on the condition that you promise not to show it to Florentino Perez at Real Madrid. This ‘youngster’ is better than Kaka or Ronaldo and could be bought for a daily walk and a bowl full of bones, leaving quite a bit of change from 80M! Note the body swerves, ball control, stamina, anticipation! He’s excellent with both feet and uses his head to good effect; get’s up and down all day, uses deceptive pull-backs, has a nose for reading the game and can sniff out a chance….and talk about pace…breathtaking!!

Of WAGS and Top Dogs

As already noted the term WAGs has a connotation directly related to our four legged friends but what is worrying in recent reports relating to some of our top players is the question as to whether the tail is wagging the dog a little too often (the WAG being the tail, so to speak.)

Rumour has it that Ribery won’t consider the PL because his wife prefers Spain. And Mascherano’s restlessness is supposedly linked to his girlfriend’s desire to move to a warmer climate where she can speak the language. Arshavin’s wife slagged-off London like it was the third world…and she from Russia for crying out loud! Am I losing the theme you ask?….no!…spoilt bitches all!

But stand-up the man who is certainly top dog in his relationship! Nemanja Vidic! While admitting that his wife has not settled in England he unceremoniously declared that he was going nowhere. Finally, the dog wagging the tail! A real man is Vidic.

Of course on the subject of WAGs I could milk it all day long. Some consider Posh Spice to be a bit of a dog, others think she’s a bitch but she certainly knows how to make Becks come to heel. Didn’t he stray once though?

And if Paris Hilton may be tentatively considered a WAG after her recent encounter with Ronaldo, one look at this lets you know what to expect if you get mixed-up in that relationship!

Dog Lookalikes

And of course no article on dogs and football is complete without the lookalikes. Here are some of the current top players and their canine equivalents, with 1 or 2 names from the past.

Fernando Torres

Cesc Fabregas

Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo

Bacary Sagna

Joey Barton

Rene Higuita

Liam Brady

Rio Ferdinand

Franck Ribery

Wayne Rooney

Diego Forlan

Kaka

Peter Schmeichel

Carlos Puyol

Karim Benzema

So hopefully I’ve made the case that dogs and footballers are inseparable. The next time you’re wandering down the street and the local mongrel approaches maybe you’ll stop to ask him has he been on any pitches lately, what are his skills like and who’s his favourite player (or WAG). He’ll look you in the eye knowingly, the neighbours on the other hand will assume that, like me, you’ve gone completely barking!

Who’s your favourite dog lookalike?

The summer transfer market just went off with a couple of high powered Exocet missiles from central Spain, leaving some of us thinking that nothing will ever be the same again. A seemingly obscene (vulgar even!) amount of money may be about to change hands with many of Europe’s top clubs in the market for a striker (amongst others).

Nothing excites the fan more than a proven goal-scorer donning the shirt and declaring his intent to a nose full of microphones.

Let me clarify at the outset that I am talking about strikers here not creative attacking players, regardless of how prolific they might be in terms of goals. Think in terms of the old fashioned centre-forward as opposed to the inside-right or inside-left or the No.10, a term some like to use to make the distinction. Stateside they struggle a little with this concept so I’ll stay well away from talking about ‘offensive’ players as only some of those about to be mentioned are actually that!

Carlos Tevez was the subject of much divided opinion amongst Manchester United fans recently. “Sign him up!” rang out from several tiers at Old Trafford on more than one occasion towards the end of the season and Carlos milked it to the fullest! Others, however, didn’t think him worth the money. “All perspiration and no inspiration” the other camp declared, and “he just doesn’t score enough for a striker!” or “No better than Kuyt” was the worst insult I saw levelled in this debate. Ouch!

And then there were the inevitable comparisons with Berbatov. “The wrong player was let go!” some United fans cried, whilst others insist that Berba “has far more class and talent than Carlos”. Work rate and enthusiasm score heavily in Tevez’s favour whilst a languid style and sulky demeanor weigh against Berbatov.

Down at The Emirates most Arsenal fans have seemingly lost patience with Adebayor, as it appears has Arsene. “Lazy and a bad attitude” sums up the case for the prosecution as does “No loyalty and disruptive in the dressing room.” or “With Van Persie and Arshavin in the ranks who needs him anyway…..?”

I’ve always wondered about that “disruptive in the dressing room” thing! Are we talking about the puerile pulling of teammate’s hair and flicking elastic bands at the unsuspecting or is it the more sinister practice of declaring that one has the biggest willy and constantly calling for a tape measure if challenged? Please share your thoughts if you have an insight!

Meanwhile, over at Anfield Liverpool fans will tell you that “Torres is the best pound for pound striker in the world at present” (someday they’ll go metric in the UK) and many neutrals/rivals (including yours truly) would agree with that assessment. The issue there is the need for a support/ back-up striker.

The transfer market rumour machine is out of the blocks and we hear that Benzema, Eto’o, Ibrahimovic, David Villa and Aguero could all be bought at the right price (monopoly money in all cases!). Santa Cruz has already signed for City and Tevez is likely to follow suit very soon. Real Madrid have made Huntelaar and Van Nistelrooy ‘available’ while the intentions of Ancelotti regarding Anelka and Drogba are not yet clear. Pato has aroused Chelsea’a interest and Forlan could yet come under the spotlight.

One hack even suggested, on what must have been a very slow day at the office, that Torres could be off to United! About as likely as Cashley re-signing for Arsenal or Berbatov and Adebayor turning into a couple of grinning sprinters you would have thought! And if some of you think that Baghdad looks ugly right now, put that deal through and you’ll see an instant shift of focus from President Obama regarding the world’s trouble spots!

So how do we actually rate players or, in this case, strikers? There is a certain amount of subjectivity involved but is some of it misguided? Unlike players in any other position there is a clear measurement for strikers………….…the cold currency of goals.

Goals may not be the be all and end all but they’re a damn big piece of the be all and end all if you’re a striker!

Did some fans give too much weighting to Tevez for his ‘likeability’ and work-rate? I’m with the fans who say “show me the money,” or “where’s the beef”……………. the ‘money’ and ‘beef’ in question being found, in this instance, in the ‘goals-scored’ column. Somewhere out there is a rate of goal-scoring that is such as to provoke debate and disagreement amongst fans when judging strikers and somewhere beyond that is a point where debate is benign. But where is that watershed between war and peace?

Make no mistake, 30 goals a season is a cure-all for any player/fan relationship problem you care to mention. Not wishing to demean any section of society but a one-legged cross-dressing hunchback with the moral fibre of a serial killer and a Bartonesque set of party tricks will be the first name on the team sheet every week if he’s netting at the rate of 30 goals a season, even if the begrudgers out there would constantly sneer that he’s totally one-footed (and before you write in, I accept completely that, in terms of political correctness, I haven’t a leg to stand-on on that one).

And yes, that was a rather long-winded and exaggerated way of saying that maybe Berbatov and Adebayor are being harshly judged! It depends on their goal-scoring records and where you draw the imaginary line.

We’re talking about subtle differences here, the subtle differences between the world’s best strikers…..so it’s high time I quit rambling and ‘showed you the money’, so to speak.

I’ve taken 30 current generation strikers and analysed their goals per game stats for your consumption.

But before I reveal my hand I need to be clear that I am talking about strikers. The fact that Ronaldo, Messi and Kaka would rank ‘right up there’ in this analysis is irrelevant. They’re not strikers and their goal contribution, along with everything else that they bring to the party, underlines the reason why, between them, they have won the last three ‘World Player of the Year Awards’ (OK, I spotted the mistake there but in a few months it WILL be correct and I’ll be seen as a visonary!) Ronaldo and Kaka (or in REALity you know who) have started this transfer feeding frenzy in the first place. I’ve left out Henry, Arshavin and Robinho for the same reason.

And yes, it may not be a complete list, although I’ve tried bloody hard to make it one, so if I’ve left out one of your favourites live with it. It’s representative enough to make the point (although right now I’m seriously questioning whether there actually is one!)

Note: Includes full career club and international appearances and goals.

So take a minute or two to absorb that and spot where some of your favourites rank. These are the hard facts, the one true measurement we have that can’t be disputed. So what exactly does it clarify? That may come down to individual interpretation but here are some of my observations:

• Close the book on the Berbatov v Tevez debate. 7 extra goals in a 50 game season (probably equating to several vital points and/or a cup victory or 2) says it’s Berba every time. Tevez just betters 1 goal in 3 games and ranks a lowly 26th in the pecking order.
• And what about Adebayor? He’ll bag you 21 goals while Van Persie only grabs 16, worse than 1 in 3. That surprised me I have to say! And although I excluded Arshavin I can tell you that his ratio is 1 in 4, so if you’re an Arsenal fan don’t bank on many repeats of the Anfield ‘one man show’ in the future.
• If Tevez does join Man City he’ll team-up with the truly non-prolific Santa Cruz. Here’s a striker who’ll average 15 goals a season for you! And although Robinho isn’t on the list I’ve run his numbers and can tell you that at 1 goal every 2.93 games he’d come-in just behind Tevez at 28th. So Mark Hughes has bought himself 3 front men who have never worried a 20 goal a season average.
• Many people’s No.1 pick, Torres, comes in at a surprisingly low 22nd, 5 goals a season shy of his compatriot Villa and 3 short of Berbatov! So what does this tell us?
• Huntelaar at No.1! Now Ruud was not a surprise at No.2 but I was amazed at Huntelaar. A 33 goal average puts him streets ahead of some of the other top strikers. Yes, he has played most of his career in Holland but if he was wearing clogs that makes his record even more impressive, and people have said that he didn’t do it at Madrid but he’s hardly had the chance to take his coat off yet. 8 goals in 20 appearances for Real, in a very disruptive season, was not exactly shabby! Suffice to say that if I get the call from Sir Alex in the next couple of weeks and the question posed is: “Klaas-Jan Huntelaar?” my response will be a hearty “Yes, please!” … which would not have been the case last week.
• And what is Robbie Keane doing on the list you ask? Well I thought I’d include him to add a bit of spice. And no! … that’s not an implied reference to Paella, the national dish of Spain. And in mentioning the national dish of Spain if you think I’m going anywhere near any references to restaurants and Waiters you’ll be disappointed! Interesting though that Robbie can drop an average of 19 goals in a 50 game season and considering he only left 7 on the table by Christmas last year that says he still had 12 in his locker. Now if he’d stayed and produced even 4 or 5 of those 12 in that wobbly January/February period could the title now be…………………? No! Let’s not go there!

But of course you’re right!…. and I should know better! Haven’t I written about it before Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics. The above analysis is flawed!

Let’s get back to clichés! Some like to throw scorn on a good cliché but a cliché becomes what it is largely because it’s a truism. I know I’m Irish but that’s not why I’m defending the cliché ridden David O’Leary, and if I might borrow from the great man: “as I say, at the end of the day a striker is only as good as his last season.“

Never a truer word spoken! But let’s just broaden that a little and look at the stats over the last three seasons. If you’re going to splash the cash on a striker you’ll be looking in this direction rather than the above table, so take another 5 to absorb this.

Note: Only includes club appearances/goals, as trying to get an annual breakdown for international games/goals….well…almost cost me a breakdown.

So that’s the list for buying purposes and what’s changed?

• Huntelaar holds his place at No.1! Definitely worth a punt in my view!
• And Ruud also holds onto No.2! if he can stay fit he’s gotta be worth a chance for the likes of Spurs…and was Sir Alex rash in selling him when he did?
• David Villa also holds his 4th place. No wonder everyone is interested and Eto’o also surprised me. Worth the money if Barca want to sell?
• The big negative movers from the ‘total career’ table are Fabiano, Berbatov, Crespo, Owen and Shevchenko. No surprises there except for Berbatov. Berbatov’s first season at United hurt his stats but he’s still comfortably ahead of Tevez.
• The big upward movers are Forlan, Ibra, Totti, Torres, Benzema and Van Persie.
• But Torres is still only in 9th! Considering he’s my first choice this doesn’t quite gel!
• And even though Van Persie jumps 10 places he just scrapes over the 20 goals a season mark and still trails Adebayor.
• At 28th and 29th Santa Cruz and Tevez don’t impress any more than they did on the first list.
• And what of Rooney? Being played out of position or flattering to deceive?

I could go on but by now you’re already asleep or have jumped to the response column and are about to fillet me with your razor sharp tongues.

Food for thought though?

How do you rate your strikers?

Rafa Benitez may have made some absurd comments this season, but Liverpool football club played some high quality football over (if not right through) the last 9 months.

Be it shaking up the Madristas or drubbing the champions at their home, Stevie G and his troops sure had their moments. But what cost them most dearly, many feel, was the absence of a second striker, let alone a third.

Whereas Manchester United’s fifth striker, Kiko Macheda, brought home 4 points almost on his own, Liverpool could only watch. In a league where a moment of striker’s instinct could be the difference between end of season glory and gloom, Rafa Benitez HAS to BUY El Nino a striking partner (or two) to take Liverpool (back) to the promised land.

So, who are the options and what are their credentials?

David Villa:  He is, arguably, the best striker in the world. Already Torres’ partner for country, he is a manger’s dream. A wonderful eye for goal and all the necessary frills in place, he could make opponents hate coming to Anfield again. With his ability to play as a lone striker too, he is tailor-made for Liverpool’s requirements. Buy him now, when he is at his prime, and the champions may have to play a lot better than this season to reach number 19.

Carlos Tevez: Whether or not Liverpool fans truly admire him, this could give them plenty to talk about with their Man united fan friends. Purely on a footballing basis too, this buy has its merits. Carlos Tevez has a lot of attributes common to world class strikers- touch, physique, an eye for goal (especially late ones) and a champion spirit. Add to this his all round play, and you have a very very handy addition to Liverpool’s side, whatever be his price.

Sergio Aguero: Neither has he shown great enthusiasm in leaving Athletico Madrid, nor has he got the credentials of the above two. Though very promising, he would still be a gamble in the world’s harshest league. Add to it his playing style, and one doubts if he is the right man to partner Torres upfront. Keeping in mind the fact that he is not likely to come cheap as well, he would be a huge gamble for the future, but are Liverpool fans ready to ‘wait’? Much cheaper strikers are available, who would be safer bets for Liverpool.

Michael Owen: He may be a free agent, but nothing about his wage demands is alluring. Though he is a player with a proven track record, considering how Robbie Keane failed last season, Owen cannot be brought back to Anfield as the only acquisition upfront. It would be neither prudent nor a gamble, even. Having said that, he could be brought in as cover for Torres and someone else, though he is surely not the solution to the problem.

Samuel Eto’o: He may have a scored a bucket of goals just this season, but he is no longer prized possession at Camp Nou. A striker who gets the goals, he could be an inspired signing by Benitez if some of his other choices don’t come off. Though not too many years of guaranteed performance from him, he could still get Liverpool back to their winning ways. End of season slump notwithstanding, he is a champion player and they are a rare breed. If the price is right, this could be a pretty good acquisition too.

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Verdict: Considering the competition, Villa may just be a bit out of Rafa’s hands. If he gets him, nothing like it. But as that looks very unlikely, I’d settle for Carlos Tevez. Hungrier than ever and proven in the premier league,  he could be Liverpool’s action hero on their way to glory next season. If Man City get in the way there,  then I’d plunge in for Eto’o while there are still some fish in the pond. Depending on who is bought, Michael Owen should be considered as a standby who could just come into his own in familiar surroundings. But whoever is bought, one thing is clear. Liverpool are short at the top, and they need replenishments there come next season.

18, 30, 37, 9, 21, 11. No, these aren’t the winning numbers for tonight’s National Lottery — they’re actually the gap between Liverpool and the winner of the league dating back to the 2002-03 campaign. It’s sobering to realise that whilst Liverpool are a world class club, they’ve never been closer than nine points in the last six seasons.

Like most clubs, Liverpool came into the league this season with high hopes and a blank slate. Like most Liverpool would start hot out of the gates before dropping points around the end of October and falling out of the race completely by the first of the year. Like a fine-tuned watch, Liverpool seemed to collapse right on schedule every year.

So when the club came into January at the top of the table, people started to take notice. With almost the same squad, journalists and fans alike began to give their own antidotes as to why Liverpool had been so successful. Some claimed it was due to the increased partnership between Torres and Gerrard, whilst others said it was due to Rafa tinkering less with the starting XI. Whatever the case, there was something different about this Liverpool squad.

Whilst they may have dropped points during a critical stretch in January, Liverpool still have the chance this weekend to finish the 2008-09 campaign only one point behind Manchester United when it’s all said and done. And given the gap between Liverpool and the league champion in recent years, that’s something to be proud of.

But it still begs the question? What changed this season (besides not dropping as many points away from Anfield) that turned Rafa’s squad from a pretender to a contender? You needn’t look any farther than the number zero to figure that one out.

That zero is of course the number of times Liverpool faced defeat against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal this season. If you go back to the 2005-06 season Liverpool have never taken more than 6 points off Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in a given season. Compare that to 14 points taken off three of the best clubs in the world this campaign and it’s obvious to see that Liverpool’s success lies in their new found confidence against the teams that provide the biggest hurdle each season.

Gone are the matches where Liverpool walked on the pitch looking for a point against Manchester United. This season the club managed to take all six off the Premier League champions after falling to defeat in five of their past six. Yes, there’s a different mentality going on at Liverpool.

By putting Gerrard behind Torres and allowing him to play a more attacking role in a formation that didn’t force him to be so narrow, the squad went from being the hunted to now being the hunter.

Rafa put the pressure on teams like United and Chelsea early on and forced them to keep up. The old days of laying back and putting six or seven behind the ball were gone. What was once Liverpool’s Achilles heel has now become their greatest ally.

The points on the road against mid-table clubs still appear to be a hurdle that Liverpool needs to clear in the coming year but if there was ever one roadblock that seemed to be in their way, it was having success against big four clubs. Rafa has rectified the situation by instilling a killer instinct in his club that hasn’t been seen since the Spaniard took over at Anfield.

Liverpool may still be searching for that one piece of the puzzle to bring them No19 but if they play with the same killer instinct next season against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, most would probably agree that it wouldn’t matter who they brought so long as they could replicate their big step “four”-ward this season.

My Grandad always used to say “The Runners Up in anything are just the first losers”. It is a notion that is unlikely to endear himself to the man who he refers to consistently as “Bennertez”, as Rafa Benitez wakes up today contemplating being the “first loser” of this season’s Premier League.

But, clichés and mispronunciations aside, there is more to second place than meets the eye this season. Debates have rumbled long and hard on whether this current crop of players really is Sir Alex Ferguson’s (or indeed Manchester United’s) best ever, whilst defensive records have tumbled, and finally Liverpool’s long-held record as the most successful league side in the country has been equalled. It is a sobering fact. Liverpool have fans have long basked in their “18+5” boast. Theoretically, it is just one year away from being rendered superfluous.

Nevertheless, there is still room for bullish optimism on Merseyside, and not simply because being “first loser” is an honour they have only enjoyed on three occasions in the past twenty years. Yesterday’s hard-fought 2-0 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns meant that Benitez’s current charges have recorded Liverpool’s best ever points tally for a Premier League season, and a victory over Spurs at Anfield next Sunday will ensure they will break another record, the highest points tally for a runner-up in Premier League history.

Scant consolation no doubt, Benitez’s side were seven points clear at one point of course, before a run of five draws in eight games gave United an impetus they would not relinquish, even in the face of a chastening 4-1 reverse when the sides met at Old Trafford in March. Yet still the positives to be taken from a Liverpool perspective are hard to avoid.

Benitez has been under fire from certain quarters for his perceived lack of ambition at times, yet Liverpool’s status as the league’s top goalscorers would fly in the face of such criticism. Equally, the defensive solidity which the Spaniard is famed for has not been abandoned- only a criminally under-rated Chelsea and a record breaking United have conceded fewer goals in the league. And despite the common consensus being that dropped points at home have cost Benitez’s side in the end, the Reds remain the only side in the division with an unbeaten home record, and possess comfortably the best record on their travels.

The omens are good. Benitez has signed a new contract, removing one more distraction from the Anfield table, and the imminent appointment of a new Chief Executive to replace the outgoing Rick Parry (a distraction too far in Benitez’s eyes) should yield the transfer-policy power that the Spaniard has long hankered after. This summer, it is widely agreed, is pivotal for the club.

And if Benitez desires a blueprint for how not to go about making the leap from first loser to first winner, he need look no further than the last time Liverpool occupied the former position. In 2001-2002 Gerard Houllier & Phil Thompson led the Reds to second place, seven points behind a double-winning Arsenal.

Tellingly, it is the only time Liverpool have finished above Manchester United in Premier League history. That they achieved it having been deprived of their manager for five months of the season after a heart attack in October is something for which not enough credit if offered. Houllier had always spoken of a “5 year plan” to win the league at Liverpool. In summer 2002 they were entering the fifth year.

The omens, like now, were good. In his four seasons in charge Houllier had presided over finishes of seventh, fourth, third and finally second. The natural progression could be clearly seen. The Frenchman himself had proudly boasted upon his return to the dugout in spring 2002 that his side were potentially “ten games from greatness”. Unfortunately by the end of his transfer splurge that summer, his squad were potentially ten signings away from greatness.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course, a place where mistakes are never made (or at least rectified immediately). Yet looking to Liverpool’s squad at the end of the 2001-2002 season, and the one which began the following campaign, it is impossible to wonder exactly what Houllier was thinking.

To refresh, this was a squad that featured England internationals in Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Emile Heskey & Nick Barmby. Didi Hamann spent the summer of 2002 anchoring the Germany midfield as they reached the World Cup final, Sami Hyypia & Stephane Henchoz had established themselves as one of the best defensive pairings around, whilst in Jerzy Dudek & Chris Kirkland they had two of the best keepers in the Premier League. The rest of the squad was filled with the talented yet inconsistent- John Arne Riise, Patrik Berger, Igor Biscan, Vladimir Smicer, Milan Baros (who was yet to make his debut for the club) – and the dispensable older players- Gary McAllister & Jari Litmanen.

In short, it is easy to see where the need for strengthening lay. Owen & Heskey had forged a partnership good enough to see off fans favourite Robbie Fowler (sold to Leeds for £11m in one of Thompson’s first acts in caretaker charge), whilst in Gerrard & Hamann they possessed a midfield duo capable of starring for the club for years to come (as proven). Henchoz & Hyypia, with Carragher as cover, meant that centre half signings were unnecessary, and the same applied with the goalkeeping situation, with Kirkland seen by many as a future England keeper, and Dudek shining in his debut season.

The problems, patently, lay in the wide areas. Barmby would depart for Leeds that summer amid a string of injuries and loss of form, Berger was struggling with something similar, whilst Smicer had never reached any level of consistency since his move to Anfield in 1999. Houllier had been forced to address a problem with lack of quality from the flanks by using Murphy, Gerrard or, most sickeningly, Heskey in a wide position. It was clear that wide players were (or should have been) top of Liverpool’s shopping list.

Instead, Houllier spent a combined £20m on a defensive midfielder (Salif Diao), a physically-weak attacking central midfielder (Bruno Cheyrou), and a goal-shy centre-forward-cum-wide-midfielder with an attitude problem (El-Hadji Diouf). By the end of the year, none of them were first-choice. By the time Benitez arrived at the club he was struggling to give them away.

Diouf was, it is considered, signed at the expense of Nicolas Anelka, who had spent five months on loan at Anfield in 2002. At a cost of £10m from Lens, he had big expectations. His performances for an impressive Senegal side at the World Cup had given Reds hope that the man nicknamed “The Serial Killer” in France could be the man to add the pace and creativity that Houllier’s solid but at times prosaic side could often lack.

Two goals on his Anfield debut hinted at good times to come, but by the end of the season he had added just three more, and had sickened Liverpool fans with his spitting antics in a UEFA Cup clash with Celtic at Parkhead. The mistake made by Houllier was highlighted further by the antics of Anelka, who notched 15 league goals to fire newly-promoted Manchester City to a respectable 9th placed finish.

But if Diouf was a gamble which backfired, his international colleague Diao was simply a shocking signing. Houllier is known to have long coveted a dominant midfield force in the mould of Patrick Vieira at Arsenal, yet Diao from his first appearance at Anfield possessed neither the physical force, nor the footballing ability of his contemporary. At £4.2m, he swiftly became tagged as a liability.

Speaking of tags, Cheyrou arrived from Lille wrapped in one which read “The next Zinedine Zidane”, a danger sign at the best of times. A left footed attacking midfielder, six foot plus and with a neat touch; the Frenchman would make three appearances for his country during his spell on Merseyside, but would be exposed as criminally out of his depth when asked to feature in a Premier League midfield. Too weak for the centre of a four-man midfield, too slow for the left flank, and too inconsistent for a place in attack, he flitted around the squad for two seasons with only fleeting glimpses of his ability. It would be a further two years before Benitez could offload him for free to Rennes.

The lesson is clear, Houllier rightly believed that his side were a couple of signings away from competing for the title, yet failed to acknowledge the key weaknesses of his squad. Liverpool are known to have haggled over the price of Damien Duff- then of Blackburn and rated around the £12m bracket- during that summer, and the Irish winger would eventually move to Chelsea a season later for £17m. Ring any bells?

Duff would certainly have added plenty of purpose and quality to Liverpool’s left flank, yet Houllier opted to mould an unfit player into the role. It proved costly, Liverpool would end 2002-2003 in 5th place, outside of the Champions League places and nineteen points behind Champions Manchester United.

Benitez faces a similar situation this summer. His squad is in need of minor alterations as opposed to all-out surgery. In Fernando Torres & Steven Gerrard they possess a partnership of enough class to lead them to glory, whilst Javier Mascherano & Xabi Alonso offer a midfield duo matched by few in Europe. Pepe Reina is one of the top keepers around, whilst Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel & Daniel Agger possess the know-how and youth to keep Liverpool’s defence solid for plenty more seasons. And in Yossi Benayoun, Dirk Kuyt, Albert Riera & Ryan Babel, they have sufficient options in depth to ensure that their bench is always populated with a couple of game-changers.

Benitez is expected to resume his voyeuristic pursuit of Gareth Barry this summer, which again leads to question marks over the future of Xabi Alonso- wanted by Arsenal, Real Madrid & Manchester City if the red tops are to be believed. Without meaning to undermine Benitez, it is difficult to see the thinking behind such a move.

Alonso has been one of Liverpool’s key men in their most successful league campaign for nineteen years, and his passing scope far surpasses that of Barry. Listening to any of Liverpool’s current squad, it is easy to see that they rate the Spaniard as one of the game’s best. Barry may be a good player, Mr Consistent in an impressively consistent Aston Villa side, yet it is unlikely that he would prove an upgrade on Alonso.

More exciting from a Liverpool fan’s perspective are the names Diego Forlan & David Silva, both of whom have been linked in recent weeks. Forlan may well have some making up to do to the Kop following his exploits in a Manchester United shirt at Anfield, but his 27 goals for Atletico Madrid this season- the latest in a string of impressive totals since swapping the Premier League for La Liga- make him one of the hottest strikers around, and his propensity for the unexpected would add a fresh dimension to Liverpool’s squad.

Silva meanwhile is almost certain to jump ship from a club in crisis at Valencia, and can operate anywhere across the top end of the field with distinction. At 23, his best years are undoubtedly to come, and in Benitez he may well find a coach who can turn his mercurial talent into one which lights up the European stage.

At this point, such talk is purely speculation of course. Benitez is known to keep his cards close to his chest with regards to transfers- Barry aside- and there have been few words coming from the horse’s mouth in recent months with regards to specific targets. One thing is for sure though, there won’t be any Dioufs or Diaos rolling up at Melwood this summer. One hopes.