Liverpool has long been revered as one of the great clubs in soccer, with 18 league titles and five European cups — tops of any English team. But Liverpool has not won the English Premier League or its predecessor — the Football League First Division — since the 1989-90 season, a period that has culminated in years of underachieving in the Premier League.
Last year, Liverpool finished a strong second behind champions Manchester United, losing only twice during the season. But this year, in the midst of enormous expectations, Liverpool has stuttered, losing six of its last seven games, including a 3-1 loss this past weekend at Fulham. Mired in its worst form in over fifty years, Liverpool currently sits in sixth place with 18 points, nine behind first-place Chelsea.
Liverpool's poor form has been due to a number of factors, including injuries to its two top players, captain and star midfielder Steven Gerrard and Spanish striker Fernando Torres. Gerrard has been sidelined with a groin injury that he suffered on international duty with England, and many fear that he might need surgery to get rid of the problem. Torres, meanwhile, has been suffering through an adductor muscle problem, which has limited him to playing at around 80 percent.
With its top two players out, Liverpool's overall lack of depth, especially in the scoring department, has been exposed. Other players have been trying to pick up the slack, including Israeli international Yossi Benayoun and Dutch workhorse Dirk Kuyt, each with three goals apiece — but neither can be expected to replace a fit Gerrard and Torres in goals scored.
Instead, Liverpool has been forced to rely on Ukrainian international Andriy Voronin — a player who proved himself in the German Bundesliga but has shown himself to be nothing more than a bench player in the Premier League — and young Frenchman David N'gog, who has just broken into the Liverpool first team.
One of Liverpool's biggest problems this season has been its inability to replace central midfielder Xabi Alonso, who left for Real Madrid this past summer for $48.6 million. Alonso is widely regarded as one of the world's best passers, and he formed a formidable central midfield pairing with Argentina international Javier Mascherano. Mascherano would do the dirty work of winning the ball while Alonso would distribute it to the Liverpool forwards.
To replace Alonso, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez signed AS Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani for $32.4 million. But Aquilani has not been able to lend a hand to the stuttering Reds, due to the fact that he is still recovering from a knee injury that he obtained while still playing for Roma last season. It remains to be seen if the 25-year-old Aquilani, a promising player, can replace the proven Alonso, who was also popular with the Reds' rabid fans.
In the meantime, Liverpool fans will have to deal with Brazilian international Lucas Leiva, known as Lucas, holding down the center midfield position with Mascherano. Lucas has failed to impress thus far, showing little desire to attack and push the ball forward and frequently making defensive errors or poor tackles.
When Aquilani becomes fit enough to play, he must provide the attacking impetus so that Liverpool can get over its losing spell. Liverpool is going to need a lot of luck to catch Chelsea and Manchester United at the top of the table, and it is going to have to battle a resurgent Arsenal team as well as upstarts Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur as it attempts to end its Premier League drought.
