Mersey Misery
To say the past few weeks have been tough for Merseyside’s two Premier clubs is putting it lightly.
Something must have been put in the water round Liverpool way as players of both Liverpool and Everton have been dropping like flies. Those who remain have been charged with maintaining the same high standards, and you have to say they have flattered to deceive.
Liverpool, perhaps more infamously, have lost six out of their last seven, have dramatically reduced their Premier League title race odds, are staring Champions league elimination in the face and are out of the Carling Cup. Everton lie a lowly 14th place, were thumped 5-0 by Benfica in the Europa League and have also been comprehensively dispatched from the League Cup.
Can both sides recover sufficiently? Well I think the key is injuries. Liverpool rely far too much on Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, but then a lot of teams would. Rafa Benitez is stuck between nursing Torres through games with minimal training or biting the bullet and letting him go under the knife. If both players return to fitness, they have the ability to galvanise the squad and force their way back into the title race. If not, then Liverpudlians may have to endure more results like the one at Craven Cottage on Saturday
Everton have also been without key players, namely Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka and Yakubu. The Yak has returned to the first team fold but has yet to regain match fitness, while Jagielka and Arteta – so central to Everton’s success last season – remain sidelined.
Interestingly both players should return by the end of November, where Liverpool are the visitors to Goodison Park. That clash could see the clubs; 2009/10 fortunes diverge. A win and they are upwardly mobile, a defeat and the final nail has been hammered home by their nearest and bitterest rivals.
If you think things are much better across the Mersey then think again. Tranmere Rovers, Merseyside’s third club, currently sit bottom of the League one table. Forced to make cuts in the wage bill over the summer, the club sacked Ronnie Moore, who had guided them to within a minute of the play-offs last season, and replaced him with the relatively untried John Barnes. The move has backfired dramatically. Barnes was sacked three weeks ago with the second club bottom of the division.
A new boss has yet to be appointed and following last weekend’s 4-1 home thrashing by Swindon, they lie four points from safety.
So you could forgive the scousers for crying into their pints at the moment as things aren’t going their way – it’s at times like this your look for moments of inspiration and games that prove a turning point. Well remember, remember the 29th November – Everton v Liverpool, and a game that could decide their seasons.
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