Watching Liverpool dismantle Tottenham at the weekend, I was struck by what a difficult task both Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood have faced this season.
In trying to replace Gareth Bale, Daniel Levy brought in a slew of new players, none of whom had Premier League experience. He’s then tasked his managers with getting this disparate band of footballers to gel together and become a fully functioning team.
Unfortunately, neither have really been able to pull it off. Whilst Spurs have produced the occasional good performance, they mostly look like a group of individuals, rather than a proper, balanced unit. That’s why they just haven’t been in the running for a top four slot this season.
Liverpool on the other hand, are a proper team. With Steven Gerrard pulling the strings in the midfield, Jordan Henderson’s late runs causing disarray and Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez providing the firepower, The Reds have threat across the pitch.
Moreover, they started the season with bag loads of Premier League experience and it’s now starting to pay off. Their 4-0 win over Tottenham was surprisingly easy and these are the kind of performances that will need to continue if Liverpool are to start picking up silverware.
I hope that Brendan Rodgers takes the value of Premier League experience to heart. It certainly seems that he is. According to The Mirror, Liverpool are ‘lining up a summer swoop’ for Southampton’s highly regarded centre-back, Dejan Lovren.
Since arriving last June as part of an £8.5m deal, the Croatian ace has been at the heart of the Saints all season long, making 25 appearances and putting in a number of very impressive performances.
Having just labelled Liverpool a ‘proper team’, it is worth noting that the club’s defense could use a little bit of work. They’ve shipped a lot of goals this season and if it wasn’t for the efficacy of their strikers, this could have cost them big time.
Lovren has already proven himself in the Premier League and I’m sure he’d fancy a step up to a club competing at the top of the table. If Liverpool offer him this opportunity, I’m sure he’ll jump at it.
Southampton on the other hand, are going to have to contend with a lot of interest for their players during the summer transfer. Whether they’ll let Dejan Lovren go remains to be seen, but I’m sure he’d make an excellent addition to this Liverpool team.
What’s your take? Should Liverpool pursue this Southampton star?
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