Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez thinks that the signing of Robbie Keane for £20million is the final piece in the puzzle. In the Keane press conference Benitez said:
“I think all the defences will be worried about stopping them. Other managers and defenders will be trying to sign players but with Robbie, Fernando, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel we will have great presence. It will be a big problem for other teams to cope with, that’s for sure.”
So is Robbie Keane the signing that will finally bring another title to Anfield? In our early look at Liverpool we said that Liverpool needed to add at least one quality winger to provide Torres with some consistent quality crosses. That is still a glaring weakness at Liverpool. I am not sold that Babel and Pennant can provide the consistent quality that Liverpool will need to break down the top sites. I can see team,s playing very compact against Liverpool to block off Torres, Keene and Gerrard and tempting Liverpool to go wide to beat them.
With that said, I think Liverpool has helped themselves more this off-season than any of the top four. The defense has gotten stronger with the signings of Phillip Degen (right back) and Andrea Dossena (left back) and the return to fitness of Daniel Agger.
Up front Robbie Keane is a step above Peter Crouch and some of those 13 draws that Liverpool struggled to get last year should turn into wins this season.
With Manchester United and Chelsea basically standing pat with last years squads and Arsenal in disarray, Liverpool are the team that has made the biggest jump this pre-season. Whether that translates into a 19th title, we will have to see.
