6th. Liverpool
It is really difficult to place Liverpool without knowing the future of a certain Uruguayan. But even if Suarez does leave, I still believe Liverpool will finish 6th. We saw at the end of last season when Suarez was banned
for doing you know what; Liverpool coped well and scored plenty without him thanks largely to Sturridge and Coutinho. Losing Suarez would be a big, big blow because replacing 30 goals and his creativity is very difficult. But, not only does Suarez have flaws morally, he also has flaws in his game. When Suarez plays everything goes through him, even when he might not be the best option. So if teams stop Luis Suarez they would also be pretty confident of stopping Liverpool. Also, his unpredictability doesnt really suit Rodgers precise style of play. That can be a good and a bad thing, obviously. Another negative is that it is very hard to fit Suarez into Rodgers system. Hes tried playing him up front, out wide and in the number 10 role but still hasnt settled on one. When he plays up front Liverpool dont have an option in the box as he wanders where he wants and how deep he wants. When Suarez is up front they also dont have an option in behind which makes them quite one-dimensional. Liverpool started the transfer window with intent; signing four new players very early on. Those four signings are all good players but I dont think they will drastically improve the first eleven, but they will certainly improve the squad. That is Liverpools challenge now: get players in who will make a big impact on the starting eleven. There has been suggestions that Liverpool have struggled to do that because it is hard to attract quality players who will improve the team without European football, big wages and the uncertainty surrounding Luis Suarez. This was evident with the
Henrikh Mkhitaryan deal; Liverpool were willing to pay the money but never had the chance to speak to Mkhitaryan because he wanted a move to Dortmund. That will be Liverpools problem. We know they will spend money, especially if Suarez leaves, but its just spending on the right players. The money wasted on Carroll, Henderson and Downing set them back years. At this moment in time, there are five squads better than Liverpools. Key player: Philippe Coutinho. Transfers in so far:
Iago Aspas from Celta Vigo for £7 million.
Kolo Toure from Manchester City on a free transfer.
Simon Mignolet from Sunderland for £9 million.
Luis Alberto from Sevilla for £6.8 million. Possible team to face Stoke in their first fixture: GK: Mignolet RB: Johnson CB: Toure CB: Agger LB: Enrique DM: Lucas CM: Gerrard CM: Allen RW: Sterling ST: Aspas LW: Coutinho