Liverpool interested in Darren Bent again!?
But what of that striker. Darren Bent. I think if he is available on a loan deal it would make complete sense for Liverpool to take a punt. A goal relieves pressure and lets the players relax into the game. Missing a chance just ups the anxiety as we have witnessed often this season and last. We have seen chance after chance slip by, when lack of a clinical final touch costs us.
Bent has an average over those 4 seasons of a goal every 2.2 games. He has clearly fallen out of favour at Aston Villa. Whether that is a desire for Randy Lerner to clear an expensive commodity off his wage bill or a fall out with uncompromising Scot Paul Lambert, it is up for debate. Having spent £20 million on him, they may be reluctant to let him go in anything but a permanent deal. But with half a season to go they either deskill a valuable asset or put him in a shop window. Anfield may just be a shop window they choose, and  the place to remind Bent of the sparkle he showed when playing for Sunderland, scoring a goal roughly every 1 and a half games.
The Rodgers doctrine of keeping the ball moving and passing is well on its way to being ingrained in the way the team play. What he hasn’t managed to fathom yet is how we turn chances into goals. When you consider Suarez in his most prolific season has a shooting accuracy figure of 38%, and put that alongside Bent whose accuracy has never dropped below 43%, it equates to working keepers more, which has to be the name of the game.
Other Options?
There are other options certainly. And most likely Rodgers will pull someone out of left field unexpected. Other options that seem high on Rodgers wanted list. Sturridge for example. Last season he scored 11 goals from 28 starts equating to a goal every 2.3 games. But again selfish and not a team player might be levelled at him. But he does know where the back of the net is. Given the drought situation in the land of Torres, and Rafa perhaps being wary of being seen to be partial towards his ex employers, I think the Sturridge move may not be as likely as Bent. But if Roman opens the coffers for an umpteenth time who knows?
Key Period for Liverpool
The next 7 games could be key to our season, and games that we should be targeting as all eminently winnable. Starting Saturday against the resurgent Southampton. Nigel Adkins may be a fellow Birkonian but I am hoping that I am the happier come 17:45 on Saturday. Then we have West Ham away. Perhaps that is the game that Carroll’s presence will really tell for the Reds. Or in this case the absence of it. The fulcrum of the way they play will have an enforced absence and this should play to Liverpool’s advantage. Then Aston Villa come to Anfield. They have been decidedly poor this season and there seems to be an underlying theme of developing the young players over bringing in new expensive talent. Lets hope their transition remains far from complete. Then Fulham, Stoke, QPR and Sunderland follow. No push overs but games we need to be winning. Then we are in the transfer window. It’s the 13th of January. And Liverpool roll up to Old Trafford. I hope we have another striker who has a proven track record. I hope we have a returned Brazilian midfielder back to dazzling form,and I hope the 13th is very unlucky for our arch rivals. An odd early Christmas wish list. But you never know. YNWA.
All of the stats from this article have been taken from the Opta Stats Centre at EPLIndex.com – Subscribe Now (Includes author privileges!) Check out our new Top Stats feature on the Stats Centre which allows you to compare all players in the league & read about new additions to the stats centre.
