In traditional Liverpool Football Club fashion, the season started with high expectation. The return of the King at the helm of the club he helped rise in the 70s and 80s gave Kopites belief that the good days were back. The second half of last season, despite a disappointing finish by Liverpool standards, saw a brand of free-flowing, attacking football. This was what the Liverpool fans wanted and the instant impact Kenny Dalglish had whet the appetite of fans who knew that with disposable cash and a full season ahead, the club could make strides to the promise land it wants to return to – the Champions League.

The transfer strategy, at the start of the season, was for the club to look within the borders of the UK and find players who could make an immediate impression and push Liverpool higher than sixth. Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Jose Enrique and Craig Bellamy bolstered up a feeble squad and have enjoyed varied success. Adding to January additions, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, the club felt they had enough to grab the lucrative fourth spot. As the season so far suggests, it’s still a huge work in progress.

Draws against Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea, Blackburn and Wigan make for bad reading. Ten points dropped to clubs who preside in the bottom half of the table and who are likely to remain there for the remainder of the season, perhaps even battling against relegation makes for worse reading. Had Liverpool won those games, they would currently be comfortable in third and four points off the two Manchester clubs with half the season to go.

Defensively, the team is incredibly frugal but it is the attacking half which has questions that need asking. A chance conversion rate of 8% means the team need a finisher in the mould of Robbie Fowler, a player who continually sniffs out chances in the area. Liverpool’s lack of cutting edge in front of goal has seen a paltry return of 18 goals in 21 games. Hitting the woodwork 17 times can suggest the team have been unlucky in front of goal or does it suggest the team is careless in finishing chances?

Compared to Manchester City who have 53 goals in 21 games and Manchester United’s 47 in 21, it’s clearly identifiable as to why Manchester reigns supreme in the league.

For all of Luis Suarez’s trickery, poise and individual brilliance, his finishing leaves something to be desired. Liverpool are a club who shouldn’t be laying their blame all at Suarez’s dancing feet however. The Uruguayan’s incredible craft arguably deserves a goal for some of his work. At times, there seems to be a lack of creation in tight games from others within the side and those who have come in with a huge price tag have yet to justify themselves and the manager’s decision to purchase them.

The big weight on Andy Carroll’s shoulders has been his price tag of £35 million. It was circumstantial because of the Fernando Torres sale to Chelsea however four goals in one calendar year wouldn’t be good enough for a player bought for a tenth of that price. The signing of Carroll itself was baffling and the explanation given was that he was a plan B purchase for Liverpool to punt balls forward in Stoke-esque fashion.

Yet this was a side needing to sort out its plan A. Suarez had already been wrapped up from Ajax and as he has shown so far in the red of Liverpool, the team should be built to his strengths. £35 million spent on a player who had half a decent season for a club without much expectation, had fitness problems when signing and had much trouble off the pitch was a massive gamble. If Liverpool fail to reach the Champions League, it will be deemed a gamble failed. £35 million is either spent on a player who is accomplished and at the peak of his powers or with clear potential a la Neymar or Paulo Ganso – whilst at Newcastle, Carroll shown neither to fully justify the price paid by Dalglish and Damien Comolli.

Though finishing has been much left to be desired, there have been games where Liverpool look incredibly sterile and have been crying out for a traditional number 10. Indeed, if the money was spent wisely from the Torres sale, Suarez could have played as the number 10, such is his intelligence to drop into space and work off a competent front man as shown for Uruguay, whilst another top class striker could have been drafted in.

In desperate search for guile, pace and creativity, Liverpool opted to sign Stewart Downing from Aston Villa for £20 million. The winger boasted more crosses than Ashley Young, who was signed by Manchester United. Liverpool felt they got the better deal, a winger who could lay chances consistently on a plate for the likes of Suarez and Carroll to gobble up in front of the six yard area. However, the statistics show no productivity thus far. No goals and no assists from 18 starts in the league so far this season. For a club as big as Liverpool and with aspirations to become part of the top four cartel, more is needed from the winger, who shows patches of real quality. Again, are patches enough for the outlay?

The transfer strategy implemented by Damien Comolli and Kenny Dalglish has been to enforce a British core that could represent the values of the team greatly. With that comes the price premium which shows why major clubs do decide to shop abroad rather than within their own borders when it comes to major acquisitions. £55 million spent on Downing and Carroll without Champions League football and not having the deep resources of clubs like Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain shows a level of financial negligence. If Downing and Carroll are deemed failures, the money recouped would be minimal should they want to cut their losses.

Adam and Enrique seem to have adapted to Anfield quickly and have looked worthy of every pound they were purchased for whilst Henderson has the potential to become a big Liverpool player in the future, such is his neat, intricate play in midfield.

So what does that say of the big purchases made by Liverpool so far? Have they crumbled under the pressure of the clubs stature or is it the price tag? Or are they just not of the standard expected at Liverpool?

Undoubtedly, not every purchase made by the manager and director of football is going to be a success yet with £55 million available, there is a better chance of being able to attract bigger names and that are of a higher quality. The allure of playing at Liverpool isn’t as high as it was a few years ago but it was enough to draw a player like Suarez to the club.

Fourth place remains the target and currently Liverpool remain three points adrift from it. January remains a big month for the Merseyside club, not only in terms of the fixture congestion, which will start to separate the pack who are chasing for fourth, but also in the transfer window. Liverpool are in desperate need of attackers in several areas; still a striker and a wide player are required, areas which should have been resolved in the summer.

If fourth is mathematically impossible come the end of the season, questions need to be raised as to what went wrong in the transfer market and how can it be rectified. Can Dalglish and Comolli be trusted with a vast sum of money if Downing and Carroll fail to produce by the end of the season? Dalglish will point to the project currently undergoing at Manchester City where Mancini got another year to get Manchester City into the Champions League and now has made them into a formidable force in the league.

It’s a time of transition at Liverpool. Dalglish will get plenty of time from the fans such is his legendary status. The question is whether the owners feel, in a sport they had little knowledge to prior to their acquisition, that the current regime is the right one to steer Liverpool back to the success of yesteryear.

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