FAN SCENE: Worth taking punt on Liverpool for the Premier League title

Mar 21 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

IS it worth taking a speculative punt on Liverpool for the title this year? I thought so this week, so I put a fiver on the lads to continue their fine form and move up- the table. We may have left it too late to run into form, but I do believe settling for fourth place isn’t good enough.

We’ve halved the deficit against Arsenal in just three weeks, and there’s nothing to say we can’t do it again. United and Chelsea may be scraping games, but they are dropping points too, and it’s up to Rafa and the lads to capitalise on this.

Our run-in isn’t too bad – well, at least it doesn’t look so daunting once we get over the next couple of weeks, starting with the United game on Sunday. Ronaldo is playing like a man possessed, and his goals have kept United in the hunt. People say that we have an over-reliance on Fernando Torres at the moment, but compare the records of other scorers at the two clubs, and you’ll see that the rest of the team are contributing at Anfield just as much.

It pains me to say it, but Ronaldo should probably win the player of the year. He’s showing the kind of form that persuaded Gerard Houllier to go after him, but the Portuguese decided Old Trafford was for him, and Ferguson’s purchase now looks like a bargain buy.

Torres, though, will outstrip him. To score over 20 goals in your first league season is extraordinary, and shows Rafa knew what he was doing paying the record transfer fee for the lad.

The media will bill Sunday’s game as Ronaldo against Torres, but for me Liverpool are stronger in the midfield. Rafa’s 4-2-3-1 formation looks a real winner, and all supporters will want Liverpool coming out all guns blazing. With Javi and Xabi bang in form, and our Dutchmen either side of the skipper, United will have their hands full containing the attacking threat that has been so amply demonstrated over the last few weeks.