Proven Premiership striker must be unearthed to compete at top

Mar 23 2007 by Sam Johnstone, Liverpool supporter, Liverpool Daily Post

THE less said about the Villa game the better, though it was nice to come away with a point after such a dull encounter.

With Arsenal slipping up there was a great opportunity to get back into third, but it wasn’t to be. It’s difficult to find any other positives bar the point, but Rafa will surely have made his mind up now that he needs a better strikeforce.

I’m not putting the blame purely on the forwards for the lack of goals (a few more from midfield would help), but this season has seen us dominate games, posting statistics far better than the opposition when it comes to shots, and still we find it hard to score.

The Villa game was a case in point. There were a few opportunities, but we just couldn’t put it away. It’s this profligacy that has let us down this campaign and it’s clear we need a dead-eye striker if we are to compete next term.

I can see two of the four main strikers on their way out, but it’s hard to second guess Rafa when it comes to players. I know the two I’d like to keep as they both work incredibly hard and have a great rapport with the supporters, but whether Rafa sees things the same way is a different matter.

Some of the names bandied about are interesting, and we already have Voronin, but I’d like to see a tried and trusted Premiership scorer. We need someone who has proved he can score in the top league, and can deliver straight away.

We’ve had goal-scoring royalty here before, but form at other clubs in other countries doesn’t necessarily mean they will be successful in England. Fernando Morientes is a case in point; he is most definitely a class act, but he just didn’t seem to adapt to the English game.

Now back in Spain he’s having a whale of a time, knocking them in for fun for Valencia. With the likes of Morientes, Litmanen and Cisse failing to adapt, it’s crucial Rafa doesn’t add to this list. So who’s available from the UK? Very few it seems. There might be one or two gems in the lower divisions, but would they be as able to adapt?

I’d snap Michael Owen up, even after this injury-plagued season, but I doubt he will come: he owes Newcastle a great season and it doesn’t seem as if Rafa fancies him.

Dean Ashton is another who may have what it takes, along with the likes of Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe (pictured), and I can see one of those lads succeeding at Anfield.

Whoever Rafa chooses, though, it is important that he has a level head and the ability to work hard and take chances. If we’d had that kind of striker complement the likes of Kuyt and Crouch at the start of the season, who knows what might have happened this campaign?