Something has got to give at some point and when that point comes it could give Benitez a real long-term headache during 2010.

A headache I don’t really see easing with the signing of Maxi Rodriguez.

If they get the player from the 2006 World Cup then fine, he will be a useful addition to the attacking line-up.

But I have concerns about the fact that there isn’t a queue of clubs desperate to snap him up.

When I saw him play earlier this season for Atletico he looked like someone who had scaled the heights and was coming down the other side of the mountain.

And if his legs aren’t what they were, then that’s absolutely no good for adapting to the Premier League.

I hate to be negative about a guy who hasn’t even arrived yet and I hope I’m wrong, but January singings always tend to be ones you approach with caution.

So in the meantime, its soldiering on with that old over-reliance on Torres and Gerrard to sort things out.

Meaning, as we look ahead to the new year, it’s not just the niggling injuries we can’t shake off – but the niggling doubts about Liverpool’s future as well.

Mark Lawrenson was talking to NICK SMITH