Why Liverpool will finish in the top four

Last season was a frustrating one for Liverpool. Club legend Dalglish won the Carling Cup after taking over as manager, but could not hold on to his spot after a disappointing finish in the Premier League. Subsequently, he was sacked and made way for Brendan Rodgers who did a fantastic job as manager of Swansea City, the only Premier League team originating from outside England.

Immediately, he made some transfers. He signed his star from Swansea, Joe Allen and brought Fabio Borini along with teenager Samed Yesil to the club. Another bold move he made was to loan out €35 million striker Andy Carroll to West Ham. He started the season with a nasty loss at West Bromwich Albion. Daniel Agger was also red carded in the match.

But Liverpool made a good comeback after the first match and played a good game that ended 2-2, against the defending champions Manchester City. Since then, Liverpool have shown signs that they can finish in the top 4.

These are the reasons why, I believe, Liverpool could finish higher up than last season:

Rodgers’ understanding of modern football

Rodgers showed his great skills in the 2011-12 season at Swansea and also in the training sessions at Melwood. The methods of Dalglish were ancient, but Rodgers’ methods are new and focus on converting chances into goals. He inculcates not only defending methods in the team, but also attacking movement; this has led to a lot of progress. Also, his style of using the midfielders has made Steven Gerrard overcome his goal-scoring drought and provide an assist ever so often in recent times.

Suarez’s form

Luis Suarez is mainly responsible for Liverpool’s change in fortune this year. He has been in red-hot form and is second only to Robin van Persie in the top-scorers list. His partnership with Steven Gerrard has been causing problems for many defenses across the League.

Daniel Sturridge – One of the best January transfers

Sturridge has been simply awesome since he signed for Liverpool. He scored on debut against Mansfield and has scored in every game since then, barring one. His combination with Suarez and Steve Gerrard has lifted Liverpool to new heights.

Good away form

One of Liverpool’s main problems last season was their losses on road. They really struggled to win any games away. But this year they have notched up impressive results, some of which are: 3-0 at QPR, 2-2 at Arsenal, a comeback at West Ham which they won 3-2, 5-2 at Norwich(with a hat trick at Suarez), 2-2 at Goodison and 1-1 at Chelsea.