Suarez bites back

Luis Suarez has hit the headlines again this week, however, this time it was for all the right reasons after two goals in a week helped Liverpool climb to the top of the Premier League, albeit for probably only 24 hours with Arsenal and Tottenham yet to play this weekend.

It was the Uruguayans first Premier League appearance at Anfield since April after serving a ten match ban for biting the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, nevertheless, Suarez continued his impressive form this season by netting in the 16th minute as Liverpool swept past a sinking Crystal Palace ship.

In a one sided first half it was the 'SAS' partnership of Suarez and Sturridge who tore the Eagles apart, before captain Steven Gerrard crashed home his 99th Premier League goal from the penalty spot to give Brendan Rodgers's side a unassailable 3-0 lead at the break.

Coincidentally in Suarez's last fixture at Anfield it was against a London side (Chelsea) and both him and Sturridge were on the score sheet, of course this game didn't see Suarez chomp on the arm of a player, despite him looking hungry for goals.

Liverpool will also be boosted by the return of their King Kenny, who on Friday announced he was returning to the club as a Non-exec director. The sight of Kenny Dalglish back at Anfield brings about immense happiness to the fans of the red side of Merseyside, even more so while they sit at the top of the Premier League.

Suarez has shown two impressive performances in the Premier League against Sunderland and Crystal Palace and despite bigger tests to come, there is a real belief amongst supporters that he is back to his best and he has put the past behind him.

One Liverpool fan told Everything Sport that Suarez was 'firing on all cylinders again'.

"Luis is the best striker in the Premier League. I know it's only been two games but he is firing on all cylinders again and he is putting in a shift for the team."

Despite a growing belief that the damaged love affair between Suarez and Liverpool is coming to an end, newspaper rumours wont go away that the striker is waiting on a move to Real Madrid in January.

That speculation was fired even more on Saturday morning as Suarez's Uruguay teammate Edinson Cavani said Suarez was 'still hoping for a move to Madrid.' Whether or not Liverpool would sell or in fact if Suarez will go remains unclear, however, the striker is back to his best and alongside Sturridge, Liverpool could remain in the title hunt for some time yet.

Is Suarez back to his best? Are Sturridge and Suarez the best Premier League partnership? And will Suarez leave Liverpool in January and join Real Madrid? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below or tweeting @RyanDay100

Top two? Your having a laugh........surely?

This week Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claimed that the club should be looking to finish higher than fourth and instead should be chasing Manchester City in second.

Those comments came just one day before Liverpool crashed to an humiliating 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa who before the clash at Anfield found themselves struggling in 17th place in this seasons Premier League. So what can Liverpool fans really expect for the remainder of the 2012-2013 season?

It has been a difficult few years now for the Reds on and off the field of play and most Liverpool fans want stability at the club, but is that enough? Rodgers took over the reigns of one of the biggest clubs in Europe who appeared to be on their last legs. Liverpool had finished eighth the previous season and even club legend Kenny Dalglish could not provide the magic spark to blast the sleeping giants into good form.

Many fans argue that Dalglish was making a difference and a League Cup last season was proof of that argument, however that sits uneasy with me as Liverpool just were not performing in the league and an eighth placed finish was not good enough. Another disappointment during the second coming of Dalglish was his willingness to spend large amounts of money on average players. £35 Million on Andy Carroll and £20 Million on Jordan Henderson clear proof.

So what has Rodgers done differently? In all honestly not a lot. Liverpool have endured their worst start to a Premier League season and still find themselves in the bottom half of the table as we approach Christmas. Rodgers has no right to demand his side chase second place and should firmly set his sights on ensuring his side qualify for European football next season.

I am not knocking Rodgers for showing a bit of outward belief in himself and his players and in fact it should be applauded that he has the courage to make such bold statements, however he is only adding pressure to his already broad shoulders as Liverpool fans have a tendency to get carried away, something I fear Rodgers latest comments could spark, however Saturdays defeat at home to Villa would have brought some Liverpool fans back to earth rather swiftly.

Rodgers must buy in the January window, but he must buy players that will perform in the Premier League and the likes of Fernando Llorente, Daniel Sturridge and Darren Bent all fit into that bracket. Liverpool need to rebuild quickly, defensively they are fine, the midfield could do with some adjustments although not much, however it is up front where Rodgers must relieve some of the pressure that is currently being carried by top goal scorer Luis Suarez.

Liverpool fans expect every season for their team to be challenging at the top end of the Premier League table and it saddens me at this current time in its history that some fans still expect that, even though it is not on the horizon anytime soon. With the right reinforcements in January, Rodgers can guide Liverpool to a top six finish this season and then look to build upon it next season, however his comments last week will mean the Reds fans will expect more and sadly that wont be possible this season.

Let me know what you think. Will Liverpool challenge for a top four finish or will Rodgers and co have to settle for a top ten finish?

Sulky Suarez Saves Liverpool.....Just

In what can only be described as an emotional week for Liverpool FC, it took a Luis Suarez 70^th minute equaliser against Sunderland to earn the Reds just their second point of the campaign; however the draw fails to cover over the major cracks that are forming over the red side of Merseyside.

This week the families of the 96 that tragically lost their lives on the 15^th April 1989 in the Hillsborough disaster received some justice as it was revealed that the Liverpool fans were no way at fault for their own deaths, however it was a major cover up from the police who changed 116 official documents to make it seem that fan behaviour was to blame.

While the families have received at least some justice, one man on Merseyside is certainly not getting any justice from his players who he works closely with to try and restore the glory days to Anfield, however after four games Brendan Rodgers is not getting the performances neither he or the fans expect.

Against Sunderland, Liverpool were confident on the ball but yet again lacked any attacking penetration as the decision to allow Andy Carroll to leave Liverpool on loan looked even more peculiar as an ineffective Fabio Borini struggled while a stroppy Suarez offered little other than a neatly taken goal to level the game.

Worryingly for Rodgers even the likes of Steven Gerrard were unable to drag Liverpool out of their slump and while he remains Liverpool’s most influential player, the club cannot continue to expect their very own legend to lead them out of their dark days.

Luis Suarez again looked uninterested for the majority of the game and even threw himself to the floor in a pathetic way to try and earn a penalty which rightly lead to the striker being yellow carded.

No one ever said that Rodgers had an easy task when taking on the role as manager of Liverpool, however four games in and with no league win, the task is becoming increasingly tougher for Rodgers.

I for one hope that after the emotion of this week has passed the club will be able to look ahead to establishing themselves back amongst the big teams in Europe.

Let me know what you think. Will Liverpool and Rodgers get it right this season or should Liverpool accept for now that they are a long way from Europe’s top table?