Their cups runneth over

Heartiest congratulations are in order to Liverpool Football Club this week after their unprecedented Treble-winning feats (although perhaps that should be ‘treble’ rather than ‘Treble’, for the benefit of those of us with memories that stretch back to May 1999. But enough of that).

After their unconvincing flounderings against Birmingham City in the Worthington Cup, and their scandalous win over Arsenal in the FA Cup two weekends ago, the ’Pool did at least have the good grace to put on a bit of a show in the third act of the proceedings in Dortmund, letting a distinctly dodgy Alavés team back into the UEFA Cup final from a seemingly unrecoverable position not once but three times.

It was as if, having pilfered the FA Cup from The Arse in the sneakiest manner possible, Liverpool were seeking to atone not only for that act of footballing grand larceny but for all the near-unwatchable defensive displays that have littered the last three months of their season.

As well as being one of the most exciting European finals ever, Liverpool v Alavés was also one of the least technically accomplished. Not since the opening ten minutes of Celtic’s 6-2 win over Rangers last August has this writer witnessed so many lapses in concentration and schoolboy errors in an allegedly top-level football match.

The – let’s be kind – haphazard manner of Liverpool’s win over Alavés may actually have done them a favour in the long term, dampening somewhat the expectation which has been growing among Liverpool fans, of winning next season’s Premiership. A team that concedes four goals to the likes of Alavés cannot feel entitled to expect a top-four finish every season, let alone to win the league.

Yet Liverpool’s excellent achievement in garnering three cups – and making it into the draw for the Champions’ League – is cast into still sharper relief when one considers the frequently disjointed shape of their starting eleven. Believe me, I am not having a go at them when I say that winning three trophies without a single recognised wide player deserves serious praise.

Gerard Houllier’s men are also entitled to dismiss the carpings of those who criticise them for being too defensive. Bearing in mind that it is less than four years since Liverpool’s first-choice back three comprised Neil Ruddock, Phil Babb and John Scales, the magnitude of Houllier’s achievement in recasting them as the parsimonious 0-0 merchants of English football cannot be overstated.

However, their performance in the Premiership does not suggest that they are ready to dethrone Manchester United just yet. Well, unless Alex Ferguson’s strop with the Old Trafford board escalates into a resigning matter.

Before the Dortmund horror show, I reckoned Liverpool were perhaps two new signings away from giving United a seriously uncomfortable time next season. Now it looks more like five – and I suspect that’s being rather kind to them.

The need for new blood is most pressing in midfield, where Gary McAllister – if not the player of the season, then certainly the player of the last four months – is, at 36, hardly a face for the future.

Without McAllister directing the traffic, Liverpool are creatively deficient to an alarming degree. Dietmar Hamann hasn’t a playmaking bone in his body, Vladimir Smicer continues to look distinctly headless, and Danny Murphy is, when it comes right down to it, no better than average. Steven Gerard has potential in this department, but he’s far from being the finished article. The bottom line is that they need to get a proper wide player in there, quickly.

The ’Pool could also do with a new keeper, which is hardly news at this stage. Overall, in Hyypia, Gerrard, McAllister and Owen they have the makings of a spine of genuine quality, but there are still too many potential passengers loitering around the fringes of the team for them to have any serious hopes of winning the title.

Instead of deluding themselves about a championship campaign for which they are not yet fully equipped, Liverpool might be wiser to set about the more attainable task of establishing themselves as more than just an intermittently watchable "good cup side". And if, by some freak, the Premiership were to follow, then all the better. Liverpool have certainly earned the right to feel pleased with themselves for now. But there’s more hard work still to be done than their more ardent fans might be willing to admit.