Thought it would make for interesting discussion if everyone rated - on a scale of 1 to 10 - the importance each of our players have to our team. 0 being completely useless, 5 there to make up the numbers, 7 important, 10 absolutely integral and so on. I'll go first...
GOALKEEPERS
SIMON MIGNOLET: 9/10 - I reckon Migs is vital to us, mainly because of his competition (or lack of) for the number one spot. We missed Reina a few times last season and, despite Pepe himself being out of form, we all acknowledged that we needed him back ASAP because his backup Brad Jones was even more mistake prone. Without Reina we were able to get by in a couple of games, such as beating Reading 1-0 at Anfield but Jones' presence made us sit deeper than ever in the derby at Goodison Park and he was at fault bigtime for Everton's first goal in that game, which we went on to draw. Same goes for Mignolet this season really, I think I speak for us all when I say with him between the sticks I feel confident that we won't give away any silly goals, plus he's proven already that he's capable of matchwinning saves (Stoke and Villa come to mind) which I don't think Brad has in his locker.
BRAD JONES: 5/10 - don't get me wrong, I really like Jones; he seems like a sound fella and a great professional to boot. But there's a reason he was largely seen as Middlesbrough's second-choice 'keeper before he joined us, and it's because he is a bit average really. I feel like most of the other top teams' backup goalies are superior. He seems like a good person to have around the squad though so he definitely has his uses, although preferably he would be third choice behind someone the calibre of a Schwarzer.
DEFENDERS
MARTIN SKRTEL: 6/10 - personally I see Skrtel as our fourth best centre back, but I give him credit because he came in to the team against Man Utd earlier in the season because of injuries elsewhere and performed admirably. Deserves to have kept his place since but, were it not for that display, it wouldn't have surprised me if another team signed him before the transfer window shut. And as well as he's been playing I can't help but think it's largely down to where he's been playing- mainly in a three as the deepest defender, which means he's less likely to be caught out as we saw happen so often further up the pitch last season. For our ideal style of play he's not the ideal man but it's tough for BR to drop him at the moment due to his excellent form. IF he can continue playing this well in an orthodox four at the back pushed higher up then great; big test for him in a couple of weeks against Lukaku though, the kind of striker he struggled against last season before being dropped.
DANIEL AGGER: 8/10 - love the guy and think he is our most important centre-back to be honest. Has become more prone to brainfarts over the last two years but I hope that's down to complacency and that, now he's being challenged by three other genuinely good centre halves, he picks his form up again because when he's on it he's when one of the best defenders on the planet (hence Barcelona's interest). So good on the ball as well which is crucial in most matches these days, especially given how we play. Don't think we've conceded a goal in the four league matches he's featured in thus far in 2013/14, long may that continue!
KOLO TOURE: 7/10 - think we saw in his first couple of games what a great signing he was on a free. Brings passion, determination and a true will to win. It can't be underestimated how important those components are in a footballer. Not only that, but he's still a very good defender. Doesn't lose many physical battles and reads the game very well. He and Agger complement each other well and I'd like to see more of them as a partnership going forward.
MAMADOU SAKHO: 7/10 - has played excellent in 80% of his games for us. Lot of money for a defender, even moreso when he wasn't overly necessary at the time but I like what he brings us- supreme strength, a dominant header of the ball and another winner who wants to win football matches. Now obviously it will be interesting to see if he is paired up with Agger at any point (we haven't seen that combination yet) because both are left-footed. Put two right-footed defenders together and noone bats an eyelid, and hopefully that will be the case if these two play but it is weird to think of two such predominantly one-footed players in the same backline! Think he's going to develop in to a brilliant defender at Anfield but he may have to bide his time this season.
GLEN JOHNSON: 9/10 - like with Mignolet, Johnson is a mighty fine footballer but a large part of me rating him as so important is down to his lack of competition. Kelly will take a while yet to get near his best form, Flanagan doesn't offer a quarter as much as Glen going forward and McLaughlin has yet to be given a chance with the first team. Johnson seems to have a year of being absolutely fantastic, then a few months of woeful form rinse and repeat. Thankfully, perhaps due to it being a World Cup year he is looking the former at the moment. Even when he's not at his best he's useful for us though, because he is always an outlet on the right which takes the pressure off our midfielders and defence. Keeping him fit will be key to our season, I can't emphasise that enough.
MARTIN KELLY: 6/10 - was a monster at times prior to his big injury so we know what he's capable of but recovering from such an injury takes years, not days or months. Be a while before we see him raiding down the right again to the extent he did, if ever because some reckon he's potential centre-back material. Still, good cover even when not 100% because he's always very strong defensively.
JOSE ENRIQUE: 8/10 - after the first two years he's been with us I think it's fair to say that Jose is either very good or fairly bad. I like the good stuff he brings to us immensely; rock solid in 1v1 situations, quick and ridiculously strong, never afraid to be given the ball and take pressure off his teammates. Of course he has flaws; namely the tendency to play obscene passes with little chance of coming off, or to get dragged out of position a bit easily at times. Ideally we'd have someone top class to challenge him and really make him up his game but alas we don't, so Enrique is pretty damn important to us I think.
ALY CISSOKHO: 6/10 - brought in to challenge Enrique a lot believed but I think it's clear that his main role this season will be that of 'backup'. I said before he joined on loan that I'm not much of a fan of the player and stick to that. He had six superb months with Porto before they cashed in for a mega bargain and he just hasn't kicked on. Instead he has degressed a LOT. Has little technique and, despite being quite strong and quick, doesn't actually use those assets that well because he lacks a football brain. Clumsy defensively, too. Happy for him that he's got the chance to play for his boyhood club but he needs to start playing like he deserves to be a Liverpool player or we will definitely not be taking him on a permanent deal at season's end.
MIDFIELDERS
LUCAS LEIVA: 8/10 - no one else can play the role he does for us. We certainly become a lot easier to breach through the middle in his absence. Reads the game so well but his injuries have understandably affected his mobility, so we don't see him dominate opponents quite to the extent he did nowadays. Hopefully we sign someone to compete with him for the holding role in the next transfer window but if we don't then it shouldn't matter too much because I think Lucas will do a good job against the vast majority of teams we play, and he clearly loves the club and is a good figure to have in the dressing room.
JOE ALLEN: 7/10 - whenever people call him a complete waste of money I tell them to think back to his performances in the first two or three months of last season. Yeah, we did overpay for the lad but he was really, really good at the start of last season, even in an unfamiliar midfield role. I don't know why his form dropped thereafter, it could have had something to do with his injured shoulder, new kid or maybe the fact he couldn't handle having to do so much legwork in the midfield but certainly something had a negative effect. He's a clever player though and one who knows exactly how to play possession football. As a squad member he is perfectly fine for now but I guess he'll need to do well when he gets the chance because if we sign a new midfielder he may slip down the pecking order.
STEVEN GERRARD: 8/10 - still a fairly integral part of Liverpool's team for me, the captain. Yes, we probably do need a real roadrunner alongside him to get the best out of him because he hasn't got the legs to run, run, run these days but if he gets the necessary help from our midfielders he remains a top class midfielder. Give him time on the ball, like Fulham did the other day, and he'll ruin you. I like what BR did on Saturday, letting him go full pelt for an hour then taking him off for a rest, even if it was forced due to the niggle he picked up. He will struggle in games like the one at Arsenal where we get overrun in the middle, but if we can find a way to lessen the impact of that then he's still one of the first names on the teamsheet in every match as far as I'm concerned.
JORDAN HENDERSON: 7/10 - I would have put 7.5 for him but have decided to keep it to clear numbers! Still don't know exactly what to make of Hendo, he has clearly improved as a footballer since Rodgers arrived, be that through coaching, his incredible professionalism or a mixture of both. He definitely makes Gerrard's job easier in most games with his unbelievable energy levels. Still feel he's hesitant on the ball at times, particularly when we're under the pressure; it's a shame he doesn't have Allen's composure in those situations. But he is a valuable squad member and, who knows, with the right guidance may one day be a valuable first team player for us.
LUIS ALBERTO: 5/10 - has barely had a runout of note so far therefore it's difficult to gauge his importance to the squad. Was he signed just to make up the numbers as a back-up' backup to allow Suso to develop on loan somewhere? Is he actually a top player biding his time to be unleashed on the Premier League? Probably not, but who knows. I'd like to see him get gametime when we're pulverising teams a la Fulham, was a shame he didn't come on in that game. For now it just seems like he's here to make up the numbers with potential to be more important. If he was considered anything more than that at this point then he'd have probably been played in the no.10 position while Coutinho was injured.
PHILIPPE COUTINHO: 8/10 - we coped fairly well without him but there were some games, mainly Southampton, Newcastle and Arsenal, where we clearly missed his composure on the ball and guile/creativity. I don't think young Phil is so important to us yet that he can be considered indispensable but we certainly miss him in games where we're expected to unlock opposition defences. Superb talent who I hope plays well enough this season to earn a call up to the Brazil squad for the World Cup.
WINGERS
RAHEEM STERLING: 5/10 - last season he went from being quite important to our team to then being a backup when new players arrived. This season he's mainly in the squad to make up the numbers I think. In an ideal world I reckon BR would want him out on loan to pick up experience a la Suso but with our lack of natural wingers he has a purpose in the squad. Obviously played wingback in his only league start, against Palace. I've still got high hopes for him and think he can go on to be a top player but a lot depends on his attitude and, hopefully, we sign another attacking player in January which allows Raheem to go on loan for first team football.
VICTOR MOSES: 7/10 - aside from the games against Swansea, Sunderland and Palace he hasn't looked too good but I really do think that is largely down to the fact he can't play the no.10 role against half decent opposition. He doesn't have the awareness for tactical nous for that position. Put him out on the wing and he's a good player who's willing to run at opponents and contribute towards goals/assists. In some games we may need width this season and he will be the player we turn to. Certainly not a bad option to have on your bench for a season.
ATTACKERS
LUIS SUAREZ: 10/10 - it's interesting, this one. When he got his ban we went on to win 3 and draw 1 of our final four games in 2012/13. And then, this season, we won our first three without him and I bet we were all thinking, 'Suarez isn't that important to us is he?' But in the next two games I really felt we missed his abilities and thus dropped points against Swansea and Southampton. And I truly believe he has upped his game even more since returning from his ban. He seems more composed than before, especially when in front of goal. He's much more clinical that he used to be and his other talents are unquestionable. Every top team needs a player capable of winning games via some magic, he is ours. People love to debate it but we are definitely better when he is in the team. Just enjoy watching him because he won't be here forever.
DANIEL STURRIDGE: 9/10 - absolutely vital to us is Daniel. He gives defenders someone else to worry about other than Luis Suarez, and that's credit to his abilities on and off the ball. Phenomenal technique for an Englishman, great physically and makes excellent runs. He's made even more important because of the partnership he has with Suarez. Having one of them in the team makes me confident of winning a game but having both makes me extra confident, because you just know that is one is having an off day the other is likely to cause problems, and even if both are off form they are still capable of scoring goals to win football matches. Strikers/goalscorers are the most valuable part of any team and in the form of these two we have two of the top five or six in the league.
IAGO ASPAS: 6/10 - our only senior striker aside from the above two so he may get the odd game when they inevitably pick up a knock. Obviously looks an odd signings at the moment because he seems severely weak physically and that is a no no for this league. Just gets brushed off the ball so easily. Also winds me up a bit that every time he gets fouled he does the yellow card signal to the ref. Cut that out lad. BUT, he is good technically and given time to settle in may at least be a useful option from the bench.
Over to you...
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