Kuyt a statistic

Football is full of quint little facts. Some that make you question whether things are really all about fate, whether coincidence and karma are more facts of life, rather than misplaced belief in the unlikely. However, the one i’m about to reveal will make many with a Red heart a little uncomfortable. 

Should Liverpool endure another baron, trophy-less season, then Dirk Kuyt – who arrived at Anfield in 2006- will be the longest serving player in 40 years to go without lifting a trophy in a Liverpool shirt – with the player arriving shortly after the Reds secured FA Cup glory over West Ham. This is not a fact that neither the Ducthman nor any self respecting fan would want to contemplate. 

So with the unattractive football fact looming over the head of the forward, what are the chances of Liverpool securing silverware this season? For my mind, it is almost impossible. 

Fast paced, attractive, attacking, flair are all words that could be used to describe the new look squad at the start of the year, and rightly so. But such is the nature of football, that recent results and performances have put a halt to early season talk of trophies and title challenges. 

The inability to help beat Stoke and Norwich and the failure to kill of United has lead to many asking questions about the Liverpool squad, who look far from a team of capable of ending Kuyt’s wait for a trophy. The defence looks far from water tight, the forwards are on a bit of a dry spell and no one really knows yet, exactly what the best midfield formula is. 

Champions muddle through and scrape victories, even when playing weakened sides. However, Liverpool seem to be scrapping through with a strong side, none of which seems to point towards domestic glory anytime soon. 

I have long said, though, that the Carling Cup is the best opportunity for teams to end unwanted records, just ask relegated Birmingham City. For me, the rather unglamorous trophy is the best chance to bag some domestic silverware, that will, at the very least, put an end to Dirk Kuyt’s trophy-less stay on Mersyside, as well as representing a step forward for a team who looked like they were set for mid-table mediocrity last season. 

This is something the 31-year-old Liverpool forward agreed with in an interview with Sky earlier today:

“In all my time as a Liverpool player I have been close to winning trophies,” he said.

“There was the Champions League final, the semi-final and coming second in the Premier League.

“We have been close but it is now time to get some silverware.

So, with the best opportunity apparently being the Carling Cup this season, all the Reds have to do is defeat Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium….. A sense of Deja Vu anyone?

Martyn Edwards