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PREMIER LEAGUE: (ANALYSIS) WHY LIVERPOOL WON'T WIN THE TITLE October 28, 2008
(SomaliNet) Liverpool top the table after nine games following their triumph at Chelsea - but how does their start compare to previous seasons under Rafael Benitez?
The Reds are top of the tree with 23 points, having won seven and drawn two without defeat - three points clear of nearest rivals Chelsea and Hull.
2007/08: Merseyside title hopefuls beware: they were also unbeaten at this stage last season, having won five and drawn four of their nine opening fixtures.
That put them on 19 points, six adrift of table toppers Arsenal, who looked for the first half of the campaign as though they were going to run away with it. However, the Gunners faded and ended four points behind champions Manchester United.
The 'Pool, meanwhile, finished fourth, a further seven points behind Arsenal.
Liverpool's goals for and against column is worse this season: the record of 14 scored and six conceded compares unfavourably with the 16 scored and five conceded in 2007-08. However of those 16 strikes six came in one unanswered match at home to last year's laughing stock Derby.
2006/07: Two seasons ago things were looking bleak for Benitez. His side had picked up only 11 points - won three, drawn two, lost four - and conceded 11 goals while scoring only nine.
Man Utd were at the summit after nine matches with 22 points and went on to finally win Alex Ferguson's ninth title after watching Arsenal then Chelsea dominate in the previous three seasons.
Liverpool garnered eight points fewer than in the following season - but finished higher in third, a massive 21 points off the champions.
2005/06: With the Champions League trophy safely stashed at Anfield in August 2005, optimism was rife on Merseyside that the Spaniard could finally deliver the league championship; how wrong those excited Scousers were.
Nine games in they were no longer under any illusion of the task facing Steven Gerrard et al if they are to clinch the title. As Jose Mourinho's Chelsea won each and every one of their opening nine fixtures before roaring on to retain their crown, Liverpool whimpered their way to 13 points with three wins and four draws - scoring only seven and conceding eight.
Benitez saw the futility in playing for a point with Chelsea so clinical, especially at Stamford Bridge - they did not lose a league game at home for another three years, until Sunday's defeat - and only three further games were drawn in that campaign as he ultimately led them to a huge total of 82 points.
Enough to win the league in many other seasons throughout history, on this occasion they were only good enough for third. Chelsea topped the final table with an incredible 91 points.
2004/05: Benitez fared better at the start of his first domestic campaign, taking 16 points with five wins, three defeats and only one draw, scoring 16 and letting in only half that at the other end.
Arsenal were leading the table at that point - their 25 points indicated a team focused on defending their title after the 'Invincibles' season.
But as he romped to a surprise win in Europe, the former Valencia boss could not get to grips with the requirements of a full English season - and Liverpool finished behind Everton in fifth with only 58 points while Chelsea gathered an improbably 95 under Mourinho.-Eurosport