Last seasons excellent run by Liverpool after King Kenny took interim charge had many predicting a big year for them this time round. With the new owners making plenty of money available there is every chance of Liverpool fighting for a Champions League spot (top 4) at the very least.

What of Liverpools new signings though - Downing, Enrique, Adam, Coates, Henderson, Bellamy, as well as Carroll and Suarez who were signed in January - are they the real deal, capable of pushing Liverpool on towards their first title since 1990?

Results have been decent enough, with away victories against Arsenal and Everton the pick of the bunch - on the surface anyway. The ridiculous red-card handed out to Jack Rodwell certainly helped Liverpool on the way to those 3pts. While Blackburn have shown that beating Arsenal isnt a particularly great achievement these days. Nonetheless, you can only beat whats in front of you.<!--more-->

Enrique -

We know what he can offer when joining the attack and has grabbed himself a couple of assists in the last two games. Defensively he hasnt looked brilliant but hes not the only one. Room for improvement.

Coates -

The centre-half excelled in the Copa America but has hardly had a sniff of the Liverpool first team. Dalglish can be cautious and quite over-protective with his players (as weve seen with Gerrards limited game-time since injury) and hes possibly just giving Coates the opportunity to acclimatise to England and the EPL before throwing him in the deep end.

Downing -

Hasnt looked particularly impressive so far and hasnt really linked well with Enrique down that left side. He is an excellent player though and will hopefully come onto a game soon.

Henderson -

Hasnt yet shown the form of last season which earned him a call-up to the England team. Dalglish bought him for his potential and in time Im hopeful that hell show how good he is. Liverpool have a plethora of midfielders and for this season he might just find himself rotated with others.

Adam -

Has scored (and assisted) a few this season already and thats without penalty duties. I enjoy watching Adam despite the fact that he can be very frustrating at times. For instance, his ability to remain oblivious to the fact that hes sitting on a yellow card and then get himself sent off, which he did against Tottenham. He looks like hes right out of the Paul Scholes school of tackling - hes hopeless at it! Despite this he is a top footballer and his long passing and vision are exceptional. Now that Gerrard is back Im not totally convinced about his job security though, even less so when he was substituted for Stevie G in the Everton game.

Bellamy -

Is most likely going to be a squad player but hes already shown that when he comes on he can change a game. He has electric pace and a never-say-die attitude that can lift his team-mates and with a second chance at the club that he loves, when the opportunity arises, I think hell chip in with a few important goals.

Carroll -

Was signed in January but Ive included him as a new signing. Its fair to say that his efforts last season were hampered by injury and I was looking forward to seeing him this season after a full pre-season behind him and injury free. To the extent that I started with him in my team . It seems like a long time ago now! Hes been poor and to be honest hes looked a little lost most of the time when Ive seen him play. Dalglish will persevere though - he has to- he spent £35 million on him , and as the season goes on hopefully hell rediscover his mojo.

Suarez -

Another January signing - had a couple of quiet-ish games by his standard but has again hit the goal trail with two goals in two games. Suarez is a very clever player with great movement, skill and positional sense and with Gerrard now back to play through some intricate passes to him I can see Suarez scoring a barrowload over the next few months. After playing through the pre-season break while winning the Copa America with Uruguay, theres a chance that hell slow down in the New Year though.

All in, Liverpools new signings havent been exceptional except maybe from Suarez, but its rare for a team to bring in so many players and expect them to fire straight away. There is definitely room for improvement from them and as the season progresses Im sure they will. Theyre a team in transition and although Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea are also to a varying degree, I think theyll fall just short on the title but will edge out Spurs and finish fourth to get back in to the Champions League where they belong.

Ive tried to write this as objectively as possible, Id welcome your thoughts on how Liverpool will go this season.

Im still blogging <a href="http://tapcorner.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/riberys-twin-sister/">here[/url].