Terry: Liverpool weak without talismanic twosome
442 Staff - Thursday 22 October 2009, 18:02
Chelsea and England captain John Terry has added his name to an ever-growing list criticising Liverpool's strength in depth following the loss of star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres through injury.
Rafael Benitez's side suffered a fourth consecutive defeat against Lyon at Anfield on Tuesday - the club's worst run for more than 22 years - leaving the Merseysiders with a mountain to climb in order to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
And having already lost four Premier League encounters to leave their hopes of finally winning another league crown in tatters, fans and media pundits have slammed the club's dismal form without their talismanic twosome.
Former Liverpool captain and manager Graeme Souness pointed the finger at Benitez following the defeat to Lyon, insisting the Spaniard has had more than enough time to assemble a squad able to cope without Torres and Gerrard.
And he has since been joined by Chelsea skipper Terry, who saw his side bounce back from losing to Aston Villa last weekend by thumping Atletico Madrid 4-0 - without suspended star striker Didier Drogba.
"When Stevie and Torres get injured they seem to be very short in the squad they've got,” he said in the Evening Standard.
“We're very fortunate at Chelsea. Since Roman Abramovich came, we have had a lot of strength in depth in the squad - like with Salomon Kalou scoring twice against Atletico with Drogba being out.
“People said we would struggle without Didier, but we didn't.
“If you take Torres out of their team, who do they bring in? It's difficult.
“We have players that are not here only to make up the numbers, but players that are fighting and working hard every day in training to come in and really prove themselves.”