Source: Liverpool_Echo
DOMINIC KING: Ex-Liverpool FC legend Graeme Souness has uttered stark home truths
FOR a man who once single-handedly carried Liverpool into a European Cup final and can lay claim to being one of the club's greatest players, Graeme Souness' stock on the Kop is low.[LNB]Many will never forgive him for the aberration he made with a national newspaper after under-going a heart by-pass in 1992, while his tenure as manager was characterised by some quite disastrous results.[LNB]More recently, certain comments he has made in the wake of a few Champions League performances have left some supporters feeling Souness has got it in for his old club and can't wait to put the boot in.[LNB]That, of course, is their prerogative. However when Souness spoke in his role as a pundit on Sky following the defeat against Fiorentina on Wednesday, his words should have resonated with every Liverpudlian.[LNB]They were not delivered with any sign of malice, nor was there any hidden agenda. Quite simply this was a knowledgeable football man speaking passionately about a club he once served and still clearly cares deeply about.[LNB]There was no stinging criticism of Rafa Benitez, nor did he lambast the shortcomings of the squad; he simply highlighted the possible Armageddon that Liverpool could face if they fail to go fourth by the end of the campaign.[LNB]'If they don't get into the Champions League next year, as Steven Gerrard touched on, the best players won't want to play for Liverpool,' Souness said. 'That would be the first time that has happened for as long as I can remember.[LNB]'They are hundreds of millions of pounds in debt. They need a new stadium just to stand still. Every year they are dropping off the pace. If they don't get into the Champions League, the banks will start knocking on their door.[LNB]'There is a real danger. They really have to have a good second half to the season. I'm a Liverpool supporter. I would love them to finish in the top four and win the Europa League and the FA Cup but if there was a choice , it would be to finish in the top four.'[LNB]Talk about hitting the nail on the head. Progress in Europe's premier competition was in danger of being taken for granted by some. But now the landscape has changed due to crippling financial constraints forced onto the club; we keep hearing the club's debt is manageable but that does not stop it being a terrifying figure.[LNB]Benitez is unflinching in his belief Liverpool will finish in the top fourand there is ample time for the situation to be changed, particularly now Gerrard is firing on all cylinders, Fernando Torres is back and Alberto Aquilani has made his first appearance.
