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From the Desk

Eugene YS Han thinks Liverpool's poor season is playing out like a disaster movie in the making.

This is not an advertisement for the disaster feature film - 2012. But after watching Liverpool's recent performances, fans would have felt disaster after disaster are unfurling right before their very eyes.

Not only are Liverpool in danger of missing out on qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Champions League, they could also miss out on the lucrative payout. Who will believe Lyon coach Claude Puel's words that they will try their best to beat Fiorentina? Here's a chance for them to indirectly knock out one of their main rivals in the Champions League, so why not do the 'honours' right now?

And to make make matters worse, both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres could be out for months if they undergo surgery to fix their groin injures. If they put country before club, Liverpool are sure to suffer in the long run without both their key players.

Just to top it all off, Liverpool can't stop conceding goals. So even before Christmas, Liverpool's season looks set to crumple to pieces.

You could argue that one of Liverpool's main problems have been their lack of financial muscle in the transfer market - missing out on the next stage of the Champions League will hit their pocket even harder and cause Liverpool to spiral into a vicious cycle.

It seems that their lack of funds could be argued as their main reason of their downfall. Xabi Alonso left because Liverpool wanted to use his sale to fund more players. Alvaro Arbeloa could have been a very useful squad player but he was let go to help balance the books. Letting Robbie Keane go could have been a political decision - but again if he had stayed on, he would have been a very valuable and experienced squad player. Ditto Peter Crouch.

New players are what Liverpool need right now but they can't afford to do so. Benitez used to say: "I asked for a sofa but I gotten a table lamp instead" or words to that effect. Right now, I don't know if Liverpool can afford the electricity to power whatever lamp they have. The squad is simply not good enough and their lack of depth have been cruelly found out.

The (other) blond assassin

For one fleeting moment in the Champions League game against Lyon, a blond Liverpool striker was sent through on goal in the first-half.

Liverpool fans knew what happened next: It was not Fernando Torres, the blond assassin, but Andriy Voronin, the other blond but not so lethal assassin. The Ukrainian proceeded to shoot straight into the goalkeeper's legs amidst groans from Liverpool fans worldwide. They are thinking: this fellow must be the worst 'number ten' in Liverpool history. John Barnes must be appalled!

To be fair, Hugo Lloris did well to put Voronin off but it wasn't just that miss that infuriated the fans. It was his overall play. It's true he tried his best but he has lost his pace and technique.

I used to defend Voronin as I thought he is the perfect foil for Torres and was sorry to see him go on loan to Hertha Berlin where he scored 11 goals - two of which was against the mighty Bayern Munich. He was set to stay on permanently with Hertha but they couldn't afford him. And so Liverpool accepted him back. The question is why Rafael Benitez want a player who doesn't want to play for Liverpool? Because he doesn't cost a transfer fee? Or because rival defenders wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Torres and Voronin?

And to make it even worse, Michael Owen also cost Manchester United nothing and he has, at least, scored goals. And yes, if Voronin were to be in any disaster movie, he would be (spoiler alert!) the first to be killed off.

So while Roland Emmerich's 2012 may end with a positive conclusion, it looks like there'll be no happy ending for Rafael Benitez's Liverpool. Can I have my money back?

* Send in your comments to hanys@espnstar.com