Club guide: Liverpool

Title: 10-1 Relegation: 200-1 Sack Race: 20-1

Transfers

IN

C Poulsen (Juventus, £4.5m), D Wilson (Rangers, £2m), J Shelvey (Charlton, £1.7m), J Cole (Chelsea, free), M Jovanovic (Standard Liège, free)

total spent: £8.2m

OUT

Y Benayoun (Chelsea, £5.5m), A Riera (Olympiacos, £5m), D Martin (MK Dons, free), P Degen (VfB Stuttgart, loan)

total made: £10.5 m

Player to watch

Joe Cole. Feeling loved again, he has already made a good impression and will benefit from playing regularly.

Squad worries

Left-back is a weakness, as re-signing Fabio Aurelio shows. As ever, losing Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard to injury is the main worry.

Manager speak

Roy Hodgson was a prophet without much honour in his own country until taking Fulham from the brink of relegation to a European final. Now he has the big chance he craved.

Story of the summer

Fans gave up on last season before Christmas, but Cole’s arrival and the retention of Torres and Gerrard point to a manager who knows what he wants, rather than Benitez’s dithering.

Last season 7th

Lowest position since 1999 amid ownership crisis.

This season 5th

“Getting better all the time. Can’t get no worse.” (Beatles)