Nigeria hero still the odd man out at Anfield (ESPN article)

by Dave Usher for ESPN

On-loan Liverpool winger Victor Moses is probably on cloud nine right now after his penalty kick set Nigeria on their way to a 2-0 victory over Ethiopia Saturday that booked the Super Eagles' place at next summer's World Cup.

Moses is the toast of his nation after helping them to qualify for Brazil 2014 and he is now a key man for Nigeria. This is in stark contrast to his club situation, however, where he once again finds himself as something of a bit-part player.

It's the Merseyside derby this weekend and barring injuries, the former Crystal Palace and Wigan Athletic winger will surely be once again watching from the bench with little hope of breaking into the first XI.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. Moses left Chelsea in search of regular football having found himself way down the pecking order and playing for his third manager since joining the Blues only 12 months earlier. He had several offers but having witnessed how Liverpool had helped to re-ignite the spluttering career of his friend and former Chelsea team-mate, Daniel Sturridge, he opted for a switch to Anfield. With the Reds not being blessed with great quality or depth in wide areas, it looked like the perfect landing spot for a talented winger.

From Liverpool's point of view, they needed attacking re-enforcements and players who could provide that individual spark, and time was running out before the end of the transfer window. Having failed to sign all of their top attacking targets, to then be able to land a player such as Moses on a 'try-before-you-buy' deal with very little initial financial outlay, was something of a no-brainer for manager Brendan Rodgers, who probably couldn't believe his luck.

Even from a Chelsea perspective, this looked a good deal. Having Moses playing regular football at a high-profile club was good business for them. It protected the player's transfer value, it kept him in the shop window and they also saved money through not having to pay his salary whilst he watched from the stands. Everyone's a winner, right?

Not quite. In fact, at this stage the move isn't really benefitting any of the interested parties. There's still plenty of time for the situation to change, of course, but it would be surprising if Moses isn't beginning to wonder at least a little, whether he made the right decision back in August. It's not that he has been a disappointment -- he's actually done OK in relatively limited opportunities -- but he appears to be a victim of circumstances at the moment.

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