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Got this in an email. Don't know the source, but it'll kill 5 minutes for ye! It's become something of a Kop cliché to say 'this is our year'. Equally, the final pieces of too many Liverpool jigsaws have turned out to instead belong to Sunset At Sea or Midnight In Manhattan. For starters, a missing jigsaw piece suggests a vacant hole – but no football team plays a season with ten men. As soon as you add a new piece to the jigsaw it has to replace one that was already in situ. We saw with Paul Ince's arrival in 1997 that the extra grit he brought to the side came at the expense of John Barnes' calm, composed passing. All you can hope for from the manager is that, year on year, he strengthens the team and the squad, making it more competitive. There are no final pieces to football jigsaws, but there are players who can improve the team. And in Keane and Dossena, I feel there are two players who immediately do that. As pre-season has gone on, the Italian left-back has impressed me more and more. He looks outstanding going forward: quick, skilful, strong, and with good delivery into the box. I do find it funny when people accuse attacking full-backs of getting caught out of position; if he overlaps, as instructed, and the move breaks down, of course he'll be caught out. The key is that one of the holding midfielders is alive to it. You can't expect proactive runs into space but the same player to also be at the other end of the pitch at the same time. Phil Neal was always told by Bob Paisley that once he went forward, to stay with the attack; it was then someone else's job to fill in. There will inevitably be some negatives along the way this season, such as the irritating loss of three players to the Olympics, while of course, no-one can foretell problems and injuries that might arise. Even so, should there be no serious adverse luck – and all successful teams need good luck – I feel there are a number of reasons to believe that this can be the year when a serious challenge is made. Firstly, Sammy Lee is back. Losing Alex Miller this summer was a blow, but Mauricio Pellegrino, like Lee, can add some fresh ideas and a new perspective. Second, there's the return of Daniel Agger. At Anfield he often becomes an extra midfielder, and he will help break down all those teams that set up to defend. Above all, he's a quality ball-player. It is one cliché that is true: he is like a new signing, and a £20m one at that. Also, the presence of Martin Skrtel means Liverpool now have four excellent centre-backs, when for the first half of last season there were just two fit and available. Third, there's the confidence the quartet of Spanish lads will have gained from their summer exploits. Of course, Torres in particular will be a marked man, and possibly liable to fatigue after a monumental 12 months, but I feel he will actually get better this season, providing he stays fit and can be kept fresh (which may mean more debate on rotation, but he cannot play every single match). The potential for improvement also applies to other young 2007 first-team signings, like Babel and Lucas, and even older ones, like Benayoun. Fourth, the improvements hit upon in the second half of last season. We now know Gerrard, who developed an excellent understanding with Torres, can do the second-striker role to a high level if required, and that Kuyt can be very effective on the right of midfield. It all gives the manager more options. Fifth, there's the quality of the young reserves, and how, one year on, they should be closer to pushing for a place in the first team; at the very least, at this point in their careers, they add serious depth to the squad, rather than merely making up the numbers. And of course, finally, there's the new players signed this summer. As a result, the squad looks a lot stronger. Some good players have left, but on the whole even better ones –– and ones better-suited to the way Benítez wants to play –– have arrived. How quickly they settle will be important, but the blend now appears sweeter. Crouch's height will be missed at times, but Robbie Keane's contrasting style is more suited to partnering Torres. I've come to really appreciate Robbie Keane over recent seasons. While no player is ever a clone of another, he does have aspects of Peter Beardsley in the way he plays these days; cleverness in deeper areas, sharp thinking, excellent movement, quick feet and an ability to weigh in with a very handy amount of goals; it all makes him the perfect second striker. Once I stopped seeing Keane as an Owen-type 'out-and-out goalscorer' and more like Beardsley, his qualities made a lot more sense to me. He can create chances for himself and others, and regularly gets into the mid-teens for goals; he got 22 in total last season, but that included three penalties, and he may not take them at Liverpool. Even so, 19 from open play is a great tally for a second-striker. Excluding the Gerrard/Torres axis that shone for the last few months of the season, it's been a long time since Liverpool have had a brilliant established pairing up front, but Keane has shown himself to be a 'partnership player'. He gives those quick, clever passes that a sharp fellow striker can thrive on. It's not a cheap transfer for a 28-year-old, but sometimes you have to pay for a player who is especially suited to your style of play and meets your specific, hard-to-resolve needs. As with last summer and this winter just gone, Rafa, whilst given money to spend, has also raised funds by selling some of his earlier signings for good profits to keep improving the side. Crucially, I see Keane as someone who can help the team exceed the sum of its parts. There's also his leadership skills and infectious personality, which are always worth far more to a side than a more talented but disruptive type. Keane is yet another winner, another team player with great desire and dedication. It is no accident that the squad is filling up with such players, and the spine players –– Reina, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Hyypia, Mascherano, Lucas, Alonso, Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt and now Keane –– all possess such traits. Then there's the need to solve a problem immediately. The long-term future may involve the talents of Ngog, Nemeth and Pacheco, who are three very special teenagers, but that trio, who incidentally cost peanuts, will need time to become regulars. While everyone at the club will be patient with them, the manager cannot just wait around until they are ready. If they prove themselves sooner rather than later, that's great, but Rafa has to strengthen the first team now. From the clips I've seen and the pre-season games I've watched, Ngog, like Torres and Henry (both of whom started out slowly as goalscorers), has height, pace and skill, and it will hopefully be just be a matter of time before the scoring instincts that have helped him shine at youth level come to the fore. His pre-season goals could help him settle more quickly, and while raw, he looks a prospect. With pace and skill added to the wide areas in the form of both new full-backs, Babel maturing nicely on the wing as last season progressed, and two lively forwards added, there's every reason to be confident ahead of the new campaign. The main weaknesses in the squad appear to have been addressed, there's more pace in all areas, while Keane can add a new dimension to the Reds' attacking play. Quite where Gerrard will play once the lads are back from the Olympics I'm not sure. But his versatility will be crucial. If it's away from the centre, then the stronger the team is, the less isolated he will find himself. He did very well on the right in 2005/06, when he scored a lot of goals and the team bagged 82 points; with a better side this season, he could really thrive out there. After all, no-one moans about Cristiano Ronaldo being 'wasted' stuck out wide; he roams, just as Gerrard does. This is a fluid Liverpool system. Most importantly, the interchangeability and movement of the supporting front players –– Keane, Gerrard, Babel and Kuyt in particular –– will pose opposition defences innumerable problems. Add Torres, who won't stray too far from a central position but will still offer world-class movement to drag defenders around, as well as picking the ball up in the inside-right and left channels to run at defenders, and the attacking play could easily improve again on last season, when 117 goals were scored in all competitions. The aim has to be to get a higher percentage of goals in the league, and Keane's arrival will help. I'll admit that I'm still not a fan of Keane's various celebrations; call me old-fashioned, but I like to see a simple statement of pleasure and a beaming smile, as seen with Dalglish and Torres. Having said that, I'm more than willing to get used to them. Should his goals, or just his all-round play, help to land that 19th league title, I'll happily consign myself to a hospital ward for the summer by (very foolishly) attempting to replicate his famed tumbling somersaults...