Demba Ba’s Liverpool alert to fill Carroll hole

Yes, we are reduced to tracking ‘unhappy’ strikers and lining them up for Liverpool.

We can only hope Brendan Rodgers is doing the same.

Having Yesil and Assaidi in the squad is one thing.

Having a squad ready to go from fourth-last to top four is quite another.

The loss of Andy Carroll has highlighted the lack of the route one options at Anfield.

For all the tiki-taka that has gone on in the Premier League – Liverpool, Swansea, Southampton -  it is the route one boys – Stoke, West Ham – that are sitting pretty.

Which is why not just any striker will do at Liverpool, come January.

A big man upfront is what the Rodgers revolution needs.

Newcastle might be the ones to provide it.

Demba Ba is not happy playing off the bench.

According to Ba’s agent, Alex Gontran, quoted in The Sun: “Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Demba doesn’t understand the management.

“If he continues to be a substitute all season, we’ll look at other solutions.”

Ba hit 15 goals in his first half-season on Tyneside.

Then Papiss Cisse arrived in January and Ba went wide first, to starting this season on the bench.

To show Rodgers what an attacking option must look like, Ba came off the bench for Newcastle against Everton and scored twice to rescue a point.

Question is, would Ba be happy coming off the bench at Liverpool? As a lesser of two evils, he probably will, given Liverpool's great pedigree and current revolution.

More importantly he might form a strike due with Suarez and start every game, sending Fabio Borini to the bench.

Either way, bringing Ba on instead of Stewart Downing with 20 minutes left to go maybe just the thing Liverpool need.

BA THE BOSS 

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