Watching Bolton Wanderers against Liverpool on Sunday, the Reds seemed to do everything right except in the last third of the pitch where Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both were completely off form. It was almost as if the two had never played together. The players, again and again, failed to link up with each other. Their passing was sloppy. Their aim and decision making in front of goal were abysmal.

Gerrard, in particular, was woeful in the first half. It was by far one of the most ineffective performances I’ve seen from the Liverpool captain. Torres also was a shadow of himself. Even though both of these footballers are world-class, you would hardly know it by watching their performances Sunday.

That is, until Torres produced one flash of brilliance with a back heel that put the ball into Maxi Rodriguez’s path for him to score the solitary goal of the match.

The margin between success and disaster in soccer is so thin. If Torres’s back heel hadn’t worked so well, the game could have easily ended up nil-nil or Bolton could have snatched a victory. If that had happened, you can guarantee that the pressure on Hodgson would be immense. Instead, thanks to Rodriguez’s goal, Liverpool walked off the pitch heroes and you could see what it meant to both the players and Liverpool supporters as both were ecstatic and beaming at winning the three points.

The person I feel sorry for is Hodgson. It doesn’t matter how good or bad your team selection or tactics are, if your two top players such as Torres and Gerrard are playing so poorly, there is not much you can do to achieve success other than hoping they’ll get better, put other players in their places, or hope that someone else steps up to carry the weight of the team. And that’s part of the issue. Both Gerrard and Torres have carried Liverpool, at different times, for years.

This leads me to the question in this article. Should Hodgson consider dropping Torres and/or Gerrard? Practically every time David N’Gog steps on to the pitch as a substitute, he instantly transforms the team by adding more pace and a better understanding between him, Torres and Gerrard. Joe Cole, despite his skill, plays a different style and often seems to slow down the  pace of the game and doesn’t link up as well. At the same time, it’s difficult to find adequate replacements for Torres and Gerrard because the Reds don’t have that proven depth. The best route would be to start N’Gog and drop Cole until either the former Chelsea’s players form improves significantly or if N’Gog is unable to keep performing as well as he has.

The poor form of Gerrard and Torres must be worrisome for many Liverpool supporters. I believe the best way to move forward to get the best out of them is to start N’Gog and play a more attacking formation. Liverpool has the perfect chance to do this on Sunday since Joe Cole is out injured after suffering a hamstring injury against Bolton, which opens up the possibility of starting N’Gog. It’s a bold move, but what has Liverpool got to lose? Everyone expects them to lose against Chelsea, so why not give the Blues a run for their money?