In this week’s FIFA 10 podcast Romily Broad and myself asked whether or not the Premier League’s big four teams are still the force they once were.

My co-host Mr. Broad argued that the division is now more competitive than ever and the dominance of Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool is over as teams such as Spurs, Villa and Man City look to gatecrash the party.

Thank heavens I was there alongside him to point out how wrong he was. Villa blow hot and cold, Spurs are over achieving and Man City are too inconsistent to mount a concerted challenge.

However, what I believe is that Romily was actually using this argument as a smoke screen to disguise the fact that the Big Four is now a Big Three as his beloved Liverpool are no longer the team they once were.

After crashing out of the Champions League, Rafa Benitez was quick to assure the fans that Liverpool would still finish in the top four. But does anyone actually believe him? Rafa was always considered the master of Europe and the league was always a secondary consideration, so there are plenty of sceptics who doubt him.

One thing’s for sure, if you’re going to finish in the top four then you’re going to require more than two players to do so. Without Torres or Gerard Liverpool are an ordinary side with simply no goal threat at all. Unlike spurs, for example, who have it in abundance.

What would Rafa give for the likes of Jermaine Defoe, Peter Crouch or Robbie Keane up front? Oh, sorry, I forgot - he’s tried the last two already.

I take no joy in watching Liverpool’s season crumble around them. The Champions’ League is a poorer place without the Kings of Europe and Liverpool’s history and heritage means that they will always be a big club. This season, though, they are simply not big enough.