Villa and Liverpool compare how far their dollars can go

To keep up the New Wave theme both Rafael Benitez and Martin O'Neill are tentatively experiencing 'working for the yankee dollar'. Their sides are both owned by ebullient Americans midway into a steep leaning curve in English football. So far, Liverpool's cheery duo seem a little laxer with the purse strings than Randy Lerner at Villa Park, judging by the pre-season transfer activity. While Benitez has splashed out about 90million of those dollars, O'Neill has so far contented himself with acquiring Nigel Reo-Coker and Marlon Harewood in the West Ham garage sale.

To be fair to Lerner, O'Neill spent big last year, particularly on John Carew and Ashley Young, but judging by Villa's mid-season slump, O'Neill's squad still needs remedial attention. Villa's mediocrity after a promising start encouraged those iconoclasts keen to challenge O'Neill's hitherto exalted managerial reputation. Some critics are even looking back at his spell at Celtic Park and, somewhat unfairly, seeing a crude long-ball and physical game which suffers by comparison with the prettier patterns under Gordon Strachan.

O'Neill's instinct, inevitably moulded by the influence of Brian Clough, is to surround himself with players he trusts, and to use them as an example for the players with whom he is less familiar. That hasn't yet worked at Villa.

Chris Sutton has retired, Shaun Maloney needs more time to settle and Stilian Petrov has looked ill at ease with his greater defensive responsibilities. That tight-knit cohesion and indomitable team spirit were the key characteristics of O'Neill's time in Glasgow, but it is more difficult to achieve in England, where players are extremely unlikely to feel much romantic loyalty to a club, squads need to be larger, and experience a much faster turnover of players.

The manager has placed great faith in the exciting and positive Young, and the irrepressible Gabriel Agbonlahor, but his defence needs attention.

O'Neill's innate streak of basic rationality (not a trait he shares with too many of his Premiership managerial colleagues) means he might balk at the fees being asked for a couple of Villa's targets. The West Bromwich defender Curtis Davies is priced at 8million and there is even speculation Hearts might get 9million for Craig Gordon, a fantasy fee for a Scottish goalkeeper.

At Liverpool, Benitez's signing of Fernando Torres for just under 27million was partly a case of the manager wanting to show some cojones in making bold transfer dealings, to signal that Liverpool were up with the giants of European football. It was courageous in that if Torres shows the same stuttering form as his namesake Morientes did at Anfield, it will be the first significant dent in Benitez's reputation.

Torres's arrival is also an acknowledgement that Liverpool's main deficiency in recent seasons has been a forward who can score the couple of dozen goals required to accrue a serious points tally. Liverpool's back four has become one of the most effective in Europe, with Jamie Carragher marshalling and the assured Daniel Agger replacing Sami Hyppia. The problem has been matching that defensive resilience with a cutting edge in attack.

At least Torres will deflect the spotlight from some of Liverpool's other summer signings. The most significant may be Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel.

Benitez has been on a troubled search for width in his team for the last two seasons. The likes of Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez have failed to satisfy him, Harry Kewell seems a spent force, and Steven Gerrard tends to wander in from the wings when stationed there. If Babel, an 11.5million signing from Ajax proves to have the same stuff as his compatriots Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie (preferably without their personality glitches) it might be the ingredient that switches Liverpool from lowest step on the podium to title possibles.

That said, losing at Villa Park on the first Saturday of the season would not be an ideal launch pad.