Agger – Nathan Brennan

What Became of Liverpool’s 13/14 side that took Manchester City to the wire?

The 13/14 Premier League season is one that will haunt Liverpool fans for the rest of our lives but will also be the most quotable season in recent memory outside of the Jurgen Klopp era. However, not many players from that squad in 13/14 have stood the test of time and remained at Anfield throughout the following six years. In this piece, I will be looking into detail at what became of every player in that squad of 13/14’s careers and where they ended up in 2019.

To start things off, we will start with the goalkeepers. Simon Mignolet had just signed at Anfield for a then, high-fee for a goalkeeper, especially one from Sunderland in a deal worth £9million with another £2million rising depending on various appearance achievements and clauses. Mignolet came in expected to be the challenger to Pepe Reina, who had been the club’s most famous keeper in the Premier League era, but with Reina’s drop off in form in recent years, he was shipped out whilst Mignolet took the number one spot. It seemed like the perfect transfer and like Mignolet would go on to become a club legend when he made a double penalty save on his debut in the dying embers of the opening game of the season at Anfield against Stoke, but despite his continuous starts that season, it became clear that Mignolet was not a perfect goalkeeper and had an error or two within his game. Mignolet was the clear first-choice for his first season at the club as the Reds went on to finish a point behind Manchester City in 2^nd place in the Premier League with him playing every single Premier League game for the club but with only 10 clean-sheets to his name that season, whilst failing to become Belgium’s number one that Summer in the world-cup as Courtois established himself.

In his second-season, Mignolet needed improvement but fans were still on his side, especially after such a positive previous season for the club, and with the side being in a state of transition following the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona and the incoming of several first-team players, the squad needed to hit the ground running. Mignolet and the squad had a very disappointing season, and Mignolet had made more clean-sheets(13) in less appearances (36) and he also had improved his errors leading to goals in the Premier League with him lowering that state to one compared to the previous season’s incredible high of 6. 14/15 was also Mignolet first taste of Champion’s League football, sadly that ended in disappointment as Liverpool were knocked out in the group stages in a group that the Reds were expected to at least qualify from despite facing Real Madrid, in this group a moment that became notorious in signifying Mignolet at Liverpool was his embarrassing performance against Ludogorets, this was the season where the manager’s hand was forced with Simon and he was dropped for two games in the Premier League for Brad Jones, most famously for the game against Manchester United where Robin van Persie exposed Jones and really pinpointed the fact that Liverpool had some serious goalkeeping issues.

15/16, Mignolet had now been at the club for three years, and an established first-team starter, but with Brad Jones being incapable of challenging Mignolet, good ol’ Brendan decided to bring in former Premier League goalkeeper Adam Bogdan who had his contract expired at Championship club Bolton, and admittedly, I backed Bogdan, which is one of my biggest shames and delusions to admit to this very day, but despite this, Bogdan was realistically expected to be a worthy challenger to Mignolet for the starting goalkeeper spot. This season came with Mignolet’s errors leading to goals start rising again. Eventually, Brendan Rodgers was sacked in after a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park after heavy investment in the Summer and Jurgen Klopp took the reigns in October, and with two weeks of thinking to do over the international break, Jurgen decided to stick with Mignolet as his number one, which he eventually would have to swap for Adam Bogdan as he gained his Liverpool debut at Christmas in place of an injured Simon Mignolet, however, this swap did not last long as Bogdan conceded straight from a corner on his debut as Odion Ighalo and their mascot ran riot at Vicarage road, Mignolet was back in between the sticks. Mignolet went on to play in the only two finals he played in, in his Liverpool career, losing both in the League Cup to Manchester City on penalties and losing to Sevilla in a bitter collapse against the Spanish side. But with Klopp in charge, and with his assurance throughout the season that players like Mignolet were good enough, surely Mignolet had nothing but positives in the future ahead at the club?

16/17 rolled along and Klopp’s faith in Mignolet was evidently fading, as he brought in highly-rated German goalkeeper Loris Karius. Mignolet was lucky to start the season as Karius broke his wrist in the weeks leading up to the Premier League opener, so Mignolet kept his starting place for several months until Karius had recovered and gained Klopp’s faith. This was Mignolet’s first real threat to his starting spot at Liverpool since he had joined, but luckily for Mignolet, Karius was making catastrophic mistakes in his debut months since returning from injury, in which he was dropped after a huge backlash from media and pundits over the German’s performances. Mignolet went on to have a solid enough season with his errors leading to goals dropping again to only one and with him getting a clean sheet in every three games, it seemed the challenge of Karius had somewhat improved Mignolet as he went to make huge saves in games against Stoke away, West Brom away and Watford away all toward the final run-in of the season, as Klopp and the Reds had gained their spot back in the top four that season, and evidently had it not been for Mignolet in several games, that Champions League place would not have been obtained.

In 17/18, despite Mignolet’s relatively solid start to the season and his huge previous season, he was dropped suddenly by Klopp as the German fancied giving Karius another chance to redeem his past mistakes, Mignolet became the clear second-choice for the first time in his Liverpool career and with Karius being fantastic and pivotal in getting the club to their first Champions League final in over a decade, it seemed to spell the end for Mignolet, with him only making nineteen Premier League appearances that season and Klopp’s project kicking into overdrive, it seemed that the club was leaving players like Mignolet behind, even despite Karius’ infamous Champions League final mistakes, it was not enough for Mignolet to have his Liverpool career revived. And with the turn of the New Year in 17/18, a 5-0 win at Anfield against Swansea City would prove to be Mignolet’s final Premier League game for Liverpool as he would fail to be Belgium’s number 1 in the 2018 World Cup in spite of Courtois once again, with also him failing to register a single appearance the following 18/19 Premier League campaign despite Karius’ departure, he would then be sold to Club Brugge back in his homeland for £7million rising to £9million, after 155 Premier League appearances for Liverpool since 2013 with 55 of those appearances having earned clean-sheets. Now at 31 years of age and a Champions League winners medal to his name, Mignolet has kept two clean sheets in his opening three games for Club Brugge and with him being the most expensive goalkeeper in Belgium, it is clear he carries some expectation with him.

Now, as I said, this is rather long, having read that first piece on Mignolet you may have felt this was a summary of Simon Mignolet’s Liverpool career, but no, we still have an entire first-team squad to speak of.

Moving on to the first-choice right-back and what Rodgers had been quoted saying was the best right-back in the Premier League at the time, was Glen Johnson, who, unlike Mignolet had been a staple in the Liverpool back-line since his big-money move from Portsmouth for £18million in 2009. Coming into 13/14, Glen had his group of fans who made it their priority to hate him, after many years of mediocrity after he failed to be consistent since joining Liverpool. With him being the first choice right-back in 13/14, he didn’t get any goals but did pick up two assists, he scored one own-goal but despite his critics, he had zero errors leading directly to goals throughout the whole season. He was part of a very shaky Liverpool defence who was slammed for its inability to keep the ball out of the back of the net. Glen made 29 appearances in 13/14. He was named in the 23 man squad for England in the 2014 World Cup and gained an assist as he crossed the ball into Wayne Rooney as he scored against Uruguay to pick up his first World Cup goal for his country.

Coming into 14/15, despite the positive season for the club, it wasn’t so positive for Glen who seemed to have his future spelt out for him with the loan signing of Javi Manquillo who was a young, bright and talented right-back, and despite cracking his head open to get a winner in the first-half of 14/15, which seemed to prove the constant claims of laziness and not being bothered for the club wrong, he was dropped for Manquillo before Javi was surprisingly binned from the first-team come Christmas, which is where Glen picked up the bulk of his 19 appearances that season onward. Despite regaining his first-team place, it was clear that the manager and staff were not fully confident on Johnson being the first-choice right-back for much longer at the club as he was let leave on a free transfer at the end of the season where he went on to join Stoke, becoming their first-choice full-back.

In 15/16, Glen was Stoke’s clear first-choice in his position, making 25 appearances and picking up three assists as the club finished a solid 9^th. In 16/17, it was clear things were becoming stale at Stoke, even despite Johnson making 23 appearances, with zero goal contributions, the fans had become fed up of finishing 9^th every season, and with dwindling performances and disappointing going backwards in finishing 13^th that season, Mark Hughes’ head was on the chopping block for Stoke fans coming into the next season.

17/18 was a clear decline for Johnson, as he made a just 9 appearances in the league, even despite a change of manager in January. Johnson would go on to be released by Stoke at the end of the season following confirmation of their relegation to the Championship spelling a bitter end to his time at the club. Johnson is now retired and has appeared on talk-shows and sports news publications such as TalkSport.

Moving onto the first of the two starting central defenders, was Mamadou Sakho.

Sakho signed for the Reds from PSG in 2013 for a fee of £18million, in what was seen as a huge coup for the club at the time with Sakho being an ever-present for PSG over the years. Sakho was plagued by injury during his first season at the club, but was described by manager Rodgers as a “beast” and despite his injury record, he quickly became a fan favourite. Sakho’s injuries hindered him to just 19 appearances in the Premier League in that famous season, but he would turn out to be a very important figure in that Liverpool team as he played in that heroic 3-2 win against Manchester City in April 2014. He scored his first Liverpool goal in December of his first season against West Ham, a header. A season filled with ups and downs for Mamadou, but he was definitely seen as a positive investment by the club going into 14/15.

His second season was also no stranger to injury and controversy as Sakho stormed out of the stadium amid hearing that he would not feature against Everton in the Merseyside derby, he would later apologise for his actions on that day. Sakho would be a key man however when he was available as Rodgers’ side gained momentum in the second-half of the season in the 5-3-2 formation with Sakho being the linchpin of that back three. Despite this being another progressive campaign for Sakho, he was hindered to just 16 appearances, less than his first campaign for the Reds.

In 15/16 Sakho had began the season as a backup to Dejan Lovren who had joined the previous Summer from Southampton for £20million. Sakho eventually regained his starting place once Jurgen Klopp came into the club and was one of the German’s go-to men in defence. He also signed a new long-term deal at the club this season, but despite this, he couldn’t keep himself injury free, which was becoming a clear issue, with him picking up an injury that would rule him out for two whole months. This season became the season where Sakho became a cult hero and also the season where his Liverpool fate was sealed. Heroic performances against Dortmund in both legs of the club’s Europa League tie, whilst also scoring against Everton at the Kop end in the meantime, before doing a sprint to the bench to celebrate with another cult hero in Kolo Toure seemed like it had finally all clicked for Sakho at Liverpool…until Sakho had been tested positive for using a fat burner substance after the Europa League tie against Manchester United, he was then banned from all footballing activity for a month, this entire case was dismissed when it was revealed that the substance Sakho had used was not actually on the banned substance list. Despite this, it was too late for Sakho, Liverpool had lost the Europa League final in which he would have started, and he had been missing from the line-up for pivotal games due to this investigation, all the progress he had made in a Red shirt had been undone, as well as him missing out on a chance to represent his country in the Euros in his homeland of France, which would have surely devastated Sakho. In the Summer pre-season training when it was revealed he had been sent home from the camp after he had failed to follow the squad guidelines in holding up flights due to not arriving on time, and also turning up late for squad meals. This had pushed Klopp over the edge with Sakho and he was demoted to train with the youth teams, he would never play for the club again.

Sakho played youth team football until that January where he was loaned out to a then managed Sam Allardyce Crystal Palace, where he hit the ground running. He had become *the* fan favourite at Selhurst Park and at the end of his loan joined Palace in a deal worth £24million with a further £2million in add-ons. Despite all of this, Sakho still had his fans at Liverpool who felt this sale was detrimental to the quality of the Liverpool squad. However, this loyal fanbase he had at Liverpool would soon vanish when Sakho celebrated on the bench when Christian Benteke scored at Anfield against his former club Liverpool in the following 17/18 season, this disrespect shown by Sakho had vilanised him for Liverpool fans. Throughout the rest of his Palace career it has been similar to his Liverpool career, a linchpin and crucial member of the backline who has struggled to remain fit and has been plagued with several injuries, one of which he has just returned from at the start of the 19/20 season, and at 29, it is hard to see him overcoming a fitness problem which has hindered him his entire playing career.

Sakho’s centre-back partner and an ever-present in an ever-changing Liverpool backline in 13/14 was Martin Skrtel. Skrtel had his most famous season at Liverpool in 13/14 with 7 goals that season in the Premier League as a defender, these included a brace in a 5-1 win over Arsenal and a crucial backwards flicking header in that historic 3-2 win over Manchester City. Skrtel was not immune to criticism though, with his error-prone defending and inability to position himself and read the game being obvious, none more than ever in the famous “Crystanbul” where Skrtel infamously ran directly out of position to leave room in the open for Dwight Gale to get the third goal for Palace on that night. Despite a shaky season defensively for Skrtel, he kept his place in 14/15, going in as the club’s first choice centre-back.

In 14/15, Skrtel made 33 appearances in the Premier League and only managed the one goal this time around. Skrtel also captained Liverpool in a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid during this season.

In 15/16, Skrtel remained first-choice again, with him signing a new contract at Liverpool, even with Klopp coming in Skrtel was his first-choice defender. Skrtel scored a famous volley in a 1-4 win at the Etihad at Christmas time, whilst also getting injured in the season which kept him out of action for almost two months. Skrtel’s time at Anfield would seem obviously over however when he came on at half-time in a game at St. Mary’s in which Liverpool were 0-2 up when he came on, he went on to have a diabolical performance as Sadio Mane netted a second-half hattrick for Southampton as Liverpool threw away their lead and lost 3-2. This game is the exact game in which fans had had enough with Martin Skrtel.

Jurgen Klopp decided he was to be shipped out to Fenerbahce in Turkey for £5million, during this time Skrtel played 31 games for Fener and was a staple of their first-team. He would later be offered a chance to join Barcelona whilst at the Turkish club but he turned down the chance due to the playing time he was being offered.

Skrtel had remained at Fenerbahce until 2019, when he announced his international retirement. In the Summer of 2019 came probably the most bizarre moment in Skrtel’s career as he joined Champions League newcomers Atlanta in Serie A, not even after making a single appearance for the Italian club he had his contract terminated in what was reported to be the causing of a falling out with the coach at the club. He later joined Basaksehir in Turkey on a free transfer and that is where he is currently playing his football.

At left-back, there were several options to go with, with Jose Enrique making a handful of appearances, Aly Cissokho being a new signing at the club on loan and Jon Flanagan emerging from the academy, but the latter made the most appearances to we will leave the former until the post-first-team analysis.

Flanagan made his first start in 18 months after injuries to Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique ensured that Liverpool’s usual defence was in a crisis. Flanagan made his first start in 13/14 in a game away at the Emirates, where Arsenal fans officially decided that with Ozil and co. they were guaranteed to win the title despite it being only early November. Just over a month later Flanagan scored the famous “even Flanagan has scored” goal as his first goal for the club with a volley in off the bar in a thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur. Flanagan was a revelation in defence for Liverpool for the remainder of the season and seemed like one of the only Liverpool defenders who was assured and did not have a mistake in him, and with him being scouse, he had all the backing of the fans.

However, Flanagan’s Liverpool fairytale was cut short and missed almost two years of football threw injury. His almost guaranteed England and Liverpool career seemed lost, despite him returning in 2015 with a contract extension at the club. However, once Flanagan did return, it might have been under new management in Jurgen Klopp, but it seemed the German still fancied him, with him being captained for the first time in that collapse at St. Mary’s and him also signing another three year contract extension. However, the following season in 16/17 it became clear that Flanagan needed consistent first-team football and with a failed loan move to Burnley, Flanagan was deemed not good enough. Once he returned to Liverpool, his career had gone further down the rabbit hole with him being arrested in December 2017 for an assault on his girlfriend in Liverpool City Centre, this erased all good thought Liverpool fans held Flanagan in.

In January 2018, fans were demanding Flanagan’s contract be terminated for his disgusting actions the previous month, but Liverpool decided to loan him to Championship club Bolton until the end of the season when his contract expired and he was subsequently released from his boyhood club without making even 100 first-team appearances at a time where he was expected to spend his career at the Reds.

However, in 2018, Flanagan was offered a chance to redeem his career by fellow scouser and former teammate Steven Gerrard who had taken charge at Rangers in Scotland, however, it has been more of the same at Rangers for the scouser with him struggling to remain fit and having multiple surgeries since his arrival in the North.

With the first section of the team being done, it is time to move on to the famous “diamond” midfield that set Liverpool alight in 13/14, with the don of that midfield being Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard. I do not think Gerrard needs much of a summary, as we all know his past and present. Gerrard had arguably the best season of his career in 13/14 and definitely his best season in his new deeper role that he had found himself in. Gerrard bagged 13 goals and 13 assists and that was with him missing several weeks out during the festive period through injury. 13/14 is probably the most famous season in Gerrard’s career for all the wrong reasons, as his famous “this does not slip now” quote against Manchester City returned to haunt him as he slipped to let Chelsea Demba Ba through on goal to put Liverpool’s title hopes to bed, along with further capitulation against Crystal Palace the following week. Despite all this, this was still easily one of Gerrard’s best seasons in the league in which he had dominated for over a decade.

In 14/15, Gerrard was alerted by Rodgers that his playtime would have to start being managed due to his age and fitness. Gerrard was knowingly and openly vocal about his disappointment with being left on the bench against Real Madrid, in the clubs return to the Champions League. He later announced that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the 14/15 season in January 2015. Despite this season being marred by the team’s shortcomings, several first-team flops and Gerrard’s departure, he was the club’s top scorer come the end of the season with 9 Premier League goals even with his obvious and rapid falling in fitness and capability to keep up with the pace of the league at times. Gerrard’s Liverpool career came to an end at the end of the 14/15 season with him being sent off after 38 seconds against Manchester United, and then more notably losses against Crystal Palace in his final home game, and Liverpool most infamous and embarrassing Premier League result in a 6-1 thrashing against Stoke, in which Gerrard scored.

Despite announcing that he would be joining L.A Galaxy in the MLS in January 2015, Gerrard wouldn’t make his MLS debut until July. However, Gerrard was hinting at a 2016 retirement throughout his time at Galaxy, and in 2016, Gerrard announced his retirement from professional football. Since retiring, Gerrard has returned as a coach at Liverpool, before leaving the club again to take up the managerial position at Rangers, he has also created his own water company “Angel Revive” and had his own Amazon documentary titled “Make Us Dream”.

Gerrard has currently been the manager of Rangers since 2018 and is now in his second season at the Scottish club.

In the central roles of midfield was Liverpool’s new Brazilian maestro who had set the team alight during his previous 6 months at the club when signing in the previous January for a measly £8million. Coutinho was Liverpool creative spark in the diamond midfield in 13/14. However, he did miss two months through injury between September and November this season, but once returning assured he was key in the team with a goal against Everton in the Merseyside Derby. This was the season that made Coutinho, with him scoring that famous winner in the 3-2 win against Manchester City in April. He made a total of 33 appearances with five goals and seven assists in the league from a deeper, more central position.

Coutinho went into 14/15 with a lot of pressure on his shoulders, his fellow South American Suarez had just been sold, and with Sturridge struggling to remain fit, the omen fell upon him and Raheem Sterling to be Liverpool’s talisman for the foreseeable future. Phil rose to that pressure with him starting the famous “cut-inside and whack it” technique he has since become so famous for, as well as him being shortlisted for both Premier League Player of the Year and Premier League Young Player of the Year, despite losing in both categories to Eden Hazard and Harry Kane.

In 15/16, Coutinho kicked the season off to a flyer for himself with a long-distance last-minute screamer on the opening day against Stoke City, an assist in his second game for Benteke’s winner against Bournemouth but ultimately it all went sour once the team were hammered at home 0-3 against West Ham, where Coutinho was sent off for a challenge on Mark Noble. Once Jurgen Klopp came in, Coutinho and Firmino became the unstoppable Brazilian duo, despite this, Coutinho was kept out of action for over a month come the second half of the season and returned to score an unbelievable under-the-wall free-kick in the FA Cup against West Ham, but went on to lose in extra-time. Coutinho seemed to fans that he would be destined to go on to become a Liverpool legend when his late equaliser in the League Cup final against Manchester City was met with a hysteric celebration and Phil jumping in to celebrate with the crowd, Liverpool went on to lose this final too. That wouldn’t be the end of the cult-hero goals for Phil however, with him scoring against Manchester United, in a 4-0 win against Everton at Anfield and scoring in the historic 4-3 comeback against Dortmund where he did the famous Gerrard “lift the crowd” celebration. He was also nominated for the Young Player of the Year in for the second season in a row.

Going into 16/17, Coutinho was *the* man for Liverpool. Their talisman, their best player by a country-mile, but he lacked that world-class consistent edge, however, this season it was all about to step up a gear for the Brazilian.

He started the season with a wonder free-kick against Arsenal followed by another in the second-half. Coutinho had been pivotal in Liverpool being top of the Premier League after eleven games for the first time since that famous 13/14 season. He suffered an ankle injury in November which kept him out of action for a month and a half, he also signed a new contract at the club that January with him also becoming the all-time top Brazilian scorer in the Premier League with a then record 30 goals.

17/18 became the true turning point in Coutinho’s career, with him accused of faking injury throughout the Summer in an attempt to force through a move to Barcelona, followed by submitting a transfer request to Liverpool to move to the Catalan club, which Liverpool seemed to reject as he was forced to stay for the foreseeable future. Coutinho continued to play for the club once the transfer window closed and went on to have the best form of his career in the first-half of the 17/18 season, with him captaining the club for the first time in a 7-0 win over Spartak Moscow in which Coutinho picked up a hattrick. Conveniently, Coutinho had suffered another injury in the leadup to the opening of the January transfer window, and days later he was being announced by Barcelona having registered 21 goal involvements in his last 20 games for Liverpool and settling himself comfortably as the best in his position on the planet.

Coutinho joined Barcelona in January 2018, for £142million if all clauses were met, this made him the second-most valuable transfer of all-time, behind fellow Brazilian Neymar. Coutinho scored his first Barcelona goal a month later whilst also scoring in a historic 5-1 win in the El Clasico, this initial spell at Barcelona had gone well for Coutinho and finished with him earning a La Liga winners medal as Barcelona won the league. After being crucial to Brazil in the 2018 World Cup, Coutinho returned to Barcelona, however, his first full season in Barcelona would not be as kind to him as his initial 6 months. Coutinho struggled for game time and would rarely play 90minutes for the Spanish giants, it seemed pastures were not always greener abroad for Coutinho, and that became the case when despite him winning another La Liga, his real ambition of lifting the Champions League had been crushed by his former club Liverpool, who embarrassed him and Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield in the Champions League semi-final as Coutinho had to sit and watch Liverpool win their 6^th Champions League trophy in Madrid as he presumably dreamt of what could have been.

In 19/20, Coutinho’s future had become uncertain, with him being offered to Tottenham and Arsenal on loan, and in a potential swap deal involving Neymar to PSG. Ultimately Coutinho was reported to have wanted to return to Liverpool, and despite Barcelona giving Liverpool first-choice in his potential transfer, the club rejected the opportunity to bring him back. Coutinho ultimately joined Bayern Munich on loan with the German Champions having the option to sign him at the end of the 19/20 season. Coutinho has since made his debut for Bayern Munich.

Next is the only member of the 13/14 squad who remains a consistent first-team member. Jordan Henderson was off the back of a season where he had been told he could leave to join Fulham after only a year at the club, but Henderson had rejected the chance to join Fulham in order to fight for his dwindling place at Liverpool. Henderson surprisingly won back his place at Anfield and became an ever-present in Liverpool’s midfield during their title charge with his box to box abilities proving crucial in such a high-octane Liverpool midfield. Henderson went on to make 35 starts, playing every game in which he was available for, missing only three games through a suspension in which he picked up through a tackle on Samir Nasri in the dying minutes of the 3-2 win over Manchester City, this red card proved how crucial Henderson was as his presence was sorely missed in the three games he had missed. Henderson was also appointed vice-captain at the end of the 13/14 season following Daniel Agger’s departure from the club.

Henderson, despite being vice-captain, captained the side on many occasions in 14/15, as Gerrard was benched or injured. Henderson would also sign a new long-term deal at the club during this season and would go on to be appointed captain of Liverpool Football Club following Steven Gerrard’s departure in the Summer of 2015. However, in 15/16, Henderson suffered multiple injuries and revealed that he had an incurable condition known as plantar fasciitis. Henderson struggled to remain fit under Rodgers and was injured for quite a while during the time period in which Klopp had taken charge, yet the German kept Henderson as his first-team captain before he got injured again in the second-half of the season.

Henderson’s fitness somewhat improved in 16/17 as he earned Premier League Goal of the Month for his top corner scorcher against Chelsea in a win at Stamford Bridge. However, Henderson had not managed to shake off his many critics by this point with social media labelling him as average and that he would struggle to start for most Premier League clubs in the top-half.

Henderson signed a further contract extension in 2018 at the end of a campaign in which he was crucial in the team returning to the elites of Europe as they flukely lost in the Champions League final against Real Madrid.

In 2019, Henderson had the most defining season of his career as he captained the club to their first Champions League win in over a decade as he lifted the trophy in Madrid in a win against Tottenham. This Champions League win ensured that Henderson had finally proven his critics wrong and that after all this time, he was capable of being Steven Gerrard’s successor at Liverpool and placed himself upon the famous captains of Liverpool Football Club. Henderson has currently remained fit since and is an ever-present in Liverpool’s midfield in 19/20 as he hopes to captain the side to another successful Champions League campaign and another title charge against favourites Manchester City.

13/14 was the breakthrough year of one of the world’s best players in 2019, Raheem Sterling. Sterling was a teenager who had been immensely rated at Liverpool and thus, was given a chance to play in the Premier League consistently despite his young age. Sterling scored his first Premier League goal in December of this season as he got a goal against Norwich City. Sterling would finish this season as Liverpool’s Young Player of the Year and would be shortlisted for Premier League Young Player of the Year as he grabbed nine goals and 5 assists from the tip of Liverpool’s midfield diamond. He was also named in the 23 man squad for England for the 2014 World Cup.

In 14/15, extra pressure was placed upon Sterling to improve his delivery, as Luis Suarez’s sale, along with the injury record of Daniel Sturridge and the failure of Liverpool’s new striking recruitments meant that Rodgers had decided to try and convert Sterling into an all-out forward. Sterling’s conversion was a clear issue but despite this he netted seven goals and got seven assists in the league and was named as the European Golden Boy at Christmas time. Sterling went on to be nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Year for the second season in a row come to the end of 14/15. However, Sterling had been spotted smoking a shisha pipe and also presumably using balloons to inhale nitrous oxide, this began to contribute toward a bad public image and then during 2015 also, Sterling had turned down a contract offer worth £150,000 a week. Brendan Rodgers came out and publicly shamed Sterling’s representative Aidy Ward at the time for wrongfully informing Sterling to turn down the deal and then do an interview with the BBC regarding the situation. Aidy Ward then gave an interview to the London Evening Standard stating “I don’t care about the PR of the club and the club situation, he definitely isn’t signing. Not for 700, 800 or £900,000 a week”. This prompted Sterling to be demoted to the bench near the end of 14/15 and he was most notably booed in his final game as he warmed up on the sidelines against Stoke City.

Liverpool rejected two bids from Manchester City in the Summer, whilst Sterling had requested to be left out of Liverpool’s pre-season tour, and also did not turn up for two days of training due to illness. Sterling later signed for Manchester City for £50million, which was, at the time, a record fee for an English player. Sterling featured regularly in his first season, with him picking up a hattrick for City in a win against Bournemouth in October. However, an injury in ruled Sterling out for two months in which, upon his return, he struggled to regain his place in City’s starting lineup.

In 16/17, Sterling had gained major criticism for his lack of a finishing touch as he struggled to break the ten goal barrier again in his career under what seemed a struggling Guardiola side who scraped into the top four on the final day of the season. It was reported in the Summer of 2017 that Sterling could even be offloaded as he was not part of Guardiola’s plans. During the Summer of 2017 after the Grenfell tower disaster in which 71 people had tragically died, Sterling contributed a substantial donation toward the cause. This was the beginning of Sterling re-cooperating his public image.

In 17/18 however, Sterling had recovered. He scored 18 league goals and 11 assists as he had found that finishing touch that had been the bane to his career for years. Sterling had finally reached his potential and was a world-class wide player. This season was a career high for Sterling at the time.

Sterling was also named in the 23 man squad for England for the 2018 World Cup in which England reached the Semi-finals whilst Sterling had taken up somewhat of a public figure in England in a fight against racism in sport.

By 18/19, Sterling had redeemed his decision to join City, with League Cup and Premier League winners medals to his name, it seemed that it was the perfect fit for Sterling under Guardiola. Sterling scored 18 goals and got 10 assists in 34 Premier League games as City pipped Liverpool to the title with 98 points. Sterling was consistently reaching the peak numbers expected from truly world-class forwards now. Sterling won the Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup in a domestic treble-winning season for Manchester City in 2019. During this season also, Sterling ended a run that had haunted him of 27 games for England without a goal when he scored twice in the Nations League against Spain. He would then go on to get his first hattrick for England in 2019 against Czech Republic.

Sterling is currently playing sensationally for Manchester City in 19/20 with five goals in four Premier League games, and a hattrick to his name already so early on in the season.

The first of the two most famous players from that 13/14 side is Daniel Sturridge. Sturridge had been at Liverpool 6 months after signing for what was a bargain deal the previous January from Chelsea. Sturridge continued his 12/13 form into the 13/14 season, and with Luis Suarez banned for the first 8 league games, the pressure to provide the goals fell on Sturridge’s shoulders. You wouldn’t have thought there was pressure, as Sturridge hit the ground running, earning the first Premier League Player of the Month award. Sturridge also went on to become the first Liverpool player in the Premier League to score in both seven and eight consecutive games. Sturridge’s form in 13/14 made him a contender for the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, as he finished the season with 21 goals in 29 games in the league, only behind Luis Suarez in the race for the golden boot award.

In 14/15 however, would begin the downfall of Daniel Sturridge’s Liverpool career. Sturridge had consistent injury problems that combined to him missing close to around five months worth of football, and despite him scoring on his return to the team in January, Sturridge would not go long without injury when he had a hip surgery in March which would rule him out for until September of the next season. Liverpool fans were calling out for Sturridge during this time as the team continued to struggle to score goals.

In 15/16, Sturridge missed the start of the season as he was recovering from that surgery, he eventually returned and bagged two goals against Aston Villa with one of them a monstrous volley from an angle that made Liverpool fans dream at the idea of what could be with Sturridge’s return. However, this fitness once again would not last long as he missed huge chunks of the season through further injuries but despite this, Sturridge finished as Liverpool’s top goalscorer with thirteen goals.

16/17 sparked the obvious beginning of the end for Sturridge as Klopp’s preference to Firmino became clearer. Sturridge struggled to start games and generally was only used as a substitute during this season scoring a measly three Premier League goals. Sturridge’s appearance would decrease even further in 17/18 with him only making five starts in the league, getting two goals. Come January of 17/18 Sturridge was not happy with his playing time and joined West Brom on loan, this was a complete failure as an early injury ruled him out for the majority of his time at the club as West Brom were relegated from the Premier League.

Sturridge returned to Liverpool that Summer, and despite speculation of him being offloaded, he stayed for the final year of his contract. Sturridge started four games as Divock Origi came back into the fold of the Liverpool squad, dropping Sturridge to the third choice in the pecking order of strikers. Sturridge scored some important goals, however, with a last-minute curler at Stamford Bridge to rescue Liverpool a point, and an opener against PSG in the Champions League group stages. Despite this, Sturridge obtained a Champions League winners medal to end his Liverpool career on a high note, leaving many with a bitter taste in their mouths of what could have been for Sturridge at Liverpool had he remained fit. Sturridge was banned during the Summer for breaching betting rules regarding his brother and a potential 2018 January window move to Sevilla. Sturridge was banned from football for two weeks and received a fine of £75,000

Sturridge joined Trabzonspor in Turkey in 19/20 on a free transfer.

Now, onto the star of the team and the league and arguably the world in 13/14. Luis Suarez, started the 13/14 campaign with an eight-game ban for a bite on Branislav Ivanovic from the previous season in a draw against Chelsea. Despite missing the opening eight games…Suarez managed 31 league goals and 12 assists in thirty-three games, and not a single one of those 31 goals was a penalty. Could you imagine the records he would have had had he not missed those opening eight games? Suarez was the first player to achieve these Messi and Ronaldo level of numbers and somehow was not listed for the Balon D’or against that duo. Suarez was easily the best in the world at several points in 2013 and 2014 for Liverpool, and come the end of the season, he won the PFA Player of the Year and then he set off for the World Cup with Uruguay in which Suarez famously could not hold back his urges once again and bit Cheillini in Uruguay’s group match against Italy. Many speculate that this stunt was to force Liverpool’s hand in selling Suarez, as the previous Summer Suarez had performed similar antics in an effort to force through a move to Arsenal. Suarez received a six-month ban from football for the bite and Liverpool soon after sold him to Barcelona for £65million, which still feels painfully cheap.

In 14/15, it would take Suarez til October to make his Barcelona debut due to this ban from the sport, but it seemed a fairytale, as his return was in time for the El Clasico against Real Madrid. This fairytale was not to be though, as Barcelona lost 3-1. Suarez had to wait eight La Liga games for his first La Liga goal for the Catalan club. However, this dry patch did not last long once Suarez got going. Suarez finished the season with 25 goals and 20 assists in all competitions and a La Liga, Champions League and Copa Del Rey winners medal to ensure that Suarez was a treble winner in his first season in Spain. His duo Messi and Neymar combined with him to make 122 goals, the most ever scored for a trio in Spanish history.

Suarez started his second season off in red hot form, scoring in the Super Cup against Sevilla to close Barcelona’s first trophy of 15/16. He went on to score a brace against Real Madrid in a historic 4-0 win for Barcelona. Suarez also became the first player to score a hattrick in the Club World Cup and was named the Player of the Tournament as Barcelona won the competition. Suarez scored four goals in February against Valencia, he then went on to score four more and assist three against Deportivo in La Liga two months later, and three days later scored a further four goals against Sporting Gijon, making him the only player to score four goals in consecutive games in Spanish history, he also became the only player in the history of Barcelona to reach 35 goals in a single season. Suarez sealed La Liga for Barcelona and won both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe, becoming the first to do so since 2009 outside of Messi and Ronaldo. Suarez was performing to the levels of the best player in the world and had set new standards. Suarez had scored 14 goals in his final 5 La Liga games of the 15/16 season. The trio of MSN finished the season with 131 goals, breaking their previous season’s record.

In 16/17, Suarez made his 100^th appearance for Barcelona, with him boasting 88 goals and 43 assists in those 100 appearances…Suarez had established himself as the best striker of his generation, and truly generational footballer. In 17/18 Suarez scored in a game which ensured that Barcelona held the longest unbeaten run in La Liga history of 39 games. In 18/19, Suarez scored a hattrick against Real Madrid, making him the only Barcelona player to do so beside Romario. However, during this season Suarez had been criticised on social media by Barcelona fans as they called for something new despite Suarez’s numbers. Suarez was also part of that lineup that was hammered at Anfield and since then had been the most vocal on the impact that the result has had on the team and the club as a whole.

As of 19/20 Suarez has made a substitute appearance for Barcelona in La Liga, and continues to be part of the Barcelona elite.

Now, the first team is complete, we move on to the squad players of the 13/14 side.

Brad Jones was Liverpool’s usual second choice ‘keeper, but with the Australian failing to make a single appearance in 13/14, we move onto 14/15 where he made three appearances due to a dip in Mignolet’s form. These three games were marred by some of the worst goalkeeper I have ever seen. Jones was released from Liverpool at the end of the season and joined Bradford, despite his new club, he was released in October when his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Brad joined NEC in Holland on a six-month deal in January 2016 and despite the club wishing for him to stay beyond his initial deal, he opted to leave amidst offers from other clubs.

In 16/17, Brad Jones joined up with former Liverpool teammate Dirk Kuyt as he won the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup to help the club to its first title in 18 years. Jones then signed a further two-year contract extension at the club.

Jones continued in goal the following season and then opted a move to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Nassr on a two-year contract. This is where he is still playing today as the club’s first-choice ‘keeper.

Daniel Agger, who was Liverpool’s vice-captain in 13/14 had his final season at Liverpool that season. He made just 16 starts after injuries and being out of favour with Brendan Rodgers ensured he would struggle to establish himself. Agger scored on his last game for Liverpool on the final day of the season with a header from a Gerrard free-kick against Newcastle. That Summer, he was sold to Brondby for £3million despite better offers from around Europe.

Agger played in Denmark for two years before announcing an early retirement at 31 at the end of his contract. Agger has been quoted saying that his body was unable to keep up with football at the end of his career due to the injuries and injections he had received to play through the pain throughout his career at Liverpool. Agger and his family moved to Marbella in Spain and started a sewerage company name KloAgger. Agger has also been a part of raising money for several charity foundations and is occasionally a part of the squads for the Liverpool Legends games. Agger is a legend to the Liverpool fans despite his early retirement, he even has the famous club song You’ll Never Walk Alone tattooed onto his body.

Aly Cissokho is one of the most infamous Liverpool players of all-time, not for any real reason other than the fact he didn’t know how to kick a football. The excitement was met when Cissokho joined the club on loan in 2013, but that same excitement vanished once the fans and everyone associated with the club realised Aly didn’t know what a football even was. He made 12 starts and 15 appearances in total during his one season at Liverpool.

Aly then went on to play for Aston Villa in the Premier League for the following season and helped the club reach the FA Cup final, however that forthcoming Summer, he was loaned to Porto.

With the incoming of his former manager Remi Garde, he was recalled to Villa, and played once available in January. In 2017 Aly joined Olympiacos on a six-month loan from Villa, however at the end of his loan, he returned to Villa. That Summer he signed for newboys in Turkey, Malatyaspor and played for a year until joining another Turkish side in Antalyaspor for an undisclosed fee where he is currently still playing and was their first choice in 18/19.

Jose Enrique had been a mainstead at the back for Liverpool since signing from Newcastle, however, 13/14 began the start of a long during of injuries for the Spaniard. He played just eight times in 13/14 and just four of those were starts. However, Enrique did last at Liverpool until the Klopp era two years later despite having only made 12 appearances in that time. Enrique became notorious on Twitter for playing FIFA and became somewhat of a meme amongst Liverpool fans. Enrique captained the club in his final game against Exeter in 2016 under Klopp and was later released from his contract at the end of the 15/16 season.

Enrique signed for Spanish second division side Real Zaragoza, and played the rest of the season for the club, however, he was forced into retirement a year later due to a continuous knee injury.

Since then, Enrique was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour called chordoma in 2018, however recently in April, he was thankfully given the all-clear.

Martin Kelly failed to start a single game in his final season for his boyhood club Liverpool and thus moved to Crystal Palace in search of first-team football. He was a starter in his first season at the London club but since then has failed to nail down a consistent season-to-season first-team spot and has only managed to return as their first-choice right-back this season due to the sale of Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United. He has been part of a steady Palace backline so far in 19/20 and has started all four of the clubs Premier League games.

Having joined on a free from City to be Carragher’s replacement in 13/14, Kolo Toure played more games than anticipated over his three seasons at Liverpool, securing himself cult-hero status for his stellar performances at times. Kolo most notably was monstrous in the Europa League for Jurgen Klopp in 2016 and also played in the final of that competition. He scored his first and only Liverpool goal in a 0-6 win against Aston Villa in 15/16, which was a moment that went down in Liverpool history. He since went on to play for Celtic, winning the SPFL and also became a coach at the club under Brendan Rodgers, he is now side by side with his former Liverpool boss at Leicester City.

Joe Allen struggled for starts in a settled Liverpool midfield in 13/14 and became most known for his sitter miss in the derby against Everton. Joe Allen continued to struggle for starts for the following season but played stellar when chosen by Klopp in his final season and became a legend somewhat for his long-hair and beard look that suited his Pirlo nickname. Klopp wanted to keep Allen at Anfield but he chose to move on in search of consistent starts at Stoke City in a £10million move. Allen was brilliant for Stoke in his first season despite the club’s downward spiral and despite their relegation in 17/18, it was clear that Allen was one of the few players who seemed too good for the Championship. Despite this, the Championship is where Allen plays his trade currently, still for Stoke who has struggled to bounce back since their relegation with many players, including Allen on huge wages for a Championship club.

Lucas Leiva made 27 games in 13/14, with him bouncing back from his huge injury blow several seasons previous. In 14/15, his game time continued to lower under Rodgers as he only made 20 appearances this time around. However, in 15/16 with the incoming of Klopp who seemed to quite fancy Lucas in midfield and as a make-shift centre-back, he made 27 appearances, though still not being a guaranteed starter. In 16/17, Lucas once again was not a starter and most played when called upon in defence, however, he went out on a high as he helped the club finish in the top four before being sold to Lazio in cut-price sale as the Brazilian respectfully asked to leave for more first-team football. Lucas got his wish as he made 50 appearances in all competitions in his first season at Lazio. He was also notably one of Serie A’s best players as he won the Supercoppa Italia in 2017 and has since won the Coppa Italia in May of 2019, he has also won Lazio’s Player of the Year in both of his seasons at the club and has been playing at the level of some of the best defensive midfielders there are on the continent right now.

Aspas was a new signing in 2013, signing for £15million from Celta Vigo off the back of a prolific campaign in Spain, and after a prolific pre-season too for the Reds, he seemed to be a smart signing. However, Aspas ended up one of the biggest flops in Liverpool’s history with him failing to score a single goal in 14 league games, and being the causing of Chelsea’s second goal in the game that killed our title hopes with his hilariously bad corner which has still since been memed to this very day. However, clearly, Aspas is not as bad as his Liverpool stint states, as he left the club at the end of 2014 on loan to Sevilla, where he also failed, but it is upon returning to Liverpool in 2015, where he was sold to Sevilla, who sold him straight back to his former club Celta Vigo in the same day where he regained his form. Aspas ended the season as the league’s top-scoring Spaniard with 19 goals, something he would top again in the following season with 22 goals, only behind Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez in the scoring charts. Aspas had earned a call to the Spain squad in the meantime also, and with Celta sitting in 9^th in 18/19, Aspas got injured for three months, during this time without Aspas Celta had fallen down to 18^th in the table and were battling relegation. They survived, and Aspas signed a further contract extension at the club until 2023.

The final member of this squad was Chelsea loanee Victor Moses who was brought into the club after the Nigerian struggled for game time at Stamford Bridge. Moses had a similar fate at Liverpool making just six starts with just a single goal. Moses has since spent time at Stoke and West Ham on loan before being brought into the fold by Antonio Conte at Chelsea to give his career a resurgence at rightwing-back. Moses was a phenomenon during the 16/17 season, one which nobody would have seen coming and he played a key role in Chelsea winning the Premier League title, he would have continued this form in his following season as Conte remained in charge, and he won the FA Cup. However, once Conte was sacked at the club, it was clear he was not fancied under Sarri as he failed to start a single league game under the Italian. As of now Moses has joined Fenerbahce for 19/20 and registered a goal and an assist on his debut for the Turkish giants.

Anyways, that concludes the in-depth look to what became of Liverpool’s 13/14 squad. A season and team that will live long in the memory of Liverpool fans for good and bad reasons.

References:

Mignolet:

–https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/10142422/Liverpool-sign-Sunderland-goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet.html

–https://www.the42.ie/adam-bogdan-liverpool-debut-to-forget-2513037-Dec2015/

–https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/simon-mignolet/profil/spieler/50219

Johnson:

–https://www.premierleague.com/players/2148/Glen-Johnson/overview

–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Johnson

Sakho:

– https://www.premierleague.com/players/4796/Mamadou-Sakho/overview

– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamadou_Sakho

Skrtel: