Liverpool 2-0 Everton – Liverpool Return to Winning Ways Amidst Further Referee Drama – By Nathan Brennan

Getting back into consistent writing is difficult, and as I work on more hardened projects, I thought it’d be beneficial to write about sport again, football specifically. Liverpool and Ireland are the teams I support, although I am also a follower of Bordeaux in Ligue 2, and a general watcher of the sport at all levels. To get back into the swing of things, here is what I thought of Liverpool’s ____ against Everton. 

In the build-up to the game a lot of the talk around the game has been centered around the idea of the derby, with Liverpool ending their last game on a few rocky results, and Everton finally finding their feet in the league after a dire start. It did not help that Liverpool’s injuries have started to crop up again, with Everton’s beginning to return, as Andy Robertson picked up a shoulder injury whilst on Scotland duty, and who will be out for a significant period of time. That being said, Liverpool were still heavy favourites heading into the fixture.

The Back-Line

As mentioned, the loss of Andy Robertson cannot be understated, with him remaining to this day, the best in his position in the world, and with Tsimikas, his replacement for the time being, proving in recent months that he isn’t really up to the standard that Liverpool need consistently in the left-back position. In the first-half, it was proven time and time again that Tsimikas would look more in-place in an Everton-level squad than Liverpool’s, being lethargic on the ball and constantly misplacing his positioning and passes. It did not help that his left-hand side partner was Luis Diaz, who is definitely a fantastic player on his day, but has been caught in a bad run of form, compounded by his performance today as he struggled to get the better of any man he took on, and once again highlighted how poor his final decision making can be. 

I think in terms of future games, the answer whilst Robertson remains injured should be Jota on the left, with Nunez down the middle, to solve the Diaz issue, with Gomez as the left sided centre-back in a back three, allowing Trent to be played even-more-so in that dynamic midfield role that worked so well toward the end of the 2022/2023 season.

The New-Look Midfield Debuts –

A lot of talk has been said in regard to Liverpool’s midfield over the last 18 months, and the response to that talk has been the complete overhaul of Liverpool’s midfield options. Mac Allister came in from Brighton and has since been utilised in an out-of-place defensive midfield role after the club failed to address the issues in that position, Szoboszlai has come in as the most advanced of the midfield options and has looked at home in this team instantly, and Gravenberch arrived on deadline day and has impressed in cameo appearances for the most-part. 

Today against Everton was the first time that all three of these midfield options started a game together. Mac Allister continued to look out of place in the defensive role, having minimal effect on the game, whilst Szoboszlai looked an immense threat from the attacking position, coming close to scoring on several occasions, and Gravenberch was probably the most surprising of the lot, as he threw me shades of a prime Pogba, which, I understand it is still early days, but I make the comparison nonetheless as he strided with the ball, used his strength to shield, and had that gliding first-touch that Pogba once had to create space in tight areas. There is definitely more to come from Gravenberch in particular. 

Refereeing Decisions –

Of course the biggest talking points from the game once again fall the way of the referee. Just to state, yes, Ashley Young deserved to be sent off for his two challenges, but at the same time, the decision to not keep Konate on the pitch, particularly after Young’s sending off, makes absolutely zero sense and stinks of favouritism in some form or another. If Young’s challenges were worth two yellows, then so were Konate’s, and Everton had been more than hard done by in that sense of the game.

Elsewhere, in terms of the penalty, on commentary for TNTSports, Ally McCoist made a good point in regard to the handball rule, that it needs to be altered to be solely penalised with the intention of handling the ball. However, under current ruling, it was a clear handball and a clear penalty.

Substitutions – Nunez (6/10), Elliott (7/10), Matip (6.5/10), Gomez (7/10)

Jordan Pickford – 7/10 – Definitely should have had more control of his box but made a few excellent saves.

Ashley Young – N/A – Thought he played well and made a crucial tackle before being sent off but cannot give him a rating given that he was sent off in the first-half.

James Tarkowski – 7.5/10 – Excellent defensive performance all round.

Jarrad Branthwaite – 8.5/10 – One of the best players on the pitch and went toe to toe with every player he came up against. Definitely one of the brightest prospects in the Premier League.

Vitaley Mykolenko – 6.5/10 – A decent performance.

Jack Harrison – 6/10 – There isn’t much to say about Everton’s attackers given the circumstances they were playing under.

Andre Onana – 8/10 – An immense defensive display and saved his team on several occasions.

Gana Gueye – 6.5/10 – Put a shift in.

Dwight McNeil – 6.5/10 – Came close to scoring despite the few chances he had, and caused issues where possible.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5.5/10 – Of course he is still getting up to speed, but he really should have done better with that headed chance he had in the opening seconds of the game.

Substitutions – Patterson (N/A), Keane (5/10), Danjuma (N/A), Beto (N/A), Chermiti (N/A).

Liverpool 2020/21 Season Review by Nathan Brennan

In a season of complete chaos for football, Liverpool seem to have taken a complete nose-dive as a club both on and off the pitch. Owners who seemed like they were finally caring about the progress of the club last season, being outed as money-hungry sewer rats. Players getting injured to never-before-seen scales, and completely flopping in almost every single competition in comparison to the standards set in the previous two years, it really has been a dismal season in football. However, late revivals in the Premier League seemed to have papered over the cracks a little bit.

In this review, I’ll be going over how I felt the season went, my thoughts on it through every factor and competition they took part in, and how the club can improve for the 2021/22 season. Admittedly, I cannot remember much from before January, it has just been that kind of season.

Carabao Cup –

The Carabao Cup increasingly seems more and more like a competition that should have been done away with years ago. I do not think anybody really cares for it outside of Everton and Spurs fans. However, Liverpool’s Carabao Cup campaign started off with a comprehensive win against Lincoln in which the likes of Minamino and Jones shone to score seven goals. The following round against Arsenal produced a borefest in which Liverpool exited on penalties after misses from Origi and Wilson.

Liverpool 0 - 0 Arsenal - Match Report & Highlights
(Source: Sky Sports)

This competition did not highlight much for the season ahead, and usually I am fine with us exiting it early. However, it is quite odd how we never get far in any of the domestic competitions and I’d like to see Klopp at least have a chance of winning almost everything possible during his time at the club.

F.A Cup –

Liverpool had a chance to avenge the game in the last season where Aston Villa shamelessly battered our kids by having the gods grant us the gift of being able to batter their kids this year. However, it was far from a battering. Liverpool were drawing for large portions of the game after Louie Barry got a dream goal against almost our complete first-team. Despite a 1-4 win, it was hard-fought, and not pretty at times.

In the next round despite having chances, Manchester United went through after a 3-2 win thanks to Bruno Fernandes. This game felt typical of Liverpool at the time, with us going ahead feeling like it was only a matter of time until the entire team fell apart, and it did. I am not bothered much about the F.A Cup either, but it would have been nice to win and looking back now at a season with no trophies, it seems the F.A Cup would have been a great chance to at least come out of 2020/21 with something at the very least.

Champions League –

In the Champions League it was clear early-on that winning it without many of our key players would be difficult. The performances in the group were stellar, and barring baffling decisions to allow players such as Jota to play a meaningless final game, only to end up injured for months-on-end, it was a perfectly executed group qualification for once. In the knock-out rounds, class performances against Leipzig provided hope that despite shocking performances in the League, maybe a run in Europe wouldn’t be affected. Despite this, we were brought back down to Earth in the following round, being outclassed by Madrid and then despite a sturdy performance from Phillips in the second-leg, it wasn’t enough and we went out.

Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid (Agg: 1-3): Wasted chances prove costly for  Jurgen Klopp's side | Football News | Sky Sports
(Source: Sky Sports)

I could not complain about this, to get to the quarter finals with the defence we had, and despite Madrid being their weakest in over two-decades, it is still Real Madrid at the end of the day.

Premier League –

The Premier League is where the bread and butter of the season is, however this has easily been the worst in recent memory. COVID-19 made most the season be played behind closed doors, and that combined with an awful Liverpool team genuinely killed a lot of my love for the game.

There were long-term injuries all over the pitch for Liverpool, however it was none the more apparent than in defence. Not only did Liverpool have van Dijk out for the entire season, but Gomez and Matip too. Then, even the midfielders who were put in their place ended up injured for large portions also, that being Fabinho and Henderson. This Premier League season is obviously been marred by injuries that nobody could have prepared for, but even despite that, it doesn’t seem that injury recoveries will solve all the issues.

Virgil van Dijk injury: Liverpool star to undergo surgery after tearing  ligaments on Pickford challenge - CBSSports.com
(Source: CBS Sports)

Mentality problems and performance dips have been apparent. Constant inabilities to take our chances, kill off games or even get motivated to continue fighting when we go behind highlight that Virgil and Gomez returning will not fix everything. There needs to be major refreshes in the squad.

However, despite all the negatives, somehow the club managed to finish third, and only 5 points off Manchester United in what was consistently spoken about as their best season in years. As well as this, 26 points out of our final 30 available, and also conceding less than second-place Manchester United too, despite having our entire defence ravaged by injuries for the entirety of the season. These are achievements that are quite difficult to believe, but they happened regardless and really are something to write home about.

Despite finishing third and qualifying for next season’s Champions Leagues, this is mainly due to Klopp, once again. If it was not for him and Salah in particular, this club would have finished bottom-half this season. After the issues with the European Super League, FSG cannot afford to hide behind Klopp’s brilliance this Summer. Huge investment is needed to challenge Manchester City again next season, however, I doubt that will happen.

European Super League: John W Henry apologises to Liverpool's fans, players  and staff for signing up to competition | Football News | Sky Sports
(Source: Sky Sports)

Individual Player & Manager Ratings –

Starting XI –

Alisson – 8/10 –

Despite a lot of mistakes early-on in the season, Alisson set new standards for a goalkeeper towards the end of the season. Many of his mistakes and uneasy-natured errors could be down to the constantly changing back-line. Off the pitch he had to struggle with the sudden loss of his father, which left everybody devastated for the goalkeeper, but none more devastated than himself. As said earlier, he assured the fanbase that he is the perfect goalkeeper, scoring a winner against West Brom to essentially keep the Champions League qualification dream alive, and in doing so, created the most memorable moment of the season without a doubt.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10 –

Despite an incredible drop in quality in the first-half of the season both defensively and offensively, Trent finished the season as his old-self. His drop in offensive output could be down to the huge drop-off in quality from the attack, and also with the lack of reassurance in defence, he was required to stay-back more often than not. His second-half of the season was almost flawless though. He is still easily the best right-back on the planet at 22, and it would be shocking to see him not be selected to go to the Euros with England.

Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa: Trent's last-gasp rocket ends Anfield run  without a win - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
(Source: This is Anfield)

Nathaniel Phillips – 8/10 –

Nat Phillips is the true hero of this season. Having not lit the world alight during his time in the German second-tier last season, his Liverpool future obviously seemed completely foregone. Sudden injuries ensured that once Henderson and Fabinho returned to midfield, Nat was there to being an aerial force. Despite lacking in quality, nobody can question his determination to put himself at risk at every opportunity to try and earn us the points needed to achieve something this season. No matter what the future holds for Nat, his performances and moments this season have written him into history as a cult-hero of the club.

Nat Phillips: I preferred clearing off the line to scoring a goal! -  Liverpool FC
(Source: Liverpool FC)

Fabinho – 8.5/10 –

Despite playing most of the second-half of the season in midfield, Fabinho is mostly known for his defensive contributions this season. Filling in at defence, Fabinho on many occasions was absolutely flawless, proving himself to be world-class in two positions. However, his presence in defence were not enough to cover-up his lack of presence in midfield, which is pivotal. In the second-half of the season, all games where Fabinho played in midfield, Liverpool failed to lose. The fact he didn’t play in this position for a majority of the season is a key reason as to why we may have struggled in many situations, similarly to how Manchester City struggled last season when Fernandinho had to move into defence for Laporte.

Lijnders uses Fabinho as prime example of what Liverpool are "searching  for" in midfield - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
(Source: This is Anfield)

Andrew Robertson – 8/10 –

The only player to play every single game of Premier League action this season at the club, barring 5 minutes. This is obviously to the detriment of Kostas Tsimikas, but Robertson, despite not offering so much offensively this season for similar reasons to Trent, has been an ever-present. His work-rate and defensive solidity once again highlighted that even when the team was struggling, he remained world-class and the best in his position in the world.

We're looking to kick on in 2021' - Andy Robertson - Liverpool FC
(Source: Liverpool FC)

Thiago – 7/10 –

Thiago is a player that came with probably the most hype of all the signings in the Premier League last Summer. Had it not been for injuries, it seemed that he would have played a key part in a team that was going to easily run for the title again too. Getting man of the match on his debut despite only playing 45minutes, and getting man of the match against Everton before getting injured for several months, it was clear that he had the quality.

Thiago was never an assister or goal-scorer, which is a big reason why the agenda behind his ‘flopping’ gained so much traction. The truth is, Thiago performed similarly number-wise this season as he did in all his seasons at Bayern Munich. Being labelled the best midfielder in the world not even a year ago, and despite putting up similar numbers, he is now labelled an ‘underperforming flop’. It is a clear showing of the toxic mentality of social media in football today. Which is, it doesn’t matter how little you watch a player, it is only numbers that matter.

He had a lot of games where he struggled to make an influence, but also a lot of games where he looked head and shoulders above every single player on the pitch. Shockingly, he didn’t start in either game against Real Madrid, which is something I still cannot believe. It is clear that in a settled and fully-fit Liverpool team, Thiago would prove once again why he is easily one of, if not the best midfielders on the planet.

Gini Wijnaldum – 7.5/10 –

In his final season at the club, it was a standard Gini season. Despite the constant hate he gets for his style of play at the club, it is clear these are tactical moulds that he is fitted into by Jurgen. One of Klopp’s first signings, Wijnaldum has played more games than anybody else from the midfield and almost the entire team since he signed. This is down to his incredible reliability, fitness and just collosal mentality. Yes, he struggles at times to play a forward pass, but that is his role. He is a ball recyler.

Wijnaldum may not be regarded as a Liverpool legend by many, but when you put up performances he has in all the big moments of the last 5 years, I am not sure how you can argue that he isn’t. He epitomises what it meant to be a Klopp team at Liverpool, and will be incredibly difficult to replace. I wish him nothing but the best at PSG and hope that he realises how much his contribution will have been appreciated by fans like me over the last five years.

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: Relive Gini Wijnaldum vanquishing three tacklers  at once
(Source: Rush the Kop)

Jordan Henderson – 7.5/10 –

Jordan has once again proved his importance on and off the pitch. On the pitch, he once again proved his versatility playing many times at centre-half, whilst also continuing to prove his importance a the heart of midfield. His presence is continually missed as shown by how the form of the team dipped upon his injury.

Off the pitch he was a role model too. Standing for multiple major messages via social media, as well as organising and standing against the idea of the European Super League later in the season. He may not have been up for Player of the Year like in 2020, but he put in another memorable season in a red shirt nonetheless.

Klopp lauds Jordan Henderson's “football smarts” after showing off  centre-back bow - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
(Source: This is Anfield)

Mohamed Salah – 9/10 –

What can I actually say about Mo? To put it simple, without Mo, we’d have been in the bottom half of the table without a doubt. With both Mane and Firmino falling off a cliff this season, Mo didn’t just sail is to success, but he proved that at times, he really is too good for this club. If anybody ever had any doubt about who is the most important of the attackers before this season, then those doubts are certainly gone now.

Mo Salah's latest record-breaking season showed passion he won't find  elsewhere - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
(Source: This is Anfield)

Roberto Firmino 6/10 –

In probably his worst season to-date, Firmino matched his numbers from last season in two less games. However, this doesn’t tell the full-story. Thanks to sudden bursts in form, in particular against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, Firmino’s numbers were inflated. Before scoring a brace against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Firmino had scored one in his previous twenty-three games. These stats combined with just performance dips that were hitting new-lows for Bobby show that his time should be coming to an end as a guaranteed starter sooner rather than later, he also didn’t exactly help himself when he was caught liking Richarlison’s pictures after Everton had beaten us at Anfield.

Peter Crouch warns Liverpool over Roberto Firmino's 'wasteful' finishing
(Source: Pundit Arena)

Sadio Mane – 5.5/10 –

Sadio’s drop off a cliff was the most surprising of anybody in the squad, and yet it is still completely unknown as to why. Potentially the long-balls from Virgil being missing prevented a lot of his runs in-behind. It could also be the full-backs need to stay back due to a lack of quality at centre-back meant that Sadio was forced out wide more often this season, however Salah didn’t struggle in this same manner.

Sadio could bounce back, and he still finished the season in double-digits. However, his dismissing of Klopp at the end of the season for being dropped to the bench for a game showed a display of poor attitude, combined with odd posts on his instagram of a video celebrating Sarr’s goal against us in 19/20 that ended our hopes of an invincible season, it does seem that Sadio in general is making some poor choices.

Jurgen Klopp plays down Sadio Mane rift as Liverpool star ignores manager's  handshake after being benched for Manchester United clash
(Source: TalkSPORT)

Other Options –

Kelleher – N/A –

Kelleher didn’t play enough games to warrant gaining a rating, however he definitely had a progressive season to be proud of. In moments where Alisson had become injured, or was on leave due to his father’s passing, Kelleher stood in. Some slippy performances in the cups were backed up by a strong performance against Wolves in particular. Binning Adrian and getting a new back-up keeper’ wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I also wouldn’t be against Kelleher keeping the second-choice spot.

Adrian – 3/10 –

I know I said Kelleher played too little games to warrant a rating, and Adrian played even less. However, in the games Adrian did play, he was so bad that I couldn’t not give him a rating. Adrian has to be one of the worst footballers to ever wear a Liverpool shirt in my opinion. The goalkeeping performance against Aston Villa in particular has to be one of the worst individual performances in Premier League history, shipping seven goals in a single game. It is no wonder that his spot as second-choice was almost instantly stripped from him. Upon his contract ending, he should be let go from the club and hopefully never spoken of again.

Adrian sends message to Liverpool fans after Aston Villa nightmare | Metro  News
(Source: Metro)

Neco Williams – N/A –

Neco, similarly to Kelleher, didn’t play enough games to warrant a rating. However, I think his last of progress in game-time, in a season where Trent spent large portions of it struggling, says a lot about how he can progress at this club, that being, at the moment, he cannot. I think a permanent move away or a loan to a Premier League/Championship side would do him the world of good in getting some consistent first-team football, to hopefully come back in a better position to actually challenge Trent.

Neco Williams says 'no 19-year-old should get the stick' he has at  Liverpool - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
(Source: This is Anfield)

Virgil van Dijk – N/A –

Obviously Virgil didn’t play enough to warrant a rating. However, he should still be the talisman next season, regardless of how unclear it is in terms of his recovery from such a devastating injury.

Virgil van Dijk removed from Liverpool's Premier League squad list for 2020/21  - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
(Source: This is Anfield)

Joe Gomez – N/A –

Despite also not playing much, Gomez has seemed to warrant more question marks. Consistent injuries have hampered his entire Liverpool career, and although he is world-class when in-form, he does have his odd moments. It is clear the trust in the current array of defenders is not high, through the signing of Konate. I think for me, Gomez stays alongside Virgil for now, but I won’t be surprised when Konate eventually has his time to shine.

Joe Gomez insists Liverpool will be "hungrier than ever" heading into 2020/21  - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield

This is Anfield

Joel Matip – N/A –

Another season of devastating injuries for Joel Matip seemingly has brought his Liverpool future into question. A world-class defender when fit, Matip isn’t getting any younger, and potentially selling him on to replace for a young Kabak would be my choice if the scenarios aligned. However, I would love for Matip to stay if he could ever manage to stay fit.

Joel Matip fitness latest - Liverpool FC

Liverpool FC

Rhys Williams – 7/10 –

Rhys was playing in the 6th tier of English football last season, and yet produced some amazing performances for a player so young on such a high level so soon. He obviously had struggled in a lot of occasions, although showed promise. I don’t think he will be Liverpool material, but a loan for the upcoming season could help him mature further at a decent level.

Rhys Williams - Player profile 20/21 | Transfermarkt

Transfermarkt

Ozan Kabak – 7/10 –

Ozan, Ozan. Kabak has divided the fanbase. Having not played many games, probably due to his status being determined by the end of the season, rather than injury, it is unfair to give any true judgements of Kabak. Having struggled initially, Kabak eventually performed at a good level on a consistent basis and generally seemed like a good player for his age. £18million for a centre-back of his quality seems like a steal, however, knowing John Henry, getting another £18million out of him for another vital position that needs strengthening will be difficult. So, with Konate coming in, does it make sense to spend that £18million on Kabak? Not really. I wish we would, but realistically I do not think we will.

Regardless of what the future holds for Ozan, he did well. I am gutted for him, but this is football, and he will no doubt go on to sign for a good club if he doesn’t get signed by Liverpool.

Ozan Kabak could be worth TWICE the fee Liverpool can sign him for -  Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield

This is Anfield

Kostas Tsimikas – N/A –

I literally cannot say anything about Kostas. I suppose he looks sound in training?

Klopp confirms double injury blow as Kostas Tsimikas suffers major setback  - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield

This is Anfield

Naby Keita – 5.5/10 –

Despite not getting many chances, I cannot help but feel like Naby Keita and Liverpool just will not work. When he played, he struggled to leave lasting impressions on games, but at the same time, how can a player be expected to hit his stride when injuries combine with a lack of trust and consistent starts from the manager. Naby Keita was consistently praised by Klopp throughout the season for his training performances, most notably prior to the game against Real Madrid. However, despite having been injured for weeks, Keita was hooked off in the first-half against Real Madrid ruthlessly, and wasn’t given another chance again really.

Why Naby Keita was substituted in the first half against Real Madrid

90min

I am not saying Keita didn’t deserve to be taken off against Madrid, but in that first-leg, there was several players playing below the expected level, many of which didn’t have the excuse that Naby had of being out injured and having not started in weeks. Despite this, Naby was chosen to be the scapegoat and was hooked by Jurgen.

I think Naby can be a world-class player, but I worry that Klopp doesn’t trust him as much as he publicly says he does. I would be surprised if Keita was still a Liverpool player in 2022.

James Milner – 7/10 –

Milner struggled for game time too this season, but that is expected given his age. Despite this, during a time where the team struggled for performances, Milner came in and played to a level that was certainly on par with the peak performances of his career. During this time he showed how important he can still be to this team, and I for one am glad he still has a year remaining on his contract going into next season.

Latest James Milner news and reports from This Is Anfield

This is Anfield

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – N/A –

Oxlade-Chamberlain is a player that has a lot of the same excuses as Keita. A combination of injuries and a lack of managerial trust has ensured that his place at Liverpool is more uncertain than not. I really cannot see Ox hitting the levels needed to play for Liverpool consistently, and I think I could see him moving on in 2022 also to a team like West Ham or something.

Why Liverpool shouldn't give up on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain…yet - Liverpool  FC - This Is Anfield
(

This is Anfield

Curtis Jones – 7.5/10 –

Jones broke into the first-team last season, and did great in his rare opportunities. He showed composure beyond his years. This season, he played a lot in the first-half of the season, and showed maturity going forward and defensively. Liverpool fans seem to have manufactured a forced agenda against Jones, stating he isn’t good enough. However, are we forgetting he is still only 20 years of age? I have no doubt that with Gini leaving, Jones will get even more chances in 2021/2022 and continue to show his progress as a player.

Curtis Jones: 'Superb' starlet backed for role in Liverpool's strongest  midfield and tipped to 'easily' start for England

TalkSPORT

Xherdan Shaqiri – N/A –

Having been linked with a close move away in January, and having been stated as being ‘for sale’ this Summer, Shaqiri’s Liverpool career really is an odd situation. Having never really played ‘bad’ when given the chance, and having been relied upon heavily in his first few months at the club, it is a wonder what went wrong behind the scenes for him to have earned his place in the basement.

Xherdan Shaqiri 'hoping to leave Liverpool this summer' -

Sports Mole

Nonetheless, Shaqiri is a great player and always performed when given the chance. I think he will leave this Summer and hopefully he finds a great club where he can be valued more highly.

Diogo Jota – 8.5/10 –

I have to admit, I was not sure about the signing of Jota for such a high fee when he came in, but I was proved more than wrong. Jota started the season in form similar to that of Salah and Mane when they first joined. However, he picked up a lengthy injury in a meaningless game and we were left to pay for that decision as Firmino and Mane blanked for months on-end whilst the Portuguese forward was out injured. I have no doubt that Jota will continue to improve from next season onward, though.

Divock Origi – 2/10 –

Despite his heroics in the season where we won the Champions League, it seems that Origi retired from football since then. He rarely played, but whenever he did, he looked lethargic, heavy on the ball and had an absolutely awful touch of the ball. Far below the already low standards he seems to set. I would not be surprised if Origi was one of the first names out the door this Summer, despite everything he did in 18/19.

Origi set for Anfield exit as Liverpool aim to raise funds
(Football 365)

Takumi Minamino – N/A –

Sadly, I think the end could also be near for Takumi Minamino, to no fault of his own. Having rarely gotten any minutes, Minamino failed to make an impact at the club. Even when he did play and scored in a 7-0 win against Crystal Palace, he was immediately dropped for another few months afterwards, despite Firmino’s awful form. I had hoped that he would at least have the chance to play in front of a crowd at the club, but that now seems unlikely. I think had he been given more of a chance and had a better environment to settle in, rather than settling in a new country with new teammates during a global pandemic, things could have been very different for Taki at the club. Here’s hoping his fortunes can still turn around!

Takumi Minamino shows value of patience as Liverpool deliver perfect  Christmas present - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield

Jurgen Klopp – 7.5/10 –

Despite making a few odd decisions throughout the season, for the large part, to get a team with such ravenous injuries throughout the squad into the Champions League, is easily one of Jurgen’s best achievements throughout his time at the club. He also was one of the first along with James Milner to speak out against the European Super League. Always remember, if it wasn’t for him, we’d be in the bottom half of the league every season. We achieve success because of Jurgen, not FSG.

Conclusion –

All in all, a season without a trophy is a failure of a season. However, given the unprecedented circumstances the team had faced, I think finishing third in the league is a sign of progress and quality in-depth. I am unsure whether we will return to our best as simply as some of our fans think we can, but with a Summer of rejuvenation, injury records being set straight and fans back in Anfield come August, who knows what we might achieve.

The Death of FSG by Nathan Brennan

Football is dead, it has been for decades. However, this recent attempt to create a European Money League, I mean, ‘Super’ League has ultimately taken things too far. An attempt to completely disregard the entire history of our club has ultimately spelled the end for FSG at Liverpool, hopefully. I do not care what they have done for the club, I do not care what they have apologised for, all I care about is acknowledging all the warning signs that pointed towards these cowardice owners who have hidden behind the success of Klopp whilst secretly holding the same beliefs as all billionaire owners, a belief of greed.

Flying Kenny Dalglish to America to Sack Him –

A first warning sign of how little FSG have made an effort to understand the history and traditions of Liverpool, is their treatment of Kenny Dalglish. Dubbed ‘King’, Kenny Dalglish is arguably the greatest player and one of the greatest managers in the history of the club, yet despite winning a trophy and getting to another final in his first full-season in charge with an abysmal squad, he was sacked. Being sacked isn’t the issue though, Kenny was flown the whole way to Boston to hold talks with FSG, being left in the dark on the flight back to Liverpool, only to ultimately have had his time and effort wasted by being sacked not long after. This treatment of arguably the most iconic figure in the club’s history was the first straw in a line of many.

Liverpool Sacking Kenny Dalglish
(Source: Independent)

First Mass Walk-Out in Anfield’s History –

During the 15/16 season, as if the football wasn’t bad enough, once again FSG proved their timing to be impeccable with their decisions. Liverpool had announced that the usual ticket price, which was already at a ridiculous £59, had been raised to £77 for the following season. This sparked mass outrage amongst supporters and unlike many boycotts, this one had been followed-up on. In the 77th minute, as Liverpool led 2-1 against Sunderland, around 10,000 fans walked out of the stadium moments before Sunderland equalised. Chants of ‘Enough is enough, you greedy bastards, enough is enough’ rang around the stadium, with black flags being flown instead of the usual on The Kop.

Anfield Walkout
(Source: This is Anfield)

FSG ultimately reversed their decision, backtracking as always, freezing ticket prices for the following season. However, this decision to keep the prices at a ridiculous £59 shouldn’t be praised, nor should it be ignored that had this protest not happened, the prices would have gladly kept rising.

Selling to Buy –

Now, there is nothing wrong with running a sustainable business model, however, in certain circumstances, FSG have taken that idea too far. Many times Klopp has hinted at the concept that decisions are out of his hands, even after everything he has not only done for the club, but for FSG by increasing the overall value of their asset. In 2011, the sale of Fernando Torres was the first, then in 2014 Luis Suarez, only to replace him with Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert was a sign of how little ambition FSG seemed to have to compete. More recently, the sale of Phillipe Coutinho, a player idolised by fans, was sold and ultimately this was covered up by the purchases of both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker. However, had Coutinho not been sold, these players would never have been signed and would have had been allowed to join rival clubs.

Barcelona sign coutinho
(Source: Bleacher Report)

FSG do not care about competing, they only ever signed players so long as an even more important player to the team was sold. As of Summer 2020, Liverpool’s net spend under Jurgen Klopp was £75million, for comparison, Manchester City’s was £300million. Without Klopp, this lack of significant investment in the team would have shown a long time ago, luckily for FSG, Klopp’s individual brilliance had allowed them to hide this fact.

Attempts to Trademark the Words ‘Liverbird’ and ‘Liverpool’ –

Once again showing how utterly deluded and out of touch with the club and city of Liverpool FSG were, in July of 2019 they had submitted an attempt to try and trademark the terms ‘Liverbird’ and ‘Liverpool’. I am sure I do not need to explain why this is as delusional as it is, but FSG tried it nonetheless.

Royal Liver Building
(Source: CBRE)

Thankfully, the attempt was rejected by the Intellectual Property Office and FSG were left with egg on their face again. This should have been the third and final strike against not only the club this time, but the actual city of Liverpool and all its small and local independent retailers. However, as usual, Klopp managed to use his individual brilliance to buy FSG some time.

Furloughing Staff –

At a time where the world was experiencing unprecedented mental health problems due to having their lives torn apart by a pandemic, FSG thought it’d be a good idea to follow the pathetic model that the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal had formed, placing staff on Furlough. Despite spending millions on player wages, transfers, and being billionaires living a life of luxury themselves, FSG couldn’t resist the attempt to get a government cheque to try and safe a few pennys. This act once again highlighted how little the staff of Liverpool meant to FSG, and ultimately, how expendable they thought they were.

European Super League –

Here we are, the reason this whole thing is being written. John Henry may have made a swift attempt at apologising, but no longer can his empty apologies and backtracking attempts be forgiven. FSG attempted to openly disregard and throw away every single memory that any fan has had within this club for the last 100+ years. The iconic nights in the Champions League were to be forgotten, our first league win in over 30 years that only occurred last year, forgotten. Local fans were attempted to have been thrown under the bus in the hopes that the global market would bail FSG out.

I struggle for words when talking about this situation over the last few days, and ultimately, it isn’t just FSG that is corrupt, it is all of football, that includes the likes of BT Sport, Sky, UEFA and FIFA. However, FSG directly attacked the history of Liverpool FC and attempted to make all the memories I have had caring about this club utterly meaningless, so this hits more close to home.

John Henry has disregarded club legends like Kenny Dalglish, he has disregarded the wellbeing of fans, he has disregarded the well being of staff during a global pandemic, he has disregarded the history of the entire club through his inability to satisfy his greed whilst attempting to form this European Super League, and then the only people left who FSG hadn’t openly disregarded was Klopp, but of course, FSG couldn’t help themselves. They had left Klopp and the team hanging out to dry the night of a huge game, and despite everything Klopp has done for this club and in-turn FSG, their disgusting treatment to even allow him to be in the situation he was in on Monday, cannot be forgiven.

FSG need to go, and if they do not, they’ll realise they haven’t even begun to see the worse of what this fanbase will do to them. Just remember who is on your side here, isn’t billionaires in America who have zero interest in football and solely base all their time into maximising profits. It is the man who was left hung out to dry by these Americans, Klopp. It is the players who took a stand against the disgusting and disgraceful actions of these Americans, and ultimately, it is the fans, who no matter what, will always stick with this club through thick and thin, long after all these rats have left our club. You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Who Should Liverpool Sign to Return to the Top in 2021/22? by Nathan Brennan

After looking at who should depart the club last week ahead of what will no-doubt be a massive Summer for the club as they aim to bounce back from a woeful season, this time around I aim to look at who the club should sign to bolster the squad. So, this is a look at who I think Liverpool should be looking to bring into the club this Summer ahead of the 2021/22 season.

Back-Up Goalkeeper –

I think bringing in a goalkeeper isn’t something that Liverpool certainly need. However, Alisson, though I wouldn’t necessarily label him injury-prone, he does miss more games than most goalkeepers, and with Adrian rightfully on his way out, would Kelleher be good enough to be the back-up to the Brazilian? I wouldn’t be against giving Kelleher the responsibility of the second-choice role, but in the event that the club were to go for a new second-choice, here are some options I think would fit the bill.

David Raya – Brentford (£10m) –

According to Transfermarkt, David Raya is a goalkeeper with a value of £10million this Summer. Brentford will be looking to keep hold of the goalkeeper who played a pivotal role in their charge for Premier League promotion a season ago, which caught the eye of fellow Premier League club Arsenal. Although history has shown that when players want to leave clubs in the lower leagues, high price points can be negotiated down to more realistic values. I think Raya would be a decent option to have as a back-up, although not a sensational goalkeeper, he is a decent option at a mature age and I feel he’d be content playing second fiddle to a goalkeeper like Alisson at a club as big as Liverpool.

david raya
(Source: Sky Sports)

Alban Lafont – FC Nantes (£11m) –

Alban Lafont was once one of the most coveted young goalkeepers on the planet not too long ago. He had done okay for Fiorentina whilst on loan two seasons ago, and has since continued to do okay at FC Nantes in France. At just 22, it is no doubt that Lafont could easily reclaim that potential he once seemed to radiate, and if £11million, according to Transfermarkt is all it would take, then he’d be a steal as a young back-up option to Alisson.

alban lafont
(Source: Transfermarkt)

Matvei Safonov – FC Krasnodar (£14m) –

My ideal choice for the back-up goalkeeper spot would have to be Matvei Safonov at FC Krasnodar in Russia. Although not a nailed-down starter in Russia, he has shown potential, especially when claiming the man of the match in the only win of Krasnodar’s Champions League campaign, which proved crucial to them dropping into the Europa League knockouts. Safonov has the highest save percentage this season of all the three options mentioned, at 77.8%, which is quite good for a rather mediocre Krasnodar side. He is far from the finished article and has not exactly been the first name on the team sheet for a mediocre Russian side, but he has shown potential on the highest stage in the Champions League.

matvey safonov
(Source: Transfermarkt)

Back-Up Right-Back –

Liverpool have also shown that depth in the right-back area is a struggle, as in seasons like 20/21, where Trent shows to have hit a period of burn-out, it can be quite the struggle to drop him for a run of games when your only right-back options are teenagers or older midfielders. This is why I think these three options at right-back would make good options/challengers for that right-back position.

Tariq Lamptey – Brighton (£25m) –

According to Transfermarkt, Tariq Lamptey’s value is only £16million, however I think personally Brighton wouldn’t entertain anything below £25m after the season he has had. Lamptey, when not injured, has shown his defensive stability, however his crossing ability and drive to get forward and beat players is something that is similar to Trent in many ways and would fit a Liverpool system greatly. I put him at the end of this list though as I feel he’d be looking for first-team football consistently, after all, that is why he left Chelsea.

tariq lamptey
(Source: Goal)

Zeki Celik – Lille (£18m) –

Another option would be Zeki Celik. Celik is a Turkish international who is available for relatively cheap according to Transfermarkt at just around £20m. Lille and a number of other French clubs have been struggling financially the past year due to TV rights issues, and I’d say should we bid around that number, a player like Celik would be tempted at playing his trade at one of the biggest clubs on the planet, even if it is initially to be second-choice to Trent.

zeki celik
(Source: 90MIN)

Max Aarons – Norwich City (£30m) –

Lastly my ideal choice would be Max Aarons at Norwich. I have been a fan of Aarons since the end of Norwich’s promotion season two years ago, and since then he has shown glimpses of his talent in the Premier League in that side that struggled and ultimately went down. Since then Aarons has been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, which is quite the green flag for a player who is playing in the Championship, so obviously he is doing something right. Once again, similarly to Lamptey, the struggle with us getting Aarons would be his want for first-team football consistently. However, I think his ability to play on both sides of the defence would be a great asset to us and his potential game time if we were to ever manage to convince him to join.

max aarons

Centre-Back –

Obviously the one area that no doubt needs reinforcement more than most positions is central defence. This season has been the most crazy central defender crisis I have ever witnessed. Liverpool have suffered long-term injuries to van Dijk, Gomez, Matip, and then even beyond that, the midfielders who filled in even ended up injured for large portions of the season too. Signings such as Davies and Kabak were necessary. So, here is what I think is needed for the central defence position, in which I think at least two need to be signed ahead of the Summer, and one of them should be Ozan Kabak for a steal at £18million so I will not be mentioning him.

Sven Botman – Lille (£30million) –

Sven Botman is a player I know next to nothing about, however, he appears to have had a rise in the last season in France. As mentioned earlier, French teams are struggling financially, and thus, I think Botman would be a solid acquisition, due to how highly he is spoke about and the level of clubs that he seems to be on the radar of. However, due to my lack of personal knowledge on him, I place him on the last spot of this list of targets.


Ibrahima Konate – RB Leipzig (£40million) –

In my opinion Konate would be a great acquisition and as of now he seems the most likely to join the club after out of nowhere, the reputable sources stated that Liverpool are in advanced discussions about paying the £40million release clause for him. Konate is a great defender, however I am not of the opinion that a lot of Twitter seems to be that he is better than Upamecano. Although for £40million, you cannot go wrong so long as you look past his slight issues with injuries over the last two years.

ibrahima konate
(Source: Transfermarkt)

Ben White – Brighton (£35million) –

I have always been a big fan of Ben White, and even with Konate being so close, I still hold that bias for Ben White. White is a great ball-playing centre-back, is young and has already gained several seasons of first-team experience at free-flowing, attacking teams such as Leeds and Brighton. However, Brighton turned down hefty bids last Summer for him, and doesn’t seem to be budging on their stance for this Summer either, so he would be quite difficult to get a hold of.

ben white
(Source: Jioforme)

Ousmane Dembele – Barcelona – (£60million) –

Ousmane Dembele is a complicated one, and is no doubt an extremely talented player as shown from his time in France and Germany and during brief cameos in Spain. Dembele has been a player who has been completely destroyed by injury during his time at Barcelona, and at such a young age for such a big club, that is no doubt going to affect you mentally. Liverpool were confirmed to have enquired about Dembele not long ago on loan, so I think a loan with the view of a permanent deal or just a permanent deal would be a brilliant signing for any club, not just Liverpool, as I have no doubt that Dembele is still as talented as that teenager who lit up the scene at Dortmund a number of years ago.

ousmane dembele
(Source: Eurosport)

Memphis Depay – Lyon (Free) –

A more financially liable option would be Memphis Depay. Having been linked to Liverpool for years now, and continuing to do well in France after a woeful time at Manchester United, it is clear to see why Depay is back on top. Depay’s contract expires this Summer, and unfortunately, it seems that he is destined to reunite with Ronald Koeman at Barcelona, however, this is just a list of options I think would suit Liverpool well. Depay would certainly fit well, as unlike the other options on this list, he can play both on the wings and up-front, making him a perfect fit for the style of attack that Liverpool look to have.

memphis depay
(Source: Ligue 1)

Jadon Sancho – Dortmund (£120million) –

This one will not happen, Liverpool simply are too broke. Unless one of our attackers was to leave for big money, and lets be honest, Mane and Firmino aren’t exactly at the financially dominant point they once would have commanded, leaving Salah to be the only option who could leave to fund a transfer like Sancho, which seems unlikely. However, in a fairyland, Sancho would be the perfect long-term option to replace Mane on the wing, however the asking price would be impossible for a club like Liverpool to afford sadly.

Jadon Sancho - Player profile 20/21 | Transfermarkt
(Source: Transfermarkt)

Who Should Liverpool Get Rid of to Reform a Bloated Squad? – 2021/22 by Nathan Brennan

Liverpool’s 20/21 season was one to forget for large portions of the season. However, unlike many members of Twitter and the media would like you to believe, there isn’t actually much wrong with this Liverpool side or the management, with a majority of our under-performances coming as a result of unimaginable injuries. The argument has been made that all teams struggle with injuries throughout the season, however none have come even near to the level of Liverpool’s woes. As of January 2021, Liverpool’s players missed a total of 155 games, the closest to which was Everton whose players missed 106 games (Tribuna). This has only worsened and gotten more serious and prolonged as the season progressed into its second-half too, and despite looking for reinforcements in January, it is clear mass reform is needed to return to the top of the league in 2021/2022.

Selling –

In terms of who should leave the club, there is a number of names which no doubt stand out more than others amongst Liverpool fans. Before getting into who Liverpool should sign, I think quite a few players have gone well beyond their served time at the club, and a mutual departure would be best for both these players and the club this Summer. Nonetheless, here is who I think should be on the way out of the club this Summer.

Departure #1 – Adrian – Release

It comes as no surprise that Adrian will be one of the first players out the door this Summer ahead of the 2021/22 season. Adrian obviously played his part at the start of the title-winning season, however he also played his part in some absolutely awful mistakes, such as being solely responsible for our crashing out of the Champions League in 2020/21 against Atletico Madrid. Despite playing only three games this season, Adrian has almost matched the same number of goals conceded in three games (9) as in eleven games last season (10). Along with that, his goals conceded per 90 has trebled, along with his save percentage being just 52.6%. It is fair to say that Adrian wasn’t ever a great goalkeeper, but in 2020/21 he hit new levels of error-prone, and that at least for now, Kelleher has rightfully overtaken him as the club’s second-choice. Adrian will be thanked for his heroics in the Super Cup, however the time to go once his contact expires this Summer is more clear than ever.

Calamity Kop: Adrian's howler sparks extra-time goal-fest as Atletico end  Liverpool's Champions League reign
(Source: Telegraph)

Departure #2 – Neco Williams – Loan/£10million

Neco Williams was a player that showed great promise when he broke through with the likes of Curtis Jones in 19/20, however since then he has shown a stunt in his progress and has been on the end of some overblown backlash from fans. Williams no doubt shows promise, which he showed particularly in a game where he came on against Bournemouth in 19/20. However, it is going to be an uphill battle to overthrow Trent from the starting spot, and as a back-up, he really doesn’t seem to be ready. Ideally I think a loan to a Championship club or maybe even a permanent move if the money was right, such was the case with the likes of Rhian Brewster. Neco’s career seems to have taken a step back this season at club level, although his form internationally has still shown his promise as a young talent. I think a loan would be best for us and Neco, however a bid of £10million+ would be tempting to let him go on a permanent move in my opinion.

Neco Williams revels in "surreal moment" as Liverpool starlet becomes Wales  hero - Irish Mirror Online
(Source: Irish Mirror)

Departure #3 – Gini Wijnaldum –

Despite having a significant appreciate for Wijnaldum as a player, and wanting him to stand and sign a new deal, I am aware that the chances of that happening are becoming lesser and lesser. I think most people expect Gini to end his stint at Liverpool this Summer when his contract expires, however, most fans seem to think of this as a positive rather than a negative. Wijnaldum has been the most prevalent and important midfielder to Klopp since he joined in 16/17. In our Champions League winning campaign Wijnaldum played more times than any of Henderson, Fabinho, Keita or Milner. As well as this, he played more 90minutes than any of those midfielders mentioned too. In our title-winning campaign, Wijnaldum played more times than any other midfielder, and started more games than any other midfielder also.

Even in the current season where his contract is almost certain to expire, Wijnaldum continues to play more games than any other midfielder in the squad whilst also having the highest pass completion percentage of any other midfielder in the squad too. Wijnaldum is under-appeciated for being seen as a player who is not attacking enough, however that is clearly his role in the system, and not due to a lack of attacking ability, as shown by his form for the Netherlands. Wijnaldum has perfected a role of retaining and recycling possession under Klopp, and even in his final months at the club is still showing his ability to retain possession and relieve pressure through having the highest dribbles attempted, dribbles completed and players dribbled past in the entire squad combined with the best pass completion percentage in the squad too, as mentioned earlier.

It will be sad to see Wijnaldum go, and even harder to replace him, and let me make it clear that his inclusion on this list of departures is only due to his inevitable departure, not because I myself wish to see him leave. I for one will always remember Gini for some iconic moments such as those against Middlesborough to secure Champions League football, or the obviously iconic goals against Barcelona to complete the most memorable night of my life.

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona: Relive Gini Wijnaldum vanquishing three tacklers  at once
(Source: Rush the Kop)

Departure #4 – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – £20million

Look, I am sad to include Ox on this list as when he first arrived he felt like a breath of fresh air with his progressiveness on the ball and long-shot ability. He will always be remembered for that Gerrard-esque goal against Manchester City. However, there is no doubt that his ability as a footballer has been massively stunted by the injuries he has been plagued by since joining the club. Unfortunately, at 27, and two years left on his current contract, it would be ridiculous to try turn his career around on the club and risk losing him for nothing after spending £40million on him in 2017.

Chamberlain is becoming deadwood it seems, and despite playing well off the bench a number of weeks ago, he lacks that rhythm and consistency to really nail down a place in that midfield, having only started two games this season, and in those two games being substituted off before the hour-mark. This is obviously down to injuries in many ways, but having been fit for four months now, it still says a lot when 19 year-old Curtis Jones is showing more maturity in his play and more trust from Klopp than 27 year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain. I think the squad and club has outgrown him, and he has been left behind, and although I wish him the best whenever he does leave, I think he easily goes down as one of the worst over-spends in Liverpool’s Premier League history and I’d snatch somebody’s hand off at the offer of even £20million this Summer for him.

Departure #5 – Divock Origi – £10-15million

Thanks for the memories Divock, but it is time to go. It is a sad affair as Origi should have left the club after his iconic moments in 2019, although he just didn’t and instead has gone on to have that legacy tarnished by not just a lack of footballing ability, but a lack of effort when given the chance.

Origi has started only two games in the league this season and has scored zero goals. He once was an effective choice off the bench, and scored major goals that only dreams could be made of in 2019, however since then his role off the bench has been to completely nullify any potential of scoring when he comes on. Origi has had an expected xG this season of 0.9, and even at that, has failed to live up to it. He was never a great player, but even when given a rare opportunity this season, Origi has shown that his standards are lower than even I thought they could ever be.

Conclusion –

Overall, there is too many players not pulling their weight in this squad at the moment, and some of the ones mentioned are just the major offenders. I think getting rid of the deadwood mentioned and replacing them with eager and fresh faces would be a good way to improve an already good squad. If you’re interested in who I think Liverpool should be signing to challenge for the 21/22 title, then be sure to check back next week when I look into the potential incomings I’d like to see.

The Moments That Shaped Liverpool’s Decade 2010-2020 by Nathan Brennan

2010 – Hodgson Reign & Financial Turmoil

This decade began off the back of some of the worst news any Liverpool fan will dare to remember, and that is that Roy Hodgson had been hired as the manager of Liverpool Football Club off the back of club legend, Rafa Benitez’s sacking by Hicks and Gillet. The first season of the decade started out as what could have potentially been the last, as Liverpool were being threatened with financial liquidation due to the mismanagement by their American owners at the time. Luckily, they were saved from the clutches of death by Fenway Sports Group, who remain our owners to this very day.

Hodgson’s era was summed up in two games in 2010, those being Liverpool losing at home to newly-promoted Blackpool 1-2, as well as losing infamously against League Two side, Northampton Town, who went on to finish a lowly 16th in the 4th tier that season, a result that haunts Liverpool fans to this very day. This was also the time in which Roy Hodgson’s famous quote of Liverpool being “Not too big to go down” was spoke into existence, which best sums up the situation that Liverpool began the decade in.

Image result for hodgson liverpool

2011 – Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson

2011 had not gone much better for the club, as it began with Liverpool’s star player, Fernando Torres being sold to hated rivals, Chelsea for a then-record £50million. Despite Torres being blatantly on the decline at Anfield, it still is a departure that draws trauma from Liverpool fans to this very day knowing what El Nino and the club had done. However, this was followed up with the signing of Luis Suarez, who joined in the same month, as he was signed by new manager Kenny Dalglish, Luis would go on to embody what Torres once brought to us as fans, despite him going on to cause us a lot of turmoil himself later down the line. Jordan Henderson also joined in 2011, and at the time, this was not something to have butterflies about, but looking back on it now, it is definitely one of the major signings by the club this decade as he has gone on to lift the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Club in 2019, with a potential first Premier League title around the corner in 2020. Liverpool finished the 10-11 season in 6th place despite the disgraceful beginning, however that position does flatter them when you consider how far they were behind Arsenal in 4th. Image result for torres chelsea signing

Further on in 2011, Liverpool had one of its more shameful and regrettable points with the club backing the controversial Luis Suarez wearing shirts against Wigan in December of 2011 after the forward was fined and banned for eight games for racially abusing Patrice Evra on the pitch two months prior.

Image result for liverpool suarez shirts

2012 – Cardiff 2012

Liverpool had made it to the League Cup final in 2012 and won their first piece of silverware in seven years at the time, and despite it being ‘only the League Cup’, it felt amazing, as Liverpool ensured themselves as the club with the most amount of League Cup wins in this decade on that night against Cardiff City. An FA Cup final was unfortunately lost not long after in that season, prior to an 8th placed finish in the league, with Kenny Dalglish being sacked as manager as Everton finished above Liverpool for the first time in a blue moon. Soon after, Brendan Rodgers was brought in as manager to replace Kenny Dalglish.

Image result for cardiff 2012

2013 – Coutinho and the Beginning of Suarez’s Problems

Coutinho makes it into this as he shaped the future of this club in more ways than one(more on that later), but he embodied what Rodgers wanted at the time, a creative Messi-esque player to control the creativity of his midfield, and this showed as Liverpool’s second-half of 12-13 was much better than their first-half despite a 7th place finish. Lastly for 2013, Suarez makes the headlines again as he bites Branislav Ivanovic before receiving another hefty ban that followed into the coming season, this was followed up by Suarez requesting to leave the club to join Arsenal prior to the infamous £40mil + £1 bid.  Image result for suarez biting ivanovic

2014 – Title Charge, Iconic Wins and Bottomless Lows

Under FSG and Rodgers, Liverpool had managed to make it big in 2014, ahead of schedule, as they mounted the club’s first title charge in five years. Convincing Suarez to stay whilst having one of the most talented attacking teams in the league led to iconic wins against Arsenal in February 2014, with a 5-1 win at Anfield, that would be used as a BT Sport advert not long after, and of course, one of the most emotional wins of the decade, with that heart racing 3-2 win against title rivals Manchester City in April 2014.

Of course, the moment that seemed destined to shape Liverpool’s decade was *that* slip and Crystanbul, these two moments that have hindered Gerrard’s Liverpool legacy somewhat from an outside perspective as Liverpool’s two decade wait for a first Premier League title dragged on. Despite this, 2014 was the year in which the club had qualified for the Champions League for the first time in five years with a comprehensive 2nd place finish in the league, which was huge for a club that had won the competition five times. However, more Suarez controversy followed as he had bitten for the second time, this time chowing down on Cheillini in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. This led to an 8-month ban from the sport for Suarez, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Liverpool, as he finally got his expected move, six months after signing a long-term deal at Liverpool, Suarez joined Barcelona for £65million, which left the club in a sense of limbo quality wise. Image result for suarez gerrard crying

2015 – Gerrard’s departure, Rodgers’ Sacking & Klopp

Liverpool had followed up a 2nd place finish, with a Summer of unconvincing signings, disastrous results in the following months, which compiled into a disappointing 5th place finish in the league. This was the time in which Liverpool also got absolutely thrashed by Stoke City 6-1 in Steven Gerrard’s final game for the club.

Ah yes, this was also the year the greatest player to ever play for the club bowed out as Gerrard had his farewell game at Anfield in the backend of the 14-15 season, an emotional time for many, me included.

Later in 2015, after another Summer of investment which had not paid off, FSG had sacked Brendan Rodgers, leaving the club in a temporary state of turmoil and confusion once again. However, during this time, the club brought in renowned manager Jurgen Klopp, which for me, was the defining moment of this decade as the German stated ‘We must change, from doubters to believers, now’. Months of inconsistency followed as it became clear this was not a Jurgen Klopp side, despite this, a memorable win that showed what was to come in the years following came with a 1-4 win at the Etihad against Manchester City in the final month of 2015.

Image result for klopp signing

2016 – League Cup & Europa League Final

2016 showed potential for success, but also heartbreak as two finals for Jurgen Klopp in half a season in charge, which were unfortunately lost, showed some hope. One of the greatest Anfield nights, where Liverpool did the unthinkable in a tear gushing comeback against Klopp’s old club Dortmund in the Europa League Quarter Finals, a penalties defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup final, followed by a lowly 8th placed finish, which was overshadowed by a collapse in the Europa League final against Sevilla. Despite the pain, it was clear that more big days like this were to come under Jurgen.

Image result for lovren liverpool v dortmund

2017 – Back in the Big Time

In Klopp’s first full season at Liverpool, he brought the club back where it belonged, the Champions League as the club finished 4th with a memorable 3-0 win against Middlesborough on the final day of the season sealing the club’s qualification to the competition with an iconic strike by then, new signing Wijnaldum and a brilliant free-kick from Coutinho.

In the following season, things were iffy, as Coutinho faked an injury and submitted a transfer request in an attempt to join Barcelona, however, he remained at the club and the fact that Liverpool got absolutely destroyed by Spurs as Dejan Lovren was axed off the pitch in the first-half. This 4-1 thrashing awoke a sleeping giant, as Liverpool would go almost three months unbeaten following it.

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2018 – Coutinho, Virgil and Kyiv

2018 started off with the inevitable as Coutinho left to join Barcelona for £140million, however, those pains were soon soothed as Liverpool flexed their financial muscle for the first time truly in the decade, with a world-record fee for a defender in the signing of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £75million. Liverpool went on to produce an incredible performance in both legs in the Champions League Quarter Finals against Manchester City, with Chamberlain’s Gerrard-esque strike at Anfield. However, this was followed by an unbearable low, as Karius’ blunders undid all of his progress as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final in Ukraine.

This pain was soon forgotten as players that were not consistent enough such as Karius, who had been mentally damaged from his mistakes in the final, and Emre Can, who was refusing to sign a new contract both left the club for Fabinho, and a then, world-record fee for a goalkeeper signing of Alisson Becker, who was known as one of the best goalkeepers on the planet. The funds of Coutinho had funded Liverpool’s rise to becoming one of the best teams on the planet. Liverpool ended the year in contention with Manchester City, miles ahead of the rest of the pack, a far cry from the Liverpool who began the decade.

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2019 – Champions of the World

2019 finished with a record 97 points finish in the league, losing one league game in the process. However, despite this, Liverpool finished second due to Manchester City again. This disappointment did not last long however, as the club completed the greatest comeback at Anfield ever, as they overturned a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona to show Coutinho and Suarez what they were missing, which would go on to conclude to the club winning their 6th Champions League trophy and became European Champions for the first time in 14 years, as Jurgen Klopp got to show his achievements with Liverpool to the world’s eye as he and his side beat Spurs 0-2 in Madrid. 19-20 Began, with Liverpool reigning in more trophies, winning the Super Cup against Chelsea and the Club World Cup against Flamengo, as Liverpool’s redemption ark of the decade had been completed, with the next decade certain to begin better than the last did.

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What Became of Liverpool’s 13/14 Second Place Finishers by 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 2nd 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.

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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.

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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?Image result for Mignolet 2015/16

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 9th. 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 9th every season, and with dwindling performances and disappointing going backwards in finishing 13th 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.Image result for gerrard liverpool goodbye

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.

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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.

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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.

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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 6th 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Image result for sturridge 15/16 villa

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

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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.

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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.

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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 100th 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 9th in 18/19, Aspas got injured for three months, during this time without Aspas Celta had fallen down to 18th 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:

https://www.premierleague.com/players/3404/Martin-Skrtel/stats?co=1&se=42

 

Flanagan:

https://www.premierleague.com/players/4129/Jon-Flanagan/stats

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/9476546/liverpools-jon-flanagan-ruled-out-for-months-after-knee-surgery

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/185620-flanagan-seals-new-liverpool-contract

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/flanagan-captain-liverpool-fc-today-11067815

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/230395-liverpool-confirm-flanagan-joins-burnley-on-loan

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/304212-emre-can-jon-flanagan-liverpool-fc

https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/jon-flanagan-suffers-rangers-blow-16868002

 

Gerrard:

https://www.premierleague.com/players/1575/Steven-Gerrard/overview

http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/la-sp-galaxy-steven-gerrard-20150107-story.html

 

Coutinho:

https://www.premierleague.com/players/4525/Philippe-Coutinho/overview

https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32472834

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/pfa-young-player-year-tottenham-7745910

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15117/10830610/liverpools-philippe-coutinho-is-the-top-scoring-brazilian-in-premier-league-history

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/dec/06/liverpool-spartak-moscow-champions-league-match-report

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/11198411/philippe-coutinho-transfer-to-barcelona-agreed-liverpool-confirm

https://fcbayern.com/en/news/2019/08/press-release-contract-signed-coutinho-completes-move-to-fc-bayern

 

Henderson:

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/170805-henderson-confirmed-as-new-vice-captain

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/188441-henderson-appointed-liverpool-captain

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/10089575/jordan-henderson-reveals-heel-injury-has-no-cure

 

Sterling:

https://www.premierleague.com/players/4316/Raheem-Sterling/stats

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/18/pfa-player-of-the-year-award-shortlist-gerrard-lallana

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/rodgers-raheem-sterling-been-offered-8608794

http://www.espnfc.com/liverpool/story/2381200/brendan-rodgers-slams-raheem-sterlings-advisers-over-interview

https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/33161310

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33497488

 

Sturridge:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/18/pfa-player-of-the-year-award-shortlist-gerrard-lallana

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9286998/pfa-unveils-team-of-the-year

https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32650670

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37771013

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42867615

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/352914-lfc-thank-sturridge-and-moreno-for-reds-contribution

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49031533

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49426271

 

Suarez:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30483708

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/06/barcelona-luis-suarez-lionel-messi-juventus-champions-league-final

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/luis-suarez-scores-first-ever-hat-trick-in-club-world-cup

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2016/04/30/22983522/35-and-counting-suarez-joins-messi-in-elite-club-of-la-ligas

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36293793

https://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/news/2017-2018/match-report-fc-barcelona-2-1-valencia-cf-record-breakers

https://twitter.com/optajose/status/1056593371316346880?s=21

 

Jones:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34651347

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jan/05/australia-and-former-liverpool-keeper-brad-jones-signs-for-dutch-side-nijmegen

 

Agger:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36488982

 

Cissokho:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35135508

http://www.yenimalatyaspor.org.tr/default.asp?ym=haberdet&hid=684%7Ctitle=Yeni

http://antalyam.com/antalyaspor-bu-kez-aly-cissokhonun-pesine-dustu

 

Enrique:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160616145923/http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2016-17/jun/100616-premier-league-clubs-submit-retained-and-released-lists.html

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-liverpool-defender-enrique-finds-11857545

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47942648

 

Aspas:

http://www.thisisanfield.com/2015/06/report-sevilla-sell-iago-aspas-straight-back-to-celta-vigo/

http://www.farodevigo.es/celta-de-vigo/2017/05/22/empate-despedir-berizzo/1683925.html

https://www.sport.es/es/noticias/laliga/asi-esta-pichichi-laliga-2017-2018-6648041

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/apr/01/tears-and-cheers-as-iago-aspas-returns-to-save-celta-vigo-again

https://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/2019/04/17/5cb73329468aeb6b598b45ad.html

Jordan Henderson – An Under-Appreciated Career by Nathan Brennan

Since joining the club in 2011, Jordan Henderson has been a staple in every edition of Liverpool side we have seen. Under 3 managers, and being seen as good enough to be captain under two of those managers, Henderson has amassed 226 appearances at the club and a total of 300 appearances in the Premier League if you add his Sunderland career into the mix, on paper, it would make you wonder why he is so hated and abused. He made his debut for Liverpool against his boyhood club Sunderland, in what was a depressing 1-1 draw to the lesser club. Henderson scored his first goal for the club not long after with a striker against Bolton Wanderers at Anfield a few weeks later. After a pretty lacklustre season, where he was mostly wasted out on the right-hand side of midfield, notably in the game where he won his first and, as of now, the last trophy for Liverpool, when the club beat Cardiff in the 2012 League Cup final, he came off just before the hour-mark in that game after playing poorly on the right of midfield. He later played the full game against Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley, where Liverpool unfortunately lost. Henderson struggled for consistency, especially being played out of position and despite being young at the time, this is where a majority of fans’ distaste for him comes from.

Henderson’s Liverpool career was almost over as he was told by Brendan Rogers the following season that he was free to join Fulham. Henderson has spoken about this and claimed it was devastated to be told so bluntly that he was not needed. However, he decided he would rather fight for his place at the club rather than move down the league, which he does not get enough credit for doing. It was clear this would be an uphill battle In the 12/13 season for Jordan as he started the first 4 Premier League games on the bench without getting off of it, in those games Liverpool had 0 wins, including a 3-0 pummeling on the opening day to West Brom. Henderson did manage to improve his goalscoring output this season, however, scoring 6 goals, three times the amount he managed in his debut season. He also managed to gain most of his appearances this season in a central role, rather than being wasted out wide.

At this point, you would not be blamed for seeing Henderson as a flop or labelling him as “not good enough for the club”, but 13/14 came and Henderson had become a new man. He started all of the first 13 games in the Premier League, and played the entire 90minutes in all of them, in which Liverpool had only lost three times, a significant improvement on starts to past seasons, and this was no coincidence, with Henderson being deployed in a box-to-box role in a midfield that included Coutinho and Gerrard, where Henderson was the energy and winner of the ball in the tiki-taka movement that Rogers wanted to play. Henderson had done it, he had changed around his Liverpool career and become an immovable force in one of the most exciting teams in the league. The season went on and Henderson only did not play 90minutes ONCE before the famous and emotional win against Manchester City, where he got sent off in the final moments for a challenge on Nasri, little did we know in the heat of the moment just how much of an impact Henderson’s absence would have on the remaining games of the season.

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Henderson was suspended for Norwich away, where it went relatively unnoticed of his absence, however, when Chelsea came to town, it was obvious. In a first half where we struggled to maintain any form of energy or press, Liverpool struggled, that was further emphasized when *that* goal happened. Liverpool went on through that game crying out for some energy in the midfield, some initiative, and without Henderson’s box-to-box capabilities, it was futile. Jordan ended the season with 90minutes against Newcastle where we won. This was Henderson’s breakthrough season, he had become a vital cog and the go-to vice-captain in the absence of Steven Gerrard or Daniel Agger.

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14/15 came, and without Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and a squad of inconsistent performers, Henderson was one of the few who seemed consistent. Gerrard was not getting the same level of game-time as the previous season and Henderson was the clear choice for captain in his absence since Agger had been moved on in that previous Summer. Henderson played every game of Liverpool’s Champions League barring the 1-0 loss away to Madrid and once again was hugely significant in the league, despite the team’s inconsistencies. Henderson picked up the first injury of his Liverpool career this season and missed Liverpool’s brief Europa League campaign through this. Henderson established himself as the only leader starting consistently in the squad in this season, with many of his starts, especially in the second-half of the season, included him wearing the captain’s armband.

However, 15/16 came and so did Gerrard’s day to leave the club that adored him so highly, Henderson was now the official captain of Liverpool Football Club, and taking over from Gerrard, it was always going to create controversy that a guy who is from Sunderland, who was almost binned a few seasons previous is taking the armband from the club’s greatest ever captain.

This agenda against Henderson was fuelled even more when he picked up an injury 3 games into the season when he injured his heel, he then suffered a fractured metatarsal straight after and missed 11 straight league games where the side had dropped points way too often and were struggling after another Summer of heavy investment. Jurgen Klopp came in for Rogers during Henderson’s injury absence and did not get to play for the German until a win against 1-0 Swansea. Henderson then had seemingly recovered from his horror show of injuries that had tainted his start to the season and he had become a starter and captain for one of the world’s great managers, Jurgen Klopp. However, disaster struck the captain again as he tore his knee ligament leading up to a game against Stoke, this would ensure that Henderson would not play again for the rest of the season until the final game, which was a depressing 1-1 draw against West Brom.

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This season was the turning point for Liverpool fans, it had been two years since we’d seen Henderson excelling, and despite there being huge positivity about the team under the new manager, Henderson wasn’t included due to him missing the majority of the season through injury. With him remaining captain through all of this, the fans built up an agenda against Henderson and it was back to him being “not good enough”.

Henderson started the 16/17 season being a starter and captain for Klopp, as the club had a decent start to the season, however, when the team did show it’s frailties again in games such as the 2-0 loss to Burnley or the infamous 4-3 against Bournemouth, Henderson was the clear scapegoat for the fans. This hatred was building, to a boil. It didn’t help when Henderson once again had his season cut short when he injured his foot in February, which ended his season. So, as the team progressed under Klopp, Henderson continued to be left out through injury, building and building upon the hatred that the fans were having for him pointlessly.

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Then came 17/18. Henderson was still captain and seemed fit again, the club had an iffy start to the season where we lost 5-0 to City and 4-1 to Spurs, and guess who was the scapegoat whenever the club dropped points again? You guessed it, Henderson(and Lovren admittedly) and when Henderson picked up another injury in December which kept him out until the end of January, it seemed that the fans had finally had enough, saying Henderson is unfit, untrustworthy and mediocre when it came to actual footballing ability. Henderson was hated by almost all of the fanbase, which for a captain to be hated is quite rare.

Despite the club’s run in the Champions League, the midfield was still labelled as a weak point, mainly because of Henderson, despite his leadership and passion throughout that whole campaign in Europe being the best it’s ever been, it was clear that no matter what Henderson did, he was always going to be on the wrong end of the stick in the eyes of the fans, I mean, he leads the team to the Champions League final for the first time in 13 years, and the fans still found a way to complain about him.

Despite a superb season from Henderson, fans were calling for him to be replaced by the incoming Keita and mocking Henderson as “finished” when the news broke of Fabinho’s arrival at the club. Despite these two huge purchases, Henderson has been one of the best performers this season and it is so blatantly obvious how much worse we are when he isn’t in the team, which was clear even earlier in the week against West Ham. He links the team together, stabilises the midfield and squad, he always has.

Henderson is a brilliant footballer and a superb leader who has been the scapegoat of the Liverpool squad ever since he joined the club. It is time we come to our senses and support our captain rather than jumping on fickle bandwagons just because he is not hitting them top bins from 40 yards like Gerrard or spraying it 60 yards across the pitch like Alonso. Henderson is told to play the simple role he plays, so he plays it, he does it well and he always will, because he is a good professional, good guy and most importantly, a good footballer who was treated wrongly due to unfortunate injuries and circumstances throughout his career. And at 28 years of age, there are still many years left in him to perform at the level he does consistently.

Who Should Liverpool Sign To Become Genuine Title Contenders? By Nathan Brennan

It has been over 25 years now since Liverpool last won a title, and coming into Klopp’s third full season, Liverpool should be starting to push on, especially considering when he first joined he gave the cocky comment of us having won “one Premier League title in this time” in reference to his first four years in charge. So, for Klopp to achieve this, where should he improve his side?

Between The Sticks – Liverpool for years now, ever since the tail end of Reina’s Liverpool career, have been struggling to find a long-term goalkeeping option to stand between the sticks on a consistent basis. Throughout this time, we have had Simon Mignolet as the most recognisable number one keeper, with Loris Karius being the only genuine threat to the Belgian’s Liverpool career.

For years Liverpool would ignore Mignolet’s errors and inconsistencies in goal, as we strengthened in other areas of our squad, despite it being plainly obvious that goalkeeper is a clear area in which Liverpool needed to massively invest in.

Liverpool brought in Loris Karius in the Summer of 2016, and despite his shaky start to his Liverpool career, he has now dumped Mignolet out of the number one starting position and looks to be improving more and more as the games go by.

So do Liverpool need a world-class goalkeeper A.S.A.P this Summer? I do not think so, as long as Karius continues to prove his doubters wrong. However, if Mignolet does leave, I think it would be obvious that a second-choice keeper would have to come in to give Karius the competition he needs. Some options for this second option in goal would be :

Alban Lafont – The young 19-year-old keeper has broken through into the Toulouse first-team in recent seasons, having made 30 appearances this season for the French side, and although he would most likely not be ready to be a guaranteed starter at a club as big as Liverpool, I feel a young, talented back-up option in Alban Lafont would be a fantastic investment.

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Kevin Trapp – A German keeper who joined PSG with great expectations, having failed to get the game time at the French side, making only 10 competitive appearances this season, I’m sure coming into the prime of his career at 27 years of age, he would be open to getting a second chance at a big team like Liverpool.Image result for kevin trapp7

In The Centre Of Defence

Another area of Liverpool’s woes in recent history has been their options at centre-back, and despite bringing in Klopp’s number one target, van Dijk for £75million from Southampton in the January window, I don’t think the Reds should be done there when it comes to options at centre-back. I think Lovren needs to be moved on, proving time and time again that he clearly doesn’t have what it takes to be a consistently good defender. Which would leave us with Matip and van Dijk as the only real clear options to start at the back on a consistent basis. This would mean Liverpool would most definitely have to bring in one, if not two other options in central defence.

– Toby Alderweireld
– Jamaal Lascelles
– Maxime Le Marchand

Toby Alderweireld does seem like a bit of an extreme stretch but with just a year left on his contract at Spurs going into the next season, and rumours circulating that he won’t be tempted into renewing his deal at the London club, it wouldn’t be a complete fantasy for several Premier League clubs to come sniffing for the Belgian centre-half.

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Jamaal Lascelles has been solid at the back this season for Newcastle, and despite him being more of a back-up option if he were to come to Liverpool in the Summer, I think he’d be a decent option to have. A shining diamond in a poor Newcastle side, Lascelles still has his best years to come and is captaining a huge club like Newcastle already in his career despite only being there for a few seasons. I mean, if Rafa Benitez instantly appoints you to captain then you know you’re doing something right, surely?

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Maxime Le Marchand, a name I’m sure not many would have thrown into a hat full of names that could be coming into Liverpool this Summer, but Le Marchand has been solid at the back for Nice, not so much this season, as Nice’s standards have dropped. But, last season, Le Marchand was a key figure in a solid Nice backline as he helped the club qualify for the play-off stages of the Champions League, a huge achievement for a club of Nice’s stature. Le Marchand is by no means young, turning 29 within the next year, so he isn’t the long-term solution but as a backup option, he could be good for Liverpool to have within their ranks.

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Defensive Midfield –For years Liverpool has lacked a ball-winning midfielder or a straight-up defensive midfielder, someone who is natural to that role at the least. The last of these ilks were Xabi Alonso and Lucas Leiva, Alonso who left to join Real Madrid and Lucas who was sold to Lazio last Summer, where he is now flourishing, although Lucas had several restrictions about his play. Liverpool needs a more smooth, silky footballer who is also capable of doing the dirty work, especially if Emre Can is to leave on a free transfer this Summer, which is looking more and more the case.

– Jorginho
– Wylan Cyprien
– Wilfred Ndidi

Liverpool have been linked with several defensive midfield options in recent weeks, Jorginho and Ndidi being the most popular of the bunch, Jorginho, who plays his football for Napoli and has not yet committed to either of his eligible countries, Italy or Brazil, is a very capable footballer, who is very well suited to a high pressing play and can calmly dictate the tempo of midfield, however, he would be incredibly expensive, especially if he were to commit to Brazil for this Summers World Cup and play well within the tournament. Image result for jorginho napoli

Wylan Cyprien, a name Liverpool haven’t been linked with as of yet, and not an option that many people discuss when talking about potential incomings at Anfield especially when it comes to dynamic midfielders in Nice *cough* Seri *cough*. However, he has been hindered with injuries at a young age, having returned from a knee injury which kept him out of action for Nice for 10 months, where he scored a magnificent free-kick upon his return. But, before his injury, he had scored 8 goals in 29 games for Nice as they were(at the time) in contention for the Ligue 1 title. Wylan can play in an 8, in the 10 roles and has even featured in wide positions on rare occasions for Nice in the past, and at just 23 years of age, his best years are certainly ahead of him.

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Wilfred Ndidi, another African is just what Liverpool fans would love right about now given how much of a success the last African brought into the club has been. Ndidi has not been a world-beater at Leicester, but he has all the components needed to become one of the best box to box or defensive midfielders in the world if utilised and played within a team that can help him reach his full potential. Within an average Leicester team, Ndidi has still managed to look a star. However, given that Leicester will most likely lose Riyad Mahrez this Summer, it will be very difficult to pry another of their top talents away from them in the same transfer window, especially if Ndidi were to put his name on the map for Nigeria at Russia 2018.

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Overall – I don’t think Liverpool need to improve in many areas, especially upfront if we can manage to keep Salah, Mane and Firmino fit for next season, all three could rotate in
and out of each other’s positions, so I don’t necessarily think it is urgent for Liverpool to sign attacking reinforcements this Summer, although I can also understand why some of our fans would think we do. I think Liverpool’s main focus should be on their back five and pumping some proper quality into our lacklustre midfield.

If these steps are taken and Liverpool get the men who can push this side onwards, along with the addition of Naby Keita from Leipzig, then I genuinely think we could contend for the title next season, and maybe win it within the near future if we can
somehow manage to build something special and stop our best players from wanting to leave.