So, after 80 days of part celebrating, and part crystal balling following that glorious 5-1 win in the Anfield sunshine against Spurs on April 28, the English Premier League is back, and Liverpool are once in a position largely foreign to this fanbase for most of the past 3 decades, that’s right, they are the hunted once again! The fluff of pre-season has been and gone, and as the endless (and I mean endless) whispers, rumours and “in the know” transfer scenarios continue to bubble away in the background, the real stuff is about to get underway.
For this particular Liverpool fan, title number 20 will always have a special place in my heart, the chance to finally, at the age of 40, see my heroes in the flesh, first at Selhurst Park in a 1-0 win over Palace, then to Anfield, taking my seat in the historic Kop, to see us triumph 2-1 against Chelsea…with a Jones scoring the winner no less! And then finally, back at Anfield against Brighton, where arguably our worst hour of football was followed by 10 minutes of our best, overturning a deficit to win 2-1 and a trademark Mo Salah in from the right, top of the box left footed screamer to seal the 3 points!
And boy, if that was full on, what a European summer it has been for the men from Liverpool!
We’ve seen fan favourites leave, and yes, I’ll start with Trent. You can spare me the circumstances around his move, the boy became a man in Red and won it all, which in time will be remembered with much more fondness I have no doubt. Need I remind you of “corner taken quickly”? No, I didn’t think so. We’ve seen short term players who’ve left indelible marks on our football club pursue new challenges, our Cups keeping hero in Caoimhin Kelleher, and then the always energetic Luis Diaz, a potential future star in Jarell Quansah and the much maligned, but man for a big moment when it was needed, Darwin Nunez.
We have stood back, shed tear after tear of sadness and sorrow, as we’ve watched our club navigate it’s way through the unspeakable tragedy that was the loss of our Number 20, and the wide spread love and respect shown to Liverpool from all four corners of the football globe in it’s aftermath. How this impact will be felt is something we will only realise with the benefit of hindsight in years to come, but for now, all we can do is continue to honour Diogo and his beautiful family by playing football our way, the Liverpool way. Diogo Jota, may YNWA. You took us to 20, you put us back on our perch!
Then of course there have been the new arrivals. At the time of penning this think piece, young rising star defender Giovanni Leoni looks locked in coming across from Parma, the (rumoured) pursuit of both Toon striker Alexander Isak and Palace centre back Marc Guehi, amongst others, rolls on, but for the sake of timeliness, and knowing what we know for sure, let’s look ahead, by looking back, then turning our sharp focus to Bournemouth this weekend (kick-off at 5:00am Saturday Morning AEST for those following at home) with what and who we have, how it might take shape, and who stands in our way as our title defence commences.
So. Kerkez, Frimpong, Ekitike, Wirtz. Incredible to think with these four high calibre and, in the case of Ekitike, still emerging talent putting pen to paper that there are still Liverpool fans demanding more, but this is the climate we find ourselves in. Squads win titles and trophies, not best XI’s. History will show you that to be the case every single time.
What takeaways do we have from pre-season friendlies games in Asia, and then closer to home as we kicked off the dust and Slot and his team started formulating a plan to do it all again.
What of the Manager by the way? No soft, friendly gentle welcome to the big league will be forthcoming this season, with his dream introduction to English Football now a footnote in history. Do managers get the second season blues? It’s still not entirely his squad, but boy, his fingerpints are all over it now, after having the purse strings tightened during his first Summer shopping window.
Which begs us now to ask, has the chequebook been put away? Do we need another CB, another striker? As always, the questions should be, do we need to do more smart business, not get bullied into paying overs for a player. The answer, as always is yes.
And as we begin with any proposed “fallout” if you will from the Community Shield penalty shootout defeat to Palace, should you buy into it?
Were there concerns at the back? Sure. Perhaps. Virgil is another year older, and one horrific knee injury aside, has been as durable as he has been impassable. But should he, or the more injury prone Ibrahima Konate find themselves in the medical room for an extended period though the season, how do we adapt, where is the cover? That’s why I think, despite the wrangling over the $ amount at present, Liverpool will pull out all the stops to sign Guehi. It’s just a matter of when, and for mine, is a bigger priority than Isak. For now.
Was a lack of midfield depth potentially exposed, time will tell. We looked leaky at times, and a little easy to play against through the middle, but Gravenberch, when available, shores that up. Wirtz and Kerkez are still finding their groove, and their place in the system, and that may not bear its full fruit until October. They key is to scrounge out enough good results from now until then, and not give the title rivals any sort of a head start.
Was it a sign of a unit that could be exposed, and have concerning flaws? Or, was it simply yet another display of a newly constructed squad, that with barely 3 games under their belt and a month worth of training, probably wont be the finished product for a little while yet? That’s where my belief tends to be, but hey, football is all about opinions, and mine is just one of many.
Up front has seen the most upheaval, but boy, from the glimpses we’ve seen of him in red (and white…how good are those new Adidas strips by the way. Take my money!!) Hugo Ekitike looks special. A genuine 20+ goal a season player, who, with creative geniuses like Salah and Wirtz supplying opportunities should, and I emphasise should, enjoy life as our number 9.
Through the pre-season we also saw flashes of the emerging and exciting young talent in Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha, who we hope will dazzle Reds fan with their abilities in seasons to come. We’ve seen the new faces have their moments, and we’ve seen, for the most part, a squad with a clean bill of health, which is always a positive on the eve of a new campaign.
Of course, the usual suspects will be there to test Liverpool.
Arsenal, always the bridesmaid it seems, once again looking to go one better under Mikel Arteta, and an aggressive participant in the transfer market as well. Can you trust a side that either drew or lost almost half its matches last season though? I’m not convinced. Pep and City are the ones for me though, wanting to show the world that last season was a blip, not the start of a slide. Rodri back, Haaland an ever-present threat on the ground and in the air, and look, it’s City. They won’t be that bad again. Surely?
Chelsea, who knows? I’m not even sure if Blues fans do. Will there be a bolter emerge from the pack to create tremors and take points from the Big 4, much like Nottingham Forrest did for large parts of the previous campaign. Will fallen giants from yesteryear in Manchester United ever rediscover their swagger, or, like Spurs, remain in a sort of footballing purgatory.
This is why we love the Premier League at this time of the year.
Clean slates. Everyone starts level.
Hope, dreams, expectations, shock, resignation, anticipation. Ultimate joy, or agonising despair.
As for our season opener against Bournemouth, well, expect an emotionally charged evening at Anfield. The tributes to Diogo, the reveal of Leoni, and a fascinating wait to see what XI Slot settles on from kick off. Do all the new boys start? Or will the veteran Andy Robertson get the nod in the back 4? With no Gravenberch due to suspension, this means we probably see Szoboszlai start a touch deeper to assist our back 4. But with ball possession expected to be heavily weighed in our favour, there should be chances a plenty…oh, and we will all be on “Mo once again open his account on the opening day”’ watch I’m certain. History suggests, it’s a safe bet! Here’s hoping. But one things for certain, the Cherries will be up for it and would love nothing more than to reign on the Champions parade. So let’s hope our boys are ready!
Bring on the next 38 Matchweeks of twists, turns, dramas…oh, and Title Number 21.
Writer: Benny Jones
