Jamie Carragher reckons Liverpool’s pursuit of title glory under Jurgen Klopp is some way off, due to a squad that simply can’t compete with our rivals.
Around Christmas time, it looked to all the world that we were very much in the reckoning, but a miserable January and inconsistent form ever since has seen paid to that.
Now, we’re battling for top four, and it’s going to be touch and go considering Arsenal and Manchester United will go level with us if they win their games in hand…
According to Carra, we couldn’t expect to win the Premier League due to our budget, which is dwarfed by United’s, City’s and Chelsea’s – but under Klopp – have time to eventually build a squad which could.
“I think Liverpool have got the sixth-best squad in the league so to be in the top four would be a very good season,” he told FourFourTwo.
“At the moment, I don’t think they’ve got enough to challenge for the league. You saw the reasons why they fell away in the middle of the season – they didn’t have reinforcements, especially when Sadio Mane was gone for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“It’s very difficult; they don’t have the revenue to compete with the others, it will be a building process. It won’t be a case of splashing the cash and going for the league next season. I think it will have to be a gradual improvement similar to when I was playing under Houllier and Benitez, when we built to a title challenge. We never quite pulled it off, but we came very close on a couple of occasions.
“If Liverpool can get into the top four for three or four years on the bounce, then that would be a major achievement. You cement your position in there and then maybe think, ‘OK, let’s go for the title’.
“Klopp has signed a contract for five or six years and I’m sure each year he’d be looking for progression, so maybe after another good two or three years Liverpool should have a great chance.
“But you can have plans – other teams have got plans as well. I think with Klopp and Liverpool it’s more of a building process than just splashing the cash.”
In many ways, Carra is right. Benitez moulded a team which eventually included Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres, which somehow missed out in 2008/09. Houllier’s Liverpool came 2nd in 2001/02 and featured, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Dietmar Hamann and co…
Klopp has a negative transfer spend since arriving on English shores, but the likes of Sadio Mane, Joel Matip and Gini Wijnaldum prove he knows what he’s doing when he does decide to purchase.
Expect a number of top quality arrivals this time around, which will hopefully by tempted to the club by the prospect of Champions League football.