If today’s news is anything to go by, we’re supposed to listen to the words of Adrian Durham – the talkSPORT broadcaster who once incurred the on-air wrath of Jamie Carragher after calling the Liverpool legend a “bottler” when he considered his retirement from England duty back in 2007.
According to Mr. Durham’s opinion, relayed on talkSPORT: “Liverpool, let’s face it, they are totally and utterly dependent and reliant on their front three.
“And by the time the season starts they’re going to be knackered already.
“Look at who they’ve got in reserve. When Man City bring in [Leroy] Sane and [Riyad] Mahrez, is that the same as Liverpool bringing in [Divock] Origi and [Xherdan] Shaqiri? No!”
Perhaps we do rely on our world-class front three for goals, but look where it’s got us! Two of them were awarded the Golden Boot in the Premier League and few sides can boast a forward line as majestically successful as ours.
He then utterly deflates his point by making the admission that the Reds lifted a sixth European Cup – thanks in no small part to a peerless backline – while making an allusion to our 97-point finish that saw us lose out to Manchester City by a single point.
In Alisson, we have arguably the world’s best goalkeeper, Virgial van Dijk – a Balon d’Or contender at centre-back – two of the world’s best full-backs on current form, and a tireless midfield that now filled with Champions League winners.
If we rely on anything – in general – it’s the whole team working together to enact Klopp’s game plan.
“Liverpool were brilliant last season and they deserved the Champions League, but they need to keep improving to give themselves the best chance of the Premier League title.
“Harry Wilson and Ryan Kent may deliver, but nobody can definitely say they will – it’s a risk. City have more quality to call on.”
They are also the subject of four separate investigations conducted by the Premier League, Uefa, Fifa and the Football Association. But we’ll just ignore that, shall we?
Durham then goes on to criticise Klopp, not just for raising a valid concern over fixture congestion and the health of his players, but for not signing off blank cheques for some quite frankly improbable transfer deals.
“Jurgen Klopp is moaning about the schedule, but that won’t ease the problems. What will ease the problems is going out and signing a couple of really good players who can play in those positions.
“Why aren’t they in for Zaha or Bale? Why has [Nabil] Fekir gone to Spain for just £18m?
“They’ve lost to Sevilla and Dortmund in pre-season, and last year they had a great pre-season beating City, walloping Man United and Barcelona.
“By moaning about the schedule, is Klopp trying to wind in the expectations of fans a little bit?”
The pre-season jibe, especially, is extremely annoying. Since when did it become the be all and all of a club’s upcoming campaign?
We lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund in last summer’s US tour and then won the Champions League. Should we then infer that because we lost to them again this time round, No. 7 is in the bag? Ludicrous.
It’s a cliché, but as Reds fans we’re going to have to get used to comments such as Durham’s flying our way. We’re champions of Europe and by far the most likely contenders to snatch the Premier League crown from City.
For whatever reasons they might have, even beyond our rivals, there exist those who would curse all our achievements and seek to bring us down.
But the fact of the matter is that the Reds will be right back at it come the start of the season, and signings or no signings, this star-studded, resilient, breathtaking side will be up for it, picking out barbs and needles and getting on with the business at hand.