Steven Caulker has looked back on the short spell he had at Liverpool during the second half of the 2015/16 campaign and has explained how he disagreed with one decision Jurgen Klopp made during his time at the club.
The 31-year-old surprisingly joined the Reds on loan from Queens Park Rangers in January of 2016 but made just three appearances for the Anfield outfit.
Two of those appearances came as a late substitute where he was brought on as a makeshift striker while he started one game in his natural central defensive position before picking up a back injury which would spell the end to his chances in a red shirt.
“Things did change for two months. I’ve gone there, it’s the chance of a lifetime, I was white-knuckling it,” Caulker said on the Under The Cosh podcast (as quoted by the Liverpool Echo).
“I didn’t know how to deal with my addiction (drink/gambling), I was somehow dealing with it because I wanted the opportunity. But the opportunity never came. I had a couple of run outs up-front, played one game as centre-halve, did alright, against West Ham.
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“We then had the cup replay against West Ham and I’d done my back in, horrible spasms, I couldn’t get rid of it. The morning of the game I’ve had to tell him I can’t play. I was due to start but I said I actually can’t play. I was devastated, and from that moment on he wrote me off. I think he wrote me off as one of those guys who didn’t want to play or who was scared to play. It couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“That was it, my moment was gone. As soon as that went – and I felt it go because then he started putting me in the U23s to play every week – I was like ‘nah that’s not on.’ You see it all the time, the manager just goes ‘you’re not for me, out you go, get down with the kids.’”
It’s never nice to hear that a player hasn’t enjoyed their time at the club but when he was brought to Anfield it was certainly a move that raised a few eyebrows.
It would be interesting to hear Klopp’s view on the situation after he decided to bring a player to the club but never really use them.
Caulker is now plying his trade at Wigan Athletic where he’ll be looking to help keep the Latics in the Championship despite them currently finding themselves four points from safety with just two games remaining.