Michael Owen has expressed his dismay at calls for Jurgen Klopp to rebuild his Liverpool team this season.
Despite winning all of their last five games the Reds have struggled for consistency this term and will end the campaign without any silverware despite being just two games away from completing a glorious quadruple last season.
There’s no denying that fresh faces are needed to ensure we’re competing on all four fronts again next term but ex-Red Owen doesn’t believe Liverpool’s problems are as bad as many are making out.
“I have been screaming at the television and I have been looking at social media for so long now and it drives me insane,” he told Premier League Productions (as quoted by the Liverpool Echo).
“This team months ago, they had won the League Cup, they won the FA Cup, they were the better team in the Champions League and they had won the league with about 20 minutes to go on the last day of the season. They were minutes, and one or two games, away from being one of the most decorated team of all time and then a few months later, just because there have been a few bad performances and it has been a rocky season… ‘Rip everything up’.
“What do you want to rip up here? Go and get another goalkeeper? They have got the best goalkeeper in the world. They have got the best centre-half in the world and they have two of the best full-backs in the world. This club has the manager, the players, the board, the fans and everything. We have seen sustained success for years and years and do you know how long it takes to get into a position like that? It’s virtually impossible. Look at Tottenham, look at Manchester United and all these clubs trying to get where Liverpool have been for the last ten years.”
We understand where Owen is coming from but plenty of our performances this season have made it clear that fresh legs are needed in the squad and especially in midfield.
The core of our team may still be in good shape but some energy and dynamism in the middle of the park certainly wouldn’t go amiss next term.
We appear to have finally found consistency in recent weeks which means we have a slight chance of snatching a top four finish with just four games remaining but there’s no denying that this campaign has been a woeful one – especially compared to last season.
Some decent business needs to be completed in the transfer market this summer to ensure we’re back competing at the very top this time next year.