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Whether you’re a Liverpool fan or not, it’s hard to disagree that 2017 has been a pretty good year for the Reds. Jurgen Klopp’s men finished 4th in the 2016/17 Premier League table, booking their ticket back into the Champions League, and 2017/18 has started off pretty well for them too.
They currently sit 6th in the league table – although with a win this weekend they’ll go up to 4th – and they won their Champions League group at a canter – scoring 23 goals in the process – and have a favourable draw against Porto in the round of 16. And their record signing Mohamed Salah has been a huge hit, scoring goals for fun.
That doesn’t mean that Liverpool haven’t made some mistakes, though – mistakes that will certainly cost them the league title this season and could even cost them a spot in the Champions League for 2018/19 given how competitive the Premier League is. Here are five key errors they made in 2017.
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#1 Missing out on Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool weren’t the loudest club in the upper levels of the Premier League in the summer of 2017. While Manchester United splashed out millions to bring in Romelu Lukaku from Everton and Nemanja Matic from Chelsea, and both Chelsea and Manchester City spent hundreds of millions on strengthening their squads, Liverpool only spent around £80m on just four players – striker Dominic Solanke, forward Mohamed Salah, left-back Andy Robertson and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Of course, though, a very big target got away. It was well-publicised that Jurgen Klopp attempted to sign central defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton, after the Dutchman had become one of the highest rated defenders in the Premier League in a pair of stellar seasons for the Saints. Despite Klopp submitting a bid for the player and van Dijk himself handing in a transfer request, Southampton stood firm – not only turning down any bid, but reporting Liverpool to the FA for making an illegal approach.
And so Liverpool missed out on their man. But did it really have to be that way? Well, probably not. As much as it’s painful for fans of smaller teams to admit, money at this stage is no object for any Premier League giant in the Champions League, and realistically Liverpool could’ve paid the £70m that Southampton were apparently demanding for van Dijk. If they’d done that, and had the Dutchman at the centre of their defence instead of Ragnar Klavan or Dejan Lovren, who knows where they could be sitting in the table now? By being tight with their money, Liverpool made a tremendous error.
#2 The sale of Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace
On the face of it, the sale of Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace made all the sense in the world. The French defender’s face had never quite fit well with Klopp since his suspension for a positive test for a banned substance in 2015/16, and after he was sent home during Liverpool’s pre-season tour in 2016, it was clear his days were numbered. And so he was sent on loan to Crystal Palace, where he performed excellently over the three months he was there, becoming a crowd favourite and helping the club to avoid relegation.
Liverpool also received a hefty fee of £24m for the Frenchman. But realistically, are they any better off without him? Sure, Klopp might not have liked his attitude, but particularly after missing out on Virgil van Dijk, it’s clear that Liverpool are crying out for a top-class central defender, and they may have had the man who fit that bill already on their books in the form of Sakho. He’s essentially been an ever-present since his move to Palace, under three different managers, and while the club have struggled he’s generally performed well.
Liverpool meanwhile have leaked 20 league goals thus far – level with Arsenal but far more than any other team currently in the top six. They’ve only lost two games, but those defeats were thumpings at the hands of Tottenham and Man City, and Liverpool’s defence has looked vulnerable in almost every fixture, with all three of their central defenders – Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan – coming under criticism.
Had Klopp been able to bury the hatchet with Sakho, then perhaps Liverpool’s defence would look far stronger right now – even without Van Dijk.
#3 Spending so much money on Oxlade-Chamberlain
Of the £80m Liverpool spent in the summer of 2017, more than half went on the purchase of forward Mohamed Salah, and only an insane man would claim he’s been anything less than a huge hit – he’s scored a crazy 19 goals already in all competitions and is a potential frontrunner for Player of the Season thus far. But £35m of that £80m went on bringing in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and while his form has gotten better as of late, it’s hard to justify such a huge transfer fee.
Firstly, did Liverpool actually need him? Their roster of wide forwards – the position Chamberlain started his career with Arsenal - is already probably the best in the Premier League – Salah, plus Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane. Chamberlain wants to be seen as a central midfielder, but Liverpool didn’t really need him there either when you consider they have Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson, and his attempts at becoming a central midfielder have looked disastrous when he’s played there for England.
Thus far, Chamberlain has started just 4 Premier League games – and for a player who cost such a huge amount of money that simply isn’t good enough. Basically, it’s tricky to understand Klopp’s mindset when it comes to signing the England international. Liverpool fans would have to question why he spent the money on Chamberlain and didn’t hold onto it and simply bid more for van Dijk, a player his team actually needed.
#4 The failure to sign a top-class goalkeeper
For all his failings, 2017 will end with Simon Mignolet still remaining Liverpool’s first choice goalkeeper. In fact, the summer of 2017 didn’t really see them even linked with a replacement for the Belgian. It was somewhat surprising given Jurgen Klopp appeared to be losing faith with him in late 2016, dropping him in favour of Loris Karius. 2017 saw him return to the starting line-up though, and to be fair to him he’s started the season decently.
September, for instance, saw him save a club-record 8th penalty in a 3-2 victory over Leicester City, and he’s started 15 of 17 Premier League games thus far. But is he really the right man for the job between Liverpool’s sticks? It’s hard to really make an argument that he’s a genuinely world-class goalkeeper – not like some of the others in the Premier League. Take a look at Liverpool’s closest rivals, for example.
Manchester United have David de Gea; Tottenham, Hugo Lloris; Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois; Arsenal, Petr Cech. The largely untested Ederson keeps goal for Manchester City, but thus far he’s proven to be a strong signing. And it’s not like potentially great keepers weren’t available in the summer – Liverpool’s city rivals Everton signed the highly-rated Jordan Pickford, for example, and Jack Butland remains at the far smaller Stoke City.
Alex Ferguson once famously stated that a great keeper is worth 15 points a season – and Liverpool not finding one and missing out on those points is a big mistake they made in 2017.
#5 Sticking with Jordan Henderson as captain
Once upon a time – back in 2013/14 – Jordan Henderson was seen as a potentially great Liverpool midfielder, and the possible heir to the throne about to be vacated by the legendary Steven Gerrard. And so it made sense to crown him the new club captain when Gerrard departed in the summer of 2015. But in 2017, is he still the right man for the job? This season thus far would probably suggest the answer is no, and Klopp keeping faith in him is a mistake.
Firstly, there’s the question of exactly what he appears to do in Liverpool’s midfield. He isn’t the strongest creative player they have – that title firmly belongs to Philippe Coutinho. And as a holding midfielder, he simply isn’t as effective as Emre Can or Georginio Wijnaldum. Nobody would question Henderson’s effort on the pitch – few players cover as much ground as he does, but in a team chasing Champions League and Premier League glory it simply isn’t good enough to have a player who wastes possession with so many misplaced long passes.
The issue is that he’s been left as club captain despite clearly no longer being the best man for the job. Klopp has shown he’s not afraid to leave Henderson out of his starting line-up – he missed the key Champions League fixture against Spartak Moscow a couple of weeks ago despite being fit – but as captain, he’ll always remain a forefront of the squad – even if he doesn’t deserve to be. If Klopp does anything in 2018, it probably needs to involve choosing a new captain, as Henderson, unfortunately, isn’t up to the job.
