So the dust is settling on the 2017 summer transfer window and we can finally look ahead to the season properly, without having to talk about transfer sagas and players with ???back problems’. It’s quite a freeing feeling, really.What is also means is that we can start assessing what we hope to achieve from the season. We have European football back in our lives and that means we’ll be competing in 4 competitions this season, and in most cases playing 2 games per week. There have been questions asked since the closing of the transfer window regarding squad depth/injury concern etc. I’m going to talk in a much more hypothetical sense, i.e. assuming everybody is fully fit, what is this current Liverpool squad capable of achieving this season? The answer is perhaps not as straightforward as we’d like it to be. It’s been the case with Liverpool for years that we seem to either over or underachieve based on the squad strength we thought we had. In 2013/14 no one expected us to be competing for the title, and the season after, when we arguably had more strength in depth (no Luis Suarez, mind), we crumbled and failed to secure a top 4 finish.What’s important about this season is that we don’t go backwards. The season is about progress. Again, looking back at 2013/14, the last time we qualified for the Champions League, we did unfortunately go backwards in the 2014/15 season. I feel that may not be the case this time around, given that we’ve kept hold of all our major assets and recruited strongly in important areas. Whether the circumstances of not buying a centre-back will bite us on the arse remains to be seen, but the defence is a worry going into the coming months. In terms of what they’re capable of, we’ve not seen much evidence to suggest that this defence, as it stands, are capable of maintaining a title challenge for an entire season, or even long periods. It was all going rather well last season until the turn of the calendar year, and from there it crumbled. We had defensive shockers in games vs Bournemouth, Palace, Swansea, all games against teams we should have it in our locker to beat. Having the upper hand against those sorts of sides this season will be a good demonstration of progress for the team. If we could finally shake off the issues we’ve had against them for so long, it would be nothing short of a miracle. The difference is at the moment that we have genuine match-winners for games like that, that can produce a moment of inspiration to claim a result. The Mané winner vs Palace last month was a good example of this. He had a chance, he took it. We won the game.So let’s go through every competition individually. We’ll start with the biggie, the Premier League. We’ve taken 7 points from our opening 3 fixtures, with only poor set-piece defending vs Watford costing us a perfect record so far. Despite that, we are better off this season after 3 games than we were last season, with a draw against Watford still being better than a loss against Burnley. Last season we were unbeaten against teams in the top 7 and when it comes to maintaining that unbeaten record, so far so good given the result versus Arsenal. I think the squad this season is a capable of another top 4 finish. The reason for that is very simple, we finished there last season, and all we’ve done is improve the squad. On paper, a Champions League spot for the second successive season should be within reach. I think that with the addition of Mo Salah, a very good player who carries the same threat that Mané does, we have the tools to go forward and product a title challenge this season. Of course, I’m working on the basis that everyone is kept fit. But if we do any worse than we did last season given that we sold no one of real significance, there’ll be questions asked. My prediction? Another 4th place finish. I think the squad is capable of higher but the congestion of games will once again see us drop silly points in silly games. There might be talk about the title at some stages, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to mount a proper title challenge this season, sorry folks.And with that, let’s move onto the Champions League. I think we all agree that given the group we’ve been drawn, getting into the round of 16 is a must. But from there, what can we hope for? Bizarrely, I think it’s possible the Champions League is the cup competition we get furthest in this season.
No, that’s not me saying we’ll win it, or get to the final, I’m just saying that I think we could surprise ourselves. Why? Because look at our record against teams who come out to win football games against us during our time under Klopp. We don’t lose. It’s the games against teams that park the bus where we struggle. If we get out of the group stage, anything is possible (until you get drawn against Real Madrid). My prediction: I think a quarter-final is more than possible. If I’m being SUPER optimistic (and I will, since I’m in a good mood), maybe even a semi-final if we keep players fit and the draw is relatively kind to us.FA Cup next. This is one I certainly think we should also be aiming to have a run in. However, Klopp didn’t seem to rate it last year even when we had no European competition to be playing a part in. I think it’s possible that once again he could ???sacrifice’ the domestic cups unless we start winning and start getting closer to finals. When the FA Cup begins it’s always around the time you have a very congested fixture list so I think it’ll be one of those situations where, if we get towards Wembley, we’ll start taking it seriously, but if we go out in the third round, no one will be too upset. Hopefully in January we will have one or two bigger fish to fry that we’ll be keeping an eye on, and we’re not in a situation where our whole season lives and dies with the FA Cup. On the assumption that we do have other things to play for (ie. Not out of Europe and in contention for top 4), I think we’ll head out of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals against someone like a Southampton or Bournemouth.And finally, the Carling- I mean Capital One- I mean Carabao Cup, or whatever the FUCK it’s actually called. It’s a competition that obviously runs earlier on in the season, for the most part pre-Christmas. Since we’re a European club this season, we’ve joined the competition in the 3rd round, a round after the rest of the English league clubs. We’ve drawn Leicester away, which is probably less than ideal. It’s a competition that fans struggle to get excited about anyway, and when we’re drawn away at a ground we don’t have a great record at, it doesn’t help. My prediction for the ???League Cup’ this year is actually that we’ll go through against Leicester but go out in the following round. I don’t think we’ll be up for this trophy at all this season because of the European games we have to play midweek before Christmas too.So, the question is, do you see that as a successful season? I think for the most part it is, but it all depends on Jurgen Klopp’s priorities, and whether fans agree with them. Part of me feels that perhaps a lot of energy this season should be devoted to winning any trophy we can. Our last League Cup win in 2012 is fading further into the back of our memories. Pretty much the whole of the team who played for us that day against Cardiff no longer do, and let’s be honest, it had to go to penalties so it was a bit of a crap win. If Klopp doesn’t necessarily see a trophy as his top priority, and would prefer a top 4 finish in the league and a strong Champions League run, I have indeed described a successful season, but for now, all we can do is predict, wait, and see. By Ben Kelly
