The Liverpool Offside - The Liverpool Offside 2017-18 Season ReviewZeppeline, Trinken, & Pink Badeshortshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51345/ltos-fav.png2018-06-01T11:45:17+01:00http://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/rss/stream/171689932018-06-01T11:45:17+01:002018-06-01T11:45:17+01:00The Liverpool Offside Season Review, Part 5: Expectations for 2018-19
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<img alt="Real Madrid v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Final" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ccIf-X4fDknF8XK_DD_pHyvQ1nQ=/0x0:4500x3000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59919417/963310044.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>In the final part of our season review, the TLO staff look forward to what we can expect next season.</p> <h2 id="ZXIx5A"><strong>Part 5: Expectations for 2018-19</strong></h2>
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<p id="P0vlmf">A top four finish and silverware was the minimum target for most in 2017-18, and while <a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/">Liverpool</a> didn’t win a trophy, a <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> final appearance—as disappointing as the result was—surely more than makes up for that. Are the expectations for next year, Klopp’s fourth at the club after his third summer in charge, the same or are they higher?</p>
<h2 id="oVVbZ0"><strong>Noel</strong></h2>
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<p id="dk69Oz">I don’t think a title challenge is an unfair expectation, assuming they get things right this summer in the transfer market—and getting things right in the transfer market this summer seems like it’s a fair expectation, too. They might not win it. I mean, City are City, but for all the teams around them that will strengthen, some will stumble or make mistakes. Already you’ve got <a href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/">Chelsea</a> looking a bit uncertain with Roman Abramovich backing out of stadium investment and Tottenham’s <span>Mauricio Pochettino</span> the frontrunner to take over at Madrid. Nothing is certain, but Liverpool are well placed.</p>
<p id="Ro1eV4">And I want silverware from somewhere. Hopefully from the league challenge coming off, but failing that any silverware would do at this point. The progress has been clear, and the league is the ultimate goal, but whether we get that or not next season we need something shiny to wave around after too long a dry spell.</p>
<h2 id="HJzymY"><strong>Steph</strong></h2>
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<p id="7ZjPt2">It has to be a title challenge, doesn’t it? Another deep Champions League run would be great, but the main focus should be winning the Premier League. So many positive changes have been made to the team since Klopp has been in charge. The process has been slow-going but inexorable as Liverpool balanced navigating the transfer market and spending within their means. This summer should be the one where Klopp gets those last pieces he needs to fully mold the team to his vision. The league title was always the ultimate goal, and I think next season they have to push for it.</p>
<h2 id="ZoqdsV"><strong>Kevin</strong></h2>
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<p id="aWNWY9">It’s really difficult to say what reasonable expectations might look like until we know what mysteries the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/transfer-rumors">transfer window</a> holds. There seems to be a consensus about the areas of need. If Liverpool can address most of those, I think a top four finish is within reach again. I’d like to say a title challenge is feasible too, but the usual suspects will be strengthening again, and might not be making the same mistakes this time. On the other hand, Klopp is the ultimate alchemist, so sure, title challenge it is. </p>
<h2 id="VMJ20d"><strong>Zach</strong></h2>
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<p id="TP5ZV6">I’m most interested in league position in the upcoming season. Cup runs, either in Europe or domestically, are impossible to really predict. One bad draw (e.g. Spurs drawing Juve in the Round of 16 after an already brutal group draw) or one bad result (e.g. whatever the fuck we did against West Brom in the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/fa-cup">FA Cup</a>) can end an otherwise promising run. The league is generally a much better indicator of where we are as a club. I believe—based on metrics and form—we were the second-best team in the league, and could have pipped United were it not for our European exertions. As such, I’d like us to finish top two, hopefully making a real challenge for City. With our squad and additions, with a couple more to come, I believe we can really kick on this season. And if <a href="https://bitterandblue.sbnation.com/">Manchester City</a> drop a few more points along the way, this season very well could be one for the ages. </p>
<h2 id="5M1xaJ"><strong>AJ</strong></h2>
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<p id="urwny7">If we succeed in signing the likes of Fekir and get the massive investment that’s been whispered about, I’d say that expecting a title challenge is fair. But even if things don’t come off this summer I’d expect us to remain in the top three all season, challenge in the domestic cups, and hopefully make it into the knockout rounds for the Champions League. Give me that and I’d say we’ve hit on the next stage in our natural progression. Taking home a trophy would be great, but I wouldn’t say that’s necessary to naming the season a success. And, of course, holding on to key parts of our team while stockpiling for the coming year is a must. </p>
<h2 id="ZzlC2a"><strong>Audun</strong></h2>
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<p id="2plSbT">I’d like to keep my answer in my pocket until the transfer window closes, but <em>if </em>we close the Fekir deal, I’ll bullishly set league expectations at a EPL era club record 90 points—which may or may not be enough for a title, depending on everybody else—and CL quarters while continuing to play outrageously sexy football. As always, I’m utterly disinterested in the domestic cups.</p>
<h2 id="kir5zd"><strong>Jordan</strong></h2>
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<p id="DyGQMl">I want to say it’s the league or nothing but I’m not exactly going to turn down another piece of silverware along the way. It’s true though that we sacrificed the league for Europe this year and that was awesome and all but it’s only been 13 years since we won that one. It’s been almost 30 since we won the league and every year that we fall short hurts a little bit more. We truly were the second best team in the league this year and could’ve been the best if City hadn’t sold their souls or whatever it is you do to get that kind of oil money. I think the kind of success they had last season is difficult to replicate these days, though, and there’s no reason Liverpool can’t mount a true title challenge next season and finally take it for ourselves. </p>
<h2 id="2rCgY2"><strong>Also in This Series</strong></h2>
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<h4 id="w55QtJ">
<strong>Monday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/28/17402066/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-champions-league-final-defeat-league-progress"><strong>Part 1: This is the End</strong></a><br><strong>Tuesday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/2018/5/29/17404732/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-transfer-dealings-rated-reviewed-mohamed-salah-vigil-van-dijk"><strong>Part 2: Transfer Business</strong></a><br><strong>Wednesday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/30/17408448/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-top-players-salah-firmino-van-dijk-lovren-disappointments-injuries"><strong>Part 3: Underperformers & Overachievers</strong></a><br><strong>Thursday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/31/17410666/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-building-future-what-next-transfer-targets-win-premier-league"><strong>Part 4: </strong>More Work to Do</a>
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https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/6/1/17416596/liverpool-season-recap-expectations-2018-19-summer-signings-premier-league-title-challengeNoel ChomynepicskylinesaintgrobianZachary MarxAJ JovenAudun ManumJordan J. Keeble2018-05-31T15:30:02+01:002018-05-31T15:30:02+01:00The Liverpool Offside 2017-18 Season Review, Part 4: More Work to Do
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<img alt="Sydney FC v Liverpool FC" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yqL4W0yAOC01ZhSuuwE387Z-KSw=/0x189:2665x1966/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59907509/687660766.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>In the fourth part of our season review, the TLO staff discuss what needs to happen for Liverpool to take the next step.</p> <h2 id="Jsob7Z"><strong>Part 4: More Work to Do</strong></h2>
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<p id="OONOo8">If <a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/">Liverpool</a> are to close the gap on <a href="https://bitterandblue.sbnation.com/">Manchester City</a> in the league and make another deep European run they’re going to have some work to do over the offseason. Ideally, what business do you want to see done this summer in the transfer market—and do you believe any current youth or fringe players are ready to step up to fill a role that would otherwise require new signings?</p>
<h2 id="HjH8wu"><strong>Zach</strong></h2>
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<p id="u2l0qq">The most glaring problem, especially after the injury to Ox, was our tragic lack of depth, power, and creativity in the midfield. Keita and Fabinho are already huge improvements in that area, and all the credit in the world needs to be given to the recruiting team for the work they do getting the players that Kloppo needs for his system.</p>
<p id="ik8WJ1">The next worry is in attacking depth, and that looks like an area that should be sorted soon as well. Although I’d argue that we didn’t necessarily miss Coutinho’s on-field talents—and we certainly didn’t miss the off-field antics surrounding his transfer—we did miss a top-quality player to fill in and help rotate the front three. If Salah, Mane, or Firmino had been injured down the stretch, our <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> run likely would have ended much sooner and it would have put our Top 4 hopes in doubt.</p>
<p id="VVYXCe">Finally, I’d like another centre back and possibly another goalkeeper—though I worry about overspending for marginal improvement in this area. As for fringe/youth players, it’s going to be hard to break into this side, and that’s a good thing. Woodburn, Brewster, Wilson, and Grujic will most likely get chances in cup competitions—if they aren’t shipped out on loan. If one of them does break through though, as Alexander-Arnold did, it will be because they took an unexpected opportunity and earned their place.</p>
<h2 id="W1q3Hc"><strong>AJ</strong></h2>
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<p id="WpdUhY">Well, we’ve already brought in Fabinho in a shock move and there are rumblings at least one more deal will be closed and announced before the week is out, so things could look very different shortly. I’d still like at least one more CM, ideally an attacking one, so the pursuit of Nabil Fekir is welcomed by me. Beyond that, I suppose an attacker that could rotate with Mane and Salah would be fantastic.</p>
<p id="XGIqY0">I know it’s likely folly, but I’m not one of the ones calling for another GK. If Simon leaves, then I’m okay with signing one, but I don’t think there’s a real need for LFC land one of the big names—it’s just not a priority. As for the need to fill out the squad beyond that, I’d love to see at least one of Ben Woodburn or Harry Wilson make the jump up to regular first team minutes. Maybe that would mean we don’t need another attacker on the wing which would be great. But I also think it’s expecting too much for these youth to instantly be the ones to count on when giving Mane or Salah a breather. </p>
<p id="5oIv30">Either way, the future looks bright if we do end up with the players to run out Fekir-Fabinho-Keita behind Mane-Firmino-Salah. That’s a lineup that could conceivably burst into flames like NBA Jam players brought to life. </p>
<h2 id="JJWXCi"><strong>Matt</strong></h2>
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<p id="E9cDnX">I’m interested in the goalkeeping situation, mostly. The club seem to be expertly taking care of the midfield necessities as we speak so that feels nearly settled while all the good drama is over in goalkeeper rumours.</p>
<p id="q9eXiv"><span>Loris Karius</span> still has my support. And it’s not a sure thing but history tells me Klopp isn’t just going to wash his hands of him either. It’s <span>Simon Mignolet</span> who will likely be on the way out this summer, looking for minutes. And I think Klopp will bring in someone to really compete with Karius for the role instead of a clear, and very expensive, number one. But either way it’ll be a fun new face so whatever they decide is fine.</p>
<p id="dCGSGZ">Additionally, I don’t know what <span>Ragnar Klavan</span>’s intended shelf life was but I think it just might be sometime around now. And Joe Gomez is ready to step up and compete with Joel Matip for the number three CB position. Give him the job.</p>
<h2 id="FMnWnt"><strong>Steph</strong></h2>
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<p id="Co8eEw">Liverpool’s main need is to beef up their midfield, which it looks like they’re doing. By the end of the season Henderson, Wijnaldum, and Milner were hanging on by a wing and a prayer. The loss of Coutinho was never covered. Plus now they’re likely losing Can as well, and Oxlade-Chamberlain won’t return until the new year. And loathe as I am to admit it as I’ve joined the <span>James Milner</span> Ultras, Klopp will have to start thinking about life without him in the near future. Naby Keita and Fabinho are a great start, but we need at least one more player who can compete for a place in the middle of the pitch—though failing that I’d be interested seeing Alexander-Arnold pushed forward more next season now that <span>Nathaniel Clyne</span> is back.</p>
<p id="87yrgp">I’d also like to see a world class goalkeeper brought in to take up the mantle, but I don’t know if they’re actually considering that in this window. Meanwhile, Solanke and Ings weren’t good enough back up for our front three players. The transfer committee needs to bring in an attacker that Klopp trusts. I’d love for Ben Woodburn to get a shot with the team, but he’s too young to count on him filling that role just yet.</p>
<h2 id="o7uCYZ"><strong>Jordan</strong></h2>
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<p id="t0eyYM">I’m definitely going to join the club and say we need more quality depth off the bench. Banking on the kids is nice and all, and has paid off in the exception that is Trent Alexander-Arnold, but I’m riddled with anxiety anytime we have to shift from our tried and true XI. Other top clubs can do it because their squad players match the quality of the starting eleven, full stop. At least it looks like we’re off to a good start with Fabinho and Keita for the midfield, and thank god we have someone like James Milner—criminally underappreciated and happy to just work from wherever. </p>
<p id="kJMhWa">Beyond midfield, though, we need to have more lethal and dependable attackers on the bench. Much as I do like <span>Danny Ings</span> and Dominic Solanke, god forbid Bobby or Salah get injured and we have to put one of them in for an extended run. They unfortunately just don’t stack up, and I don’t know how many more chances Danny Ings in particular can get. </p>
<p id="hJD3CW">In a perfect world, I’d see us shore up every attacking position we can because that’s where we’re really most vulnerable. We’ve seen now that one terrible tackle on Salah means we can’t hang anymore. That’s not great. </p>
<h2 id="A0Weqm"><strong>Kevin</strong></h2>
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<p id="RdReIX">Let me just say, with respect to any incoming transfers this summer, that after the way the club have hit in recent years I am petrified of the term “reversion to the mean.”</p>
<p id="QE7w72">Otherwise, I might be in the minority here, but I’m actually way more interested in seeing who leaves the club this summer than who arrives. There are so many question marks around some of the players, and I don’t think we’ve really seen Klopp wield the scalpel at Liverpool with the same ruthlessness he did at times with Borussia Dortmund. </p>
<h2 id="2rCgY2"><strong>Also in This Series</strong></h2>
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<h4 id="w55QtJ">
<strong>Monday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/28/17402066/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-champions-league-final-defeat-league-progress"><strong>Part 1: This is the End</strong></a><br><strong>Tuesday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/2018/5/29/17404732/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-transfer-dealings-rated-reviewed-mohamed-salah-vigil-van-dijk"><strong>Part 2: Transfer Business</strong></a><br><strong>Wednesday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/30/17408448/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-top-players-salah-firmino-van-dijk-lovren-disappointments-injuries"><strong>Part </strong>3: Underperformers & Overachievers</a><br><strong>Friday — Part 5: Expectations for 2018-19</strong>
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https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/31/17410666/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-building-future-what-next-transfer-targets-win-premier-leagueZachary MarxAJ JovenMatt WoodepicskylineJordan J. Keeblesaintgrobian2018-05-30T15:30:02+01:002018-05-30T15:30:02+01:00The Liverpool Offside 2017-18 Season Review, Part 3: Underperformers & Overachievers
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<img alt="Real Madrid v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Final" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nrHnICNNLmLtEwV652JOM9bzZmg=/424x56:2869x1686/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59893725/962749880.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>In the third part of our season review, the TLO staff look back at the players who surprised us—for better and worse.</p> <h2 id="cITU1C"><strong>Part 3: Underperformers & Overachievers</strong></h2>
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<p id="N5tQu0">Some <a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/">Liverpool</a> players, both new signings and existing squad members, stepped up and look key to Jürgen Klopp’s long-term plans. Not everyone, though, hit the heights we hoped for in 2017-18. Looking back, who have you been most impressed by? And on the other side of it, who left you feeling disappointed?</p>
<h2 id="s8zZyl"><strong>Grace</strong></h2>
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<p id="KdC25u">We all know that Mohamed Salah had an absolutely incredible year. We’ll be talking about this season of his for decades to come. So for now I’ll talk about some other players. Virgil van Dijk never entirely convinced me for <a href="https://stmarysmusings.sbnation.com/">Southampton</a> or the Netherlands, and the price tag struck me as very steep, but he has well and truly shown me to be a fool. Similarly, <span>Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain</span> always struck me as somewhat limited at <a href="https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/">Arsenal</a> but has looked a much more complete player at Liverpool. In terms of personnel already at the club, I think <span>James Milner</span> has in typical fashion had a quietly strong year, returning to midfield from left back and outperforming many who were considered ahead of him last year.</p>
<p id="T5lIqp">In less positive news, it’s hard to see how Alberto Moreno ever makes his way back into the first choice side. He still hasn’t been able to overcome his frequent errors, and it looks like he’ll never make good on his genuine talent. The injury-plagued pair of <span>Adam Lallana</span> and <span>Nathaniel Clyne</span> probably deserve another year to remind us what they can do at full fitness, but it’s not clear to me that they’ll definitely return the same players.</p>
<h2 id="pksMVU"><strong>Noel</strong></h2>
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<p id="jRk4kh">Salah and Robbo and Ox exceeded pretty much everyone’s expectations as new signings, but for me, 2017-18 was about Firmino defining the attack and making last summer’s “sign a 20-goal striker” talk look asinine. As good as I knew he was—and I’ve been firmly on <a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-transfer-news/2015/6/24/8837923/scouting-report-roberto-firmino-liverpool-new-transfer-signing-29m">Team Bob</a> since he signed—I still didn’t expect him to turn into arguably the game’s top false nine over the course of the season. On the flip side, I’m very worried Lallana may never get back to his pre-injury form and that his time as a key, contributing squad member is done.</p>
<h2 id="mcveHZ"><strong>Kevin</strong></h2>
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<p id="YOKgAd">I’m going to take a walk on the wild side and give credit here to <span>Dejan Lovren</span> and <span>Loris Karius</span>—even after the final. I’ve been pulling for Lovren to succeed since he arrived from Southampton but even I had reached a point where I thought it just wasn’t going to work out. The Tottenham match was probably a nadir, and I felt that was the beginning of the end. I can’t say he’s been flawless since, but Lovren has proved a lot of people wrong in a big way. He’s stepped up in some crucial situations in the biggest matches, and has also proven himself to be an important locker room presence. </p>
<p id="fdLbjy">As for Karius, it’s cruel that everyone’s last memory of him over the summer is going to be his brutal errors in the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> final. But for a decent stretch since he took over from <span>Simon Mignolet</span> he transformed the mojo around that position from perpetual laugh track to occasional chuckle. He might not be the best option for Liverpool going forward, but he at least deserves to have that remembered as well. </p>
<h2 id="owcUgV"><strong>Steph</strong></h2>
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<p id="eYAsqc">Holy cow, I love this team. Get ready for a novel. Is it even worth it to point out Mohamed Salah? Best player in the league, one of the best in the world, smile like the sun, puts joy in my heart. What I <em>will </em>say is that I’m surprised how quickly the front three meshed together and how lethal they ended up becoming. That dynamic seemed to click overnight and they never looked back. Can an attacking unit collectively count as an over-achiever? Are there any rules governing this? </p>
<p id="opq49e">And I’m over the damn moon about Trent Alexander-Arnold. What a player, what a season he’s had. I’m Team Future Captain all the way. Next, be honest, who among us would have expected Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to flourish under Klopp the way that he did before his injury? And Milner! Trusty Boring James Milner, Champions League assist leader, midfield stalwart, selfless hero. He’s proved again and again that he’s willing to do anything Klopp asks of him. This season was his best in a Liverpool shirt. </p>
<p id="TxbVX4">And look, I’m going to do it. I’m going to say Loris Karius did really well proving himself this season, too. He’s a young guy who messed up on the most important day of his life and it cost us big, but up until then—once he’d gotten the number one spot—he’d been handling it well. I’m not saying we couldn’t do with an upgrade, but he exceeded my expectations this season.</p>
<p id="ymqkWv">As for disappointments, after how last season ended I had hoped for more from Simon Mignolet. However, what can’t be impugned was the man’s professionalism and decency throughout everything. If any keeper leaves this summer, it will probably be him. Adam Lallana is a concern for me with the constant injuries. This time last year I labeled him integral to Klopp’s system, but he’s fallen a long way down the list since then. Similarly, I’m starting to fear for our <span>Joe Gomez</span>. I hope he can dig his way out of this injury-loop he’s in, but I’m not totally confident. </p>
<h2 id="uoRmas"><strong>Audun</strong></h2>
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<p id="vpWqth">The list of over-achievers has largely been filled already: Salah, Robbo, Milner, Dejan, Trent, and Ox all exceeded my expectations to varying degrees. I’ll quietly shout out to Alberto Moreno’s start to the season, which was outstanding before he got injured and Robbo took over. It’s just a shame it likely won’t matter much to his career here.</p>
<p id="fOREh5">On the other side of the spectrum, Lallana’s days as a functional footballer at this level may just be at their end, Hendo’s struggles in the early parts of the season when we were going whole hog on the pressing can’t be ignored, and <span>Emre Can</span> remains a frustrating collection of attributes that add up to just a little less than a useful footballer—though it looks like that won’t be our problem any more. And does anyone know what happened to Joël Matip?</p>
<h2 id="Wu8UKu"><strong>AJ</strong></h2>
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<p id="njmjqO">I largely agree with everyone’s notes on who’s overachieved, and I don’t think I could ever extol enough the wonderful redemptions of Dejan Lovren and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Alex was less derided than Dejan, but at the time of his transfer Reds fans were largely disappointed by his arrival. It wasn’t that he was a <em>bad</em> one as much as he looked a step sideways. Not for the first time, the LFC fan base as a unit got the call wrong as Ox’s work ethic, positive mindset, and quality on the ball gave Liverpool’s post-Coutinho midfield the balance and grit it needed.</p>
<p id="BUMT2S">Dejan’s redemptive arc, though, was one to behold. Some of it might be down to playing with arguably the best centre back in Europe, but it’s more than that. Dejan faced vocal criticism and really buttoned us up not only with his play but also the grace with which he met the worst of our fandom. I mean, the guy went from death threats—and he <em>still</em> gets abuse from the “top bantz” crowd—to starring in the best rom com of all time, <a href="https://youtu.be/mkw8VS67U8Y">“Merseyside with Mo.”</a> Maybe it shouldn’t surprise given his experience as someone who survived some harrowing shit as a refugee, but man, I am such a fan of the way he treats the people on this squad with such love and grace.</p>
<p id="tY7QtU">As for underachievers, it’s really tough to note anyone. Especially when those I’d consider underachievers would mostly have a good reason attached (see: those injury problems). I don’t know. In a season where we crashed the CL Final and booked our tickets into next season’s edition, I feel like I can’t really name a true underachiever. We aren’t a perfect squad, but I feel this team all did enough to acquit themselves.</p>
<h2 id="2rCgY2"><strong>Also in This Series</strong></h2>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="9Fc7VR">
<h4 id="w55QtJ">
<strong>Monday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/28/17402066/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-champions-league-final-defeat-league-progress"><strong>Part 1: This is the End</strong></a><br><strong>Tuesday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/2018/5/29/17404732/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-transfer-dealings-rated-reviewed-mohamed-salah-vigil-van-dijk"><strong>Part 2: Transfer Business</strong></a><br><strong>Thursday — Part 4: More Work to Do</strong><br><strong>Friday — Part 5: Expectations for 2018-19</strong>
</h4>
https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/30/17408448/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-top-players-salah-firmino-van-dijk-lovren-disappointments-injuriesNoel ChomynGraceOnFootballsaintgrobianepicskylineAudun ManumAJ Joven2018-05-29T15:30:02+01:002018-05-29T15:30:02+01:00The Liverpool Offside 2017-18 Season Review, Part 2: Transfer Business
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<img alt="Arsenal v Liverpool - Premier League" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eYwzw4JtMWeIpHtbww-z5SP3joE=/556x171:2298x1332/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59880643/897349618.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the second part of our season review, the TLO staff pass final judgement on the season’s transfer dealings.</p> <h2 id="vCIqj0"><strong>Part 2: Transfer Business</strong></h2>
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<p id="O9DzzE">The arrivals of <span>Mohamed Salah</span>, <span>Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain</span>, <span>Andrew Robertson</span> last summer and then—eventually—Virgil van Dijk mean there was a lot to like about <a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/">Liverpool</a>’s business over the past year, but with the season now ended do you count the club’s transfer dealings an unqualified success or are there still places where they came up short?</p>
<h2 id="TehsyN"><strong>Steph</strong></h2>
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<p id="27q8FW">Klopp is putting together quite an impressive transfer record with Liverpool. Like I said yesterday, I am very excited about this summer’s <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/transfer-rumors">transfer window</a>, but last year’s success almost makes me nervous. Did we use up all our luck? Was nabbing Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Robertson, and Van Dijk and coming away with a <em>net gain </em>too lucky? We lost Coutinho, it’s true, but he was always going to go, and we wrung Barca dry for him, which I appreciated in a deeply vindictive way. </p>
<p id="sigHXH">It wasn’t perfect, though. The biggest mistake was not finding a replacement for Coutinho. They had to know he was going to go in January, and not planning for his departure cost us in the spring. With <span>Emre Can</span> on his way out, it’s crucial that Liverpool rectify this mistake with plenty of quality depth in midfield and attack this season. Nearly as frustrating was the terrible hash they made out of the Van Dijk transfer in the summer. They fixed their mistake by January, but how much did those lost months cost us? It wasn’t the first time this transfer committee got pinged for tapping-up a player either, but I’d like for it to be the last, please. Or if it’s all apart of the game or whatever, at least do it <em>better</em>.</p>
<h2 id="4wibfq"><strong>Kevin</strong></h2>
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<p id="rIHatb">I have no complaints about the transfer dealings from last summer and from the mid-season window—that’s how well they did. Yes, the timing of Van Dijk’s arrival was unfortunate, but it takes two to tango, and ultimately there’s not a lot to be done if the other club insists on the whole <em>cut off nose/spite face</em> thing.</p>
<p id="PDdEWh">I thought the way the Coutinho situation was handled was an immense gamble at the time. And I don’t think that assessment has entirely changed. I will say that Klopp apparently has an almost unreal understanding of what makes his players tick, and it probably didn’t seem like that big a gamble to him. Regardless of how the final turned out—and who knows what effect <em>Player X</em> might have had on this squad mid-season—I think you’d have to say Klopp won that gamble. </p>
<h2 id="cEjfG3"><strong>Grace</strong></h2>
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<p id="BExcCZ">I think we pretty much got everything right in the transfer market, personally. There’s a case that we should have done more, with the squad looking awfully thin during the last month or two of the season. But the club has clearly taken a “don’t panic” view of the market, with a preference for not signing anyone over signing the wrong player. <a href="https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/">Arsenal</a>, for example, panicked over the Alexis Sanchez sale and spent a lot of money on two ageing players who haven’t quite set the world alight at the Emirates. I’m much happier sitting on the Coutinho money for six months than just splashing it on whoever was available at the time.</p>
<p id="W0xrIf">In terms of who did come in, everyone is rightfully happy with the performances Salah, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Van Dijk have put in. I do think Solanke isn’t quite getting his due credit, with poor finishing maligning some excellent all round performances (expected goals and assists pegs him as better than Salah this season, albeit in a tiny sample size). If he can fix that one area of his game, I think we’ve got a really good player on our hands.</p>
<h2 id="6d2V4D"><strong>Tito</strong></h2>
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<p id="NVTXYQ">This is easy. This season’s transfer dealings, in terms of the names that eventually came through the door, have been an unmitigated success. Recall the hit list that leaked prior the opening of the last summer window: Ryan Sessegnon, Julian Brandt, Virgil Van Dijk and Naby Keïta. </p>
<p id="nxRgtz">Who did we ultimately bring in? Andrew Robertson, Premier League record goal scorer Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keïta, albeit on a delay. Except for missing out on a potential superstar in Sessegnon, Michael Edwards was able to secure every target or better. Sure, we can quibble about the timing on the Keïta and Van Dijk moves, but Ox arguably was the (wildly successful) stopgap for the Guinean while Van Dijk was worth the wait and was in the frame for the most important parts of the campaign down the stretch.</p>
<p id="jBHrFo">We picked the right people and got everyone we wanted or better. If there was any failings it was in not recruiting for depth in midfield and attack, with injuries to Ox, Emre Can, <span>Adam Lallana</span> and <span>Jordan Henderson</span> for large chunks of the campaign causing problems down the stretch.</p>
<h2 id="vWX2Z2"><strong>Audun</strong></h2>
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<p id="L6r5Yb">Player identification is A+. The transfer team do a fantastic job of picking the right players for the kind of football Klopp wants us to play. The actual acquisition part may need some work—though having already signed Fabinho, maybe they’ve sorted even that—and despite getting two excellent players in van Dijk and Keïta, the fact that we had to wait six and 12 months for them might just have been the difference between 4th and 2nd in the league and 2nd and 1st in the CL.</p>
<p id="CNe3CY">Dominic Solanke hasn’t been particularly useful, and with depth up top being so shallow, not fortifying on that end could be considered a mistake, as could the risk of allowing Coutinho to go unreplaced, but this largely comes down to the specifics of the market.</p>
<h2 id="hvIP0F"><strong>Noel</strong></h2>
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<p id="YZKBiA">At this point, I think it’s safe to say when Klopp along with Michael Edwards and the transfer team—formerly much maligned but so crucial in the signing of Salah and Robertson last year—come to a consensus, any new signing is going to work out. It’s an oddly confident place to be in after years of transfer misses and failed compromise targets. If there <em>is</em> a problem in the last year’s recruitment, then, it’s that the single-minded focus on getting that one right guy can sometimes lead to not getting anyone.</p>
<p id="3cFnPj">In the end, sometimes, it still works out—see eventually getting Van Dijk in January. At other times, both last season and since Klopp’s signed on, it’s led to a lack of depth that’s cost the club, and there’s a good case not having a capable attacker to replace Salah against Madrid is a big part of why Liverpool lost the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> final. Given Liverpool can’t match the spend of a club like Madrid—or City or <a href="https://www.barcablaugranes.com/">Barcelona</a> or PSG—though, that’s something we probably just have to come to terms with.</p>
<h2 id="2rCgY2"><strong>Also in This Series</strong></h2>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="ZlhUgO">
<h4 id="w55QtJ">
<strong>Monday — </strong><a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/28/17402066/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-champions-league-final-defeat-league-progress"><strong>Part 1: This is the End</strong></a><br><strong>Wednesday — Part 3: Underperformers & Overachievers</strong><br><strong>Thursday — Part 4: More Work to Do</strong><br><strong>Friday — Part 5: Expectations for 2018-19</strong>
</h4>
https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/2018/5/29/17404732/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-transfer-dealings-rated-reviewed-mohamed-salah-vigil-van-dijkNoel ChomynepicskylinesaintgrobianGraceOnFootballO.T. ObaisiAudun Manum2018-05-28T15:30:02+01:002018-05-28T15:30:02+01:00The Liverpool Offside 2017-18 Season Review, Part 1: This is the End
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<img alt="Liverpool v Brighton and Hove Albion - Premier League" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AbjFJLsnnlaWBb6-IZGDJ7o7dpI=/246x187:3200x2156/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59872695/958047624.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the first part of our season review, the TLO staff try to come to terms with how the 2017-18 season ended.</p> <h2 id="hvhwE7"><strong>Part 1: This is the End</strong></h2>
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<p id="03lVkB">It would be impossible to try to dissect <a href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/">Liverpool</a>’s 2017-18 season without first trying to come to terms with how it ended. The <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> final against <a href="https://www.managingmadrid.com/">Real Madrid</a> didn’t provide the dream ending everyone was hoping for, and for many it will be a bitter final note to end on, but what will you take away from it as Liverpool head into the offseason?</p>
<h2 id="QMzvE7"><strong>Jordan</strong></h2>
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<p id="sddrq8">This hurt feels big. It’s hard right now to get around it and remember that we really are a better team than we were last year, at the end of the day. We’re better than anyone, even ourselves, expected.</p>
<p id="ckToVz">We finished in the top four, we didn’t stumble against the mid- or lower-table teams as often as in past seasons. We made it to the Champions League final. Logically, I know this season should be considered a success. In time, I’ll accept that it was. We achieved nearly everything we set out to do, even with some critical losses. We broke records. It still hurts. </p>
<p id="o5vuzq">I think the thing to take away is that we started finally building on the foundation Klopp has laid. There are walls and structure there now, we just need to reinforce it all with more squad depth. The drum we’ve all been banging for months and months and months. We can’t have our ankles cut by injuries anymore. If we want to be the best we know we can be, we need more talented players in the squad. Period.</p>
<h2 id="lWYjZl"><strong>Kevin</strong></h2>
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<p id="U0i4nT">I’m not sure there is a tremendous amount to be gleaned from the Champions League final that wasn’t already known to some degree. I was hoping that the match would offer some measure of where this squad stood in relation to the three or four clubs in Europe you would expect to see in the final, but I feel like we didn’t get a chance to really see that. </p>
<p id="7vg5aM">Or maybe we did. Yes, Salah’s departure was clearly a key turning point. That’s not the type of setback any squad easily takes in stride. For this squad, the shock was too great, there was a bit too much hope invested in the bench options, and despite Sadio Mané’s best efforts, it wasn’t enough. So in that sense, there was a reckoning. </p>
<p id="c4IW5A">The overall sentiment seems clear. A stellar foundation is there, but quality reinforcements are needed—of that, there is little doubt. Liverpool’s management have gotten a lot of decisions right in the past few years, perhaps none as important as the one made in hiring Klopp. If they can get a couple more right this summer, we might get the chance to see something truly special. </p>
<h2 id="kqmnHc"><strong>Matt</strong></h2>
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<p id="aq2YSF">My head is in the future already, to the players coming in and what next season brings. Beating Real Madrid would have been an unbelievable achievement for Liverpool but the journey we just went on with this team this season still ends in wild success. Jürgen Klopp has been exactly what Liverpool wanted and needed and despite the minor setbacks and want-away players he has gone from strength to strength since becoming manager. </p>
<p id="kmfWPC">The season ends with a loss. Real Madrid won the Champions League again. But they won it by beating Liverpool. Our team returned to the pinnacle of Europe and it was so much fun watching it happen. It’s crushing for the players to lose the game and <span>Loris Karius</span> may have a tough road of mental recovery ahead of him, but Klopp is in charge of managing all of that and more. Jürgen has instilled a unity and winning mentality into this team that they will carry with them into next season. I’m happy.</p>
<h2 id="uTocme"><strong>Noel</strong></h2>
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<p id="mBWdon">The way the season ended hurts. There’s no getting around it. And I’m still not sure if the manner of it—with Liverpool playing Madrid mostly level and losing to a rugby tackle that broke Mo Salah and a pair of disastrous goalkeeping errors—makes it better, or worse. I suppose, in my head, I know it makes it better. In my head I know it means this is a Liverpool side that really can go toe-to-toe with anyone—with Madrid or City or Roma and, I have little doubt, with Bayern or Barca or PSG.</p>
<p id="CpAxet">That doesn’t make it sting less, as it’s easy to imagine on another night Salah escaping Ramos’ arm-bar and Karius avoiding at least one of his errors and having it add up to Liverpool’s sixth European cup. But there’s a foundation, a high-quality Best XI plus one or two more. Naby Keïta is arriving and probably Nabil Fekir, too. There are no guarantees, of course, which is part of why the ending stings, but this special side should only get stronger now. There’s at least reason to hope for more.</p>
<h2 id="Vv4wfA"><strong>Steph</strong></h2>
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<p id="HV0ffr">Well, that was a kick to the soft parts, huh? I think what makes this loss so confounding is that, somehow, the worst parts about it were also the best parts. Let me explain. It was terrible to lose in the manner that we did, with a deliberate, cynical injury to Salah and Karius letting in awful goals. Losing on merit would have been a much easier pill to swallow.</p>
<p id="PHJ1r9">On the other hand, the fact that we <em>didn’t </em>get played off the pitch by Real Madrid, that pretty much every player bar Karius did their jobs at least adequately, is a small silver lining. On Saturday, I saw a team with a solid spine, and in particular, a solid defense. We have fullbacks now—legit, competent fullbacks who went toe-to-toe with some of the best players in the world and didn’t give an inch. We’ve got them for years to come, and neither one has hit their peak yet. Virgil van Dijk is the leader we’ve needed in our back line since Carra retired, and <span>Dejan Lovren</span> can perform like the player we all long ago gave up hope he’d be with Van Dijk’s stalwart presence beside him.</p>
<p id="PQfraY">I think this is the most excited that I’ve ever been about a <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/transfer-rumors">summer transfer window</a> since the great King Kenny Debacle of 2011 destroyed my confidence in such things (and even that brought us Captain Hendo). We saw time and again this season, including on Saturday, that our starting XI can challenge anyone, but it’s our bench and lack of depth that really held us back. Some of it was unavoidable injuries, but losing Coutinho hurt us a lot from that perspective. People have argued that the starting XI seems to play better without him, but there’s no denying that having him in the squad meant there was at least one game-changer available on the bench. </p>
<h2 id="DJT0VA"><strong>Zach</strong></h2>
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<p id="UpRstK">It’s easy to see the final as an event unto itself, but really it was the confluence of a season’s worth of minor and major events leading up to Salah’s injury that ultimately sealed our fate. <span>Adam Lallana</span> spent most of the season injured and/or well off the pace. <span>Emre Can</span> went down during the vital run-in. <span>Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain</span>, of course, injured in the semi-final. And—although we nearly went the entire second half of the season without discussing this point—<span>Philippe Coutinho</span> was sunning his Mickey Mouse tattoo in <a href="https://www.barcablaugranes.com/">Barcelona</a>. Some of these decisions were “avoidable” insofar as the club could have refused to sell or could have stepped up recruitment efforts in January. Some, the injuries, were not. </p>
<p id="fXmEvs">At any rate, even if you could have brought Coutinho back with a magic wand for the final, Salah’s injury alone was probably enough to sink us—most teams aren’t Madrid and can’t bring a player like Gareth Bale. For most teams, losing a goal-per-match star player is going to be just too big a blow. But a Coutinho or fit Ox or in-form Lallana would have at least helped, and now Liverpool need to find a player or two like that they can bring on so that it isn’t such a significant and noticeable drop-off. </p>
<h2 id="GktMYG"><strong>Grace</strong></h2>
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<p id="hZBCXu">I think it’s important not to succumb to recency bias too much. That Champions League final is the aftertaste of the season that we’re going to have to sit with all summer, but it did not define our year. Last season, there was a lot of talk that we were at an advantage without European football and that much of our success was down to having a full week off between league games. To add a full Champions League campaign and only lose a point compared to last season’s finish, and actually look a fair chunk better by expected goals is a genuine achievement. Especially when one considers Chelsea were in the same situation and found themselves 23 points worse off than last year.</p>
<p id="dXPph9">We absolutely smashed it in terms of the transfer window, with a case to be made that our three best players this season were all new signings. We were able to integrate Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez into the first team squad really without any kind of problem. This hurts, but everything outside of the final is looking good.</p>
<h2 id="2rCgY2"><strong>Up Next</strong></h2>
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<h4 id="w55QtJ">
<strong>Tuesday — Part 2: Transfer Business</strong><br><strong>Wednesday — Part 3: Underperformers & Overachievers</strong><br><strong>Thursday — Part 4: More Work to Do</strong><br><strong>Friday — Part 5: Expectations for 2018-19</strong>
</h4>
https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liverpool-fc-tactics-longform/2018/5/28/17402066/liverpool-2017-18-season-recap-champions-league-final-defeat-league-progressNoel ChomynJordan J. KeeblesaintgrobianMatt WoodepicskylineZachary MarxGraceOnFootball