So as Liverpool fans all over the world continue to enjoy
this gloriously victorious summer, I’ve been having a look over the history of
Liverpool FC and up and down the timeline of the club, from its foundation in 1892
right up until now.
Jonathan Wilson and Scott Murray describe the history of
Liverpool FC as being defined by five key era defining players: Alex
Raisbeck (played with Liverpool from 1899-1909), Elisha Scott (1912-1915 and again
from 1919 to 1934), Billy Liddell (1938 to 1961) Kenny Dalglish (1977 to 1990
and manager from 1985 to 1991) and Steven Gerrard (1998-2015). That’s one way
of epochifying the history of Liverpool FC.
Another way might be to look at managerial reigns, like a
long line of monarchs with varying levels of success, from the Irish duo John
McKenna and William Barclay back in 1892 right up to Mr. Klopp. And relating to
managerial delineations of Liverpool’s history, another reasonable approach would also
be to simply bisect Liverpool’s history timeline into the pre-1959 (i.e. pre Bill Shankly) and post-1959 (i.e. since Bill Shankly) eras.
And then I had a
closer look at Jurgen Klopp’s
still relatively brief (but increasingly glorious) time at the club and realised that it’s already starting to feel like a historically important era. This is based on the
trophies won so far, a few heart-breaking near misses, the buoyant morale of
the club and supporters and the renewed belief that Liverpool is the most special
football club in the world.
And the extent of progress of Liverpool FC since Klopp’s
first game in charge (October 17th 2015, in a Premier League scoreless draw away to
Spurs) is evident from a look at Liverpool’s starting line-up that day,
summarised below.
I won't start critiquing the quality of the eleven players listed but I would suggest you run down through the list and (especially if you're a Liverpool fan) ask yourself which of them would displace any of the current regular starters (aside from Mrs. Milner, Origi and to a lesser extent Mr. Lallana, who are still frequently on the fringes of or on the starting team)
Regarding the other 8 players below, my answer as to who would make the current starting team is simply none of them (sorry lads).
P.S. Because of the mesmerizing confusion induced by concepts such as transfer fees, market value, loan deals, etc. the fees quoted below are only a guide (taken from https://www.transfermarkt.com, a website I would highly recommend for the more 'anoraky' football fan). Some of the key take home points are that Liverpool got Mr. Dependable James Milner on a free transfer and made a profit of around 120 million pounds on Philippe Coutinho (from whence came Van Dijk and Alisson, etc.).
Incidentally, such is the longevity and excellence of James Milner that he played for newly promoted Leeds United (his hometown club) when they were last in the Premier League away back in 2004!
So anyway, here's Klopp's first starting line-up, from October 2015:
Goalkeeper: Simon Mignolet (Belgium; 23 senior caps)
Years with Liverpool: 2013-2019
Games and goals with Liverpool: 155 (0)
Came from: Sunderland (9.54 million pounds)
Went to: Club Brugge, Belgium (6.3 million pounds)
Where is he now? Club Brugge
Honours with Liverpool: Champions League (2018-2019), as
substitute.
Honours elsewhere: Belgian First Division A with Club Brugge
(2019-2020)
Right back: Nathaniel Clyne (England; 14 senior caps, 0 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2015 to present
Games and goals with Liverpool: 77 (1)
Came from: Southampton (15.93 million pounds)
Where is he now? On loan at AFC Bournemouth
Honours with Liverpool: UEFA Supercup (2019)
Honours elsewhere: None.
Centre half: Martin Škrtel
(Slovakia; 104 senior caps, 6 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2008-2016
Games and goals with Liverpool: 242 (16)
Came from: Zenit Saint Petersburg (9 million pounds)
Went to: Fenerbahce (5.4 million pounds)
Where is he now? İstanbul Başakşehir (Turkey)
Honours with Liverpool: League Cup (2011-2012)
Honours elsewhere: Russian Premier League (2007, with Zenit
Saint Petersburg)
Centre-half: Mamadou Sakho (France; 29 senior caps, 2 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2013-2017
Games and goals with Liverpool: 56 (2)
Came from: Paris Saint-Germain (17.1 million pounds)
Went to: Crystal Palace (25.38 million pounds)
Where is he now? Crystal Palace (Premier League)
Honours with Liverpool: None
Honours elsewhere: Ligue 1 (2012-2013), Coupe de France
(2009-2010), Coupe de la Ligue (2007-2008), Trophée des Champions
(2013), all with Paris Saint-Germain
Left back: Alberto Moreno (Spain; 4 senior caps, 0 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2014-2019
Games and goals with Liverpool: 90 (3)
Came from: Sevilla (16.2 million pounds)
Went to: Villareal (free)
Where is he now? Villareal (Spain)
Honours with Liverpool: Champions League, as substitute (2018-2019)
Honours elsewhere: Europa League (2013-2014) with Sevilla
and European Under-21 Championship 2013 with Spain
Midfield: Lucas Leiva (Brazil; 24 senior caps, 0 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2007-2017
Games and goals with Liverpool: 247 (1)
Came from: Gremio, Brazil (9 million pounds)
Went to: Lazio, Italy (5.13 million pounds)
Where is he now? Lazio (Italy)
Honours with Liverpool: League Cup (2011-2012)
Honours elsewhere:
Grêmio (Brazil); Serie B
(2005) and Campeonato Gaúcho (2006 and 2007)
Lazio; Coppa Italia (2018-2019) and Supercoppa Italiana
(2017 and 2019).
Midfield: Emre Can (Germany; 25 senior caps, 1 goal)
Years with Liverpool: 2014-2018
Games and goals with Liverpool: 115 (10)
Came from: Bayer Leverkusen, Germany (10.8 million pounds)
Went to: Juventus (free)
Where is he now? Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Honours with Liverpool: None
Honours elsewhere:
Bayern Munich: Bundesliga
(2012-2013); Champions League (2012-2013); DFB-Pokal (2012-2013) and
DFL-Supercup (2012)
Juventus: Serie A (2018-2019) and
Supercoppa Italiana (2018)
Midfield: James Milner (England; 61 senior caps, 1 goal)
Years with Liverpool: 2015 to present
Games and goals with Liverpool: 147 (19)
Came from: Manchester City (free)
Where is he now? Still with Liverpool
Honours with Liverpool: Premier League (2019-2020);
Champions League (2018-2019); UEFA Super Cup (2019); Club World Cup (2019)
Honours elsewhere:
Manchester City: Premier League (2011-2012 and 2013-2014),
FA Cup (2010-2011), League Cup (2013-2014) and Community Shield (2012)
Midfield: Adam Lallana (England; 34 senior caps, 3goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2014 to present
Games and goals with Liverpool: 128 (18)
Came from: Southampton (27.9 million pounds)
Where is he now? Still with Liverpool
Honours with Liverpool: Premier League (2019-2020);
Champions League (2018-2019); UEFA Super Cup (2019); Club World Cup (2019)
Honours elsewhere: Football League Trophy (2009-2010) with
Southampton
Midfield: Philippe Coutinho (Brazil; 61 senior caps, 17 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2013-2018
Games and goals with Liverpool: 152 (41)
Came from:Inter Milan (11.7 million pounds)
Went to: Barcelona (130.5 million pounds)
Where is he now? Bayern Munich (on loan from Barcelona)
Honours with Liverpool: None
Honours elsewhere:
Vasco da Gama (Brazil): Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (2009)
Inter Milan (Italy): Coppa Italia
(2010-2011), Supercoppa Italiana (2010)
Barcelona: La Liga (2017-2018 and
2018-2019); Copa de Rey (2017-2018); Sepercopa de España (2018)
Bayern Munich:
Bundesliga (2019-2020) and DFB-Pokal (2019-2020)
Brazil: South
Americal U-17 Championship (2009)
Forward: Divock Origi (Belgium; 28 senior caps, 3 goals)
Years with Liverpool: 2014 to present (loan periods at Lille
and VfL Wolfsburg)
Games and goals with Liverpool: 88 (18)
Came from: Lille, France (11.37 million pounds)
Where is he now? Still with Liverpool
Honours with Liverpool: Premier League (2019-2020);
Champions League (2018-2019); UEFA Super Cup (2019); Club World Cup (2019)
Honours elsewhere: None
I still have a soft spot for Martin Skirtel.He would have fitted into Leeds under Revie very well.But he saved our bacon a few times.
ReplyDeleteYes M.S. was a great servant to the club and he might just push for a place in the centre of defence on the current side, beside V.V.D.!
ReplyDelete