The Kopite View

New Liverpool manager Arne Slot has a lot of work to do in his new job, as he tries to continue the impressive work former manager Jurgen Klopp achieved.

One of the most important challenges that the Dutch boss will want to improve on, is to reduce the amount of injuries that Liverpool have had during Klopp’s reign.

It really has been horrendous the amount of injuries that Liverpool have had during the last nine years, and it makes you wonder if it has been partially caused by the German’s training methods?

It will be very interesting to see if Liverpool’s injury record improves now that Arne Slot is in charge because the injuries have really curtailed the Reds at important stages of different seasons.

It is very hard to find faults with Klopp but maybe his training methods can be questioned.

Liverpool must have a fit squad to compete in so many competitions next season.

Hopefully Slot can solve the problem.

There is mounting speculation regarding the future of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Real Madrid are reportedly keen to sign the talented England international, and with only a year left on his contract, Liverpool might reluctantly sell.

The Reds won’t want to lose their right-back, but if he wants to go, then they will want a lot of money as compensation.

Reports suggest that Liverpool will want at least £80 million for Trent if Real Madrid are seriously wanting him.

The Kopite View

Trent is a terrific player, but with new manager Arne Slot coming in, the Liverpool defender might feel it’s the right time to move on?

There were times last season that the Scouser didn’t look interested in defending as his body language showed at times, and suggested that he is wanting to play in midfield that many people suggest is his best position.

If Liverpool were to let Alexander-Arnold leave, then the money would be valuable for Slot to bring in his own players.

The breakthrough of young Conor Bradley and the experienced Joe Gomez would provide good cover if Trent was to leave regardless if the new manager would want to replace him.

Like most Liverpool supporters, I want Trent to stay, but everyone has their price.

England were once again left heartbroken for the second Euros Final in a row as Spain won 2-1 thanks to a late goal from Oyarzabal.

It is extremely tough with hopes high after Gareth Southgate took England to a second Euros Final in a row.

Spain were the standout team of the tournament and were also in the toughest half of the draw, and in fairness they deserved to win after dominating long spells of the final despite scoring very late to take the trophy.

Too Negative

Gareth Southgate deserves credit for his record of taking England to the latter stages of numerous competitions, but with the array of talent at his disposal, you can’t help but think he isn’t getting the best out of his players.

When England lost the final at Wembley 3 years ago, they had a tremendous chance to win the Euros after taking the lead against Italy, but instead of going for the jugular and a second goal, England seemed to sit back and allow Italy to grow into the game, before they equalised, and eventually ran out winners after winning the penalty shoot-out.

England have been spoiled for choice with talented players throughout the years, and far too often some of those players have not been used enough.

Players like Matt Le Tissier, Glenn Hoddle are a couple that come to mind, but far too often England managers have selected more workmanlike players instead.

Trent

Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is the latest talented player to be left frustrated, after mostly sitting on the bench as he watched his countrymen get to another Euros Final.

The Reds’ star was only used for the last 5 minutes, in the penalty shootout win over Switzerland, and also scored the winning penalty to take England through to the semifinal against the Netherlands.

The Liverpool defender gets so much criticism for his defending, but really the criticism is vastly unfair and what he offers going forward with his vision and passing ability outweighs his defensive frailties.

If Alexander-Arnold made the defensive mistakes Kyle Walker made in the two goals conceded against Spain, he would be publicly slaughtered by the so-called experts.

But nothing will be said about Walker because he has pace to burn.

It just seems so frustrating to see such a talented player sit so long on the bench as England just fell short once again.

Will Southgate finally realise what Trent can do for England? The way Jurgen Klopp used him at Liverpool?

There has not been much transfer talk this summer so far regarding Liverpool’s quest to improve their squad.

New manager Arne Slot is just settling into his new job, and taking a first look at his players as they sporadically return from their summer break.

However, there are reports that Liverpool are actively looking to strengthen their midfield and reportedly eyeing a move for Atalanta midfielder Ederson.

The 25-year-old Brazilian impressed in the Italian’s Europa League triumph last season that also saw Liverpool lose to the eventual winners in the quarter finals.

The Kopite View

I’m very interested in these reports regarding Ederson because I thought Liverpool suffered last season because they didn’t sign a top class defensive midfielder.

Fabinho’s departure last season left Liverpool short of defensive midfield options and Jurgen Klopp tried various individuals in that position, but it never really worked and Liverpool’s defence suffered with not enough protection in front of them.

Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Endo and even Joe Gomez were all used to solve the problem, but none of them really solved the defensive midfield problem.

Endo was the most natural option and he did an admirable job but his lack of mobility limited his impact in the position.

The news that Liverpool are looking at Ederson is very encouraging because it seems that they are looking for a defensive midfielder and in my opinion that is a position that needs improving most.

Liverpool have had a very difficult season to say the least.

After finally winning the Premier League for the first time, the Reds have had more bad luck than probably they’ve ever had in any one season.

Manager Jurgen Klopp has had to deal with so many injuries to key players throughout this unusual season.

The biggest impact regarding injuries to Liverpool’s team has obviously been to the centre of the defence, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez ruled out for the season early on, after sustaining serious injuries.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Joel Matip was also ruled out for the season in January, prompting Liverpool to bring Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak to Anfield on the last day of the transfer window as cover.

The injuries to Liverpool’s centre of defence has also disrupted their midfield with captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho being deployed as makeshift centre backs by Klopp.

There has been so many injuries it has been ridiculous to think Liverpool wouldn’t struggle, and there is no doubt they have as their current 6th place league position confirms.

The injuries have been bad enough but the amount of officiating decisions, especially with VAR has been ridiculous, and Klopp must have ran over a black cat or something worse to bring as much bad luck as we’ve witnessed this season.

Many players have not shown the form of recent seasons, Firmino, Trent and Mane, to name a few.

Last week’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid summed up Liverpool’s season after a very poor performance in the first leg, resulting in a 3-1 defeat that left them with a mountain to climb in the second leg.

The second leg performance was much better but like many games this season the Reds were wasteful in front of goal and spurned numerous chances to turn the tie around.

But a few weeks ago it looked like Liverpool’s best chance of playing in next season’s Champions League was to win it.

But now with many teams dropping points, Liverpool are back in with a chance of finishing in the top 4, and that would be a remarkable achievement with everything that has went against them this season.

Personally, I think if Liverpool manage to finish in the top 4 at the end of the season, then that would be a better achievement than winning the title last year.

What do you think?

It really has been a tough start to 2021 for Liverpool and their supporters, especially after topping the Premier League table at Christmas.

But things have really went downhill since walloping Crystal Palace the week before Christmas.

Liverpool have slipped down to fourth place in the league after a poor run of form, and are now 7 points behind Manchester City, and having played a game more.

It looks like the Premier League title is slipping from their grasp.

After a poor start to the year, Liverpool gave themselves a much needed boost with away wins at Spurs before beating West Ham last weekend.

But the feel good factor was quashed last Wednesday when they disappointingly lost at home 1-0 to Brighton.

It really does feel like it is make or break for Liverpool against Manchester City tomorrow, and despite their injury problems, a win could just be what they need to get them going again.

Even with a win for Liverpool tomorrow, the title might be out of their reach with City looking like the juggernaut of recent seasons, but finishing in the top 4 is vital for Liverpool and there is a tough challenge taking place this season for Champions League places.

Liverpool are also still in this season’s Champions League and they want to find some form before they play Leipzig.

I don’t think Liverpool have a fit enough squad to go on a run of wins like they did the last couple of seasons but if they get some more consistency by winning more games they could still have a very successful season.

We have all been spoiled by the consistency and terrific football this squad of players has produced over the last few seasons, and it is easy to criticise and get frustrated by what we’ve seen this season.

There is no doubt that all our injuries has hindered us, and really gave others a chance to overtake us.

But we have solace in the fact that we know our long term injuries will be back stronger next season and surely Liverpool can’t have another season with as much bad luck.

First we should wait and see what the outcome of tomorrow’s game is because there is still a long way to go and you just never know with Liverpool.

Do you?

Liverpool’s season kicks off tomorrow against newly promoted Leeds United at Anfield.

But there’s been a lot of criticism by Liverpool supporters regarding the lack of transfer business this summer.

So far this summer Liverpool have only added Konstantinos Tsimikas to their squad as cover for Andy Robertson, and fans are a bit worried as rival clubs, especially Chelsea, have invested heavily in strengthening their squads.

The fact is other teams need to catch up on Liverpool, as the champions have proved they have the best team, and have a squad capable of winning the title that eluded them for so many years.

However, it is important that Liverpool don’t lose any of their important players like Salah, Mane or Firmino to name a few.

But there has been constant speculation that the Reds could lose Georginio Wijnaldum to Barcelona this summer.

The Dutch international is going into the final year of his contract at Anfield and new Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman is believed to be wanting to bring Wijnaldum to Spain as he tries to rebuild the fallen giants.

The transfer speculation surrounding Wijnaldum is fuelled by the rumours that Champions League winners Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcântara could move to Liverpool.

In my opinion, signing Thiago would be a bonus, but keeping Wijnaldum is a must.

Gini has proved to be a very important player for Liverpool in recent seasons, and he is one of Jürgen Klopp’s first names on the team sheet for the most important games.

Wijnaldum’s work rate and discipline in Liverpool’s midfield allows others to push forward, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson thrive on the freedom to get forward that the midfielder’s role allows.

The Dutch midfielder is also very durable and very rarely injured, so I believe that Wijnaldum signing a new contract would be the best transfer business Liverpool could do this summer.