Liverpool are Premier League champions. A proud sentence for us all to read back to ourselves, over and over again. But going into our first title defence, there are concerns that need to be addressed.
Pre-season has not exactly gone to plan due to the current global situation, which Jurgen Klopp has no control over. Saturday’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal on penalties behind closed doors reminded us of the current state that football finds itself in.
With this, comes financial implications. We have lost a significant amount of matchday revenue with the fact that no fans have been allowed inside stadiums. So when Klopp said before the game that he was more concerned with the mentality of his team that any potential incoming players, it raised a concern in my mind.
The German tactician’s argument makes a lot of sense, and he understands his players more than anyone does on the outside. But as previous champions that have gone before, there have been reasons why they did not retain the title the following year.
Do Liverpool need attacking signings in the summer?
Yes
No
Reds’ veteran James Milner shone a light on this, by insisting that if Liverpool play at the same level this season as they did last, they would not be good enough, which was almost a contradiction from what his boss said.
I just hope that Klopp is not going to stick with the same team as he did last season, hoping that they will get him over the line once again.
With teams around us as Manchester City, and particularly Chelsea strengthening impeccably, there is a worry that we may have been found out before a ball has even been kicked.
The Citizens made the same mistake in 2013, stuck with almost the same side that won the title with the last kick of the 2011/12 campaign, which saw them hand it to their local rivals Manchester United.
Leicester City have been guilty of this, so have Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers. Klopp needs to keep improving and using the same squad of players is bordering on naive.
With the likes of Thiago Alcantara being linked with us, as well as Diego Carlos and Ismalia Sarr, we need to keep teams guessing. Liverpool must provide that element of surprise on a matchday to catch the opposition out. I do not think we can do this if we do not strengthen, which will affect our title challenge.