Jurgen Klopp’s first game as Liverpool manager has come and gone with the new Reds boss remaining undefeated in his fledgling English career so far having drawn 0-0 away at Tottenham Hotspur for a point on Saturday.
With the game not being the best for the neutral with the game going through several largely dull periods, Liverpool could’ve won the fixture on another day and Klopp remained upbeat in his post-match interviews focusing on the fact the boys did a good job.
With our resident Reds fans in the tavern knowing that their side can do a lot better in the months to come, Klopp also reaffirmed the club’s fans and media that he can’t give a precise date for which the Reds will be firing on all cylinders, maintaining he needs time to craft Liverpool into a dominant force again.
In tenth place right now with 13 points on the board, Liverpool are only four points off the top four at present and with the league being more wide open than it has been in recent years, grabbing a string of victories must be the plan now with the Reds up against eighth-placed Southampton at Anfield next.
Having to call on Divock Origi from the start against Tottenham on Saturday due to a late knee knock for Daniel Sturridge to add to Christian Benteke’s loss and Danny Ings’ career ending injury, the Belgian often looked lost at times but with the first two players set to return against the Saints, our Liverpool fans are wondering whether Klopp will play two up top going forward.
To place greater emphasis on this potential plan going forward, we’ve devised what we believe to be the best Liverpool XI with Daniel Sturridge and Christian Benteke both included from the start.
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Click on the image below to reveal the best Liverpool XI under Klopp including Christian Benteke & Daniel Sturridge.
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Simon Mignolet
If everybody is completely honest, Liverpool’s bigger Premier League rivals blow them out of the water when it comes to the goalkeeping department.
With Arsenal having Petr Cech, Manchester United boasting David De Gea and Chelsea being able to call upon Thibaut Courtois when fit, deep down our Reds supporters know Simon Mignolet is not at this level.
Looked upon as a player who can be improved upon in the transfer market, it remains to be seen whether Klopp will make an upgrade on the Belgian international going forward.
Nathaniel Clyne
Having been fairly solid since signing for Liverpool in the summer, Nathaniel Clyne hasn’t had any harsh critics so far and that’s a testament to his consistency at right back.
Starting for England in the European Qualifier against Estonia recently, Clyne will hope that he can stay fit for the duration of the campaign and he’ll have a cracking chance to be Roy Hodgson’s first choice at right back in Euro 2016 next summer.
A £12.5 million signing in the summer of course, we think Clyne would’ve more than repaid that back by the end of the 2015/16 season.
Martin Skrtel
Still not totally faultless, ask most Liverpool supporters and they’ll definitely tell you that Martin Skrtel is probably their best centre back when performing at his peak.
It was to Brendan Rodgers’ plight that Liverpool’s defensive unit wasn’t nearly as efficient as they needed to be in yielding consistent results to save the Northern Irishman from the chop.
In Skrtel’s fellow defensive team-mates of Mamadou Sakho, Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren, this trio have all proved that they have an error or two in their game on more of a regular basis.
Mamadou Sakho
To start with this season, Brendan Rodgers opted to choose Dejan Lovren as Martin Skrtel’s first choice central defensive partner but as we saw in the home game against West Ham United, he simply can’t seem to shake the errors that have blighted his Liverpool career so far.
Therefore, many Liverpool fans have been grateful when Mamadou Sakho has stepped up to the plate but in truth, the French international hasn’t really been a model of consistency either.
There is an onus on Sakho to improve his game-to-game consistency because at the end of the day, he’ll be vying with the likes of Raphael Varane, Eliaquim Mangala and Laurent Koscielny for a place in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for Euro 2016 next summer.
Alberto Moreno
In terrible news for Liverpool last week, Joe Gomez was ruled out for the rest of the season having ruptured a cruciate knee ligament away on England Under-21 international duty.
It is an incredible shame for the Charlton Athletic academy graduate because so far this season, he was receiving some invaluable experience, starting games at left back for the Reds despite his relative inexperience as a young player making his way in the game.
Gomez’s rapid rise to stardom has been to the detriment of last summer’s signing Alberto Moreno who has had to settle for a place on the bench but the Spanish international will need to step up now.
One of Rodgers’ better signings of last summer, Moreno is capable but equally inconsistent and that said, he’s still more reliable than the injury-prone Jose Enrique.
Emre Can
Deployed back in midfield against Tottenham on Saturday, our Liverpool supporters by the bar feel that Emre Can can do far less damage in the engine room than in defence where his performances dropped under Brendan Rodgers.
Having gone full circle now, Can is back in a position where he originally prospered for the Reds last season, bagging a goal against Chelsea at Anfield and when the German international is deployed in the middle of the park, he adds a further level of dynamism in there.
With Jurgen Klopp now on board to boot, perhaps the German connection will help foster some more consistent performances out of the prospect.
Jordan Henderson
Missing through injury right now, you could make the claim that Liverpool have been missing the energy of captain Jordan Henderson in midfield.
Having endured an ordinary start to life at Anfield, the former Sunderland man has improved greatly and it no longer washes to call the England international a waste of space.
Very similar to new signing James Milner in that the pair can seemingly run all day, once Henderson returns from the sidelines, he’ll have to pull out all the stops in the remainder of the campaign to make sure he gets in Roy Hodgson’s England squad for Euro 2016.
James Milner
Brought in as somebody who could replace the shoes of Steven Gerrard in his own way in the centre of the park, James Milner will never be the Reds’ iconic number 8 but he’s someone who can run all day while stamping his own mark on this Liverpool team.
In fairness to the England international, he hasn’t endured the worst start to life at Anfield but he’s one of those players who can sometimes fall into the category of – ‘what exactly does he do other than run?’
In truth, most good sides need these workmen in their ranks and as we’ve become accustomed to with Milner, he’s one of the most athletic central midfielders in the top flight.
Philippe Coutinho
With Philippe Coutinho getting a good 87 minutes under his belt back in Liverpool’s starting eleven following injury on Saturday, Reds supporters will be made up that they were able to call upon the Brazilian again.
Having seemingly taken a greater responsibility on board following Luis Suarez’s sale, Coutinho has been a superb bargain signing find for the Reds and the sheer fact Brendan Rodgers didn’t have as many success stories in the transfer market like this one contributed to his eventual sacking.
Deployed on the flanks against Tottenham on Saturday, we think that the Brazilian’s best position is as a number 10 and that’s why we’ve placed him at the head of the diamond behind the two strikers in our formation here.
Daniel Sturridge
With the Tottenham game supposed to be the fixture in which Daniel Sturridge was meant to return to the Liverpool fold, Liverpool supporters sported irritated faces on Friday night when it was revealed a further knee knock had blighted the former Chelsea man.
Expected to be back for the Rubin Kazan game in the Europa League this week with the knock described as not being serious, everybody connected with Liverpool will be delighted with this news with the striker having proved time and again that he can be a right handful for opposition defenders.
Christian Benteke
Perhaps not enjoying an electric start to his Liverpool career, Christian Benteke hasn’t been a disaster either and that’s why Reds supporters are eager to find out more what the Belgian can do in a Reds shirt.
With his cracking overhead goal away at Manchester United proving the highlight of his short Reds career to date, Liverpool fans will be hoping for much more from their £32.5 million big Belgian arrival for the rest of the campaign.
The sheer matter of fact that he cost so much money will naturally bring about a level of expectation and if Benteke fails to go on from here while bagging the goals, questions will unfortunately be raised but for the time being, he remains the right side of being considered a disappointing signing.
