Opposition View: Liverpool

The general consensus among footballing pundits seems to be that if any team is going to take up the challenge to Manchester City this season, it’s going to Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp has spent big money and the Reds squad now possesses the world’s most expensive goalkeeper and the world’s most expensive defender. Klopp may play down his teams chances, but he must know that now is the time to deliver.

But what do Liverpool fans reckon? In order to find out, we spoke to Ayon Anwar from Anfield Index. Ayon told us about what it’s like to watch a side as entertaining as Klopp’s week in, week out, that famous Anfield atmosphere and whether we can expect their to be a petition if Lewis Dunk injures Mo Salah.

Jurgen Klopp has tried on a couple of occasions to claim his side shouldn’t be considered the nearest rivals to Manchester City, but with the money Liverpool have spent you’ve surely got to be challenging for honours this season. What would represent a successful campaign?
Klopp is a manager that handles the media with great composure. Its quite clear that Liverpool should be challenging Manchester City for the title, but to keep the team focused, he’s approaching the season one game at a time.

In terms of investment, the money spent has been necessary to mould the squad into what Klopp requires. Since the summer of 2016 Liverpool has spent £411.55m and recuperated £289.65m, a net spend of £121.9m, whereas Manchester United have spent £392.55 million pounds and sold £85.3m worth of players, for a net spend of £307.25m (per sky sports). Liverpool’s net spend over the last two years basically equates to what Fulham have just spent in one summer. Essentially if you want to compete for the title, you need to spend money. Michael Edwards and our transfer committee have done an excellent job in that regard and is the basis of our strong position for the season ahead.

As a fan I care more about watching entertaining football than winning trophies, however, I think that in order for the campaign to be successful, we’ll need to at least push City all the way for the league, a deep push in to the Champions League (at least quarter finals) and win a domestic cup. Our squad is deep enough to do so.

Talk us through your new signings – how much do they improve an already impressive team?
In terms of improvement, immeasurably. We have gone from also rans to contenders in one summer. I’ll start with Allison as Goalkeeper is a position we have sorely been underperforming since Pepe Reina left the club. His arrival gives me something which I haven’t felt in some years, genuine confidence that when a shot is on target, there wont be a goal. He reminds me of the character in gang movies who doesn’t say a word but is the most dangerous of the lot. A worthy guardian of our goal.

Fabinho is a wonderful player and I’m extremely glad we haven’t had to rush him in to the team. Adjusting to a new culture and system particularly can be tough, especially one as intense as Klopp’s. If we take Alex Oxlade Chamberlain as an example, he was mocked when he swapped London for Liverpool, now he would have almost certainly been a part of our first eleven. Around November we’ll see why Klopp splashed so much cash on him.

Shaqiri, as Klopp put it, was a “no brainer”. At £13m, a player of his quality gives us real depth if plan A isn’t working. A wonderful left foot and able to pick a pass, I expect him and Sturridge to cause chaos in the domestic cups.

Finally, Naby Keita. When Steven Gerrard retired I honestly though that his shirt number should have been retired with him. News came through last season that we’d locked Keita in for this season so I watched some clips of him for Leipzig and was pleasantly surprised by his skill, however not stunned. Then during pre-season the hype began to grow, his partnership with Sturridge a huge plus. After his debut against West Ham, not only was I glad Gerrard’s shirt was not retired, it was as if Naby was destined for it. He really can do it all and is link that we were missing between attack and midfield. Believe the hype, early contender for PFA Player of the year.

Brighton nearly signed Virgil van Dijk in 2013 before he joined Celtic. How good a player did we miss out on there?
In a word, behemoth. Not only is he aerially dominant and excellent with his feet, he is constantly gesturing where the ball should be played and organising the defence. Klopp faced a lot of backlash at the end of the transfer window last summer for not bringing in a central defender when Southampton would not sell Van Dijk. His patience truly paid off. The dutchman single handedly transformed our defence over night and since his debut, no player has kept more clean sheets in the premier league. PFA team of the year written all over him.

Every time we play a side who press as aggressively as Liverpool, we tend to fall apart. Got any tips on how Chris Hughton could best deal with Klopp’s style of play?
Confidence. I know this is easy to say from the living room, but that’s what will rattle us. If the players stay calm and are able to break the press, were in trouble. We can only press for so long and if you show us that its not working, we’ll be flustered and able to be got at.

You’ve obviously had differing experiences with two sets of American owners. What do Liverpool fans make of the chairmanship of Fenway Sports Group?
Three key elements of their ownership have me singing their praises. Firstly, sacking Roy Hodgson. He was not a good fit for the club both on and off the pitch. Secondly, hiring Jurgen Klopp, a man who is so relatable to the fans he could be one of us. Thirdly, trusting the man’s ability and judgment and backing him financially. With a squad that quite frankly did not deserve to be there, he got us to a Champions League final. FSG are the best owners we’ve had.

Brighton and Liverpool have had some great battles down the years, especially in cup competitions. What’s your favourite memory of games between the two?
I’d like to say the 2-1 win we got at the Amex in 2011 as it was on the way to our last trophy, the League Cup in the 2011-12 season. But it has to be when Mo Salah scored the first goal when Brighton came to Anfield earlier this year for two reasons. Firstly, it was the goal that set the record for most goals in a 38-game season and secondly, it was my first game watching Liverpool at Anfield and the atmosphere was indescribable. Something I’ll cherish forever.

May was our first visit to Anfield since the building of the new Main Stand. Are there any plans to improve the stadium further?
As it stands (no pun intended), the focus of the financial division of LFC is on the pitch as opposed to off it. Having recently just expanded, further development is not priority one at the moment. Rest assured there are plans to make those famous European nights at Anfield even louder.

If you could sign one Brighton player, who would you take to Anfield?
The easy answer here would be Pascal Gross. The German was arguably pound for pound the signing of the summer last season. To be a little more interesting, I’ll go for Yves Bissouma. At 21 years old and for £15m, your transfer team may have another gem on their hands. After making waves for Lille last season, I expect him to gel excellently with Gross and new signing Alireza Jahanbaksh. I can see him thriving in the number 8 position, winning the ball back and driving the team forward with his quick feet, immense strength and unbelievable shot power. Definitely one to watch.

Lewis Dunk is more likely to score an own goal than injure anyone, but if he tackles Mo Salah can we expect a petition to try and get him banned as a result?
Our reliance on Mo last season was something which is understated. The moment which cost us the Champions League final was not Karius’ mistakes, rather Salah’s injury. In the first half we managed nine shots with him on the pitch and 0 when he was taken off. This season our reliance is less so, with Naby Keita and Sadio Mane primed for excellent season down the left. Their combination with any Roberston could be the new fab three.
As a result I don’t think there’ll be a petition, although I wouldn’t be too happy.

Finally, how do you see Saturday’s game going? We’d take anything other than a heavy defeat!
I think you’re selling yourselves quite short there. You were nothing short of brilliant against Manchester United on the weekend, particularly down the left-hand side. Coming off an undefeated home, Anfield is a fortress. I do expect the reds to get the result, but it won’t be easy. 3-1.

Thanks to Ayon for answering our questions. You can check out Anfield Index online or follow them on Twitter.