Now the season has ended I thought it may be the time to look back on 2018/19 and review how each player has done. I wanted to wait for a bit since after the CL Final I’d have just given every player 10/10. To grade each player I’ve given them a mark out of 10, with 0.5 increments. My general grading was as follows:
0-4 out of 10 Player has been somewhere between terrible and disastrous in their performances. Potentially a questionable off the field attitude too
4-6 out of 10 Player has been below average to average on the majority of occasions they’ve played
6-7 out of 10 Player has been average to good for vast majority of performances
7-8 out of 10 Player has been good to very good for vast majority of performances
8-9 out of 10 Player has been very good to excellent throughout the season. Getting into PL team of the Year territory with these marks
9-10 out of 10 Player has been on the top of their game across the season. Performances consistently at a standard which mark them out as one of the best players in their position domestically and in Europe
As always there was a tendency to mark a player against expectations. It probably why I’ve give Origi a higher mark than expected, and maybe someone like Firmino a lower mark than others would.
Goalkeepers
Alisson - He’s been solid in goal bar the odd mishap. His positioning is so good that he doesn’t need to make spectacular saves. Always parries shots away from danger. Looked solid on crosses too. His physical stature must help immensely when coming through crowded penalty boxes. His distribution has been good though I think he’s reigned in some of the more risky things he tried at the start of the season. Probably our signing of summer 2018 and definitely plugged a big gap - 9/10
Mignolet – Not much to say about his time on the pitch. Played twice did OK. Showed some of the strengths and weaknesses we know he already had. Attitude has been spot on though. Probably the best No.2 (ability and attitude wise) in the league - 5/10
Defence
Alexander-Arnold - took that next step up in his development. Had some rocky games at times but seemed to grow and grow as the season went on. Huge threat going forward and apart from the odd time was pretty solid at the back. His development is in the coming season is one of the areas where this team can improve. He’s got the ability to be one of the best right backs in the World. He’s got the ability to be one of the best players in the World – 8.5/10
Gomez – 1st half of the season he delivered on his huge promise. If he can deliver those 1st half of season performances at centre back for an entire season then we’ll have one of the best young centre backs in the World on our books. Unlucky to have been taken out with an injury in December and hardly featured afterwards. He’d have been 9/10 if he put a full season together. - 7/10
Lovren – ended last season as 1st choice partner for van Dijk. Ended this season as 4th choice centre back. Slightly unfair since injuries played a role, as did the performance of others. He did fine when called upon. Dejan just wasn’t required or fit that much. Big season for him in 2019/2020 to see if he can re-establish himself- 6/10
Matip - Started the season as 4th choice centre back. Ended up as van Dijk’s partner. Remarkable 2nd half of the season from Matip. Hardly put a foot or head wrong for the last 4 months. Surpassed all expectation except for when attacking ball in the opposition’s box. Still got a 50p head – 8/10
Van Dijk – imperious. Dominant in the air at both end of the pitch. Never beaten for pace. Good on the ball. He has everything and seems to have bought into the culture of the club too. Genuine contender for Balon D’or this year. Would have been 10/10 but knocked off half a point because my Wife fancies the handsome b*****d too - 9.5/10
Robertson – built on the very good 6 months at the back end of last season to establish himself, not only as Liverpool’s best left back but the league’s best left back. Tenacious, brilliant defensively and a threat going forward. Probably the best left back I’ve seen us have. -9/10
Moreno - similar to Mignolet and hard to judge. Off the field the reports are that he’s an excellent team mate. On the pitch he hardly played. Did OK on those few occasions he did get called upon – 5/10
Midfield
Fabinho - grew into the season as it progressed and now looks an integral part of the team. I think a lot of praise needs to go to the player in how he handled the transition to our system and the intensity of this league. Klopp deserves huge credit too. The slow introduction, followed by utilisation in a double pivot in winter 2018, meant he could be played as a No.6 in our loosely described 4-3-3 system over the final 3-4 months of the season. His performance against Barcelona at home was the high point. That seemed a long way away when he was getting legged around The Emirates by Arsenal in the autumn of 2018 – 8.5/10
Henderson – really unusual season from Henderson. It’s been a bit up and down – both in terms of performance and his standing in the team. 2017/18 season he was undoubted 1st choice for the No.6 position. As this season wore on that was no longer true, though he’d still had some outstanding games (PSG at home for example). Looked like he might not be 1st choice any more. From Southampton away he looked re-born in a more advanced role. Ended the season really strongly and his performances were epitomised in the Barcelona game at home. Passion, physicality, pace, stamina and a huge desire to win encapsulated those end of season performances. Interesting to see how he progresses in this position over a full season - 7.5/10
Milner - such a valuable player to have in the squad. Did brilliantly, alongside Wijnaldum, at the start of the season. With Henderson coming back late from World Cup duty and Keita/Fabinho settling into the club, Milner was vitally important in midfield during those 1st few months of the season. Continued to contribute throughout the season and provided back up in the full back positions also - 8/10
Wijnaldum - over the course of the season he was probably our most important midfielder. Certainly played the most minutes. Was very good the 1st few months of the season, had a dip after Xmas but came back strongly. A midfielder who can do a bit of everything. Probably under valued by many non-LFC supporters – 8.5/10
Keita – a season interrupted by niggling injuries. I personally think he struggled with the physicality and pace of the league in his 1st 6 months. Sometimes he looked like he was struggling with the system. Last few months of the season you could see him begin to establish himself and show the qualities we know he has. Big thing expected of him next season and hopefully he can continue his upward trajectory - 6.5/10
Lallana - another player who was injury hit throughout the season. He’s definitely a player who can contributed, as exemplified by his performances against Burnley and Fulham in spring, but hard to rate him highly given how little he played (only 6 starts across League and CL) - 5.5/10
Shaqiri – another difficult one to grade due to the lack of games time (13 starts across league and CL). Different to Lallana though he had a sustained impact for a period of time (Nov-Dec) when we went with 4 forwards on the pitch. Across the season he had 11 PL starts (13 subs) with 6 goals and 3 assists. That’s a very good contribution given the limited playing time. In 2019 he struggled for playing time. Was that due to carrying an injury (as reported) and/or the change in system that saw us revert to 4-3-3 for the majority of occasions? I’m not 100% sure but the reason may dictate whether Shaqiri has a long term future at Liverpool or not – 7/10
Forwards
Salah – less goals than 2017/18 but now looks a more rounded player. Obvious that opposition teams were devising plans to stop him and doubling up on him. Still managed to grab 27 goals despite that close scrutiny. An immensely important player for us and one who is a constant threat and provides space for others - 9/10
Mane – probably just edges Salah as the pick of our forward players. Joint golden boot winner shows the strides he’s making with regards to goal scoring threat. Though fair to say he’s probably been afforded more space due to the scrutiny that opposition teams are paying Salah. Mane has put himself in a position to be described as an elite footballer on the World stage and this season was another step forward for him. Most other seasons he’d easily be our Player of the Season - 9/10
Firmino – given the highs of his 2017/18 performances I think he didn’t quite hit those height as consistently during 2018/19. He’s one of the few players in our squad who probably had a worse season compared with the previous season. Similar to Salah I think teams noticed his importance to how we play and looked to stop him. Some absolutely outstanding personal performances from Firmino though. Arsenal at home sticks out the most - 8/10
Sturridge - very much a squad player but one who contributed during the season. By the end of September it maybe looked like he’d contribute more than he actually did. Goal on the opening day of the season, starting against PSG and the Chelsea goal had me thinking that maybe flickers of the old Sturridge were back. Became more peripheral as the season wore on as Shaqiri and then Origi seemed to overtake him in the pecking order. Ended up starting 2 of the last 3 league games and got the reward his Liverpool career probably deserved with a CL medal – 6.5/10
Origi - no one would have batted an eye lid if he’d left last summer. A once promising player who seemed to have lost his way, has probably had his career turned on its head by Jordan Pickford’s inability to deal with a routine shot. For him to score a brace in a European Cup semi final and follow it up with the clinching 2nd in the final is frankly nearly believable. It would have been an unfathomable thought at any point during the 1st 6 months of the season to think he’d even play in this type of game for Liverpool. Fairytale stuff for a lad who has always had a huge amount of ability. Probably now has a longer term future at the club – 7/10
It would be interesting to hear other's thoughts. Please add any additional players you think are missing too