People can point to certain games (Man U at OT) or it being the manager's last season as being reasons for why it went the way it has, but ultimately I feel we were too much on the edge of our seat all season to really feel totally confident we could do it. This is not a team that can grind out a few 1-0 wins. We've looked ropey in every game bar maybe five, which makes it remarkable that we have won as many as we have (and a pot to go with it). Reminds me of the Rodgers season where games were too open. All those comebacks were a testament to Klopp and the spirit of the team, but it was too much.
Think the main issue is we didn't address midfield in summer '22 (when the great man reeled off those 8 midfielders, which included Ox, Keita, 36 yo Milner and a few others whose legs had gone). I don't know if it was an oversight on his part, or was it financial restrictions (Jurgen was a rare breed in that he wasn't one to complain about lack of finances, he just got on with it).
A Klopp midfield has to be purring, providing the protection for the defence as well as winning the ball back quickly to feed it to the attackers. We really got four years of that at its optimum, summer '18 to '22 (coinciding with prime Fabinho, and our four best seasons). We saw the immense improvement when we sold Coutinho, as we tightened up defensively by not having to carry a lightweight in midfield, and (to my and many others surprise who thought losing him would hurt our creativity) we were even more dangerous going forward as the "creativity" was now winning the ball back quickly and allowing us to break faster, thus more space for the forwards to exploit.
We saw the difference in plain sight of just how pivotal a top notch central midfield is to a team just past the midway point of the 20- 21 season (just after the January window when we incredulously didn't sign two adequate central defenders at the beginning of the month when we were top of the league, the first of the two big blunders transfer window wise, the 2nd being the aforementioned summer '22 window). We had Fabinho and Hendo as our two central defenders, thus left a gaping hole in midfield, and we lost game after game (6 on the spin)...we then put them back in their natural position, and went on title winning form, with the might of Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips as the centre half pairing. The midfield locked up the defence with the two behind them just having to do the basics. It's quite possible we could have won a league title, with William's and Phillips as our central defence before Fabinho and Hendo were moved there, that's how good the midfield was (Fabinho and Hendo shouldn't have been moved at all, as two centre backs should have been in through the door on 1 January, straight after the players had done remarkable in the December to put us top without any available centre backs for most of it, with players openly looking toward the window opening (Andy Robertson post game (boxing day game or the game after that) on LFCTV being one) and reinforcements brought in, which shockingly did not happen. Jurgen kind of answered this question around the 23rd/24th of that Jan window when he rightly complained (for once) we've got no money having been asked for the umpteenth time why we haven't brought in any central defenders, but I'd love to ask him exactly what happened during that month. Without question the worst window of any team since its inception. Top of the league entering the window, a league title was beckoning, and the first thing Jurgen answered in his first press conference that January was that signing a centre back was "unlikely" (he didn't give his emotions away when he said it, but did let rip about 3 weeks later). I wasnt alone in being stunned at that comment. The closest thing to self sabotage I can recall. FSG's worst moment on the field by some distance. I'm digressing here but I remember thinking in late December someone like Gary Cahill and another coming straight in, and we'd do it. We sat on our hands and did nowt until the horse had bolted.
Back to the midfield inactivity of summer '22, we then tried to rectify it all last summer, basically akin to cramming for an exam. The change was too much, and we never addressed the defensive midfield position adequately (again more cramming with a massive/desperate bid for one two weeks before the window shut, before bringing in a 30 year old who didn't have the athleticism needed for a Klopp team). It's been a mishmash in midfield all season. Mac Allister is great, no issue with us getting that deal sorted first. But for me the main priority had to be a DM, especially so for a high risk style in Klopp. Given we press high up so leave spaces in behind, it is an absolute must to have a player who can put out fires when teams break against us (Fabinho "the lighthouse" for four years). A Klopp side demands more of the DM than most other sides, which makes it even more imperative that it's a top notch one. There have been gaping holes galore all season. Endo, bit of a cult figure, but akin to Lucas he doesn't have the physical capacity to screen the backline and shut down attacks before they get to the danger area. Teams target his lack of mobility. Another question I'd love to ask Klopp, is he surprised by how slow Endo is? "We need your legs and energy" I think is what he said to him in the changing room? I think we were all shocked when we saw him vs Newcastle. Like running in treacle. When he went off the tempo in the team went up a notch (likewise when Nunez came on for Gakpo). He has definitely become more accustomed to the style, and he's a tidy player on the ball, but we needed alot more than that. Having to play Mac out of position just imbalances the midfield, while with more balance in midfield in Endo it just leaves us more susceptible on the break. Another problem (with either of them playing in the 6) is the others in midfield have to be close to them ("compact" as Rafa would say), but that's not a Klopp team. The other midfielders shouldn't have to been carrying the work of the 6, that's impacting their game (I've no doubt its affected Dom). It would work in a more structured set up, but Klopp's is much more high risk, press high (which leaves the gaps), and that's when the athletic 6 takes up the slack, tracks runners, which we do not have.
When Fabinbo fell off a cliff in 22-23, we fell off a cliff. That protection had gone. Hendo's legs had already pretty much gone hence the need for at least one midfield reinforcement that summer, but it was the collapse of Fabinho that was most shocking. As I mentioned much more is asked of the DM in a Klopp team, which was probably why Fabinho was cooked so soon. That's the position we should have been focused on maintaining the quality of more than any other. We have seen it time and time again how important a quality one is. In Istanbul for us, we had been watertight throughout the knockouts (vs the freescoring champions of Itlay and England, both barely got a sniff), then Rafa sensing what PSV (including Park) did to that aging Milan defence decided to play Kewell rather than a DM, thus leaving Kaka free reign to run riot and slice open our helpless backline. Doesn't matter how good the central defence is (and our two were bloody good then) if theres no protection or screening infront of them they cannot do much. Makalele when he left R.Madrid, they collapsed. All that quality in defence and attack (and Casillas in goal), but there was no-one in the middle holding the show together (and every player at the time maligned that sale). He goes to Chelsea, does the same job there and they were a machine. Brazil in '02 had two of them (Gilberto and Kleberson), they needed them as all the others attacked; the three R's in the forward line and the two wingback in Cafu and Roberto Carlos. Kante at Leicester, at Chelsea, and for France (allowing Pogba the license to be solely focused on attacking). The Roy Evans team, a commanding DM is what we were crying out for. Slick passing of Redknapp, the running of McManaman (our player of the decade who frequently ran games on his own), and the finishing of Fowler; we had no anchor in midfield though, far too swashbuckling.
I think if Jurgen has one regret it's not bringing in the first midfield reinforcement in summer 22 (if he had been allowed to) as that would have left him with much less to do the following year, less cramming, as it was just too much. Under the circumstances we've had a great season.
