Liverpool 15/16 Season Preview
By Omar Shahin
Editor Adam Clifton gave his season preview and predictions. Now Omar Shahin gives his for the upcoming season.
It’s nearly upon us. After 13 long weeks the 2015/16 season is almost here. Following a disastrous campaign last season, and a raft of new signings; Liverpool fans are more anxious than most to get the new season underway. The first stop is none other than the Britannia Stadium, the scene where Liverpool suffered possibly their most embarassing defeat of the Premier League era. Now, Liverpool are involved in a fair few competitions this season, so this preview will have to be tackled in parts.
It’s cliché, but this really is a make or break season, not just for Brendan Rodgers, but for a lot of these players too.
Let’s kick this off with a bold statement. Liverpool will be better than they were last season. The pre-season signs are looking promising for the new players. Milner has been our best player on the tour, Gomez has been surprisingly impressive, Ings and Origi have both grabbed themselves a few goals. Ibe has been -for lack of a better term- like a new signing, Lallana seems back to near enough his best, and Coutinho just grabbed a goal on his first game back. We still don’t know much about Firmino so his first season should be exciting. All in all, pretty promising.
In theory Gerrard’s departure means there’s a big leadership chasm amongst the squad. This is only slightly true, Stevie was a brilliant leader both on the pitch and off it. But towards the back end of last season it seemed as though his mind was already in LA. The passionate, demanding leader that we all know and love simply wasn’t there anymore. Jordan Henderson needs to bring that fire back into the team.
It’s cliché, but this really is a make or break season, not just for Brendan Rodgers, but for a lot of these players too. Lovren and Benteke have a lot to prove this season, whilst the likes of Henderson and Coutinho will be expected to really push on, into the elite bracket of players.
Premier League:
The truth is, it’s very difficult to see Liverpool finishing in the top four this season. Yes we’ve strenghthened and bought well, yes some players like Ibe and Lallana look to be improving. But for the first time since Alex Ferguson retired, there are four teams who are, on paper, simply head and shoulders above us. We bought well, but Manchester United bought better. Arsenal, Man City, and Chelsea are certainly not dropping out of the top 4. As painful as it is to admit, our only real hope is that it doesn’t quite click for United, because if it does, there’s little we can do.
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Far from being negative, I’m not suggesting it’s impossible. We’ve seen time and time again, teams with big names don’t always work out. It’s completely possible that our squad will click together as a team much better, and over the course of the season that may show. But on paper, it looks bleak for our top four hopes.
We should, however, finish ahead of Spurs who have done little to strengthen their squad. In truth, we should have finished above them last season, were it not for our complete capitulation at the end.
Prediction: 5th
Europa League:
Ah yes, the Europa League. Possibly the most confusing of all competitions. With the added incentive of Champions League qualification, the hope is that it’s taken a little more seriously. But it’s still one of those trophies, we’d love to win it, but when we get knocked out we claim we were never that bothered anyway.
Well, Brendan will be bothered. With four very strong teams ahead of us, the EL might be our best route to CL football next season. The debate over whether we should prioritise the EL or the league raged last season -naturally we ended up with neither- and will probably rage again this season.
With all the new signings and youngsters, Liverpool’s squad may be able to cope a little bit better than, say Everton’s did last season. The likes of Origi and Gomez will probably get most of their games here, which can be a good thing.
It’s difficult to predict how Liverpool will perform in the Europa League because it really just comes down to how serious the manager takes it. My guess is Rodgers will take it fairly seriously.
Prediction: Quarter-finals
The Cups:
The FA Cup debate has gone on for a few years now. Some still see it as a prestige competition, other’s don’t. Regardless, it wouldn’t hurt Liverpool to win it. Don’t forget how gutted we all were when Villa beat us last season. Bottom line is, Brendan needs some silverware. It’s entirely possible that he loses his job even if we finish in the top four but trophyless, and vice versa. Much like last season, expect this to be taken very seriously indeed.
Prediction: Quarter-finals
The Capital One cup, much like the Europa League will be a good chance to see what the likes of Origi and the other youngsters can do. Expect weaker sides filled with youngsters, until we reach the latter stages. Again, Brendan clearly wanted to win this last season and will probably want to again, so I imagine we’ll go pretty far.
Prediction: Win
New man Christian Benteke is probably under the most pressure to perform this season after his £32.5m move from Villa. Question marks remain over his suitability to the team, but Brendan clearly thinks he was a good buy. I myself criticised the purchase of the Belgian, but it’s clear the manager has faith in him, and after all, it is his system. If Benteke hits the ground running, he could become a Kop hero very quickly. That’s a big if. Anything less than 10 league goals is a failure. But I think he’ll beat that. With all the competitions we’re involved in, his tally should be quite high.
Prediction: 20 goals
Most Important Player:
This is a tough one to predict. From the looks of pre-season it could be either Milner or Ibe. Coutinho would also be a pretty easy option to pick. But, I’ll go with Jordan Henderson.
Hendo had a pretty good season last year and will be expected to up the performances again this season. From what we’ve seen, the armband suits him. He stepped up a number of times last season when needed, most notably against City. We know he has the ability and the drive, we just need to see if he can put it all into one package. A lot of this season depends on it.