{"id":1252,"date":"2018-05-22T18:31:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T18:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=1252"},"modified":"2018-05-22T18:31:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T18:31:00","slug":"liverpool-football-club-2017-2018-premier-league-season-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-football-club-2017-2018-premier-league-season-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Football Club: 2017-2018 Premier League Season Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. As much as I\u2019d love to just type that over and over again, I\u2019m not entirely sure it makes for great content. Yes, it\u2019s a thrilling thing to be able to say and something that supporters of no other English club is able to write this year, but still. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re rather like me, struggling to think about anything other than Kiev and our destiny with glory or despair. Win and these players will be heroes for everyone with an affinity to the club. Lose and they\u2019ll be a cause for mockery from the weirdos out there who pretend they\u2019re not obsessed with us but spend more time tweeting and taking about Liverpool than their own club.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The reds are in a European cup final this week. The reds are in a European cup final this week. The reds are in a European cup final this week. The reds are in a European cup final this week. The reds are in a European cup final this week. The reds are in a European cup final thi<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nic (@nic_shout) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nic_shout\/status\/998632541623083009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Despite the fact that Saturday evening is dominating my every waking thought, I realised that I haven\u2019t yet written my review of Liverpool\u2019s 2017-2018 Premier League season. Such is the extent to which our run to the Champions League final has overrun everything, there\u2019s a risk that we might actually forget just how well Liverpool played at times this year. It\u2019s also worth remembering that this is only J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s second full-season in charge, meaning that it\u2019s entirely possible that the best is yet to come. Hopefully the best bit of the season is yet to come, but I\u2019m going to try really hard to make this piece about our domestic achievements rather than our European adventures. I say \u2018domestic achievements\u2019 but, unfortunately, we underperformed in both the FA Cup and League Cup this year. As a result, it feels as though the less said about those two competitions the better. That does mean we don\u2019t get to extol the virtues of Virgil van Dijk\u2019s winning goal against the Ev, but such is life. What can we take from this year\u2019s league performance, then?<\/p>\n<h2>We\u2019re The Second Best Team In England<\/h2>\n<p>The old adage goes that \u2018the table never lies\u2019. I\u2019ve never believed that saying to be true. For starters, the only two occasions during a season in which the table can be even vaguely said to be being \u2018truthful\u2019 is at the start, when there are zero points on it, and at the end when everyone\u2019s played everyone else twice. Even at the start there\u2019s no real truth to it, given that it\u2019s arranged alphabetically. At the end there\u2019s more truth to be found, but it doesn\u2019t tell you the full story. This season Liverpool ended up fourth, requiring a final day victory over Brighton &amp; Hove Albion to tie up our place back in Europe\u2019s elite competition, but that by no means reflects how well the Reds have played throughout the year.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I\u2019m actually soooo glad and lucky Liverpool have Klopp as their manager 2nd best team in England after Man City Pep <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 M19S11F9&#x1f1f8;&#x1f1f3;&#x1f1fe;&#x1f1ea;&#x1f1e7;&#x1f1f7; (@Sotty_LFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sotty_LFC\/status\/996670114136195073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A lot of it boils down to what you want from your football team. Manchester United finished second this season, with an incredibly respectable eighty-one points. Yet the football that the supporters have had to put up with has been eye-scratchingly poor. The sixty-eight goals scored is actually six fewer than Arsenal managed, despite the Gunners having such a poor season that Arsene Wenger was relieved of his managerial duty. Tottenham finished above us in third, yet even that only occurred because we were distracted by our run in Europe. I refuse to believe that if we\u2019d have been knocked out of Europe at the same stage that they were that we wouldn\u2019t have taken maximum points from Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Everton, which would have seen us finish above the Red Devils on goal difference.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1248\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_2075-533x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"533\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_2075-533x400.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_2075-267x200.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_2075-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_2075-65x50.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve played some absolutely sensational football throughout the campaign, smashing fours past Arsenal at Anfield, West Ham at The London Stadium and Bournemouth at The Vitality. Manchester lost just two league games all season and at one of them was to us. More than that, when they arrived on Merseyside they were unbeaten, but they simply couldn\u2019t handle the electrifying football that took them apart and saw us race into a 4-1 lead. If you asked Pep Guardiola right now who he\u2019s most concerned about next season then I\u2019m absolutely convinced that Liverpool would be his answer. We\u2019re the side best positioned to take the fight to them next time out, the team most likely to stop him from setting up his dynasty. There are already rumours of discontent in the Manchester United dressing room, with Jos\u00e9 Mourinho on course to set fire to the place in his third season, as has become his wont.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mourinho : I have players that I don&#8217;t love<\/p>\n<p>Me : I have a manager at my club that I don&#8217;t love.<\/p>\n<p>Mutual discontent &#x1f602;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MUFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MUFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MUFC_FAMILY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MUFC_FAMILY<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Mourinho?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Mourinho<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Martial?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Martial<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Pogba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Pogba<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ManUtd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ManUtd<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ManchesterUnited?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ManchesterUnited<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UstJB6TUj5\">pic.twitter.com\/UstJB6TUj5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Arpan FT &#x26bd; (@ArpanRicko) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArpanRicko\/status\/994409302721839104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>At Spurs things aren\u2019t much better, with Mauricio Pochettino suggesting that Daniel Levy needs to put his hand in his pocket if they\u2019re to really compete. Rumours of Unai Emery replacing Wenger at The Emirates haven\u2019t left the Arsenal supporters feeling overly delighted, whilst Antonio Conte is almost certain to leave Chelsea this summer and they\u2019ll have to rebuild again. Only Manchester City are as content as the Reds are right now, basking in the glory of a year of excitement and improvement. Whether we win or lose on Saturday, we\u2019ll head into next season with a squad that knows it has the ability to reach the final of the Champions League, meaning that they should be absolutely bouncing for the task that lies ahead in finally winning that elusive Premier League title. This season we\u2019ve shown that we\u2019re the second best team in the country, proving that the table definitely lies.<\/p>\n<h2>We\u2019re Heading In The Right Direction<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m quite sure that supporters of every club in the division would disagree with my assertion that we\u2019re the second-best team in it, which is absolutely fine. The thing I\u2019m delighted about more than anything else is that we\u2019re heading in the right direction. Yes, we technically finished with less points than last season. Yet if you think that\u2019s a backwards step then I feel like you haven\u2019t been paying attention to that old European Cup thing I\u2019ve mentioned a few times. The always excellent <a href=\"www.twitter.com\/BassTunedToRed\">Andrew Beasley<\/a> has posted some tweets about how English clubs tend to do in the league when they\u2019re advancing in Europe and this current Liverpool side is about par. For me, what matters far more than our points tally is our style of play and the way that the squad is shaping up, both of which are in rude health.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">League performance of English Champions League finalists. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/00SurT7Slg\">pic.twitter.com\/00SurT7Slg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BassTunedToRed\/status\/995973478145720321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>After a couple of seasons that have been stilted by injury, I\u2019m delighted to see Jordan Henderson back to his best in a Liverpool shirt. I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s got the fitness to play week-in, week-out in a campaign that involves both the Premier League and Champions League as well as the domestic trophies, but he\u2019s been our best midfielder this campaign when it comes to turning the ball over quickly against teams with a low-block defence. The difference that Virgil van Dijk has made to the defence has been noticeable, too; if for no other reason than his presence in it has allowed supporters to be a bit more relaxed when we\u2019ve conceded a corner or a poorly position free-kick. We actually notched up more clean sheets before he arrived than after, suggesting that our defence wasn\u2019t as poor as many people choose to make out. Yet it\u2019s unquestionably better now and is only likely to get better.<\/p>\n<h2>Mo Salah Has Been A Joy To Watch<\/h2>\n<p>As you may have guessed, this is more of a general look at Liverpool\u2019s Premier League season than it is an in-depth discussion of how everything\u2019s gone. Even so, it would be remiss of me not to make mention of the Egyptian King who has helped to light up Anfield all season long. It takes something pretty special to set a new goalscoring recored for a thirty-eight game season, yet something pretty special is exactly what Mohamed Salah is. As with all of the best strikers, defenders and goalkeepers knew what it was that he was going to do but couldn\u2019t do anything to stop him. One of the nicest things about watching the Reds this season is the number of surprised that we\u2019ve been able to enjoy. I don\u2019t think anyone expected Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to have the season he had, for example, and Andy Robertson has taken the club by storm.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The British Museum is home to some incredibly precious artifacts from Egypt, like the Rosetta Stone, a 5000 yr old Mummy, and sculptures from inside the Pyramids &#8211; but a very special new exhibit will be displayed alongside the ancient pharaohs&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;Mo Salah&#8217;s boots &#x1f1ea;&#x1f1ec;&#x1f451;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4h5xdkAKwO\">pic.twitter.com\/4h5xdkAKwO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 JAFA &#x26bd;&#x26bd;&#x26bd; (@jafa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jafa\/status\/997499653687074818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Without question, though, the player who has made the biggest impact is the one wearing the number eleven shirt. The former Chelsea and AS Roma forward was seen as a backup to Sadio Man\u00e9 by most supporters when he first arrived. Precisely no one had him down as a player who would be able to score thirty-two league goals and be charming, funny and engaging in the process. I know that he won\u2019t be around forever, but right now I\u2019m not sure that I see him leaving. We\u2019re in the Champions League final, we\u2019re likely to be challenging for the league next season and he\u2019s hero-worshipped on Merseyside. He\u2019s a player to whom being from Egypt and Africa is important and that\u2019s something that the club have respected. I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be in a rush to leave and so we should enjoy him whilst we can. Alongside Roberto Firmino and Man\u00e9 he\u2019s part of the most exciting attack of my lifetime; an attack that sent us into the Champions Leaguer for the second year running for the first time since 2009. What a season it\u2019s been.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. Liverpool Football Club are playing in a Champions League final on Saturday. As much as I\u2019d love to just type that over and over again, I\u2019m not entirely sure it makes for great content. Yes, it\u2019s a thrilling thing to be able to say and something that supporters of no other English club is able to write this year, but still. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1253,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions\/1253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}