Jürgen Klopp’s side came close to an extraordinary season but teams, rightly or wrongly, are judged on results
So what next? Where do Liverpool go from here? This was a season that came agonisingly close to perfection. One fewer goal for Manchester City or one more goal for Aston Villa on the final day of the season and the league title would have been Liverpool’s. One fewer save from Thibaut Courtois and they would have taken the Champions League final into extra-time. The Quadruple has never been so close for any club, and yet Liverpool achieved no more than to match the feat of Arsenal in 1992-93 and, with all due respect to Steve Morrow, John Jensen and Andy Linighan, nobody talks about them as one of the greatest sides of all time.
Contexts, of course, change. This is an extremely good team. Jürgen Klopp and the vast team of specialists behind him have created something extraordinary, a thrilling side that, for a net transfer spend less than that of Everton, has managed to keep pace with Manchester City – even if they have beaten them to the title only once. And this City is a great team, but one put together, from the training facilities to the backroom staff to the manager to the squad, at enormous expense. And City, unlike most previous exercises in mega-investment in football, has been constructed extremely cleverly; in recent years there have been no ego signings, little wastage.
Continue reading...

More...