John Barnes backs Liverpool to challenge for EPL title next season
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Former EPL players (from left) Gary Mabbutt, John Barnes and Emile Heskey at a press conference on May 16 for July's inaugural Singapore Festival of Football.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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SINGAPORE – Coming off a scintillating 2021-22 campaign in which they took the English Premier League title fight with Manchester City to the final day, Liverpool were again tipped to be title contenders this season.
Expectations skyrocketed after the record £85 million (S$142.1 million) signing of forward Darwin Nunez
But the Reds recovered to stay in the hunt for a top-four spot by winning their last seven league matches, including Monday’s 3-0 triumph over relegation battlers Leicester City.
With key players like Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota back after lengthy spells on the sidelines, Liverpool legend John Barnes, who made more than 300 appearances for the Merseyside club, believes his former team will soon be back to their best.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries and there has been a big transition,” the 59-year-old told The Straits Times. “If you look at our team a few years ago, we had players who were ageing and, all of a sudden, we had to change that to bring in a host of young players.
“(Cody) Gakpo, Nunez and Diaz – they are all in their early 20s and with youth and inexperience comes inconsistency. But in terms of what we have done in the last six to seven matches, it should give Liverpool fans enough optimism and confidence that next season we will hit the ground running and get back to where we should be – fighting for the championship.”
Barnes was speaking on Tuesday alongside other former players at a press conference for July’s Singapore Festival of Football,
While some pundits have pointed their fingers at record-signing Nunez, who has racked up only nine league goals in his debut season, former Liverpool forward Emile Heskey sympathises with the Uruguayan.
After all, Heskey himself was Liverpool’s record signing – at £11 million – when he joined from Leicester in 2000.
The 45-year-old, who is currently the head of football development for Leicester’s women’s team, said: “In the modern day, you’ve got social media which is 24/7 and it wasn’t like that back then. In my time, it was easier to get away from all that compared to now, when you’re probably overthinking a lot.
“I came from within England, so I knew what the league was all about. Nunez came from abroad and doesn’t know too much about the Premier League. People look at the Premier League and think it’s easy. The intensity is on another level. The fight is another level. You’re looking at teams at the bottom wanting to beat the teams on top.”
Rivals Tottenham have similarly endured a woeful season, with manager Antonio Conte sacked following a tirade claiming Spurs players lacked a winning culture and mentality
Their “win now” approach of appointing serial-winning managers like Jose Mourinho and Conte did not work.
Former captain Gary Mabbutt believes they should be looking at the likes of Julian Nagelsmann for someone who can “keep us at the top of the table and fight for titles”.
“Obviously, Bayern Munich lost their manager, so he’s available,” he said. “The manager of Feyenoord (Arne Slot) is also doing very well. Those are the managers we should be looking at.”
