1. Soccer Streams
  2. News
  3. Interview: Liverpool fans reflect on this season and look forward to the next

Interview: Liverpool fans reflect on this season and look forward to the next

Published:
Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Champions League heartbreak ought not overshadow a successful season including two domestic cup wins

Liverpool ended their 2021/22 campaign in disappointment as they lost the UEFA Champions League final to Real Madrid in Paris a week and a half ago. On a night tainted by off-field controversy - more on that later - it must have been extremely difficult for supporters to embrace the positives of the season, having come so close to capturing yet another UCL trophy. It was clear however, a few days later, when the team paraded through the streets to celebrate their two domestic cup wins that their hordes of adoring fans were ready to put that behind them and celebrate the successes of the season.

Despite ultimately missing out on the Champions League and the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp's side have a lot to be proud of. Winning both the FA Cup and the League Cup is no mean feat. It may surprise some to know that this particular double had only occurred four times in the history of the game before this season, one of those being Liverpool in 2000-01, the year they won the treble by adding the UEFA Cup. Not only that but they took the dreaded - by many neutrals - quadruple conversation all the way to the wire, losing the Premier League on the final day of the season and making it to the UCL final.

In terms of individual accolades, Mohamed Salah shared the golden boot with Spurs' Son Heung-Min, having scored 23 goals. The Egyptian also provided the most assists in the league (13), just edging out teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold (12). The team scored 94 goals in 38 games, second only to Man City, and the fans were treated to another season of phenomenal attacking football.

The almost flawless recruitment team at Liverpool struck gold once again with Ibrahima Konate performing very well on the whole, and January arrival Luis Diaz making a huge impact in the second half of the season.

It would have been very painful to watch Real Madrid lift the Champions League trophy, especially given the fact that Liverpool will be considered by many to have been the better side on the night, but all in all it's been a very successful campaign for Klopp and his team, and one that was worthy of the breathtaking scenes of celebration on the streets of the city a week ago.

From the outside it looks like a season to remember, but we wanted to get the thoughts of those on the inside. Were we being too optimistic? Were we off base with these remarks? To find out, we were lucky enough to catch up with Josh Sexton, Editor of The Anfield Wrap and Karl Holmes of Anything Liverpool. We asked Josh and Karl for their impressions of this season and their thoughts going into the next.

Q. How do you put into words the disappointment of losing the Champions League final against Real Madrid?

Josh: To be honest, the game ended up becoming overshadowed by the events around it in the end for us as fans, though you can't help but feel disappointed for the players. They've given us an incredible ride this season and deserved to have more to show for it, but it just goes to show how fine the margins are when you're on the cusp of the unprecedented greatness of a quadruple that you can still walk away without either of the biggest prizes you're after.

Q. According to your understanding of the situation, what exactly happened at the Parc Des Princes and who is at fault?

Josh: Liverpool fans were assaulted, tear gassed and stolen from by a combination of the police and locals. This started when poor signage and communication by the game's organisers overwhelmed poorly positioned ticket checks, which had to be eventually abandoned due to large queues and crushing. The subsequent lack of checks meant hundreds if not thousands of ticketless locals were able to get to the gates of the stadium and were then able to either rush them or climb over to gain access. The gates were then closed by the French police leaving thousands of Liverpool fans stuck outside, who were then tear gassed for the crime of queuing to get into a football game. After the game, police led fans right into gangs of locals who were waiting to assault and rob them. The French authorities are to blame for the poor organisation that caused this domino effect, and for the attitude with which they policed, while UEFA are to blame for spreading lies about fans arriving late.

Q. In spite of that UCL defeat, the team won two major trophies and still had a quadruple to play for on the final day of the Premier League season. Taking that into account, how would you summarise the season as a whole?

Josh: This season was still a huge success, with two trophies added to the cabinet to complete Jurgen Klopp's set and having took it all the way in both the Premier League and Champions League. It's obviously hard to not dream about just how much sweeter it could've been, but if you offered me this scenario at the start of the season - especially given the context of last season's disappointment and the questions that raised - I'd have absolutely taken it.

Q. Who have been the standout players of this campaign in your opinion?

Karl: To reach every game of the season I think most players have to perform to the highest standard. One player who I believe stepped up this season was Joel Matip. We all knew he was a great player but injuries never helped him. I think he was absolutely fantastic this season, some would say even better than Virgil Van Dijk.

Q. What areas of the pitch do you feel need improving in this summer's transfer window?

Josh: There's not necessarily an area of the pitch that needs improving upon, in my eyes. It's important to remember that this squad lost just four of 63 games played, and the first 11 in particular is packed with world-class talent all over the park. The only question is around outgoings and especially the potential departure of Sadio Mane, who would need to be replaced if he were let go this summer.

Q. Are there are young players on the periphery of the first team squad who we could expect to see more of next season?

Karl: There are two 19-year-olds who I'm most excited to see next season and they are Harvey Elliott & Fabio Carvalho. Elliott shone for Liverpool at the start of the season before his injury. These two played at Fulham together and would be regarded as two future stars. Its going to be exciting.

Q. What do you expect from this team going into next season? What are your realistic hopes?

Josh: When Liverpool fell just short in the league in 2019 it seemed to light a fire under them which raged for the first few months of the 2019-20 season, and I'm expecting a similar reaction this time. I'd like to see the manager continue rotating into the later rounds of the domestic cups in order to sustain another big push for both the Premier League and the Champions League.

Q. How long can Jurgen Klopp consistently get the best out of this group? Is there a ceiling for him as a coach at Liverpool or do you see the success continuing indefinitely until he decides to leave?

Karl: You look at the type of players he brings in and somehow they always deliver. Even players like Tsimikas have shown Klopp has an eye for players who he can get the best of. With Klopp in charge I don't think you can doubt this Liverpool team. They are keeping up with this Man City side when they should be nowhere near them.

Liverpool fans will have to wait a little while to see their team in action again. Their next scheduled matches come on 12 July and 15 July against Manchester City and Crystal Palace at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, as part of their pre-season activities. Their next competitive fixture will be on 30 July in the Community Shield at Wembley against Premier League champions Manchester City.

We want to feature fans like you!

For more fan-centric content like this, please go ahead and follow Sporticos on Twitter. We want to interview leaders, influencers, representatives and most of all fans, to get their perspectives on the clubs they love. This content is really important to us and we hope you will continue to support it with likes, retweets and all that good stuff. If you want to contribute your thoughts about your club, please do get in touch.

Stay up-to-date with all things football at Sporticos

We provide data, stats and analysis of games from across the world; a comprehensive TV guide which tells you exactly when and where you can watch your favourite teams in action; trusted, legal sources of live streaming, breaking news and so much more.

Check out our football live streams and football predictions.

Follow Sporticos on Google News

Check Sporticos on Google News
Google News Feeds