Reading through posts on here of late on how poorly Liverpool have played this season and criticising all and sundry, I just wanted to put a point of view across. Take it as you will.
As the players were coming back for preseason, the coaches, sports science and management would’ve had a meticulous plan of how they would prepare the players for the start of the season. That was basically thrown out of the window after the tragic events of Diogo and Andre.
Obviously they couldn’t go straight into training because they would’ve been suffering mentally and would’ve needed a period of mourning. But it’s even more than that, instead of meeting up at the training ground and high fiving each other, asking how their summer went etc., they had to come back to tremendously sad events which, would’ve consumed the entire club. It must’ve been a very somber place to be.
Then you have new players whose first experiences of training with Liverpool would’ve been that environment, which would obviously affect their ability to integrate and settle. They must’ve felt like total outsiders because they hadn’t been part of the squad that was hurting so much.
It will take time for not only the fitness levels to return, but for the atmosphere to return too. It was such a tragedy, it’s not something that can just be brushed off and carry on as normal.
You can disagree if you like but for me, it’s no wonder we have started the season a little slowly. There are not only fitness issues due to a lack of a proper preseason, but the mental scars which will be different for each player and will have to be managed differently for each player. You can’t underestimate just how tough this has been for the players, manager and everyone at the club.
I think we should bear this in mind when we are criticising a group of players who’ve gone through what they have and are still only one point off the top of the table.