Finally we have reached the end of the season, a season which saw Liverpool eventually finish 4th in the Premier League, reach the Champions League final and saw Mohamed Salah conquer the world. As such we reach the onset of summer and along with other traditions such as strawberries with cream its time for the end of term report. The following ratings are based on the season as a whole so will reflect the ups and downs that players go through the course of the season and a rating out of 10 for the season. While endeavouring to be fair I am a firm task master and highly observant when it comes to football. Without further ado lets get into things;
Simon Mignolet - A series of weak performances in the first half of the season left me thinking 'same old Mignolet.' Just when I was resigned to Mignolet playing in goal for us until the end of time Jurgen Klopp finally lost patience and dropped him. 7 All I can say is I lost confidence in Simon seasons ago, the guy is to nervous between the posts and can't control his penalty area. I hope we call it quits with him and move him on in summer so he can get on with his career. 4/10
Lorius Karius - After a few early season cameos Karius was made our number one keeper in January and he made one hell on an improvement. The positioning of our defence hasn't improved so much since Jamie Carragher retired. A more physical presence than Mingolet and more match aware he showed to be a step up from Mingolet. However I do have to say there is room for improvement - in particular the positioning of his walls during free kick and his positioning during crosses. I'm not sure he's our long term keeper, he's a step up over the previous one. Of note both goal keepers played exactly the same amount of games and Karius got more clean sheets. He now has a seasons experience (spread over two years) and I expect to see him improve over the coming months if he's to be our number one. The Champions League final will make or break him but realistically will be looking for another keeper, I don't think he has a choice but to either move or become our number two. 5.5/10
Virgil van Dijk - An absolute immense player, commanding, good tackler, reads the game has pace and isn't afraid to bark orders. van Dijk is the kind of player who we always used to go for and the kind of player we've missed. Since his arrival in January we've finally got a beast in our back line and I think long term he will be the club captain. 8/10
Dejan Lovren - Over the course of his time with us Lovren has been up and down like a yo yo. This season however he's been by and large consistent - which in a central defender is a good thing. Klopp has sorted out his tendency to go walkabout out of position and despite being at fault for the odd goal throughout the season he hasn't been as disaster prone as previous seasons. Plus after losing his position he knuckled down and has become reliable. 5/10
Joe Gomez - Not quite a mainstay this season but he's moved beyond being a fringe player. He's coming on nicely - looked composed during the Champions League despite arguably playing out of position. I expect to see him forcing himself into the starting lineup more often next season. 6/10
Ragnar Klaven - A perfectly decent veteran squad player whose able to come in when asked and do a job. 5/10
Alberto Moreno - Sometimes a players season is defined by one match and in Morenos case its that 3-3 draw against Sevilla in which he had a large role in costing us a three goal lead. For the second year in a row he's lost his spot in the team but this time its hard to see him winning it back. It looks very much like his time is limited due to constant under performance. Not a good season. 2/10
Andrew Robertson - A slow burn first season for Robertson, off field problems meant that for a large portions of the early season he wasn't named in our squad but by the end of the season he was one of the first names on the team sheet. He looks like a good solid player who will get stronger. 7/10
Joel Matip - A tricky second season for the man who was our defensive lynch pin last season. A loss of form and injury has made this a season to forget. Hope he comes back stronger next year and forms a partnership with van Dijk. 4.5/10
Trent Alexander-Arnold - A season to dream of for the kid. Slowly bedded into the team over the season he has nailed down the right back slot and turned from the weak link having to be protected by others to a player who can stand on his own two feet. His England call up is well earned but still has a lot to learn. 7/10
Georginio Wijnaldum - A very erratic season for Windjammer. He has rotated between the dynamic passer we know he can be and peripheral player who has been virtually anonymous. Also his goals seem to have dried up this season. Needs to be doing a lot more. 5/10
Jordan Henderson - Another member of the middle three whose had a weak season. At times he's looked lost and has been the captain in name only. Those gorgeous passes and goal setting up chips have been far and few this season. Also his defensive game has got weaker, he's often been a better player when we don't have the ball but he has underperformed this season. 4/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - Arriving in August I was a bit dubious of his signing, I expected him to be an impact squad player and saw him nothing more than an impact substitute winger. This kid can play! On top of that he doesn't moan about being a sub as he's 50/50 a starter or sub. On top of that he can play in the middle three which was a shock to me and has given our midfield some much needed dynamism and goals. 7.5/10
James Milner - After last seasons exploits at left back it was back to midfield this year. In any other season he would have a case for being our player of the season. Defensively excellent and (especially in the Champions League) set up many a goal. Theres a case for him being made the full club captain. 8/10
Adam Lallana - A season marred by injury but while he was fit he did nothing. 1/10
Emre Can - An injury affected season but largely a decent one, when he wasn't there he was much missed. However when he was around there was the question has his head been turned by the rumoured move? There was however more bite in our middle three with him and like the Ox he scored a few goals. It looks like he's going but I've a soft spot for him and would rather keep him than certain others. 5/10
Roberto Firmino - A very good season where he scored goals and changed his game to be a more rounded player. 8.5/10
Philippe Coutinho - Left us mid season but left us in good form and I wish him all the best. 8/10
Sadio Mane - A very good second season in which he created and scored many a goal. Looked dynamic in midfield and was a joy to behold when running with the ball. 8/10
Dominic Solanke - For a young striker at a new team its all about that first goal, it took him to long to get. He needs to be getting more goals, he'll get more pitch time next year and needs to make the most of it. 3/10
Danny Ings - I'm not going to rate Danny as I don't think its fair. Personally I think given his injuries he needs to hang up his boots and get another job.
Mohamed Salah - When signing him I expected goals after his two seasons in Serie A. I would have been happy with him on double figures and setting up the same. However he has been our player of the season, scored a shed load of goals as well as setting them up for others. 10/10
Jurgen Klopp - Some very nice additions to the squad and got us to the Champions League final. I feel theres only two places Klopp needs to improve and that's to be less forgiving of players and to not be afraid to drop someone for having a poor run. Secondly game management needs to be improved and we still need to learn how to kill games off and to have more than one set of tactics. 8/10
Now that was a season and a half - unless I hear any different lets do it all again next season.
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