19th July - Part Two

So my good friend and fellow LFC fan Joe has given his alternative player ratings from the 2015/16 season. Can't say I disagree much with many of them (Firmino > Coutinho).

Simon Mignolet – 3/10 – Countless errors have cost us an eye-watering amount of points and it’s a surprise to nobody that he was most error-prone keeper in the league last season. He is better than that, but not much, and it hasn’t taken us long to sign a replacement. The one redeeming factor is that he wasn’t at fault in either final. When he really, really needed to be at his best, Simon was okay.

Bogdan – 0/10 – He made Mignolet look capable.

Nathaniel Clyne – 7.5/10 – Clyne has had a pretty quiet first season with Liverpool, albeit consistent. He’s been solid and done very little wrong, but hasn’t particularly stood out either. I’ll argue that a defender not making many headlines is a good thing in this case and he can be very happy with his debut season. It would be nice if he could give a bit more going forward though.

Jon Flanagan – 5/10 – I’m going to be honest, I can’t remember anything he did so I’m siting on the fence. Hopefully he’ll feature a bit more next season.

Martin Skrtel – 4/10 – Never really performed to the standard we’ve come to expect and was soon dropped upon Klopp’s arrival. He has looked like his best years were behind him, especially when we lost our two-goal lead against Saints. Liverpool are left wondering if we should’ve taken that money City were offering a couple of years ago.

Kolo Toure – 7/10 – Barely got a look in but always performed when given the opportunity, especially in the Europa League final where he was by far our best player. That might not be saying much, but he was brilliant.

Dejan Lovren – 6.5/10 – Lovren, very much unlike Clyne, has either lost us games or won us games. Seemed almost a completely different player in the second half of this season, however, and he began to look very assured. Not consistent enough but bonus points for THAT equaliser against Dortmund.

Mamadou Sakho – 7/10 – Sakho has always looked like a very capable defender, but a very incapable footballer. This season, he has cut the mistakes and looked very solid. He was imperious in the Europa League run, with huge performances against both United and Dortmund. Although Kolo did a great job in the final, you can’t help but wonder what could have been if not for the drug accusation.

Joe Gomez – 6.5 – Gomez surprised everyone when Brendan Rodgers was starting him, an un-tested 18-year-old, out of position, in a defence that was already leaking goals. To the surprise of myself, and many others I’m sure, he really impressed before an injury ruined his season. He’ll be back though, and he has a very bright future ahead of him.

Alberto Moreno – 5/10 –A defender needs to defend and Moreno can’t. It’s okay saying his errors are few and far between, but the fact they have occurred at important moments or in big games really is a worry. The fact we don’t seem keen to sign a replacement makes me sweat.

Lucas Leiva – 6.5/10 – I like Lucas. He maybe isn’t a world-class talent but his use to the team is massively underrated. He tackles, intercepts, frustrates the opposition and has some of that famous ‘character’ Brendan Rodgers valued so highly. Even when Klopp deployed him as a centre back in the League Cup final, he took it in his stride and performed very well. He was admittedly horrendous on a few occasions, however.

Kevin Stewart – 5.5/10 – Stewart performed admirably when called upon in the league as our priorities shifted. There was enough there to get excited about, but his inexperience often showed.

Jordan Henderson – 6/10 – Poor season by his standards, but he is another who’s been unfortunate with injuries, so it’s hard to really judge how well he’s performed. Somewhat surprisingly, the stats tell a very one-sided story. Liverpool have won 53.3% of games with Henderson in the starting XI compared to just 26.7% without, and the losses have doubled in the same amount of games played. Clearly he’s still an extremely valuable player and we perform much better with him in the side, but I don’t this this is all necessarily down to Henderson, and partly because he compliments a certain Emre Can.

Emre Can – 8/10 – This guy is an absolute specimen. Can started the season well enough, but flourished upon Klopp’s arrival when he was handed a central role. His standout performance was undoubtedly against Villarreal, where he recovered from a season ending injury in a matter of weeks and was instrumental in turning around the first-leg deficit. Klopp needs to find an adequate midfield partner for Can because he has huge potential.

Joe Allen – 6.5/10 – Performed very well but never given much of a run in the side. Lack of opportunity leaves me with little to say, but he was very reliable this season and chipped in with a couple of goals, which is a rare sight in a Liverpool shirt. It would be a shame to see him leave.

James Milner – 8/10 – World class he is not, but you can’t fault James Milner this year. 10 goals and 14 assists is an incredible return for a player supposedly lacking talent. He’s been deployed where he’s been needed, but he’s almost always impressed. Credit also due for taking a leading role in Henderson’s absence. Truly a class act.

Jordan Ibe – 5.5/10 – Ibe has shown only glimpses of what he is capable of and has mostly looked like a player lacking the quality to keep up with the rest of our attacking lineup. Nothing to shout about, but he has done enough to net us £15m and you can’t argue with that.

Sheyi Ojo – 6.5/10 – On the other hand, Sheyi Ojo has given us plenty to shout about. He has looked assured on the ball, very confident going forward and has goals and assists to boot. He has a lot of unrefined potential and I’m looking forward to seeing what Klopp can do with him.

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Phillippe Coutinho – 9/10 – At Liverpool’s end of season awards awards, the little magician won Best Goal, Best Performance, Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year. Coutinho is simply invaluable to us. His end product has improved as well, with 12 goals and 6 assists, but that still doesn’t really do his impact justice. We play when he plays.

Roberto Firmino – 8.5/10 – The other contender for player of the year. When players come over from another country, we usually allow about a year to fully adapt. Firmino took 6 months and then turned into the most dangerous player in the league. He can be inconsistent and has disappeared in a few games, but rarely in big games, and a brilliant year nevertheless.

Adam Lallana – 7/10 – Lallana is another one of those who completely transformed in the second half of this season. He often looks dangerous without really producing anything, as evidenced at the Euros, but finally we saw some end product at Liverpool. 11 goals and 8 assists is an excellent return, and his work rate makes him a favourite with both Klopp and the supporters.

Danny Ings – 6/10 – Finally started looking like a clever piece of business (a rarity at Liverpool, see Benteke) before injuries ruined his season. I think he has a lot to offer, but one has to wonder if he’ll get much of an opportunity ahead of Origi and Sturridge.

Divock Origi – 7/10 – What a season for Divock Origi. Eyebrows were raised when Klopp dropped Sturridge away at Dortmund in favour of Origi, but what a move that turned out to be. A late bloomer, but that hat-trick in that 6-1 drumming of Southampton was a sign of things to come. He was utterly brilliant at the end of the season, convincing many that he should be out first pick up top.

Daniel Sturridge – 7.5/10 – Like many others, Sturridge really struggled with injuries this season. Unlike many others, however, Sturridge was excellent given the opportunity and somehow managed to end the season our top scorer. He is pure class, arguably our best player and Liverpool simply need him fit.

Christian Benteke – 6/10 - I don’t believe he’s had as bad a season as everyone claims. When a player doesn’t fit the mould, there isn’t much you can do but blame the people who signed him. Even though he regularly looked off the pace, he still netted 9 league goals, winning some crucial games, which isn’t a terrible return given the opportunities he’s had. Still a very good player and it looks like we’ll recoup most of the money we spent on him.