Now Reds must build for bigger challenge in 2014/15, says Jamie Redknapp
Friday 9 May 2014 13:41, UK
Football is a crazy, crazy game and I wouldn't put my life savings on another twist in the title race not happening this weekend.
Not playing in the Champions League this year was a significant factor for Liverpool. Perhaps this was their year to do it, their best chance, because of that. There are other reasons they've done well, though - and many other clubs have not had Champions League football and underperformed. But Liverpool will need to get one or two players in to cope with the extra games and that costs money. Liverpool have done well recently is unearthing a few gems and they will need to do that again. They need to find the next Philippe Coutinho; players who are good footballers, who are under the radar, who won't cost as much. They can't go to the same shops as Chelsea and Man City so they need to do things slightly differently and continue to give youth a chance. In terms of signings, I think they need a central defender because Daniel Agger has picked up a lot of injuries this year, although I think Martin Skrtel is a good player, a winner. The defence has been criticised recently but one of the reasons why the pressure gets on the centre backs is because how far the full backs push on. They can't have it all ways. They've scored 99 goals this season and part of that is because of how much Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan push up the field.