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Jamie Carragher has said that the current problems at Liverpool are not down to the owners and lay the blame instead at the door of the recruitment team, coaching staff and players.
Liverpool fell to their seventh Premier League defeat of the season at Wolves on Saturday, one of three losses this year Carragher referenced as among the worst in the club’s recent memory.
Having gone so close to completing an unprecedented quadruple last season, supporters and pundits alike have been left baffled by Liverpool’s dramatic fall off this season.
Carragher, who in the past has been critical of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), lay the blame at the door of those involved in the playing side of the club, in particular referencing the club’s failure to sign a midfielder last summer and key figures within the recruitment department, such as Michael Edwards, departing the club.
‘It feels like there’s so many areas that are not right at Liverpool. Some of them are on the pitch and some of them are off the pitch,’ he said.
Jamie Carragher has said that the owners of Liverpool are not to blame for club’s current struggles
‘I said this a few days ago. A lot of the supporters, I think, take the easy option. Starting with Brentford, Brighton twice and then Wolves, it’s not losing to those teams, it’s the manner.
‘They’re probably three of the worst away defeats, not just under Klopp but in Premier League history from Liverpool. To lose so badly. They haven’t just lost, they’ve been absolutely battered. It could have been 5-0 to Wolves yesterday.
‘The Brighton game should have been worse. They’re not just losing to these teams by the odd goal, they’re getting absolutely wiped off the floor.
Liverpool’s defeat at Wolves was their fifth across all competitions since domestic football returned
Jurgen Klopp cut a frustrated figure for much of the match against Wolves and was antagonistic afterwards
‘A lot of people are looking at the ownership. What’s happening right now, I do not blame FSG one bit for that. I don’t. I will now get criticised by certain sections of the supporters for being an apologist for the ownership. I’ve got no job at Liverpool.’
FSG’s announcement last year that they were seeking to find investment in the club or sell it outright was met with glee among some Liverpool supporters who perceive the owners to have held them back from extensive success, though Carragher sought to excuse them from the blame for the present struggles.
Carragher took aim at the recruitment staff for their failure to sign a midfielder last summer, referencing the club’s failed pursuit of Aurelien Tchouameni who joined Real Madrid from Monaco.
‘But you have to look at it properly and say this, for me, is down to the staff and the players and the recruitment team,’ he said. ‘The reason I go back to the recruitment team is that for the last four or five years, everybody has used Liverpool as a model for everybody in this country and Europe to follow.
John W. Henry (R) – the principal owner of Liverpool – announced that the club was for sale last year
Klopp’s side now sit 10th in the league – some 11 points off the top four places and a further 21 back from leaders Arsenal
Klopp in recent weeks has been visibly frustrated with his team and their performances
Michael Edwards (L) the club’s former sporting director who departed last year – his successor Julian Ward is set to depart
‘Buy cheap sell high. And people say they haven’t put enough money in. But what Liverpool have been the best at is actually selling and bringing money in to allow them to go and spend £75million on a centre-back, £60million on a goalkeeper, £50-odd million on Naby Keita. But right now, they’ve got to the end of last season and the staff – there was money there for a midfield player.
‘They tried to buy the lad who went to Real Madrid (Aurelien Tchouameni) so there was £60-£70million there for a midfield player.
‘They couldn’t get him and Jurgen Klopp and his staff, or the recruitment team decided “we don’t need to buy a midfielder”. That is on them. And then they’ve got to this season and from day one against Fulham, they haven’t been able to cope with the intensity of a Premier League game of football and they’ve just been absolutely ran over in every Premier League game that they’ve played, virtually.’
Problems are mounting almost daily for Liverpool, with Klopp’s squad struggling from a crisis of confidence as well as having to deal with a raft of injuries. Saturday’s defeat was their fifth in all competitions since domestic football returned following the World Cup.
Liverpool’s last remaining hope of a trophy this season is the Champions League, where they will face reigning champions Real Madrid in the last-16 in a rematch of last year’s final.
