The way their season finished was lame.
In fact, in the space of three short weeks, it changed dramatically.
One minute Liverpool were chasing an unprecedented four trophies, the next they ended up adding nothing to their League Cup success in February.
Included in that, a Premier League they led by two points after Easter only to eventually finish in third, nine points off the summit.
That should not detract from the overall reign of Jurgen Klopp and it is my belief that he is arguably the greatest manager in Liverpool history for what he achieved both on and off the pitch at the Merseyside club – the team he walked into in 2015 was certainly not as strong as those inherited by some of his high profile predecessors going back to the 1970s and 80s (think Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish).
Yet the final six weeks of the campaign also highlighted weaknesses so there are clearly areas where his successor Arne Slot has work to do.
So, while the Dutchman is inheriting a very strong squad, where should his focus be to ensure Premier League highlights continue at Anfield?
This SBOTOP observer feels one of the reasons their campaign fizzled out was the lack of a top class central defensive midfielder.
That’s not to say there wasn’t talent in place.
Wataru Endo may have been an underwhelming signing after the departure of Fabinho, but the Japan captain fought valiantly.
Youngster Curtis Jones also did his bit to the point that he has made the initial England squad for Euro 2024.
But neither were an improvement on Brazilian Fabinho from where I’m sitting.
If central midfield is one area where there’s scope for an upgrade, another could be up front.
That may seem churlish given that is not another Premier League side with the embarrassment of riches that Liverpool possess in attack.
If you don’t believe me, compare them to champions Manchester City.
While they have the unstoppable Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez as centre forwards – Alvarez can also play as a ‘false nine’ along with the likes of the brilliant Kevin de Bruyne and footballer of the year Phil Foden – City’s forward options are considerably fewer than the Merseysiders.
In Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, Slot will be working with expensive centre forwards, backed by a strong selection of forwards who can play both central and out wide.
They are led by tallisman Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gapko with further wide options in Harvey Elliott and the returning Fabio Carvalho.
After a disappointing loan at RB Leipzig in the first half of the campaign, Carvalho has bounced back with regular game time and a noticeable impact at Hull City, scoring nine goals since his January arrival. The plan is for the 22 year-old to return this summer and be given the opportunity to impress in pre-season.
Consistency in goalscoring cost them at times though and Slot will hope for more than they delivered for Klopp in the closing stages of the season.
And what of in defence?
Well, there’s no doubt they missed Scotland captain Andy Robertson when he was absent for a number of months in the middle of the season.
When he returned, the 30 year-old was one of the team’s more consistent players.
Slot’s system demands his full-backs help with the initial build-up stage before joining attacks. The idea is to isolate one player on each flank depending on suitability. If the winger inverts, the full-back will provide width and vice versa.
Again then, there is plenty for the new manager to work with.
In terms of room for improvement elsewhere, it’s hard to think of too many – apart from not conceding the opening goal so often.
For a side which was in contention on all fronts for so long before falling short at home and in Europe, it was a surprise that Liverpool faded.
Perhaps the fact the squad wanted to hand Klopp the perfect send-off contributed to a dip in form as the pressure took its toll.
Perhaps it was just bad luck.
Overall though, after finishing fifth last year, it was still a season of progress and they will be strongly fancied in next season’s Premier League betting odds.
With only Joel Matip and the injury-prone Thiago Alcantara departing, the squad remains in good shape and another title bid is the very least the new boss should expect.
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