Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool will NOT win the title this season and ‘I don’t know when they ever will’
LIVERPOOL will not win the Premier League this season, and Kop legend Jamie Carragher is not convinced Jurgen Klopp will ever lead them the title glory.
Liverpool face Manchester United on Saturday and could fall TEN points behind their bitter rivals if they lose at Anfield.
Carragher also insists his old club can no longer judge a boss on winning the title anymore as the competition is too fierce.
He said in the Daily Telegraph: “Liverpool will not win the title this season.
“I am not convinced Jürgen Klopp will ever be able to bring it back to Anfield.
“I am not sure when my old club will win it again. I certainly do not see it happening in the near future.
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"It is no longer appropriate to evaluate the success or otherwise of a Liverpool manager based on whether he wins the league.
“The competition is too strong to set the bar so high.”
Carragher is also full of praise for club owners Fenway Sports Group but does not think they have what it takes to match Manchester United, City and Chelsea in the transfer market.
He added: “Manchester United, City and Chelsea are formidable on and off the park.
"They have financial strength and a winning culture Liverpool do not currently possess.
“I think FSG are good owners, but to win the league their approach in the transfer market must be as robust as the big three, and I’m not convinced they have capacity to match them.
“When opportunities come along to push on in order to remain truly competitive at the top of the league – which tends to happen at Anfield once every five years – you have to grasp the nettle. Liverpool have not done so.
"Last summer Liverpool and United were in a similar position, preparing for the Champions League, knowing to go up a level and be serious title contenders they had to make the right signings.
"United, in sixth, acted. Liverpool, in fourth, did not. This is a trend. It is typical of what happened when Brendan Rodgers and (under previous owners) Rafa Benítez and Gérard Houllier had their best sides.
“Instead, Jose Mourinho goes to Anfield on Saturday as a genuine challenger and Liverpool’s lingering flaws remain glaringly obvious.
“United did not score enough goals so spent £75 million on Romelu Lukaku.
“He was not United’s first choice. They were pursing Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morato, but when those deals fell through Mourinho did not hang around.
“He did not wait a year for Griezmann. He wants the title now. “
Carragher who spent all his career at Anfield has been critical of Liverpool’s defending under the German coach.
He continued: “No team have won the league conceding the number of goals of Klopp’s side.
I have seen startling statistics demonstrating the inefficiency of Liverpool’s defending.
“In the 111 games since Klopp took over Liverpool have kept 37 clean sheets., to put that into perspective, in one season under Benitez in 2005-06 we kept 33 clean sheets.
"You cannot win the title defending like Liverpool.
"It is often said the team with the best defence win the Premier League.
“It is not always the side with the best defensive record that win the league, but you can guarantee those with poor defensive records get nowhere near.
"Only three times since the Premier League began have a side conceded over 40 goals and won it.
"Manchester United did on each occasion, but they had already won the title and were cruising through their final games at least twice, gifting soft goals. The other season they had multiple goalkeeper issues."
There have been rumblings on Merseyside suggesting a few more bad results starting with defeat against United will crack up the pressure on Klopp.
Carragher said: “You hear some saying Klopp’s job is on the line at Liverpool, which is daft.
"Klopp has done a very good job so far at Anfield and has taken the side in a positive direction. Qualifying for the Champions League in his second season, and reaching two finals in his first, were notable achievements.
"Klopp should be judged on realistic objectives.
“If by the end of his contract he has won three domestic trophies and qualified for the Champions League three or four times he has done as well as can be expected.
"He signed a six-year deal in the summer of 2016 underlining the belief the board has in him and their intention to see through a long-term project.
“The problem in modern football is no matter how much you plan ahead the moods swing every time there is a bad result.
“I remember Benítez signing a five-year contract extension in 2009. He was gone in 2010. Rodgers signed a four-year deal in 2014. He left in 2015.
"Regardless how noble the intention, withstanding pressure is easier said than done because the game has never been more temperamental, and the clamour for change gets louder every year without a trophy."
