@jsexton24
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linktr.ee Josh Sexton Official: TikTok, Instagram, X | Linktree Podcaster, producer, editor and moreโฆ โ๏ธ๐ฃ๏ธ๐ฅโฝ๏ธ๐ โ๏ธ @jsexton24's column...
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ผ๐น๐ฎ'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐โ๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ช๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐บ.
I generally like to look at life through an optimistic eye, as I believe itโs the hope that sustains us rather than kills us, and I apply that same mantra to my football support.
Just last week I was on Iain MacIntoshโs Track Radio and the presenter Vassos Alexander said how much he loves the optimism from Liverpool fans, in reference to me saying that being nine points behind Arsenal means we can still challenge for the title.
Part of the reason I say that is because I believe Brighton showed a blueprint for how teams can actually beat Arsenal, which will see them drop more points across the course of this season than they did last season, as I see no great development or reinforcement from them to signal that they are building a dynasty.
However, a large part is that I can already see what Andoni Iraola is building towards, and that not only is he building from a higher base than most of us would give credit for given how last season unfolded, but also that he has us right back where we want to be even with that clear room for improvement ahead of us.
While the frustration that built up last season is understandable, a large part of it came from the fact that you couldnโt see any green shoots within the football being played on the pitch, and it wasnโt necessarily a personnel issue.
Now, a large part of it is still being diagnosed as the latter due to a lack of trust in some of the squad, when actually a lot of these lads were part of a league-winning side and the reinforcements made since were mostly very expensive, very talented lads.
Yes, there are some issues to solve within the squad, and most can only be solved by the transfer market. Yet the manager is doing all the right things to ensure that any surgery that needs to be done is merely nip and tuck, as opposed to a full-blown facelift.
Alisson Beckerโs performance against Crystal Palace served up a reminder that he can still make saves at the highest level, even if some of the other areas of his game have regressed, and his desire to stay means Liverpool have a chance to succession plan without being totally exposed between the sticks.
In Jeremy Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni and even Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Liverpool have centre-halves for the future, while Virgil van Dijk and Ronald Araujo have worked to cure a lot of ills in their peak years.
The aforementioned affable Uruguayan has given Andoni Iraola the cover he needs for his central defenders, since he has opted himself not to have a natural number six in front of them.
Whether Araujo is a long-term solution to that problem is another question, but the prototype of having a natural centre-half at full-back offers the off-ball cover that is needed without a lighthouse in midfield.
Milos Kerkez may see his position come under fire in revamping those full-back areas, and his position is the most obvious area for improvement, in a way that makes you wish Araujo was left-footed and that Conor Bradley could stay fit - or possibly even open it up more for Dominik Szoboszlai to play there.
The midfield feels best balanced with Alexis Mac Allister partnered by Trey Nyoni, as Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch have both proven a little too expansive (being kind to both) to be as effective in those midfield pivots.
Beyond that, The Reds boast a host of young attacking talent in a way that gets forgotten, given that only Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo could be described as being at peak age without even looking at minutes in legs.
Florian Wirtz is 23, as is Victor Munoz; Bradley Barcola is 24, as is Hugo Ekitike; while Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns and Rio Ngumoha are all still under 21 - and in the latterโs case, still a teenager.
Those players donโt have many miles on the clock and feel ready to click into gear under this manager, in a way that makes gripes about how little Alexander Isak touches the ball feel like weโre being spoilt brats about a deliberate strategy that is helping Liverpoolโs striker score goals, stay fit, and help those around him - namely Wirtz.
So yes, this young squad are ahead of schedule under Iraola, and is actually far closer to being a team that can challenge than some of our own fans seem prepared to give credit for.
Now we can enjoy the international break after a win that resets the bad mood that showed signs of creeping in after a week which wonโt even seem so bad in just a few weeks anyway.
Viva Iraolaโs Reds!
๐ ๐ค๐จ๐View quoted post on X
"For all the Steve Nicols in this world saying this Liverpool are 'too nice' and need a player who can 'smash somebody', I just donโt think we are going to get that and certainly not any time soon.View quoted post on X
"Iraola would do well to not go against his principles, and what it seems to me that he is building in these early stages is a side built in his image.
"He wants his teams to be calm and measured in hunting a result, which means he will have to live and die by that sword, in an Alex Ferguson 'we donโt lose, we run out of time' way."
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