Former footballer turned pundit Paul Ince has explained why he doesn’t regard this current Liverpool side as a great team yet as they have to continue winning year after year to be in that bracket.
The Merseyside giants are closing in on the Premier League title this season, although it remains to be seen just how long they’ll have to wait to be crowned champions given the campaign is currently suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Having won the Champions League last season, Jurgen Klopp is undoubtedly building something special at Anfield and perhaps this is just the start of a sustained period of success for the Reds.
Ince though believes that they can’t quite call themselves a great team just yet, in terms of putting them in the same category as the dominant sides over the years, as ultimately Liverpool have to keep winning trophies season in and season out to get to that level.
“It is tough to say that [they are among the best] but I think what Liverpool have done has been a great achievement,” he told Goal. “I think the quality of the Premier League hasn’t been what it has been [previously].
“Are they a great team? I wouldn’t say they are; you have to win it season after season. I think they have got the talent and the manager to become a great team. Great teams keep winning. If they win it this year and next year, then we can start calling it a great team.”
In fairness, Ince makes a valid point as using the examples he mentioned in terms of previous Man Utd sides, Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, they all won trophy after trophy and set new standards.
Liverpool are arguably in the process of doing that now, and while they deserve a huge amount of credit for their achievements last season and what they will likely achieve this year, perhaps it will take another season to maintain that level and establish themselves as a genuine great team.
Time will tell if that happens or not, but if Klopp can strengthen his squad further this summer, there’s every reason to believe that they will as he has already assembled a world-class squad which is showing its quality on the pitch and will have many already arguing that they are indeed a great team.