The Anfield side have not been pitted against a suitable quality of opposition to put them among the very best
Liverpool’s 2019-20 side will not be remembered as one of the great English sides, according to Stan Collymore, a former Anfield striker.
The Reds stand only six points away from winning a first title of the Premier League era, having dropped only four points in 29 Premier League matches, and although they will not finish the season undefeated, they stand a chance of smashing the division’s points record.
But Collymore believes that while Jurgen Klopp’s vintage makes for a fine team, they have not been put up against opponents of comparable quality.
Defending champions Manchester City, for instance, have failed to find their best form this term, losing seven of their 28 fixtures to date – a dramatic decline for a side that had lost only six times in its previous two seasons.
“Liverpool are a fine team and they will deservedly have the title wrapped up within two games,” he wrote in The Mirror.
“But while I will celebrate my old club’s success, I will also lament that their domination isn’t just because Jurgen Klopp’s side have been so good but also because plenty of others around them have been bad.
“Liverpool’s dominance is not a sign that we’re seeing the greatest sides ever, it’s about a limited number of clubs being able to fill out squads because they have the biggest budgets, something that puts other clubs in leagues at a competitive disadvantage.
“Liverpool have been exceptional but will they go down as one of the great all-time English clubs? No, for the reasons above they will not.”
Indeed, Collymore believes that there are problems in the Premier League that are seeing the elite becoming untouchable.
“There are issues in the Premier League that are starting to echo in the Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1, where no more than a handful of teams have the money and there is a brain drain of the top talent towards them,” he said.
Liverpool are set to become the fifth different English champion in 16 years, compared to three over that same period in La Liga and Serie A, four in the Bundesliga and seven in Ligue 1.
The Reds could seal the title next weekend when they face Everton as the Premier League returns, but only if Manchester City fail to beat Arsenal on Wednesday.
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