When Jurgen Klopp was quizzed about the battle between Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas for the left-back berth in his Liverpool team last week, he instead chose to focus on his overall strength in depth when sending a warning to his squad.
”We need brilliant players and these boys, over the last few years, have done an absolutely incredible job,” the German told reporters on Friday. “With ‘competition’ in different positions, it forced them and stretched their limits. It’s absolutely unbelievable the development they had.
“We didn’t bring in different players to create competition, we brought in players to have solutions in different situations. That means the boys have to deal with it now, that’s the job they have to do.
“It means if you’re in the first line-up, run your socks off and play as well as you can for as long as you can. If you can’t do that anymore, another player has to be there who can replace and do the same job, and, if possible, even better because he is fresher. That is the idea behind it.
“A season is really long and we’ve suffered so much from injuries in the last few years. Hopefully it will not be the case now anymore.
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“If it happens, we should be better prepared. If it doesn’t happen, then we have a situation where players will be on the bench who expect to play and players will not be in the squad who expect to be on the bench.
“If there is a player who can play the same position as yourself in quite an impressive way, yeah, you better perform!
“My job is not to stick with the boys as much as I like them, as much I owe them, as much as we’ve gone through together. My job is to go line up the best team for today, not for yesterday.
“The more top-class options we have, the better it is for the club and hopefully that’s the situation.”
Liverpool have certainly benefited from such a scenario in a number of positions this season, with the form of both Robertson and Tsimikas a particular highlight of the campaign so far.
The Greek was a star performer for the Reds against Cardiff City on Sunday as he was handed his 13th start of the season, while, after a shaky start to the season after injury and his Euro 2020 exploits, the Scotland captain is back to his best having been pushed on by his reserve and made 22 starts of his own.
There have even been times where supporters have called for Tsimikas to be first-choice ahead of Robertson, with Klopp safe in the knowledge he can call upon either left-back for any occasion without his side suffering any real drop-off in quality.
Diogo Jota’s intrusion on Liverpool’s front three, succeeding where many couldn’t in breaking up the Mohamed Salah -Roberto Firmino-Sadio Mane triumvirate, is a similar tale in attack and an obvious sign of the Reds’ improved strength in depth.
The second leading goalscorer in the Premier League, behind the Egyptian, his presence ensures Klopp is no longer over-reliant on the same forward trio, with the arrival of Luis Diaz from FC Porto only bolstering such options.
Elsewhere, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate have shared centre-back duties alongside Virgil van Dijk, making 25 and 12 starts respectively with the arrival of the Frenchman allowing Klopp to rotate the historically fragile Cameroonian when needed.
Meanwhile in midfield, competition is stronger than ever following Harvey Elliott and Thiago Alcantara’s return from injury against Cardiff, with Liverpool very nearly in a position where their entire senior squad is available for selection.
That day could come against Leicester City on Thursday, should Salah and Mane be declared available after returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty, with Divock Origi close to comeback after returning to training after injury last week and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez completing their respective spells in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.
But as a result, Klopp’s warning to his players is about to come true with 26 senior players fighting it out for 20 places in a matchday squad. And that’s without even taking the likes of talented youngsters Tyler Morton, Kaide Gordon and Conor Bradley into consideration.
Expected starters will be benched and likely squad players will miss out altogether. There is no escaping that. It’s one of the reasons why Nat Phillips and Neco Williams were allowed to depart on loan.
But while Jota, Mane, Firmino and Diaz will now be fighting it out for two places alongside Salah and the likes of Tsimikas and Konate can continue to expect starting opportunities when Klopp rotates his defence, the brutal truth of the matter is if Liverpool remain mainly injury-free, some stars will struggle for minutes despite the Reds continuing to battle on four fronts.
Gomez is one such player. While Van Dijk and Matip have been first-choice for the majority of the season after returning from serious injury in the summer, the England international has barely had a sniff.
Registering just 15 minutes of Premier League action this season, from four substitute appearances, all but one minute has come at full-back, with his only action in his favoured centre-back role coming when Klopp switched to a back five to see out Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham following Robertson’s dismissal.
Making just four starts in all competitions, they are the only times, apart from that 89th minute introduction at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, that he has been fielded at centre-back from his 12 appearances this season.
With his lack of game-time coming in a World Cup year, it is no surprise that he has been linked with a move away, with the likes of Aston Villa and Real Madrid reportedly monitoring his situation, yet the Reds had no intention of allowing him to leave in January.
Whether that is still the case should his situation stay the same come the summer remains to be seen, but after an untimely bout of Covid-19 denied him the opportunity to start against Cardiff, it would seem only injuries elsewhere could open the door for him into Klopp’s starting XI now.
Williams’ loan exit to Fulham could at least present the defender with some minutes at right-back as a rotation option to Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Gomez has it all to do to force his way back up the pecking order and reignite his successful Premier League-winning partnership with Van Dijk as opportunities continue to elude him.
He is not alone, however.
January was supposed to be Takumi Minamino and Origi’s time to shine in the absence of Salah and Mane due to the Africa Cup of Nations. Yet Sunday’s win over Cardiff was only the Japan international’s second start in 2022. Meanwhile, the Belgian hasn’t featured since the start of December because of injury.
The duo have scored goals whenever turned to this season, boasting seven and five respectively despite their limited game-time. Yet neither have started a meaningful game when Salah, Mane, Firmino and Jota have all been available for selection. With Diaz now thrown into the mix, opportunities look set to dwindle further.
Sure, by beating Cardiff City to progress in the FA Cup and set up a fifth round tie with Norwich City, there remains a cup competition for the Reds’ reserve players to start in.
But with Klopp likely to name a strong side for this month’s League Cup final and not rotate to such an extent in Premier League while still in title contention or in the Champions League in ties finely poised, it looks as though the duo will now be competing just for a place on the bench, with the five attacking options ahead of them in the pecking order ensuring they will not be go-to bench options.
Meanwhile in midfield, it remains to be seen what Klopp considers his strongest trio with an injury crisis in the engine-room ensuring he has had to regularly rotate so far this season.
Yet now with Elliott and Thiago’s returns from injury ensuring he has all eight senior options he started the campaign with available again, it’s clear some names will have to miss out.
It’s safe to assume Fabinho’s place is safe while captain Jordan Henderson will start more games than not, though Elliott’s return on the right side of midfield could leave his status less secure.
Yet the final berth in the midfield is certainly up for grabs.
Reputation would suggest Thiago starts when fit and on form, though Naby Keita has certainly shown his ability when fit and on form himself.
Curtis Jones and Oxlade-Chamberlain have impressed in the absence of others but were the reserve options when Klopp had his full quota of midfielders to choose from, while vice-captain James Milner is perhaps the most obvious fall-guy, given he is now 36 and out of contract in the summer, as Liverpool plan for a future without him.
Yet when it comes to naming a substitutes' bench, Klopp does favour versatile players who are capable of filling more than one role, with the likes of Konate, Thiago, Keita and Tsimikas perhaps the most limited when it comes to fulfilling more than one position.
The Reds boss considers such a dilemma a positive as Liverpool continue to compete for four major honours, having highlighted the importance of boasting a plethora of ‘top-class’ options.
And now with so many senior options at his disposal, Klopp knows he faces a tough balancing act in the months ahead as he looks to maintain a harmonious squad.
When Brendan Rodgers took over at Anfield in 2012, he was mocked for his use of an envelope mind-game, saying he'd written down the names of three players he felt would let the side down before warning his squad to make sure it wasn't their name written in any of the envelopes.
While Klopp has never resorted to such tactics and no player has ever let him down, he will have his own idea of the players who could now find themselves at the bottom of the Reds' pecking order.
His Liverpool players have been warned. Now it’s up to each individual to ensure they are not the ones left out in the cold.
