Creating a Liverpool squad with one signing from each of the last twenty seasons

With the transfer window about to begin in earnest, I set about a challenge - constructing a Liverpool eleven - with substitutes - using one player signed from each of the last 20 seasons. 

What makes this challenge so interesting is navigating through the seasons where strong options are at a premium, and carefully selecting an individual from the seasons that boast numerous stellar signings. 

Firstly, then, here’s what each campaign has to offer…

2004/05: Djibril Cisse, Josemi, Antonio Nunez, Xabi Alonso, Luis Garcia, Mauricio Pellegrino, Fernando Morientes, Scott Carson

2005/06: Antonio Barragan, Bolo Zenden, Pepe Reina, Momo Sissoko, Peter Crouch, Mark Gonzalez, Jan Kromkamp, Daniel Agger, Robbie Fowler

2006/07: Craig Bellamy, Gabriel Paletta, Fabio Aurelio, Jermaine Pennant, Dirk Kuyt, Nabil El Zhar, Daniele Padelli, Alvaro Arbeloa 

2007/08: Lucas Leiva, Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Andriy Voronin, Ryan Babel, Charles Itandje, Emiliano Insua, Lauri Dalla Valle, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Ayala, Javier Mascherano 

2008/09: Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena, Diego Cavalieri, David N’Gog, Robbie Keane, Albert Riera

2009/10: Glen Johnson, Alberto Aquilani, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Maxi Rodriguez 

2010/11: Jonjo Shelvey, Milan Jovanovic, Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones, Raul Meireles, Paul Konchesky, Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll

2011/12: Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Alexander Doni, Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique, Sebastian Coates, Craig Bellamy 

2012/13: Fabio Borini, Joe Allen, Oussama Assaidi, Nuri Sahin, Samed Yesil, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho

2013/14: Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet, Kolo Toure, Aly Cissokho, Mamadou Sakho, Tiago Ilori, Victor Moses

2014/15: Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Kevin Stewart, Emre Can, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren, Divock Origi, Javier Manquillo, Alberto Moreno, Mario Balotelli

2015/16: Joe Gomez, Adam Bogdan, Danny Ings, James Milner, Nathaniel Clyne, Roberto Firmino, Christian Benteke, Marko Grujic, Steven Caulker

2016/17: Joel Matip, Alex Manninger, Georginio Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane, Ragnar Klavan, Loris Karius

2017/18: Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dominic Solanke, Virgil Van Dijk

2018/19: Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri, Alisson Becker

2019/20: Adrian San Miguel, Sepp Van Den Berg, Harvey Elliott, Takumi Minamino

2020/21: Kostas Tsimikas, Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, Ben Davies, Ozan Kabak

2021/22: Ibrahima Konate, Luis Diaz

2022/23: Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho, Calvin Ramsay, Arthur Melo, Cody Gakpo

2023/24: Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Wataru Endo

I started with the seasons that are low on high-quality options, where the choice was perhaps a bit more obvious. So; Harvey Elliott for 19/20, Luis Suarez for 10/11 and Darwin Nunez for 22/23 will be the first three men in the squad. Whilst I liked Raul Meireles, Suarez is the most gifted player I’ve ever seen at Liverpool, so is a shoo-in. Nunez and Cody Gakpo have been hot-and-cold for Liverpool, but Nunez gets in based on his pace and physical attributes. Despite being the title-winning season, 19/20 was a very low-key window, but Elliott has gone on to become a major part of the Liverpool squad, and offers versatility.

Like 19/20, 08/09 was a really good season but one with a poor transfer window. Andrea Dossena, Robbie Keane and David N’Gog all had a few good moments, but I’ve gone with Albert Riera. Underwhelming for Liverpool, but respectable elsewhere.

Wataru Endo had a superb period from December-April this season, and Dominik Szoboszlai was the star of August-October, while Ryan Gravenberch ended the campaign strongly. But Alexis Mac Allister is a pretty easy choice here as one of the Reds’ players of the season in 23/24.

Alisson Becker is the best goalkeeper I’ve ever seen at Liverpool, and should be an easy choice for this reason. Fabinho - the best defensive midfielder I’ve seen - being from the same season as him complicates matters slightly, but I’m going to press ahead with Alisson for 18/19; safe in the knowledge that there’s enough other good midfielders I can choose, but there’s only one keeper of Alisson’s boundless quality.

Pepe Reina is the only keeper that comes close to the Brazilian, but there’s no way I can relegate him to a place on the bench, so I’m going to discard him from my thoughts here, despite his brilliant time at the club. So for my second-choice goalkeeper, it’s going to have to be Simon Mignolet, perhaps a little underrated at times. 13/14 is quite a mishmash of signings; even though Mignolet wasn’t wholly-convincing, neither were the likes of Mamadou Sakho or Kolo Toure.

I’m going to move onto 21/22 now, because there’s only two signings to choose from: Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz. With lots of good attackers still under consideration, I’m going to choose Konate over Diaz, and he fills one of my starting centre-back berths.

04/05 provides an interesting selection of players, signed during Rafael Benitez’s first season as manager. Luis Garcia is something of a cult hero, Fernando Morientes was tremendous earlier in his career for Real Madrid. However, Xabi Alonso is a fairly simple choice here. What a splendid footballer.

From one manager’s first set of signings to another; let’s now look at Brendan Rodgers’ maiden season in 12/13. The only two that appeal are January signings Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho. With Alonso and Mac Allister already picked, I don’t need another advanced midfielder, especially with other midfield options still to assess. As magical as Coutinho could be, Sturridge is arguably the best finisher I’ve ever seen at the club, and I’m sure Suarez would be more than happy to see him make this squad.

I’m conscious of my lack of attention to the full-backs so far. The best right-back we’ve seen in the last 20 seasons is obviously Trent Alexander-Arnold, but as he is not a signing, is not eligible for this challenge. So, the next best thing is Alvaro Arbeloa, a highly underappreciated player at Liverpool who could perform to a high standard in either full-back role, and was a stalwart later in his career for Real Madrid too. 

This boxes off the 06/07 season, meaning I cannot use the likeable Fabio Aurelio for left-back. Of course, Andy Robertson is the strongest of all the options for his position, but 17/18 also contains Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, so I’m going to leave Robertson out of the equation too. Left-back has been such a problem position until Robertson came along, and I’m faced with a choice here of Jose Enrique (11/12), Alberto Moreno (14/15) or Kostas Tsimikas (20/21). None of these three were great for Liverpool, but Enrique was the best, so he’s going in - using him for 11/12 means no Jordan Henderson, however.

I’m really unhappy with the idea of Enrique being my only squad option at left-back, so let’s bolster the full-back areas with Glen Johnson (09/10), who could play either side - just like Arbeloa, who’s already in. I think it’s also a good idea to draft in Joe Gomez (15/16), who can cover all three positions in defence. This sadly means no Roberto Firmino, but I’m already well-stacked with central forwards anyway.

Because of this fact, there’s no room for my beloved Diogo Jota, so it’s going to be Thiago Alcantara for 20/21, possibly the most graceful and visually gratifying player to ever adorn the Liverpool shirt. That completes my starting midfield trio.

With my midfield nailed down, I’ll be looking at options other than Georginio Wijnaldum for 16/17. Joel Matip was great, but it has to really be Sadio Mane, as my first starting wide attacker. A goal return to die for, skill and pace to rival anyone and a work ethic that very few in any position can boast, Mane is simply one of the best forwards the club has ever had.

I’m now returning to 17/18. We’ve already ruled Robertson out, and as much as I liked Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, we’re looking at two absolute game-changers in Van Dijk and Salah. With Mane and Suarez already in place in attack, I can cope without a third superstar up front, whereas we’ve only got Konate in the centre-back area so far. With all that in mind, it’s the Dutchman.

So, I’ve now got ten starting positions sorted and eight bench spots. My three remaining seasons are 05/06, 07/08 and 14/15.

The most recent of those three seasons has Adam Lallana and Emre Can, but I perhaps need a more defensively-minded midfielder for the bench. So I’m going to forget those, and choose my back-up centre-back from 14/15 instead: Dejan Lovren. His lows were low but his highs were pretty high too, and is solid reserve for Konate and Van Dijk.

My search for a defensive midfielder to offer cover for Alonso, Thiago and Mac Allister continues. Helpfully, (or by my own good design), both 05/06 and 07/08 have excellent DMs. So, Momo Sissoko or Javier Mascherano? Mascherano played to a higher standard than Sissoko, but I’m very aware that I need a wide attacker to fill my final spot, and 05/06 just offers me central strikers Peter Crouch and Robbie Fowler, so Sissoko is the necessary choice for that season. It’s also worth considering whether Mascherano on the bench is a good idea anyway - could a player of that ilk really only be a sub? 

I finish my squad selections with the right wing spot, and 07/08 my only remaining season. Look. We signed Fernando Torres in 07/08. Behind Suarez; the second best striker at Liverpool in the last twenty seasons. But, I’m not playing him on the wing, it wouldn’t work. With Suarez and Mane already there, the forward line needs an honest character who’d be happy to be the foil for the two stars, but is also good enough to contribute valuable and important goals and offer quality of his own. Step forward, Yossi Benayoun.

GK: Alisson Becker (18/19)

RB: Alvaro Arbeloa (06/07)

CB: Ibrahima Konate (21/22)

CB: Virgil Van Dijk (17/18)

LB: Joe Gomez (15/16)

CM: Xabi Alonso (04/05)

CM: Alexis Mac Allister (23/24)

CM: Thiago Alcantara (20/21)

RW: Yossi Benayoun (07/08)

ST: Luis Suarez (10/11)

LW: Sadio Mane (16/17)

SUB: Simon Mignolet (13/14)

SUB: Glen Johnson (09/10)

SUB: Dejan Lovren (14/15)

SUB: Jose Enrique (11/12)

SUB: Momo Sissoko (05/06)

SUB: Harvey Elliott (19/20)

SUB: Albert Riera (08/09)

SUB: Darwin Nunez (22/23)

SUB: Daniel Sturridge (12/13)

So, that’s mine. I’d love to see some other attempts at this challenge…

Daniel