Garth Crooks made the headlines last week with his suggestion that Alberto Moreno could get Liverpool relegated, and he’s not backing down from it.
His initial comments came in the aftermath of the Spaniard’s display at Arsenal on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.
After bringing down Theo Walcott in the penalty box in the first half, Moreno was then caught out of position for the opening goal of the encounter as the two incidents were added to a long list of mistakes.
That in turn led to this from Crooks, as reported by BBC Sport: “Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is not averse to spending money if the talent is available. Having spent it wisely on Mane, he should seriously think about selling striker Christian Benteke – as he is surplus to requirements – and buying a decent left-back. If he keeps Alberto Moreno in the team, he can forget the top four – he’ll get relegated.”
Naturally, the former Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur man received plenty of criticism for his comments, as although he had a point by singling out Moreno as a weak link, his exaggerated explanation unsurprisingly rubbed some Liverpool supporters up the wrong way.
Instead of backtracking on that claim and explaining himself in more realistic terms, it appears as though the 58-year-old is enjoying attracting unnecessary criticism towards himself.
“Last week, I said that if they didn’t replace Alberto Moreno at left-back they would get relegated. I make no apology for the exaggerated remark because the point needed to be made. However, putting square pegs in round holes or, to be more precise, James Milner in that position does not solve the problem either.”
With time running out in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether or not Klopp moves to address the situation at left-back.
Having already stated though that he will not panic buy, it seems as though Moreno will continue to have a prominent role to play for the team, as ultimately a natural left-back is surely a better option than playing Milner out of his favoured position in an awkward spot for Liverpool.