Goodbye Fab Three ... hello Super Six IAN RUSH
END OF A GOALDEN ERA WITH MO, FIRMINO AND MANE? WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS EVEN BETTER – THE MOST EXCITING ATTACK IN PREM EXCLUSIVE
LIVERPOOL’S Red Arrows might have been disbanded – but Kop legend Ian Rush believes the current crop of strikers will keep Jurgen Klopp’s side flying high.
Given the air force moniker through 338 goals in 731 collective appearances there were fears that when Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane flew the nest, remaining member Mo Salah and an expensively assembled new crew would not hit the same heights.
But in Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz the goals have been flowing, and Rush enthused: “They have goals in them all day long. Without a doubt going forward they are the most exciting team in the Premier League. Manchester City are strong, Newcastle look good on the front foot, but Liverpool with their rich array of attackers lead the way in terms of devastating finishing and excitement.
“Some people might have thought that with the disbandment of the fab three of Salah, Mane and Firmino that would have signalled the end of the goal rush. That’s not been the case and I think it’s going to get even better for Liverpool in that department.
“I believe there is still a lot more to come and there’s actually six forwards if you include Ben Doak who is using the Europa League to press his claims. Just imagine you’re a defender who has already had his work cut out when you see someone like Diaz or Nunez coming on off the bench. “It’s a case of, ‘Oh s**t, I’m in for another hard time!’. Liverpool are relentless when it comes to attacking.” And in Nunez, who came in for some criticism for missing a glut of chances last season, Rush is prepared to make a confident prediction. Rush said: “He has come on a lot and I am 100 percent behind him. “I know he got some stick last season for missing chances but what I liked about him was that he was getting in the right positions. My favourite saying is never be afraid to miss.
“You are always doing something right by getting into a goalscoring position.
“He is not missing as many this season and I believe he will go on to hit four or five in one game. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up as the Premier League’s leading scorer at the end of the season.”
Rush, who is the club’s all-time top scorer with a staggering 346 goals, believes Liverpool are also witnessing a new Salah, a player no longer solely driven on the amount of goals he can help himself to.
“Mo is a more complete player now. I can see him getting more assists than goals this season,” he added. “He is more of a team player. It’s why he has so many assists already this season. He is helping out more and it’s not just his goals that he is now being recognised for. It’s his all-round play.
“With more experience you use your football brain and he has realised it’s not all about scoring goals. Some of his assists this season have been fantastic.”
And Rush says the man who has remoulded the Liverpool squad deserves full praise.
He said: “Jurgen Klopp is rebuilding in a successful and exciting manner and that is testament to a top manager when they can change but still be a top side. Kenny Dalglish did it in the 80s and Jurgen is doing it now.”
NO ONE was more surprised when Wataru Endo signed for Liverpool than the Japan midfielder himself.
Endo’s £16.2million move from Stuttgart caught plenty of Anfield fans off-guard, as they rushed to Youtube to find out some more about the Bundesliga star. But Endo was obviously no mystery to Kop boss Jurgen Klopp, who always had a plan for Japan’s national captain. And there is plenty of clarity about his role in a changing Liverpool team. He arrived in the summer after the Reds had failed in their attempts to land Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. Endo, 30, said: “Maybe it was a surprise for Liverpool fans for me to come here, but Jurgen Klopp knew me very well as a player. “That was a very important thing to me – although it was still a big surprise. After I first came here I had some conversations with the manager. “He told me, ‘We are so offensive as a team, we need a No.6, a defensive midfielder’. That’s why I came here. “But what I do here hasn’t changed from what I’ve done with Stuttgart and the Japan national team. “I just try to do my best in every game and training session. It’s getting better, definitely.” As a German himself, Klopp has a serious appreciation of the qualities of the Bundesliga and those who play in it. Klopp saw enough of Endo playing for Stuttgart to know he could do a defensive job in a Liverpool midfield that has lost Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Georginio Wijnaldum in recent times. And Endo has revealed he did his own homework on the Merseysiders, the Premier League and how Borussia Dortmund played when Klopp was in charge of them. He revealed: “I played in the German league for four years. Obviously, the English league is different. But if I play like I did for Stuttgart and the Japan national team, then I can play for Liverpool. “It’s fast and strong here. The intensity and physicality in England are totally different to Germany. “German teams like to sit back more when they defend, but here at Liverpool we always press high. That’s a big difference. “I watched the manager’s matches when he was in charge at Dortmund, because one of my ex-coaches liked to copy Klopp’s style of play. The manager told me he had known of me when I was at Stuttgart and we’ve had conversations. The first couple of games with
Liverpool were quite difficult because a lot of the time we were down to 10 men. But now I think that I have adapted.
“My wife and children finally joined me last week and my life is getting back to normal so I’m showing my best on the pitch. That is the most important thing for me.
“I am feeling a lot more comfortable when I’m playing now.
“Also it helps that the other players know me better. I feel much better.”
Endo, from Yokohama near Tokyo, may feel a little more at home today coming up against Brighton winger and international team-mate Kaoru Mitoma at the Amex Stadium – a match-up that is attracting huge interest back home in Japan.
“If I play, there will be a lot of interest,” Endo added. “I imagine Mitoma will play and then if I do, they will be excited in Japan.
“There aren’t so many Japanese players in the Premier League, especially the biggest clubs, so Japanese fans are interested and many will be watching.
“And for all Japanese players, it shows that if you keep improving, keep dreaming, coming to the Premier League can happen. The
dream can come true.”