Kennedy goes full-back to the future
LIVERPOOL legend Alan Kennedy could hardly believe his eyes as he watched Jurgen Klopp’s side slam Leicester to take another stride towards a longawaited league title.
The 65-year-old was amazed that the Reds could give a performance of such quality so soon after a gruelling trip to Qatar for the Club World Cup.
“What a fantastic performance. It was incredible to play like that after coming back from an exhausting trip,” said Kennedy of the Boxing Day exhibition.
The former Kop defender reserved his greatest praise for full-backs Trent Alexander-arnold and Andy Robertson.
“I don’t think you would swap those two with anyone else in the world,” he said. “Having Virgil van Dijk alongside you is a good start. He is a magnificent defender and allows the full-backs licence to get forward. Trent takes the opposing defenders out of the equation with his magnificent delivery.
“He immediately places teams under pressure. No one wants the ball coming into the goal area all the time. It puts any defender on the back foot.”
Left-back Robertson has been compared in style to Kennedy, whose decisive goals brought the 1981 and 1984 European Cups to Anfield.
“I hate saying things like Andy Robertson is the best left-back in the world because it’s a real grand statement, but who would you rather have playing in that position for Liverpool?” Kennedy added.
“I love the way Andy gets on with his game. I like his feistiness. He will fight for his cause. It’s not a physical thing, it’s a real mental strength. He’s showing that his opponent will never get the better of him. It reminds me of my own attitude. If you have the right mental make-up then it means you won’t settle for just doing your job. You demand something extra of yourself.
“Trent is the same. He never thinks his job is done, as he proved against Leicester by tearing forward and scoring the fourth goal. It’s why
Liverpool as a team are successful. It’s why they could go through the Premier League season undefeated.”
But despite all the predictions that Liverpool are well on the way to their first title since 1990, Kennedy warns the job has been only half-done. “You can’t let up even if it looks like the league title is on its way,” he said.
“There are still difficult games to come. For instance, Wolves on Sunday won’t be easy. Their philosophy is similar to Leicester’s: good to watch, a team that works hard.
“People still talk about my era when we won Leagues and European Cups. That’s the acid test for any winning side.
“These players want people in 15 years’ time to be able to look back and remember them as Liverpool greats, to have memories of some fantastic games.”