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Luis Suarez

John Aldridge on Liverpool: 'This is more of a team. It’s not about one player'

The former Reds striker says Luis Suarez carried their Premier League title challenge under Brendan Rodgers.

LIVERPOOL CAME AGONISINGLY close to landing the Premier League title in 2013/14, but a couple of untimely stumbles heading down the final straight allowed Manchester City to close in and pip them at the post.

Brendan Rodgers, the man behind a sustained push for domestic dominance, lasted just one more full season at Anfield before being relieved of his duties, as the Reds slipped back into English football’s chasing pack.

Jurgen Klopp was appointed as his successor with the intention of breathing life back into a sleeping giant – with the German’s character, as much as his coaching ability, marking him out as a top target.

The rebuilding job remains a work in progress, but the foundations are down and a solid structure is being put in place.

It could be that the project is finished by May 2017, with Liverpool very much in the title race at present.

Whether they can stay the course remains to be seen, but they can take considerable heart from the fact that they have numerous key men performing at the peak of their powers.

Under Rodgers, a lot of responsibility was shouldered by Luis Suarez, with the Uruguayan frontman enjoying a remarkable run of form which landed him the Golden Boot and a big-money move to Barcelona.

He did have a talented supporting cast, but Liverpool’s class of 2016-17 are much more of a well-oiled unit than the one Rodgers pieced together.

Ex-Reds striker Aldridge wrote in the Liverpool Echo: “We were in a title race back in 2013/14 but the big difference then was that we had Luis Suarez who was frighteningly good. He was winning us games single-handedly.

“The likes of Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling were buzzing off Suarez. Now we’ve got four players doing that for us and it’s great to watch.

“This is more of a team. It’s not about one player. They have got belief in each other and we’re getting goals from all over the place.

“We won 6-1 [against Watford] without playing with an out-and-out striker. Daniel Sturridge came on and could have had a hat-trick. He hit the bar twice and their keeper pulled off a worldie.

“Having someone of Sturridge’s quality to bring off the bench is what dreams are made of. Divock Origi didn’t even get on the pitch.

“The balance of the team is spot on and we’ve got people on the bench chomping at the bit to get on. That’s exactly what you want as a football manager.”

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