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Liverpool will struggle to finish in Premier League TOP SIX this season, Reds fan Charlie Austin tells talkSPORT as Jamie Carragher says Virgil van Dijk injury no excuse for poor form
Liverpool will struggle to finish in the Premier League TOP SIX this term as they struggle with 'second season syndrome', QPR forward and Reds fan Charlie Austin has told talkSPORT.
Jurgen Klopp's side ended the weekend all the way down in sixth place, a massive 19 points behind league leaders Manchester City after losing Saturday evening's Merseyside derby.
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It was Everton's first win at Anfield since 1999, and made it four successive league defeats for the Reds to continue their rapid slide down the table.
Incredibly, Liverpool have now also lost each of their past four league games at Anfield and the last time that happened was 1923.
Retaining their Premier League crown is now well and truly off the cards for Liverpool, and even securing a place in the top four seems unlikely given they are five points behind West Ham in fourth.
But Reds fan Austin, who is on loan at QPR from West Brom, says his beloved club should actually be worried about finishing in the TOP SIX!
Speaking as co-host on Monday's Drivetime, Austin told talkSPORT: “Second season syndrome… you usually say that about promoted teams, that they do well the first year but the second year they fail.
“Hang on a minute, Liverpool are doing it here.
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“Me being a Liverpool fan, it was fantastic last year. I was thinking, ‘come on, let’s back it up and go on a run of two/three/four/five years like United did’.
“But it’s just not happened.
“And at the moment it’s going to be a struggle for top four… it’s going to be a struggle for top six!”
Austin also questioned Liverpool's transfer business, especially in relation to their failure to replace Virgil van Dijk by not signing a new central defender until the very last day of the winter window.
The striker added: “They’ve got a long list of injuries – I get that, I do – but that is part of football.
"Van Dijk has a massive injury in November, and they know he’s out for the season, and it takes them until deadline day to try and replace him?
“You can’t replace him, but to bring in someone that can fill the void… I’m not sure they’ve been able to do that.”
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Meanwhile, speaking on Monday Night Football, Anfield legend Jamie Carragher said he was sick of hearing Van Dijk's injury used an excuse and insisted Liverpool should not be immune from criticism.
The Reds have had terrible luck this season as their Premier League title defence has imploded.
They have lost Van Dijk and Joe Gomez to long-term injuries and suffered numerous other setbacks in defence, forcing them to use 18 different centre-back partnerships.
But Carragher says top teams should still find a way to win, and has suggested some changes Klopp could make to get them back on track.
“Liverpool can't win the league with Van Dijk being out for the whole season, I didn't feel – I said that after the last derby game (in October),” he began.
“But the problems Liverpool have, whether their defenders are out, the midfield players are at centre-back, does not mean they can't win home games against Everton, Brighton, Burnley, West Brom.
“Manchester United, maybe, Man City, real top quality, but it's not an excuse for individual games. No matter what problem you have as a Liverpool player, you can't not win at home for six games. That's not acceptable. It's not.
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“When I think of situations I've been in – and I've been in teams not as good as this one – but you find a way to win. We beat Everton twice with 10 men.
"Liverpool started the game against Everton with 10 Champions League winners. Van Dijk is not an excuse in individual games.
“So you're talking about maybe doing something different. It's not rip everything up, of course it's not, but I do think there could be a tweaking of the system – maybe a 4-2-3-1, bring an extra attacking player in, because Liverpool are struggling to create and score goals.
“And defensively now, I think, is there a case for putting Liverpool 10 yards further back?
“Liverpool never played this high when Jurgen Klopp first came in, when they had Kolo Toure, when they had (Mamadou) Sakho, (Martin) Skrtel, (Dejan) Lovren. They still pressed.
“It may be a case of that, because this high line at this moment, (Ozan) Kabak is struggling early on in his Liverpool career, Ben Davies may come in, Nat Phillips is going to play. They need a bit more help and a bit more protection, and I think that would help them going forward.”
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