Squad depth is a big issue for many clubs, and it’s one which can work both ways. On the one hand, managers—especially at bigger sides, involved in European competition—want more players available to ensure rotation and cover, but on the flip side, players themselves want to be in the side every week.
It can cause friction within the squad when any particular player is left on the bench or otherwise uninvolved for weeks at a time, eventually leading to such unhappiness that a player wants to depart...but what managers really look for is a positive reaction, a determination on the part of the man sidelined to work his way back into contention.
For Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, that’s precisely what has occurred in the battle to be first-choice left-back this season.
Moreno’s redemption
Spanish full-back Alberto Moreno was nothing more than a peripheral figure last term, but a strong pre-season saw Klopp give him a chance again this term.
Moreno reacted in the best way possible: he found his best level since arriving at Anfield, mixing a more diligent defensive aggression with his trademark surges forward into the attack, providing the team with an outlet and deservedly keeping his place.
It took some time for him to win over a section of fans who kept his previous displays firmly in mind, and he’ll never win over another section who cannot forgive his Europa League final performance.
But Moreno was in the team on merit, a justification of both his own determination to keep improving and wait for his chance, and of Klopp’s willingness to deal out a second opportunity to a player who had fallen down the pecking order.
Opportunity knocks
As Moreno had to wait a whole season for regular involvement, so too did new signing Andrew Robertson have to watch on from the sidelines early on this term. The Scotsman was a reasonably low-cost arrival from Hull, but he had impressed in the Premier League with his former club.
And, when he finally was handed an opportunity due to Moreno picking up an injury, he showed exactly why.
Rumbustious performances saw Robertson quickly gain cult status with the fans; thundering tackles, exciting surges forward and that press against Manchester City all frequently lead to ear-splitting roars of approval from the Kop. Across Christmas, he was one of the most regular performers for the Reds and he’s remained in place, like Moreno before him, on merit.
The gauntlet was thrown down: Moreno raised his game, can you do the same? Robertson has taken the challenge on board and answered in emphatic fashion.
In short, that’s exactly how positional competition is supposed to work.
Season, rotation, future
Soon, Klopp will have a decision on his hands: who is actually first-choice?
It’s likely that, with Moreno only just back to full fitness, the Scotsman will remain in the side for the upcoming big games. The Champions League is resuming and Robertson will surely be in place for that, but before the second leg and trip to Old Trafford immediately afterward, rotation throughout the side might be on show.
That’s when Moreno will be looking to get his next opportunity, not just to regain top fitness levels but to rediscover his form from earlier in the campaign.
What next? There might be a dozen games remaining at that point, and barring injury to either player, it’s realistically the span of matches where next season’s first-choice left-back will be decided. Both have different strengths, just as right-back duo Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold do, and Klopp could therefore utilise each one depending on opposition. But they are seniors, not true youngsters, and they’ll both want to prove themselves worthy of being the sole regular starter.
It’s a perfect situation for the manager, with both players urging the other on to hit top form and maintain consistency, and it’s precisely the type of competition he needs to encourage in other key areas of the team.
