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Graeme Souness has outlined what he believes to be the key differences between the successful Liverpool teams of the past and present.
Liverpool’s current crop of stars equaled a 63-game undefeated home run record when they faced West Ham United in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday night, winning 2-1.
That record was set by Souness and his conquering teammates between 1978 and 1980.
Jurgen Klopp’s team ended a 30-year wait for a league title last season and has set its fair share of notable milestones along the way.
When asked to compare the two sets of historians, Souness told Sky Sports: “They are both fantastic. This current Liverpool team has been out of the ordinary in terms of consistency.
“And they play a type of football that puts you on the edge of your seat. They are not a team that sits around and tries to win games.
“But when you look at all those stats, the really standout one for me is that we used 20 players (during the race), they used 39 players.
“This is how the game has changed. They spread the workload between twice as many players.
“But it is a fantastic achievement, because you have to be good at it. Liverpool, Man City, Man United … great teams never have easy games.
“You can bet that when the games come out, there will be players from all over the country on other teams who will say, ‘That’s the one I’m waiting for.’
“That’s where Liverpool is, certainly during my time in football anyway.”
Expanding on how things have changed in his eyes, Souness added: “I think today it has to be two teams.
“Two things have changed dramatically: the fields, obviously, and the refereeing has gotten much stronger.
“There was a bit of violence in my day, that’s a polite way of putting it.
“In my day, you had to fight for the right to play, and you played on an unreliable field, which meant you had to put in an extra touch, which meant you got extra tackles and it was a bit more physical.
“Then when that subsided, it became a soccer game and we were able to do the things that you would suggest we were doing better than anyone.
“For today’s great teams, who put the ball down and pass and move, it’s like that from the first minute, and that’s how it stays.
“There is no real violence because the referees will not allow it.”
Fellow expert Micah Richards was asked for his opinion on the matter.
“I think the level of football has gotten worse, if I’m totally honest, but I think they’re fitter now,” said the former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender, who retired from playing in 2019.
“I’m sure you guys were tougher, but I think we kids are fitter!”
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