Having left the Daily Mail to join his boyhood newspaper The Telegraph, Jamie Carragher would surely have been hoping to pen a more positive opinion piece regarding Liverpool, the club for which he played over 500 games.
Instead, the Sky Sports pundit admitted not only that Liverpool will not be winning the Premier League this season, but that he does not see it happening in the near future.
Carragher believes that Liverpool managers should no longer be judged on their success based on winning the league as he feels that the club are being left behind due to their reluctance to spend like their rivals.
Liverpool will not win the title this season. I am not convinced Jürgen Klopp will ever be able to bring it back to Anfield. I am not sure when my old club will win it again. I certainly do not see it happening in the near future.
These are not pleasant words with which to introduce myself as a columnist for The Telegraph, but such is the current balance of power in the Premier League Liverpool must face a harsh reality.
It is no longer appropriate to evaluate the success or otherwise of a Liverpool manager based on whether he wins the league. The competition is too strong to set the bar so high.
In particular, Carragher believes that the summer window was a missed opportunity for the Merseyside club.
Having seen the change in Man Utd, Carragher believes that the lack of action in terms of Liverpool signings is something that happened under previous managers and is holding the club back from keeping pace.
Last summer Liverpool and United were in a similar position; preparing for the Champions League, knowing to go up a level and be serious title contenders they had to make the right signings.
United, in sixth, acted. Liverpool, in fourth, did not. This is a trend. It is typical of what happened when Brendan Rodgers and (under previous owners) Rafa Benítez and Gérard Houllier had their best sides. Houllier, Benítez and Rodgers were in a position where they needed one more step to give good teams an even better chance of winning the title. They could not do it. My fear is Klopp will be looking back at the summer as his opportunity spurned.
Instead, Jose Mourinho goes to Anfield on Saturday as a genuine challenger and Liverpool’s lingering flaws remain glaringly obvious.
Liverpool's record against other top six clubs since Klopp took over is a source of confidence for both the squad and the fans ahead of what will be a fiercely contested match on Saturday afternoon, but in terms of the long-term the former captain believes a change in policy is needed.
You can read Carragher's debut column in full over on The Telegraph.
