The trend is obvious: in the nine seasons of results (from 05/06), Liverpool have finished in the top three on four occasions. On each occasion, there has been a total turnover of 12 players or under. The two 2nd place finishes came with the lowest and third lowest turnovers. By contrast, the five seasons with our worst point totals have all had incredibly high turnovers of between 14-16 senior players each year. Two of the three largest turnovers have been this season and last, matching up with poor performances.
Clearly one reason behind this correlation is that the players being signed are not of sufficient quality. That is why they failed to make a positive impact on our league performance when they arrived, and it is also why they have to be offloaded and then replaced so soon after coming.
However, I also want to suggest that the high player turnover is not just a sign of bad recruitment, but is also a negative agent itself in performance level. Looking through recent squads, the best form of almost every player – regardless of the magnitude of their success – did not arrive in their first year. The lack of faith in the current squad, and the club’s naïve belief that it can find better players elsewhere, means that new personnel have not been given sufficient chance after poor starts