Some say he’s never been the same since that injury but I don’t see it that way at all. The injury itself hasn’t damaged him and he’s fully recovered from that. It’s the time he spent out of the team and the fact he’s never really been able to get that kind of run in his favoured position since. I’m not saying he’s been hard done by or that he deserved to get an extended run. He hasn’t and he didn’t.
His problem is that he isn’t the type of player that can come in cold and perform at his best. A Ragnar Klavan or Divock Origi if you like. They’d go weeks without getting on the pitch but as soon as they were called on they’d just step in and perform. James Milner is another. Ox has always needed rhythm but it was Hobson’s choice. You couldn’t give him games because he wasn’t playing well enough, but he wasn’t playing well enough because he wasn’t getting games.
He did get a bit of a run earlier in the season and was starting to show glimpses of his old form, but as soon as the injured lads came back and he lost his place, he was back to square one.
Let’s not forget that he made a significant contribution this season though. Remember AFCON and how we were worried about what would happen when Sadio and Mo were away? Ox was asked to fill Mo’s boots and he scored in both league games he played.
He barely featured after that and often didn't even make the bench because of the size and quality of the squad. Because of that he’s almost become a forgotten man, but if your squad is so deep that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can’t even make a nine man bench then that’s the absolute height of luxury.
Previous Season Ratings:
2020/21: Season doesn’t count
2019/20: 7/10
2018/19: N/A
2017/18: 8/10
This Season’s Rating: 6/10
Some good, some bad. Overall, ok in limited opportunities.
Best Moment:
It would be easy to pick one of the goals he scored as his best moment but I really loved the cross he whipped in for Mané to score against Brighton at Anfield. Trent would have been proud of that one.
Worst Moment:
Probably Forest away in the cup when he was subbed. He looked gutted and could be seen saying to Klopp "but I haven't played for weeks".
The Future?
He’ll probably leave this summer but I’ll always have a soft spot for Ox.
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