Liverpool have won plaudits for their work in the transfer window this summer, but after their abject performance against West Ham at the weekend Brendan Rodgers's team has been described as "bang average" by pundit Harry Redknapp, who once again managed to gatecrash the Premier League's deadline day headlines.
Former Spurs and QPR manager Redknapp told the Telegraph Total Football Live event on Tuesday night: "I don't fancy Liverpool at all... I think it's the worst Liverpool team I have seen in years. They look bang average. They are lucky to have any points."
He claimed that the departures of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher in the past two seasons had left the side without character, and criticised the team for being "badly balanced", pointing out that left back Joe Gomez is a right-footed player.
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Redknapp, whose son Jamie played for the Reds, added that he did not expect the Reds to finish in the top five.
The Daily Telegraph calls it a "scathing attack", while the Liverpool Echo seems taken aback.
The Echo notes, somewhat archly, that as a manager Redknapp was always a reliable source of news on transfer deadline day, and that he has maintained that reputation even without a job.
"Plenty of Liverpool fans remain unconvinced by their side's beginning to the campaign," admits Neil Jones of the local paper. "Performance levels have not been particularly impressive, even if seven points from 12 represents a decent enough start, in general terms."
But Redknapp's cricitism, he says, is "harsh". The new look Liverpool side "looks infinitely better equipped, and better stocked, than last season's patchwork effort", he adds, noting that context and perspective are often lacking in modern football punditry.
"One defeat doesn't equal the end of the world, any more than one well-fought draw made Liverpool title contenders the previous week. Hysteria, though, is louder than nuance," he says.
