Why Julian Ward's appointment was Liverpool most important decision

Liverpool’s collapse against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday was nothing short of awful.

In what was probably the biggest game of the season, for reasons beyond the Reds’ control, Andoni Iraola’s side fell apart at home with the whole world watching.

Despite putting on a solid, although somewhat lacklustre, display for 60 minutes, Ryan Gravenberch’s red card led to a total collapse.

Poor officiating may take some of the blame for Sunday’s result, but Liverpool were exposed and Julian Ward’s appointment is now looking increasingly important.

Enzo Maresca’s side revealed just how much work there is still to be done at Anfield, and it is a frightening prospect.

Liverpool squad needs a full rebuild

Although it may seem dramatic to say a full rebuild is needed at Anfield after just the team’s first loss of the season, there are significant problems with the squad.

Despite spending over £650 million in the last three transfer windows, the Reds find themselves in a very precarious position.

Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo are all into the final 12 months of their contracts, with Ronald Araujo only on loan at Anfield.

Alexis Mac Allister is also agitating for a new big money contract and could look to force a move away, whilst Curtis Jones was sold in the summer with no replacement signed.

It is entirely realistic to assume that Liverpool will need to sign six or seven players next summer just to replace their outgoing stars, not to mention the additions needed to add quality and depth to the side.

Somehow after two of the biggest summer windows in the club’s history Iraola is left needing one or two more quality attackers, at least one quality midfielder and likely a new fullback pairing.

Several players have not been good enough so far this campaign, with the performances of Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz drawing widespread criticism.

Liverpool need some turnover in the squad badly, and the man that has just been appointed to oversea the sweeping changes needed is Julian Ward.

The sporting director of a club like Liverpool is always an important role, but appointing Richard Hughes’ successor was probably one of the biggest decisions the executives at Anfield have had to make for a long time.

The scale of the job ahead of Ward is only just becoming clear, and Liverpool risk falling behind their rivals badly if they do not act soon.

It is too soon to say whether Ward was the right man for the job, but the Anfield faithful will be hopeful that he can lead the club back to glory.