The Reds end a turbulent year on top of the Premier League table, leaving many hopeful for 2024. We asked our writers to look back at the last 12 months and give us their final reflections. 

READ MORE: Where Are They Now? Volume Five: Grinch Edition by Chris Hallenbrook
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Trevor Utley

How would you rate 2023 out of 10?  

I’ll say an 8 because our boys are at the top of the league entering the new year. Last season’s second half was encouraging enough to cover up the stink of the first half.

Favorite player of the year?

Alisson in a coin flip over Mohamed Salah.  The number of matches this man helped us win that we had no business even being in is hard to count.

Favorite game of the year? 

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United is the obvious choice, but I’ll take the 4-3 Spurs result. That was one of LFC RI’s big events and, after thinking we were dead in the water, we all got to watch Richarlison’s soul die at the end.

Highest high? 

Getting passersby in Providence to sing “Si Señor” after Bobby Firmino put our seventh goal past United.

Lowest low? 

Waking up at 7:30 AM the next week for a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth where Mo bricked a penalty.

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Núñez, Jota 

Wish for 2024?

I’m not a greedy man.  I obviously would love to see Liverpool win the Premier League, but I’ll take any silverware and a return to the Champions League for 2024-25.

Zahid Haque

How would you rate 2023 out of 10? 

9. Being top of the league at the end of the year, after completely reassembling our midfield and playing against the Referees every game, balances out the start of 2023 for me. 

Favorite player of the year? 

Mohamed Salah.

Favorite game of the year? 

Liverpool 7-0 Scumchester Utd. 

Highest high? 

Being top of the league at the end of 2023.

Lowest low? 

Failing to qualify for the Champions League last season

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson,  Fabinho, Szoboszlai, Thiago, Salah, Núñez, Jota

Wish for 2024

Win the Quadruple, Man Cheaty found guilty and relegated to the Poundland Division 3, Alisson, Salah and Jurgen Klopp extend their contracts, Referees’ agenda against Liverpool and Klopp is exposed, New Balance takes over Nike for our kits again. 

Morgan O’Sullivan

How would you rate 2023 out of 10? 

8… brutal first half, but the second half brings the ultimate hope.

Favorite player of the year? 

Mohamed Salah has again had a great year, but Trent Alexander-Arnold has grown up amidst incredible criticism. He is growing into our true leader on and off the field.

Favorite game of the year? 

The magnificent 7 from last season, or beating Newcastle away this season. We silenced a lot of doubters that day and brought a lot of relief back to the fan base. If we had held onto a result against Spurs with only 9 men, that could have topped it all.

Highest high? 

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United. The magnificent 7! We will talk about that for years to come.

Lowest low? 

Getting hammered 4-1 by Manchester City at the Etihad last season.

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Núñez, Diaz

Wish for 2024?

The title. All I ask for is the title.

Greg Schuman 

How would you rate 2023 out of 10? 

8.5, just to be different. If it wasn’t for injuries, I’d be saying 9.5. 

Favorite player of the year? 

Alisson. Guy has saved our asses more often than not. 

Favorite game of the year? 

7-0 against United.

Highest high? 

Getting a surprisingly high turnout for the Arsenal game. OLSC Carlsbad is a relatively small group, owing to the transient nature of Northern San Diego, but seeing the amount of new people fill the space up was very encouraging. 

Lowest low? 

Losing to Spurs with 9 men. Fucking refball at its best. Honestly, I wanted to punch anyone wearing a Spurs jersey after that. 

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk, Robertson, Tsimikas, Endo, Henderson, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Núñez

Wish for 2024?

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, REDS, LETS WIN ANY TROPHY WE CAN!!

Harry McMullen

How would you rate this year out of 10? 

6. It would be a lot lower based on the implosion in the back half of last season. But the way Liverpool rebuilt over the summer looks better each week. The football hasn’t always been scintillating, but sometimes it was really, really good. Best of all, not only are we still top of the league, but it’s looking more sustainable the longer it goes on.

Favorite player of 2023? 

Harvey Elliott. Might be slightly rogue, but he’s been class every time he’s come off the bench so far this season. He also gave us a few goals and performances to enjoy during the misery of last season, including a start and assist in the 7-0 demolition of United. Elliott plays like a fan, how any of us would be in his shoes, and it makes the high points that much higher. 

Favorite game of 2023? 

Liverpool 4-3 Fulham. Four unbelievably good goals, we played really well in spells, and then there we got ourselves into real jeopardy. Step forward Wataru Endo to equalize and our own Trent Alexander-Arnold to win it. Fun fact: I texted everyone in my contacts the highlights of this game. I told them: if you don’t already care about soccer, this game will make you love it. 

Highest high? 

Surprisingly in a year where United got demolished 7-0, I’m gonna go with Darwin Núñez and his winner against Newcastle. We were unsure of our transfer business, unimpressed with the early performances, and had just got yet another harsh red card. It seemed like Newcastle were going to cement themselves as a better Liverpool team than Liverpool themselves – and all thanks to a goal by Anthony Gordon, of all people. Then Darwin “needs to improve his finishing” Núñez rifled in two clinical strikes and we won. Everything to like about this new Liverpool team wrapped up in one game: mentality, maturity, and a bit of bonkers brilliance. And it might yet prove decisive in the title challenge. 

The Tactics Board w/ Harry McMullen

Also, I have to say that joining the American Scouser team and producing our regular tactical content has been an absolute joy. The first episode of The Tactics Board was such a scary, exhilarating process and the response from you all was lovely. Thank you.

Lowest low? 

0-3 Wolves. Totally unremarkable in many ways. We were just rubbish, again, and deservedly got beat, again. The title was long gone, the top four was pretty much gone too, and it didn’t really matter. Thankfully Klopp kept the faith at this point and we made sure this was rock bottom. 

Liverpool XI of the Year? Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, van Dijk, Gomez, Bajcetic, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Gakpo. – With Núñez as the super sub. 

Wish for 2024?

Nothing too major. Just win the league, please. 

Todd Alexander Hauber

How would you rate 2023 out of 10?

8. Some downs with the draws but overall it’s been a solid year with lots to be excited about.

Favorite player of the year?

Mohamed Salah

Favorite game of the year? 

Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle

Highest high? 

The Klopp punches are back.

Lowest low? 

0 -0 draw with Manchester United.

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliot, Dominik Szobszlai, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz

Wish for 2024? 

Another title.

Jeff Cutler

How would you rate 2023 out of 10? 

It started a 3 and it’s now 9.2.

Favorite player of the year? 

I really like Dominik Szobszlai a lot. I DID NOT LIKE Wataru Endo at all at first. Too aggressive.

Favorite game of the year? 

Like my imaginary children, it’s too tough to choose. I would say my favorite was likely a match spent watching with friends and fellow Reds.

Highest high? 

The first match.

Lowest low? 

International Break

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz 

Wish for 2024? 

More matches on USA Network so I can watch them at the pub during the cold winter. Oh, and to win the league.

Chris “Gally” Gallivan 

How would you rate 2023 out of 10? 

7.5. It started very shaky early last year, nonetheless it got much better over the spring and the transformation over the summer has only helped end the year at a high point. 

Favorite player of the year? 

ASTV Shorts: Gally on Curtis Jones

Mohamed Salah and Alisson are the easiest answers, but I am going to go with Curtis Jones. No player, in my opinion, had more to prove, and did, than the young(ish) Liverpool lad. He made himself a mainstay in the side towards the end of last season and continues to show his importance to the side this season, earning his place amidst the midfield rebuild. 

Favorite game of the year? 

Hard not to say the 7-0 hammering of United, but I will go with the victory over Newcastle at St James Park earlier this year. Núñez, Núñez, Núñez!!! 

Highest high? 

Watching the rejuvenation of Virgil Van Dijk and his form. It wasn’t always pretty at times last season, and I truly believe both Matip and Konate were our best CBs. Though it is clear now that he has regained speed and confidence, and this season you can see it in his performances.  

Lowest low? 

The humbling loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League last spring. To lose 2-5 at Anfield was something I didn’t see coming. Having it occur in the first leg of a 2-legged tie after we scored so early, showed how far we had separated from Europe’s elite (at the time). Also had this eerie feeling it might take a while to get back. 

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson, Mac Allister, Henderson, Jones, Salah, Gakpo, Núñez,  – Sentimentally I would include Bobby, but he didn’t play enough.

Wish for 2024?

A contract extension for Jurgen Klopp, leading to a consistent process and plan to see this new Liverpool 2.0 reach its maximum potential. Coupled with another summer of smart squad building/management. The team will need to see a few players exit the club as well as new additions, especially in defense.

Mateusz Wielomek

How would you rate 2023 out of 10? 

Oh, man. Bit of a wild ride, huh? Lots of moments that were celebrated and enjoyed. A few moments of pure frustration. All in all, I’m thankful I had another year supporting this wonderful club. 8.7/10. 

Favorite player of the year? 

There is a little love and hate throughout the year but gotta go with the Scouser in our team, Trent Alexander-Arnold. 

Favorite game of the year? 

Several games to choose from. 7-0 vs United obviously high on the list. I’ll go with a little bit of a potentially unusual choice here and go with the recent 4-3 Fulham match. Enjoyed that one at the Royal Mile among dozens of other fans. 

Highest high? 

Bobby scoring that 7th against United. Pure bliss. Also, Darwin’s second against Newcastle also got me jumping up and down like crazy. 

Lowest low? 

Losing to Bournemouth the week after the 7-0 drubbing. Talk about emotions going all over the place. The Hendo saga wasn’t too fun, either. 

Liverpool XI of the Year: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Núñez, Gakpo  — This was tough!

Wish for 2024?

4 trophies too much to wish for? Probably. Honestly, just excited to watch this team continue to challenge, the way that they have been, and provide several more wonderful moments to look back on.

Timucin Uras

How would you rate 2023 out of 10?

7.5. Hard to give a higher grade without any major trophies, but a good recovery to start the year to end the 2022/23 season on a high note. Then we had a good summer transfer window, and now we’re top of the league and still in all competitions.

Favorite player of the year? 

Alisson. Best goalie in the world. I know there are sexier picks with Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk’s resurgence and more. But Alisson is the best in his position. Also, he is a great human and influential in every game he plays.

Favorite game of the year? 

No brainer. 7-0. Will be talked about for decades. Not the best we have played by any stretch of the imagination, but what a scoreline.

Highest high? 

7-0… Was just euphoria. Maybe because of the rivalry, my brother being a Manchester United fan or just how unexpected it was!

Lowest low? 

Our Champions League exit to Real Madrid. The result, how it unfolded, how far off it we looked… it was all too depressing, with no light at the end of the tunnel.

Liverpool XI of the Year? Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Gakpo, Jota

Wish for 2024? 

Addressing the top issues – center back depth and defensive midfield – with major signings. I think this squad has all the other pieces or can gamble on youth in some of them. But those two key spots need to be done decisively, with players that can clearly take us to the next level. Furthermore, with the youth we have in this Liverpool 2.0, we can stay there for some time and get some major trophies.

Happy New Year, American Scouser Community! Let us know your final reflections on 2023, and what you think of our Liverpool Team of the Year selections – and share your own! Here’s to a mighty 2024 for the Mighty Reds!