Lessons from last season

A 19th title for Liverpool would have been nice, putting it mildly, if only to silence the incessant badgering from outsiders about going so long without winning it. Last season was a thrilling ride with a couple of fatal spills near the very end, yet it came from absolutely nowhere.

The lesson? It can't always be this way. Eighty-four points was brilliant, 101 goals colossal, the standard of attacking football as good as I've seen in the past 25 years. It would be a shame to focus on what wasn't achieved at the very end.

History strongly suggests it can't be repeated, but when was football logical? The beauty of the sport is that it consistently confounds expectations, and that's what Liverpool fans will cling to during the coming months. 2013-14 was a major, delightful surprise. Who am I or some triviality like history to suggest it can't happen again?

Predicted starting lineup

Brendan Rodgers may keep a lot of last season's team intact at first, for the sake of experience and their familiarity with each other's play, gradually introducing the newcomers. He has to wait for Adam Lallana anyway.

But there will be a lot of rotation compared to last season, when Liverpool mostly only played one game a week.

Liverpool will have to overcome the absence of departed striker Luis Suarez from their starting XI. ESPN

What's new?

Luis Suarez has gone. You may have read something about it in the papers. Coming at a time of increased expectation, it has created a curious atmosphere at Anfield -- one almost resembling a transitional state, which is odd for a team that came close to the title.

Rodgers has used the Suarez bounty to strengthen the squad's depth and multiply his options for what will be a busier season than last. It may look like a completely new team at times. It's to be hoped that more coaching will have been done on the defensive side, especially on their concentration and protection from the midfield.

The manager only really opted for one striker when either Suarez or Daniel Sturridge was unavailable for selection, so expect to see more of that. Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling often operate as borderline forwards anyway, so there will hopefully be as much excitement as last season.