After TV presenter Richard Keys claimed Liverpool’s title win means less as it is “not a vintage season,” former Reds player Jason McAteer put him in his place.
Keys, disgraced and exiled from Sky Sports in 2011 for a series of sexist comments, made the claim during beIN SPORTS’ broadcast of Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Leicester.
“It’s not a vintage season, not by any stretch of the imagination,” the 67-year-old said.
“And Aston Villa winning in midweek does not prove what a good Premier League we have; it proves what a good Champions League it’s been.
“There’s been no challenge for Liverpool, no challenge, all season long.”
McAteer sat with a smirk as he listened before asking: “What makes [a season] vintage?”
? Who has challenged Liverpool this season?
Heated debate between @richardajkeys, Andy Gray & @MCATEER4 ?#beINPL #LFC pic.twitter.com/viCQn8GJt5
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) April 20, 2025
“What makes it vintage is when you’ve got a proper title race, as was the case with Klopp’s team,” Keys replied.
“Nip and tuck with City and Liverpool toe-to-toe, and at one stage in the season we thought three might win it and four were certainly competitive.
“The top teams this season – all of them – have gone backwards. All of them.”
In response, McAteer argued: “First of all, the history books will just say Liverpool have won the title this year – they won’t say how they’ve done it.
“In the light of how Liverpool have performed in years gone by and the title teams that they’ve had, the Dalglish teams, the Paisley teams, the Fagan teams, you could argue this is not in the same bracket where it’s as easy on the eye.
“But at the end of the day, if you want to dress it up like this: they’ve beaten the Spanish champions Madrid, they’ve beaten the French champions, they’ve beaten the German champions. They’ve also beaten Manchester City twice.
“If you want to look over Europe, we’ve got an English team in the Champions League semi-finals, we’ve got two English teams in the Europa League semi-finals and we’ve got an English team in the semi-final of the Conference League.
“What you’re saying is the Premier League is not that strong, yet we’ve got five teams in semi-finals of European competitions.”
Keys doubled down on his assessment, however, before insisting that Liverpool would not follow up this season’s title with any more success.
“I’ll repeat what I’ve said: it hasn’t been a vintage season and there’s been no challenge,” he said.
“And I’ll go further, Liverpool won’t win anything next season.”
McAteer replied: “Why have we got to demean their achievements by saying ‘well it’s not been a great year’? That’s not Liverpool’s fault!
“Liverpool have been beaten twice. They can only do what’s put in front of them week in, week out and they’ve done it.”
While this season has clearly taken on a different complexion with the implosion of Man City and both Man United and Tottenham struggling in the bottom half, Keys’ claims are ridiculous.
It would be wrong to give his opinion any credibility but it seemingly represents those of many supporters around the rest of the Premier League regarding Liverpool’s imminent title win.
McAteer summed up it perfectly, though, in that Arne Slot‘s side only need to focus on themselves as they look to enjoy a remarkable first campaign under the Dutchman.
