There were two debutants in the Liverpool Legends side that hosted Celtic at Anfield on Saturday, as goals in each half from Steven Gerrard and Mark Gonzalez earned the Reds stars of yesteryear a 2-0 win.
The two youngest players in Sir Kenny Dalglish’s squad, both were playing professionally last season. Often when Legends matches take place, a number of veterans do look like they could still be playing competitively, and this was certainly the case for one Liverpool debutant.
Ragnar Klavan was the standout performer for the Reds against the Hoops. Starting at centre-back alongside Martin Skrtel and Sami Hyypia, he ended up adopting more of a box-to-box/free-role as the first half wore on as Liverpool took advantage of his superior legs.
Moved to left-back, the forarges forward admittedly weren’t as frequent after the break. But the Estonian, who was playing for Paide Linnameeskond in his homeland last year and whose last competitive appearance came in November, still completed the full 90 minutes with relative ease.
But while Klavan looked the part, the same cannot be said of fellow debutant Charlie Adam. Now a Loans Manager and Professional Development Phase Coach at Burnley, the former Scotland international retired last September having featured 33 times for Dundee in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Never the quickest for Liverpool during his brief stint at Anfield over 10 years ago, the 37-year-old has lost a yard of pace in retirement. And 10 months on from the final outing of his career, he is also, inevitably, no longer in his peak physical condition.
A former Rangers player, he was a pantomime villain for the Celtic fans as they took great pleasure in his wayward passing and the times he was on the receiving ends of crunching tackles. Meanwhile, losing his footing and slipping over on the Anfield turf a number of times didn’t go unnoticed with the travelling support either.
Not named on the back of the programme, Adam was ultimately a late addition to the Legends squad after the likes of Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, and Maxi Rodriguez were forced to withdraw their services. He also missed the Friday evening training session and was mercifully withdrawn at half-time after a challenging 45 minutes back at Anfield.
"Well I won't be any worse than Charlie!" one former professional would joke after the game. The youngest player in the Liverpool Legends squad, you’d find such a fact hard to believe on the basis of this charity showing from the recent retiree.
Remarkably, Adam is only three weeks older than Liverpool vice-captain James Milner. Perhaps we should all appreciate the current Reds star a little bit more!
Only six players have made more appearances than the 37-year-old’s return of 32 outings this season. Admittedly, only 11 of them have been starts but he remains a most-valuable member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
As has often been the case during the veteran’s Anfield career, his presence on a Liverpool team-sheet often earns groans from the vocal social media hordes. Yet the tee-total Milner is no normal 37-year-old as Klopp would insist earlier this year.
"We have different plans for Milly, but Milly wants to keep playing," the German said back in January. "And when you see him play the other night (against Wolves), I think everyone understands that. You can’t judge him because of his age or whatever.
"He is 37, but doesn’t look a day like this. When he is in training, he is there, full throttle. He is an incredibly important player and you saw this on the pitch as well. It is not that Milly expects to play 64 games a season, but in 64 games a season Milly could be incredibly important.
"That is how it is. I think Milly has reached 600 games in his career, right? And I think most of them are for Liverpool if I am right, probably. So even a player who had a few clubs can end up at his club and I can consider Liverpool his club.
"I am pretty sure the club should use his character and mindset and it was really special. There might be more fancy players out there, but no one with a similar mindset and that makes him incredibly important to us. And it's not because I am too loyal! It's just a fact."
Milner is out of contract this summer and, inevitably, those social media critics will have plenty to say if he is offered an extension. But Klopp wants him to stay and he is still delivering for Liverpool whenever he is turned to.
The fact he is able to do so, coming in total contrast to fellow 37-year-old Adam, is a testament to him and the hard work he continues to put in and the high standards he sets himself behind the scenes. Like him or not, Milner is an elite athlete.
Granted, he should never be put in a situation where he is needed to start in a midfield two at the Bernabeu. But, on wages reduced from those initial terms he signed when first joining the Reds back in 2015, he is more than justifying his cause for an extension.
If Milner wants to remain at Anfield, let him stay. A vital leader and a model pro, he sets the standards on and off the pitch and as long as his body remains capable, there is a job for him to do at Liverpool.
Having won every major honour there is to win for the Reds, you wouldn’t bet against Milner being able to continue playing at the highest level beyond his 40th birthday. If he gets near to such a feat, he will have clocked up 10 years at Anfield and be worthy of a testimonial.
If the midfielder was called upon to start more frequently, he arguably wouldn’t be able to enjoy such longevity. But as a squad player, there are few better around. Klopp knows this even if the 37-year-old’s critics refuse to see his worth.
If Milner decided to hang up his boots this summer, he would go straight into a Liverpool Legends side and be their best player by far. He has enjoyed a far more successful Reds career than most he would line up alongside too.
But while Liverpool are in need of a midfield revamp, that shouldn't come at the veteran's expense. Despite the Reds' woes in the engine-room this season, the 37-year-old is not the problem and continues to fulfil the role required of him. And then some.
And while such a chapter is perhaps lying around the corner for him in the not too distant future, there are still a few more pages to his Liverpool story yet.
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