I love these anti-historical analyses of "old football".
Liverpool winning these cups with tiny squads aside, didn't all the other European power-houses also have the opportunity to beat these type of teams to win oil' big ears? If it was so easy why didn't Real, Barca, Bayern, Ajax, United, Inter, AC Milan, Juve, Roma, Benfica win four European Cups between 77 and 84? The exact same conditions were there for them as well?
Football should be debated within the context of that era. Comparisons with days of yore are futile - money, professionalism, squad sizes, foreign players, fitness and playing surfaces render comparisons a bit daft.
It's like saying United could only dominate once football became money-centric and the playing field inbalanced. It's a silly position as United could only beat what was in front if them.