Simon Mignolet: Thou Shall Not Pass
On a popular football management game - the one inventively titled Football Manager - the attribute for a goalkeeper’s distribution with feet is called “kicking”, not “passing”. This crude definition of one of the footballing aspects of a goalkeepers' game, indicates that there’s still some way to go before they’re considered the eleventh outfield player.
Brendan Rodgers is one of a growing number of coaches who would like their man between the sticks to contribute more when the team has …
The Liverpool Triumvirate | Overview of Sakho, Can, Skrtel et al
With the exception of relegation battlers, you would be hard-pressed to find a defence in the league that has come under the same level of scrutiny as Liverpool. Whether it’s Neville or Carragher on a Monday night, or the ingenious Alan Shearer perceptively offering some of his innovative, ever-insightful though perpetually crap “analysis” on a Saturday night – we have heard it all since the beginning of Rodgers' tenure at the club. The undeniable yet fundamental elephant in the room …
Improving Liverpool's First Team With Minimum Expense: Part One
Liverpool, and the rest of the English footballing community, have just endured one of the most boring transfer windows ever. Nothing really happened, nobody was even slightly interested in the usual tabloid talk involving player rumours and silly price tags and Liverpool signed nobody - discounting the recalling of Jordon Ibe from his loan with Derby County. Despite this lack of activity, it was obvious for most supporters that there were issues with the squad. A new goalkeeper could have …
The Importance of Sturridge's Return
Daniel Sturridge, perhaps Liverpool's best striker, has returned to regular first team training after being injured for almost five months with thigh and calf problems. Since Sturridge's injury Liverpool have been faced with an agonisingly painful shortage of goals and with his return, the fans are expecting that factor to be eliminated.
Sturridge was set to be on the bench in the Capital One Cup tie against Chelsea, but that was not to be. He was deemed unfit to start …
Fire the Lazar
"Fire the laser" - Doctor Evil, 1999.Not many teams are able to call on a laser to do the damage for them but Liverpool currently have a Lazar of sorts that's starting to showcase why the club forked out almost £20 million in the summer of 2014. When rumours spread of a bid for the talented Serbian, I ,for one, thought it was just that, a rumour. This was some serious talent and he was supposedly promised …
Liverpool's Transfer Policy: Does it Need Changing?
Football, as we are constantly being told, is a game that hovers on the ever-wobbly thread of a single decision. It is not, as we are also constantly being told, a game that is made by a single manager, but rather the circumstances which surround a decision made by a single manager.
Yet it is these single, individual decisions which can form the basis – or indeed cast a swift change of fortune – when considering the entire season as …
Is 'Box' the New 'Triangle' for Liverpool? - Part 1
In the recent weeks we have seen Liverpool implement the 3-4-2-1 formation across competitions and the formation has proved to be successful. So what has made Brendan Rodgers use the 3-4-2-1 in the last few weeks? What options has it provided us pre-game and in-game? Are there weaknesses or more appropriately ways for the opposition to get around the 3-4-2-1 employed by Rodgers? This set of two articles will try to examine few of the questions mentioned above.
When Rodgers joined …
Liverpool FC Recruitment Analysis: Watching the Watchmen
After an exciting summer spending money on shiny new players, Liverpool FC set fans' pulses racing with the promise of defensive leadership, pace up front, guile in midfield, and those full-backs we’ve been looking for since the days of Stig Inge Bjørnebye and Rob Jones…
Over a hundred million pounds were spent replacing Suarez, but not replacing him, as his only true replacement in terms of player profile (hard working, skillful, South American, high profile, tries crazy stuff) went to …
A Manager's Balancing Act | Liverpool FC
Is there a perfect Liverpool Manager?
There have been twenty two people fortunate enough to manage Liverpool Football Club. Some successful, a few who failed to live up to the high expectations of the great club, and one, to my recollection, that was disastrous. There has been a trend amongst them all since the 1990’s though: they’ve all not delivered the title. Whilst the club's expectations may differ from the glory days, the fans still seem in the mindset of …
Rodgers Needs a Performance at Old Trafford
A lot has been made of Liverpool having a poor start to this season, but sitting 9th in the Premier League having accrued just 19 goals and with no Champions League campaign to speak of, it’s fair to say the state Liverpool find themselves in is more than just a poor start. The Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, has come under heavy scrutiny of late leading to some fans calling for his head following disappointing performances, attributed mainly to his team …