The Rise of Roberto Firmino
Irony can be a funny thing.
In 2014, Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers, The King of Calm, steadily led Liverpool within touching distance of the elusive Premier League title, only for the Reds to stumble an inch from the finishing line. After inevitably failing to replace the irreplaceable Luis Suarez, they underwhelmed and underachieved the following season. Liverpool’s famous ‘transfer committee’ turned to the transfer market for the answers to the club’s troublesome year. One such answer came from TSG 1899 …
A Case for Marković
Since his arrival from Benfica two summers ago for a healthy £20 million, the word which best describes Serbian wide man Lazar Marković has almost universally been "frustrating."
In his debut season he struggled to break into the first team, despite inconsistent performances from fellow new-boy Adam Lallana. While Lallana struggled to get into promising positions and his touch too often let him down, Lallana worked tirelessly and his work ethic was never in doubt. Marković, meanwhile, struggled to affect play …
Kevin Stewart: Midfield Destroyer?
For months now, perhaps even years, we analyse our team’s strength and weaknesses and form an opinion on what type of player we should target in the upcoming transfer window to bolster our squad, and there was always a constant figure in the equation, a defensive midfielder. Someone who is just a mad bastard in that midfield area, whose main responsibility is to protect the defensive line, making tackle after tackle, covering full-backs who push further up the field or any …
A look at Ragnar Klavan - Strengths and Weaknesses
A sluggish transfer window picked up pace on Sunday evening when all the reliable journalists; Paul Joyce, Ben Smith and Tony Barrett, broke the news that Liverpool hoped to wrap up deals for Newcastle's Gini Wijnaldum and Augsburg's Ragner Klavan within the next week. Anfield Index's very own Alax Barilaro wrote an informative piece on the former, which can be found here, but there hasn't been much on the big Estonian defender.
Ragnar, not to be confused with the Thor …
The Enigma of Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli - one of the biggest enigma’s in world football. Balotelli and his ‘potential’ have been talked about now for years. This article won’t be looking at stats because quite frankly they do not show the real Balotelli, this is just my view. The harsh reality for Mario is, he is 25 and soon to be 26, and despite some famous and unfortunately infamous moments, Balotelli has never got to a whisker of his massive potential. Does that mean …
Nathaniel Clyne - Liverpool's Most Underated Player?
There's a strange narrative surrounding Nathaniel Clyne, a divide amongst Liverpool supporters. Some argue he's the finest right-back in the country, others doubt his contribution and want him to be replaced. For a player of such stability and consistency it amazes me that he draws such negative attention. So I thought best to explore both sides of this argument, discovering the reasons and the factors that drive them.
Signed last summer for a fee of £12.5 million, a relative snip …
Roberto Firmino: Sexy Hair, Can Score from Anywhere
It was around June 24th, I was on holiday and went to Dubai to visit my mate. I arrived the night before and we ended staying up late because we’ve not seen each other for a few years and are both avid Liverpool fans. We immediately talked about the poor season that just finished and started hoping for quality transfers.
The morning he was waking me up. He murmured “Dude, we signed Roberto Firmino”. I was half asleep and told …
Mignolet's Time as First Choice Liverpool Goalkeeper is Over
Liverpool Twitter is hardly ever united. There is always an argument or a disagreement which seems to fracture the fan base, even with Jurgen Klopp in charge. Yet on Tuesday 24th May 2016 the fan base was unequivocally unified as Liverpool announced that they'd signed Mainz 'keeper Loris Karius. The unity wasn't because Karius is a world class 'keeper, he isn't, but because this spelled the end for current goalkeeping incumbent Simon Mignolet.
The much maligned Belgian has been the …
Kolo Toure - There Goes My Hero, Watch Him As He Goes
The words 'Mamadou Sakho' and 'drugs test' must resonate with all Liverpool supporters as a moment where they feared for our subsequent defensive collapse as the season came to an end. The imperious French international had finally won round any remaining doubters and was being lauded as a future captain. When the news broke, I personally didn't want to believe or accept it. However I should have feared not, one man had other ideas and has considerably helped to soften …
Danny Ings: A Welcome Return
As a football club, Liverpool have always come under harsh scrutiny for their dealings in the transfer market. However, the signing of Danny Ings, which was settled for a £6.5million fee at a compensation tribunal, seems a great bit of business from the Reds. While the deal could rise to £8m with add ons, what we have seen from the striker so far certainly warrants the fee.
Danny Ings is one of those rare players that never stops running for …