Can or Lucas? Capital One Cup Starting Spot Showdown
With the dangers of Manchester City’s attack and the energy needed in Liverpool’s midfield, who starts in midfield on Sunday will play a pivotal part in Liverpool’s fortunes.
Emre Can is expected to appear in the middle, but calls for Lucas Leiva’s inclusion have increased, with former Red, Neil Mellor, saying the Brazilian should get the nod ahead of Can.
Lucas played at centre-back against Augsburg on Thursday and has gotten a lot of game time recently because of defensive …
Joel Matip: Liverpool’s New Man - The View From Bundesliga
The rumours that Joel Matip would team up with former rival Borussia Dortmund head coach Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool began soon after the German arrived in Merseyside. The Cameroonian boasts many attributes that match seamlessly with the Premier League’s style, and Liverpool’s growing style under Klopp.
Matip’s play was developed in many different ways in his time in Gelsenkirchen, with the most valuable arguably coming when he first began to play for the Schalke first-team. Matip made his first-team bow …
Mamadou Sakho - Liverpool's Defensive General
He can not pass the ball, he can not tackle, he can not dribble and he looks like spaghetti when he is on the ball. These are just some of the phrases that have been used by fans and pundits alike when they describe Liverpool defensive general Mamadou Sakho.
Sakho was signed from French club PSG in 2013. While at PSG he was named their youngest ever captain in 2007, he was also the youngest ever player to captain a …
Making the Case for Cameron Brannagan
Jürgen Klopp’s debut season has brought a lot of positives so far, one of those being the use of Liverpool’s young players. He started this process by bringing back many of Liverpool’s promising loaned out players, now he has been using a team in the FA Cup composed of mostly inexperienced players with of few first team players. Many of them have stood out for their good performances, but one player who has stood out above the rest is Cameron …
Alberto Moreno: Sparkling Talent or Inconsistent Liability?
It's fair to say that much of Liverpool's enthralling 5-4 victory against Norwich City will be forgotten, given time.
Steven Naismith's debut goal will probably be solely remembered by Everton fans, whilst Roberto Firmino's mouthwatering performance won't be forgotten, should he continue to make good on his obvious talent. And of course, nobody will forget Adam Lallana's winning goal and the euphoric pandemonium that followed, peaking when a certain Mr Klopp lost his glasses.
At the other end of the spectrum, …
One For The Future, Brad Smith
Who would have thought that four games into his Liverpool career, young Australian left-back Brad Smith would have two assists and a goal for Liverpool. After initially rejecting a new contract with Liverpool last year, Smith's Liverpool career has gone from strength to strength. He is one of the academy players who has been really impressive for Liverpool since Jürgen Klopp took over as manager. I recently mentioned in an article I did for Anfield Index called Klopp's Kids (go …
Liverpool's Benteke Problem
As many of you are aware (well those of you who follow me on Twitter) I'm not a big fan of Liverpool's Belgian forward Christian Benteke. But at the same time I'm also not a fan of supporters giving him abuse and grief just for the sake of it, jumping in on the bandwagon. My reasoning behind why I'm not his biggest fan is simply this: I don't think Benteke is suitable to the new Jürgen Klopp style of football. …
Joe Allen - Does He Deserve More Playing Time?
In many ways, he was the face of the Brendan Rodgers era. A 15 million pound signing from Rodgers's former club in his very first transfer window in charge, Joe Allen was expected to be the man who took some of the burden off Stevie Gerrard, as Liverpool embarked on a new era.
But after 110 appearances for the club, it is safe to say that Allen has, by no means, justified his price tag or the expectations that Rodgers …
Rise of “Die Maschine”: Consistency, Leadership, and Emre Can
I remember it well. The final game of a legend, of a man that had exemplified what it meant to wear the Red on Red kit for a generation and embodied the spirit and mystique of Liverpool Football Club for a certain, young American fan discovering this wild world of English football for the first time. Stevie G was an anchor in a hectic world of managerial changes, misguided transfers and general club upheaval and now it was his time …
Remember-Ings: A Case for the Forgotten Danny
As the party raged in Merseyside and around the world in the week leading up to Klopp’s first game, one small, bearded balloon silently wandered from the festivities, slowly deflated and then popped, lost to obscurity. Danny Ings, filled with confidence and swagger coming off his first English cap, limped back to the locker room at Melwood after just his first day of training with the German maestro, only to find out later that his ACL was torn and his season lost. …