Gags Tandon welcomes Dave Hendrick as they discuss anything and everything about Liverpool's soon to be new signing Virgil Van Dijk!
They discuss his strengths in terms of his on-ball game, set piece ability in defence and attack, his dominance in the air with aerial duels, his ability at one v one defending and much, much more! There are tangents aplenty as they discuss everything Liverpool FC!
Get all of this and more on the latest AI Pro + Reaction podcast.
On this week's Media Matters, Gags Tandon speaks to the man from The Telegraph that broke the story regarding Virgil Van Dijk's transfer to Liverpool FC, Jeremy Wilson.
Jeremy details how the deal came about as it's rare for a transfer to be announced five days before the window opens and talks about the details of the £75m fee too!Â
AI Pro subscribers then sent in questions for Jeremy:
Jamal Soliman - Were City in for VvD?
Nick Summerfield - who briefed the press about VVD and LFC agreeing on a deal in June? Was it someone from LFC side, or was it as suggested someone from Southampton to try and drive the price up?
Harinder Singh: Does the difference in reporting tides show how quickly things changes? A northern correspondent for the same paper had VVD nailed for City. Then Jeremy Wilson swoops in with us and then rest history at lightning speed!!
Umang Vithlani: It's been said Mike Gordon worked really hard behind the scenes to rebuild the relationship. Can you specify any details on exactly how this was achieved?
Manish Mistry: We saw an unusual silence from the usual LFC journalists in the build-up to the VVD transfer news. Were they fed information and trusted to keep quiet or just told very close to the news officially breaking?Â
Joshua Ocampo: Does VVD’s form concern you at all?
All this and more on Media Matters.
On today’s show, Trev and Jan reflect on the arrival of The Reds’ late Christmas present - a lovely new ponytailed number 4 in the shape of Virgil Van Dijk. The Great Dane runs the rule over what he will add to the side, the influence he will have on Jürgen Klopp’s team and the impact his arrival may have on the short-term future for Liverpool in terms of success. There’s also lots of chat about the latest win over Swansea and a look forward to the upcoming matches. All this and more on Molby On The Spot!
This week on Tactics Weekly Daniel Rhodes and Paul Dalglish do a festive double-header discussing the Arsenal and Swansea matches. First of all, we pick apart "The Mad Five Minutes" in detail. Was there anything Klopp could do? Who was to blame? Was any of it tactical? Then we debate the other 85 minutes of quality football. This followed by a look at the Swansea match, the line ups, the first half bore fest and the second half scintillating attacking. The subs and the lack of a Solanke goal... finally, in true football manager style... the best XI!
All this and more via Tactics Weekly on AI Pro!
Gags Tandon welcomes Paul Dalglish and Dan Rhodes as they react to the news that Virgil Van Dijk will sign for Liverpool on January 1st 2018!Â
They discuss the signing and Dan Rhodes goes through a mini-scout report on him whilst Paul Dalglish looks at the repercussions of the deal on the squad and club as a whole. Some interesting insight and reaction from the team on this one!
Get all of this and more on the latest AI Pro + Reaction podcast.
On this week's Media Matters, Nina is on solo hosting duties on Media Matters as she brings a very special episode covering the topic of women in football media. Nina is joined by Bein Sports Kay Murray, as the pair discuss this hot topic and Kay shares her thoughts and experiences on how she broke into this industry and gives insight into her fantastic broadcasting career. All this and more on Media Matters.
In the second part of this interview with John Aldridge, Trev Downey talks to Aldo about his role in one of the greatest Liverpool sides of all time, his impressive international career with the Republic of Ireland, the harrowing experience of the Hillsborough tragedy and its aftermath, his unpleasant departure from Liverpool after just two successful seasons, his foreign adventure with Real Sociedad and there’s even a story about how the two lads had previously met on a Ryanair flight. Trev also quizzes John on the current Reds set-up and asks him what changes he believes need to be made.
In the opening part of this two-part interview with John Aldridge, Trev Downey talks to Aldo about his early days at Newport and Oxford. Goals were in abundance from the start and John speaks about some of the people who influenced his development and turned him into such an admired poacher that his hometown club signed him with a view to replacing the great Ian Rush. The footballing transition was seamless for John but he is very candid about how there was definitely a rite of passage to endure before he was fully accepted by his new teammates.
In our final show before Christmas Eddie Gibbs and Gags Tandon return or a quick-fire preview of Liverpool's next game as they take on bottom side Swansea at Anfield on Boxing Day.
They discuss the individual mistakes that cost the Reds 3 precious points at Arsenal; is it now time for Karius to get a run in the side? There’s also look at the form of Sadio Mane and question what looks like an overreaction from much of the fanbase.
Get all of this and more on the latest AI Pro + Preview podcast.
Trev Downey steps in as host and has a very engaging chat with Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson about the 3-3 draw at The Emirates. Mark runs the rule over the question of Simon Mignolet’s repeated blunders, the mental difficulty the Reds seem to have with closing games down, the question of whether the manager’s selections are an indicator of dubious judgement and the far more pleasing nature of another outstanding attacking display. There are listeners’ questions for our esteemed guest to field, some insightful anecdotes about Mark’s days as a player and he makes a remarkable promise to Trev about Mo Salah’s form involving a deeply unpleasant meal!