Tactical Autopsy of the loss to Southampton
Liverpool's disappointing loss to Southampton was the definition of a game of two halves. The first half was a Jurgen Klopp masterclass. The Reds were like a Duracell bunny in the first half; first to second balls, pressing Southampton before they reached the Liverpool half and devastating when transitioning defence into attack. The second half couldn't have been more different. Southampton gained control of the midfield and in turn gained control of the match. The Southampton substitutions, along with Martin …
A Comprehensive Analysis of Ian Ayre's Liverpool Legacy
On Monday, Ian Ayre announced that he will step down as Liverpool’s CEO at the end of the 2016/17 season. The reaction amongst Liverpool fans was understandably uncertain: Ian Ayre manages to simultaneously give off the aura of a childish buffoon and a competent professional. Given the announcement and the emotional ambiguity felt towards it, now seems like as good a moment as any to start to excavate and examine the legacy of Ian Ayre at Liverpool.
An embarrassing start
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Liverpool Squad Analysis, Part 2: The Midfield
Following the League Cup final defeat to Manchester City, various reports were made of a potential clear-out at Liverpool FC this summer and invariably the possibility of a whole roster of incoming new signings, prompting this three part mini-series looking at the Liverpool squad; specifically, who is anticipated to remain in the squad, and also who deserves to stay. If you've missed the the first part regarding the defence and goalkeeper, and want to check it out, there's a link here, if …
Stewart and Smith - The Alternative SAS Liverpool Need
I don’t think it would be unfair to say that it’s been a strange old season so far. For want of a better analogy, it has been a genuine rollercoaster ride, with high points quickly hitting the lows before zipping up back to the peaks again. It’s one of those years where anything can happen, I suppose that even translates across the top division as a whole, but as a Liverpool fan it resonates clear and true.
One of the …
Is The Liverpool Midfield Good Enough?
No. The end.
The Liverpool midfield is one area of the team that is difficult to judge. Individually many fans would say the players have enough about them to warrant a place in the Liverpool squad but it's as a collective that questions are asked, and rightly so.
Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Joe Allen, Lucas and Emre Can currently make up the central midfield options that Jurgen Klopp currently has at his disposal. We're yet to see Philppe Coutinho play …
The Importance Of Jordan Henderson
So captain Jordan Henderson is injured AGAIN. Surprisingly enough I'm not that surprised. I mentioned it before the Stoke City match on Tuesday night that maybe it was a risk playing Henderson so soon after the Norwich City match, which as we all know was a high intensity match. With the reoccurring injuries it seems Henderson is going to be suffering from now on I think the club and especially the manager Jürgen Klopp needs to manage him and his …
Why Jon Flanagan is the Most Important Piece of Klopp's Liverpool Jigsaw
When Stoke were welcomed to Anfield for the League Cup second leg clash last week the resulting game from a Liverpool perspective could only be described as drab and disjointed. The performance of the team lacked any of the fluid, free flowing football that rears its head every so often but seems to have become an ever more rare sight when the reds take to the pitch of late. Instead, the lads had to grind out what resulted in a …
Liverpool Set for Midfield Revolution
The sixteenth week of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool inspired a good deal of irrational, kiss-the-closest-living-thing, stay-up-all-night-making-a-shrine-to-Joe-Allen joy. When our future selves recall the vicissitudes of the 2015/16 season, few memories will endure as brightly as the hysterical game of see-saw that was Carrow Road or Allen’s brief, fist-clenching fall from modesty as he wheeled away from a forlorn Jack Butland. For a little, wonderful while, the fact that two relatively weak opponents had almost inflicted consecutive defeats on the Reds was …
Observations from Liverpool's goalless draw against West Ham
Coming into their ninth game in twenty-nine days, the last thing that Liverpool would have wanted from this FA Cup fourth round fixture was a replay. But that is exactly what they got, after a goalless draw against West Ham United at Anfield.
Here are a few points I picked up from watching the Reds play tonight.
These kids can play. Cameron Brannagan, Joao Teixeira and Kevin Stewart were the three best players on show in red tonight. It was a …
Joe Allen: The Unlikely Hero
I’ve always had a soft spot for the underdog, or the less fashionable if you will. For the full backs of the world whose 90 minute endeavours flit by largely unnoticed aside from the occasional errors that cost us. For the unsung midfielder, trudging from a mud-filled pitch, steam rising from sodden kit and heart thumping after another solid display that laid the foundations for a win delivered by the golden boot of the star striker and his still pristine …