Barcelona

FSG: Buy A New Club, Not A New Player

Disclaimer: Sorry to disappoint the FSGOut’ers, but this isn’t one of those articles. The boys from Boston will be directing the future for years to come. This is an FSG-Figure-It-Out article pondering possible paths to make the club more competitive while these owners are in place. DOUBTING THOMAS This week James Pearce did his “bad news”...

So, farewell then, Philippe Coutinho.

So, farewell then, Philippe Coutinho. ‘I know I signed a contract, but I want to leave now.’ That was your catchphrase. Well, it’s easy to sound bitter and mealy-mouthed. So let’s do that. The announcement of Coutinho’s departure is news and, at the same time, no news at all. The club loves a drama and this one has...

Klopp the Tactician: From Dortmund to Liverpool

Following on from my three-part series "The Klopp Project" which took a longer-term view on things (select the links for part 1, part 2 and part 3), I thought I would assess where Jurgen Klopp is in the present moment. Klopp the innovative tactician in Germany has been well documented. But what about Klopp...

Naby Keita is a Red – Take a Bow, Michael Edwards

So Naby Keita is a Red. In sensational style, it was announced on Monday and confirmed on Tuesday morning by the club, that a deal had been struck to bring main summer target Naby Keita to the club next summer in a deal worth his £48m release clause plus a premium for signing him...

Coutinho’s Transfer Request Changes Nothing – And Everything

After three hours of absolute chaos, the dust settled on the news that Philipe Coutinho had officially handed in a transfer request, almost immediately after Liverpool released a statement saying that he would categorically not be leaving the club this summer. Whether the club released the statement and Phil reacted, or the club knew...

Coutinho, Van Dijk, Keita and hypocrisy

Are Leipzig a bigger club than Liverpool? How can they reject a 70 million euro bid from one of the most decorated clubs in the world? Cue the next bit of Liverpool ranting on Twitter. Are Leipzig Barcelona a bigger club than Liverpool? Why should Liverpool accept a 70 million euro bid from one of the most...

One Year of Sadio Mané

It's been a year since Sadio Mané joined Liverpool, and in that time he has defied and surpassed all expectations. In his first season, the 25 year old scored 13 league goals and provided 5 assists in 26 games; we can only speculate how impressive his statistics would have been if not for Mané getting...

Alternatives to Virgil van Dijk – Part 2

In Part 1, I analysed why Benedikt Höwedes of FC Schalke 04 should rank highly on Liverpool’s list of alternative centre-backs to Virgil van Dijk. Before reading this Part 2 article, please also see Part 1 for an overview of Liverpool’s defensive weaknesses and the profile of centre-back needed for Klopp’s current style and...

Jurgen Klopp And The Cult Of The Manager

"I am 'The Normal One'. I am a normal guy from the Black Forest. I was a very average player. I don't compare myself with these genius managers from the past." Five years ago the cream of world football managers were sat in Spain and Germany. Guardiola and Mourinho were the two biggest names in...

Magic Coutinho Impresses Origi

As I sit down to write this, there are actual people of intelligence preparing to watch David Moyes' Sunderland take on Arsenal in the hope that the Mackems will eke out some kind of result. This is the kind of entirely avoidable madness that leads to dark bouts of depression. To compound the lunacy,...