Champions League

Transfer Time: A Brief Cautionary Tale

It's really far more than anyone should be expected to bear, you know. There is no way to manoeuvre the minefield that is transfer speculation and retain one's mental equilibrium. I like to think I'm a comparatively calm man, having had my stoicism tested by the slings and arrows over the years, but there's...

Keeping with the Times at Liverpool

Over recent weeks, Simon Mignolet has been nothing less than fantastic, making match winning saves in consecutive games, and taking defensive responsibility in Liverpool's pursuit of a Champions League qualification spot. In the recent match at Vicarage Road, Mignolet put in a truly commendable display, claiming crosses with confidence, and relieving pressure on the team...

Liverpool’s run in: Cometh the hour, cometh the Studge?

Hello, hello. Here we go. It's getting closer. Southampton at home, West Ham away, Middlesbrough at home. "Six points will do us," says Fred. "Nah, we need seven" offers Barry. "Don't be so pessimistic, four points and Champions League football is as good as ours" predicts Bob. Maybe all Liverpool need is Daniel Sturridge, in order to...

Positivity Around Anfield: How Do We Cope?

What with the revelations about plans for further expansion of Anfield, the decision to dedicate an entire stand to Kenny Dalglish, the proposed state-of-the-art training facility in Kirkby and a rumoured bumper transfer spend in the summer, one could be forgiven for thinking that things were looking reasonably positive for Liverpool Football Club. This is...

Stand And Deliver: Coutinho Back For Final Push

Following the announcement yesterday that the Centenary Stand will soon bear the exalted name of Kenny Dalglish, it was interesting to note the response from some fans. For many of an older vintage, like your columnist, there was an understandably emotional reaction to the honouring of a man we had worshipped on the field...

Klopp Says The Reds Will Get What They Deserve

With exam season almost upon us, I was reminded of an old teacher of mine who, when presented with a sea of anxious faces, used to say, "pressure is for tyres, lads." Now, plainly, he wasn't the most insightful or sensitive of gents, and no doubt he felt as though he was imparting something of...

Candidates For Liverpool’s MOTM Against Watford

Liverpool edged one huge step closer to qualification for the Champions League proper next term with a hard-fought 1-0 away win at Watford. Emre Can scored the solitary goal that separated the two sides - and I really cannot quite put the strike from the German into comprehensible words. In what was a first half deprived...

The Gerrard Obsession – Where Banter Goes To Die

There has been a tragic lack of truly iconic figures to have graced the Premier League in recent times. That, at least, is the only logical conclusion one can come to in the face of the overwhelming obsession the fans of so many other clubs have with Liverpool's former captain, Steven Gerrard. From Stoke...

Unnecessary Drama In The Liverpool Country

I'll be honest with you, lovely reader. The majority of my 7-day enforced sabbatical was spent being deliberately oblivious to the football world and almost exclusively devoted to the pursuit of solving the problem of a troublesome brainpan. The latter endeavour, sadly, was wholly unsuccessful, but at least I managed to entirely avoid the unending...

Is Klopp on his way to Building an Empire?

'There is a not insignificant chance I will have coached three clubs. It is always quite easy for me to fully commit to what I am doing because they are often long-term projects.' A welcome statement of commitment and intent by Jürgen Klopp, and one which vindicated the board and owner's choice of manager in...