Coutinho

Liverpool leave the past behind in thrashing of Barcelona

This club is the mix of atmosphere, emotion, desire and football quality. Cut off one and it doesn't work. The words of a stunned, joyous and emotionally drained Jürgen Klopp after the greatest Anfield night of his tenure: a perfect storm of atmosphere, emotion, desire and football quality that tore into Barcelona, blowing their European...

Team of the Year Crystallises Liverpool’s Progress

So Paul Pogba eh? What a huge shock and weird selection to the PFA Team of the Year that was! In this essay, I will… Just kidding. Whilst I do think it’s strange he’s been selected despite an inconsistent season, I could see how getting shoehorned into a 4-3-3 formation with a clear lack of...

Trophies or not, it’s been a good season for Liverpool

The title race is going to the wire and Liverpool are right in the thick of it. The Champions League semi-finals are so finely poised and Liverpool are in the thick of it. Feels nice, doesn’t it? It’s been another rollercoaster ride of a season for Jürgen Klopp’s Red men which has seen them amass a...

Out of Contract Porto Stars Would Energise Liverpool Midfield

Liverpool take on Porto next week in their Champions League second leg encounter at the Estádio do Dragão, but the match offers an extra degree of interest. Porto midfielders, Yacine Brahimi and Héctor Herrera, are both out of contract this summer and could possibly be destined for Anfield next season. Liverpool have missed the attacking...

Would The Reds Take Their Ex Back?

Never go back… It’s a sentiment echoed by many Liverpool supporters when it comes to those cherished heroes who stabbed them where it hurts most. As Karl Coppack put it in a piece for this very website, the mental calculation is a very simple one regarding the investment a fan puts into a player: “I’d subscribed...

Liverpool And The Coutinho Dilemma

I don’t like people messing about with Liverpool Football Club. In the same way others think that ancient scriptures should not be tampered with and that the word of the deities to which they sing should be unbendable, I am of the mind that no one should meddle with the central ethos of the club...

Midfield musings, a new identity and tactical potential for Liverpool

With Liverpool cruising to a 3-0 win over Watford on Saturday evening, Jurgen Klopp maintained the 2 point deficit to Man City. Another clean sheet and a highly satisfying win, albeit with a dogged rather than spectacular performance. There's a certain symmetry to our away results against Watford since Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers....

Have Liverpool Found Their Coutinho Replacement?

Disclaimer: no, Xherdan Shaqiri is not Phil Coutinho. However, it is rather satisfying seeing a new “Fab Four” strut their stuff. Much was made of Jürgen Klopp’s sanctioning of the sale of Phil Coutinho to Barcelona – he was integral to the precursory group stage that led to the Champions League final – and was affably...

Liverpool’s “Crisis”

Liverpool have not been playing very well lately. The Reds have managed to grind out results and have gotten lucky a number of times over the last few weeks. A Daniel Sturridge wonder goal, Riyad Mahrez shooting for the stars over the Anfield Road end and the woodwork against Huddersfield complete a series of...

Liverpool Need A Playmaker

On-ball (in possession) Off-ball (out of possession) Transition (between possession) These are the three phases of football. Liverpool are without a doubt one of, if not the best team in the world in transition, that is, the moment in which a team transfers from a defensive shape to an attacking one, or vice-versa. The speed at which Liverpool...