Liverpool, the High Line and Perception
Like it or not, perception is often more important than reality, at least in the world of football. For example, scoring a goal can see a player’s match rating jump from a 6/10 to an 8/10 and a misplaced pass that results in a big chance basically undoes all the prior good work. Liverpool are currently dealing with an unfounded narrative. The champions may have a 100% record in the Premier League but there’s a feeling they’ve been fortunate in …
Player Ratings as Liverpool draw in London
Liverpool’s lead at the top is now just two points after another frustrating draw against West Ham.
GOALKEEPER:
Alisson 6
Carried no fault from the goal and did well dealing with everything else thrown at him.
DEFENCE:
James Milner 6
Struggles against Anderson as many expected him to do, lacking the pace of Trent Alexander Arnold but he did get forward well, to his credit. Even though he was wildly offside for the goal. Cheers ref.
Virgil van Dijk 6
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Liverpool's Problems Defending Crosses
Since Virgil van Dijk joined the club in January, there's no doubting that our defence has drastically improved. Whether this is totally down to the towering Dutchman or a combination of factors including the re-introduction of Loris Karius in goal and the ever improving performances of Andy Robertson at left-back is up for debate. However, what cannot be denied is that big Virg is a phenomenal defender with fantastic attributes that any defence would benefit from. Having said this, both …
Liverpool Always One Step Behind Until they Fix Their Shaky Foundations
Ask any Liverpool fan, or any football fan for that matter, about where they want their team to be challenging and they’ll give you the same answer. Naturally, they want to be vying for the title, mounting an assault on the domestic cup and pushing for that all-important Champions League trophy.
In order to do that, you need to have water tight foundations and carry real authority and verve going forward. Liverpool have such prowess in the final third of …
Alternatives to Virgil van Dijk - Part 1
Introduction:
From a recruitment point-of-view, a sporting director must always have a deeply scouted list of alternative transfer targets, to not only maintain the club’s footballing philosophy, but to ensure that high quality talent is secured at an excellent value for whatever roles and weaknesses the coaching staff want to improve. With the controversy over Liverpool’s pursuit for Virgil van Dijk, I have selected three alternative centre-backs for Liverpool’s recruitment team to consider, of which my primary target will be …
Liverpool's Achilles Heel - Set Piece Woes
Jurgen Klopp was right when he said Liverpool don't have a defensive issue. In the 12 months he's been with the club he's worked on making Liverpool, as a unit, much more resilient. For starters there are less holes centrally, you rarely see the backline exposed like you did under Brendan Rodgers. The team rarely seem to appear stretched and opponents are creating fewer chances against us in open play.
Granted, so far this season Liverpool haven't really been tested defensively …
Villarreal Vs. Liverpool | In-Depth Tactical Preview
Based in the tiny City of Vila-Real in the Comunitat Valenciana on the East Coast of Spain, Villarreal have arguably been the 21st century’s biggest football over-achievers. With a stadium that could fit half the city’s population, the club captivated the football world back in 2006 when they reached the Champions League semi-final with a team including the likes of Senna, Riquelme and Forlan. The Yellow Submarine, as they’re known in Spain (I imagine to the delight of British tabloid …
Daniel Sturridge - The Phantom Menace
Liverpool 3-3 Arsenal: a pulsating match; end to end, with chances galore; a "great advert for the Premier League". All these English football cliches, and more, could've been, and were, used to reflect on Liverpool's latest home match, under the floodlights at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
A crackling pre-game atmosphere was pitched up several notches when Roberto Firmino pounced on Cech's parry to slam the Reds into an early lead. Three goals followed in what was a thunderous first half, …
Does Rodgers Know Liverpool's Best Eleven?
Three games in six days represents a tough week for any team, even Liverpool. A midweek date with Ancelotti's "Galacticos Mark II" was never going to be plain sailing, and the distraction (albeit a welcome one) of playing the planet's biggest club, made team selection for Saturday's league match (against Hull) all the more difficult for Brendan Rodgers.
Managing team selection, rotating the team, bringing players in and out of the side at the optimum time to maximise their talents, …
Liverpool FC: A Case For The Defence?
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