One Football's Liverpool FC - End of Year Awards
It's been quite the entertaining year as a Liverpool supporter. Here are my end of year awards for 2016 for Liverpool FC, in conjunction with OneFootball.
Best XI
Coutinho Firmino Mane
Can Henderson Lallana
Milner Sakho Matip Clyne
Karius
I've gone with Karius in goal because I think Liverpool have had good results on the whole with him in between the sticks and I believe in the long term he will improve and become …
Georginio Wijnaldum: Ruthlessly Efficient
When Georginio Wijnaldum signed for a fee of £25 million, many saw him to be another attacking midfielder within the side, raising questions about what he could bring to the table given the current array of talent already at Klopp’s disposal.
During his Newcastle days, Wijnaldum’s form was hugely inconsistent. Dipping in and out of games, he struggled to show his qualities on a week in week out basis. However, since moving to Anfield we have seen a completely different …
Liverpool's Late Winners
Learning to Love the Fat Lady’s Tune
When Sadio Mané reacted fastest to the rebound, breaking Everton hearts on Monday night, he unleashed the most primal act in all of us. If you weren’t at Goodison, then, like me, you were up off the couch, fists clenched with the most guttural of roars leaving your throat.
Relief, coupled with mild disbelief, takes over. You watch the players celebrate, dreading the linesman’s flag, then you hear Mike Dean’s whistle during the …
Mane's Merseyside Derby Winner: A Defining Moment Come May?
Those thumpings of Leicester, Hull and Watford were a joy, as were the pleasantly surprising wins at Arsenal and Chelsea, but none come close to what we witnessed against Everton on Monday.
A stoppage time victory away to your local rivals, in which the away end goes ballistic, is just perfect. You don’t sleep for hours after the game due to the flow of adrenalin, title rivals are left seething at one point turning into three and anything feels possible.
…
Nathaniel Clyne, Upgrades and Evolving
How good is it being a Liverpool fan right now?
Klopp's men sit second in the league after the dramatic late win in the derby. We're the top scorers in the Premier League with 41 goals but what's even more impressive is how we have continued to impress despite some noticeable absentees. Daniel Sturridge, Joel Matip, Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho have all missed matches and while performances may have dropped off a little, we're still picking up points. As cliche as …
Adam Lallana - Renaissance man
Adam Lallana is a player that has divided opinion since his £25m move from Southampton to Liverpool in 2014. His technical ability and work rate have never been in question, but his effectiveness within the team and end product were always seen as an issue.
I described Lallana as a 'nearly' player - nearly scored, nearly set up a goal, nearly, but not quite. Whether it be as a winger or in the 'number 10 role' behind a striker, his …
Defenders for Liverpool to Target in January
Virgil van Dijk
Perhaps the most obvious choice; given Liverpool’s affinity with buying Southampton players as of late; but Virgil van Dijk may well be the one key Southampton player Liverpool actually spend money wisely on. Of course, Sadio Mane and Nathanial Clyne were shrewd, if not slightly over-priced; but van Dijk has the potential to fix a glaring problem in Liverpool’s lineup; having a partner for Joel Matip that can be relied upon. The travesty that occurred against Bournemouth …
A Left-Back, Wide Forward and Value for Money the Priority In January
Liverpool head into the January transfer window safe in the knowledge that their start to the 2016/17 Premier League season has reached, and possibly surpassed, the expectations of the majority. Coming out of the Merseyside derby on Monday night, Liverpool find themselves 12 points better off than after the same amount of fixtures last season - an achievement made all the more impressive when considering that the fixture list, after the Anfield redevelopment, is considered by many to be more challenging than …
Everton 0 Liverpool 1 - Player Ratings
Liverpool left it late to snatch all three points in the Merseyside Derby, with Sadio Mane capping his first appearance in the fixture with a decisive goal. Daniel Sturridge was the orchestrator, letting fly from outside the Everton box only for the ball to come off the post, where Mane was on hand for an easy tap in. The Senegalese international has hit the ground running since his summer move and his stoppage time winner will have endeared him to …
Observations from Liverpool's late win against Everton
Imagine in the summer, before the fixture schedule was released, someone told you we would go to Goodison Park just six days before Christmas and win 1-0 thanks to a scrappy goal in added-time. Obvious response would have been "Oh yeah, if Carlsberg did football matches" sort of one, followed swiftly by a "but imagine the Everton fume if that actually happened".
Well it has.
It was scrappy. The ref bottled it. Everton fans booed. It was your stereotypical derby and you …