Wave-Riding Reds Finding New Ways To Win
I know it’s popular to mock him and just generally hate him, you know, because he played for Man United for his entire career and naturally that brings animosity, but Gary Neville is a really strong pundit. His points are almost always thought out, insightful and intelligent and if nothing else, watching him full on lose it when criticising Man United or Arsenal has been a joy.
And I was mulling over my thoughts on the topic of this article, …
Explaining Liverpool's Pressing Against Manchester City
In Liverpool’s most recent contest, The Reds achieved a 0-0 draw at home to title rivals, Manchester City. The match was cagey, conservative and respectful, and despite Liverpool restricting City to just two shots on target, some viewers weren’t happy with the home side's work without the ball. The main viewer that I’m referencing here is Sky’s co-commentator on the day, Gary Neville, as he spent large portions of the match pointing out that Liverpool ‘weren’t right’, and that they …
Is Van Dijk's defence capable of underpinning a title challenge?
Liverpool’s £75m capture of Virgil van Dijk made him the most expensive defender in the world. Of course, eyebrows were raised left, right and centre given the size of such an investment; a good defender for Southampton but one worthy of such an outlay? Outsiders weren’t particularly convinced.
Fast forward to the present and the critics have gone eerily quiet as it appears one man can indeed fix a defence.
A third successive clean sheet of the season in the …
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, the same people will probably have one eye on Everton's attempts against the Gunners on the final day. If anything, expecting an Evertonian gift is the …
Carragher, Neville And The Cult Of The Pundit
Regular visitors to these paragraphs will know that profound analytical breakdowns of systems and tactics are anathema to this columnist. It's not that I don't appreciate the folk who do that sort of thing, you understand. They provide us all with a valuable service, bless 'em. How many times have you drunkenly thrown out a stat or tactical observation that had been painstakingly compiled by one such hard-working analyst - their slaving over a hot laptop serving only to earn …
A Liverpool Problem, Not a Klopp Problem
A lot has been said recently with regards to Liverpool’s latest slump in form, that saw the Reds lose three home games in a row, go from the red arrows to paper planes and relinquish their chance in two very good cup competitions.
Probably for the first time in his tenure, fans are (and rightly so) asking questions of manager Jurgen Klopp, and this is well within anyone’s rights to do so.
That being said, I do have to disagree with …
Is Carragher Correct About Sturridge?
The proliferation of former Liverpool players in the punditry business is downright odd. As analysts go, they range from the thoroughly dour and old-school likes of Dean Saunders and Ronnie Whelan to the occasionally insightful and earnest likes of Graeme Souness, to the hopelessly anodyne likes of Cockney clothes-horse, Jamie Redknapp. This is to say nothing of BT's Michael Owen, a man so vanilla that he can make flying helicopters over Dubai seem as bland as an Alan Partridge outside …
Loris Karius: Doomed to fail, or just a rough start?
It's not talked about enough, but changing football clubs is hard. Moving to a club like Liverpool as a 23 year old and immediately taking a place in the spotlight as the starting goalkeeper is a lot more intimidating than most like to acknowledge. The most common retort to statements like this usually is along the lines of, "Well he's a professional, so he should get on with his job." This does hold some truth, but if you ask me, …
Liverpool vs The Pundits: Klopp, Karius, Carragher & the Nevilles!
During the 2012 European Championships, ITV ran a panel which included Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane and, I think, Gareth Southgate. Hosted by Adrian Chiles, the topic under discussion was just how difficult it is to play as a single defensive midfielder in a diamond formation as opposed to a more standard one of a pair in a 4-2-3-1. Carragher warmed to his topic and said something like:
‘You’ve got to deal with your centre-backs as they’ll push without you at …
Jordan Henderson: The New Generation
Things are changing at Liverpool and it’s the start of a new generation. Steven Gerrard is moving to America after turning down a contract extension, Jamie Carragher now works alongside Gary Neville, once an arch nemesis, and young Jordan Henderson, is set to become the next captain of Liverpool football club.
Liverpool fans haven’t had much to smile about in recent weeks. Exit from the FA Cup after defeat in the semi-final against Aston Villa last week topped off a disappointing …