Going from “we’re going to win the league” after beating Barcelona 4-0, to the outlook being doom and gloom within just 24 hours after losing to Mainz by the same scoreline is precisely why I try not to read too much into pre-season friendlies. They are essentially just for fitness, integrating new players and...
"Lying is a common communication strategy" (Zuckerman)
All managers are liars. They have to be if they want to be a successful manager in the modern game. These days they're expected to keep the fans on side, win the game of chess against the media and keep their players happy. It's a juggling act that some...
Liverpool trounced Barcelona, yes... the actual Barcelona, by four goals to nil at Wembley on Saturday evening, and it puzzles me as to why we're not all feeling giddy.
Yes, it's just pre-season, but come on? Four goals against Barcelona. Four goals past a defence protected by the best defensive midfielder in the world. No...
I’ve already written here on Anfield Index about the business that Liverpool have done in the transfer market this summer, but what seems to have become a real bode of contention with a large number of fans is the business not done by the club this summer.
The obvious thing that comes to mind on...
Fenway Sports Group has been constantly lambasted since the start of their regime as owners of Liverpool Football Club, and while most of those have been rightly justified, some of the pillory has been unwarranted.
Six years ago, FSG bought Liverpool Football Club for give or take £200M, and by some, it was considered a...
For most footballers, there is a stage at which they come to a potentially career-defining crossroads. Some kick on and reach the level people always expected of them, while others will slowly disappear from the very top level, and finish up plying their trade somewhere mediocre. For Jordan Henderson, 2016/17 is exactly that pivotal moment.
With numerous...
"It's all about balance."
A few days ago, Jürgen Klopp uttered the phrase above, and whilst I may have contorted and bastardised the quote for the purposes of a tactical discussion, despite it being about transfers, this particular quote resonates with the approach any manager must have when building a successful team. Take for instance, the 4-2-3-1 system, the go-to...
There are two types of leadership. First would be a leader who leads by default. He’s the type of personality that is allowed to lead or dictate only by his rank. Then you have, in my opinion, the true leader. One who leads and is followed through merit by gaining the utmost respect from...
After being strongly linked with Mahmoud Dahoud many Liverpool supporters assumed the Reds wanted to bring in an orthodox centre-midfielder as opposed to a versatile, jack of all trades master of none type. The signing of Newcastle's Dutch International Gini Wijnaldum caught fans off guard. There's nothing orthodox about the new Liverpool no 5...
It's a link that not many saw coming. Newcastle's Gini Wijnaldum is the surprise target for Liverpool as the Reds look to move on from their failed pursuits for Gladbach's Mahmoud Dahoud and Udinese's Piotr Zielinski. Both had been linked heavily with Liverpool for months now but with very little movement in negotiations it...
