James Milner

Reborn Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Continues To Excel

If ever a day summed up why Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's decision to trade Arsenal for Liverpool last August was an inspired one, it was Sunday. As the 24-year-old was sat preparing for the Reds’ eagerly-anticipated clash with Man City, his former club were blowing a lead and suffering defeat at Bournemouth, languishing in sixth-place in the...

Observations as a Virgil Van Strike beats Everton

TELL YER MA, YER MA, TO WIPE AWAY ALL YOUR TEARS, NO TROPHIES FOR 20 YEARS, TELL YEAR MA, YER MA. Thanks to big Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool fans will be able to sing that for another year yet. It was touch and go at times, especially when the Reds spontaneously combusted defensively to let Gylfi Sigurdsson level up,...

Liverpool 2017-18 – A Half Term Report

As 2017 comes to its creaking and inevitable end, perhaps it’s time to take stock and look at the state of our Red nation - to make a brief assessment of where we are; to ‘take our temperature’ as Leo McGarry says in the West Wing. The last month has provided a perfect cross section...

Liverpool’s New-Found Squad Depth Paying Dividends

Since Liverpool stopped ruling English football in 1990, there are many reasons why a return to the summit of the game has continued to evade them. There have been dreadful signings, bemusing managerial appointments, unprofessional squads and rivals spending vast chunks of money, among many others factors. One of the Reds' greatest Achilles heels has been...

Oxlade Chamberlain: Shrugging off irrational criticism to prove his worth to Liverpool

Football fans as a whole love to criticise players right from the get-go, as was the case when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool in the summer. Moving from Arsenal for a reported fee of £35million, he was labelled a flop after failing to catch the eye after coming on as a sub. Question marks were...

Milner – The Answer To LFC’s Midfield Woes?

When James Milner was announced in the starting line-up for Liverpool’s game against Maribor, my initial reaction was something along the lines of: “Oh cool, Milner’s playing, we’ve not seen him since the Burnley game.” I like Milner, think he’s a decent option and the team was pretty solid so no complaints from me. Predictably...

An Imperfect Marriage Between The System & The Players At Liverpool FC

Klopp’s Liverpool are currently experiencing a turbulent time in terms of results, and fans are understandably becoming frustrated with the same defensive issues reoccurring regularly to deny Liverpool deserved wins. However, even though these issues appear to occur so repetitively, it still seems difficult for many to pinpoint the precise problem and identify exactly...

Milner in midfield – masterstroke or massive gamble?

After Liverpool won their final game of pre-season against Athletic Bilbao 3-1, Jürgen Klopp hinted that Alberto Moreno has managed to save his Liverpool future and that as a result, James Milner will be used in his more natural position in midfield this season, allowing Moreno and Robertson to fight over the left back...

Down But Not Out: Liverpool defeated in Audi Cup final on penalties

Liverpool 1 - 1 Atletico Madrid (Atletico win 5-4 on penalties) Liverpool were denied their second pre-season trophy after suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat against Atletico Madrid in the final of the Audi Cup at the Allianz Arena. Jurgen Klopp made nine changes to the side which defeated Bayern Munich 3-0 in the semi-final, with Phil...

Are Liverpool better equipped to “beat the dross” next season?

"Beat the dross, win the league." A well-known mantra from AI's own Simon Brundish describes the ability of title-winning teams to brush aside, on paper, so-called inferior teams. It may seem a simple concept, but it is born from a simple fact: there are more "inferior" teams to play over the course of a...