Joel Matip

Believe, Doubters – Klopp Is Driving LFC Onwards

At Anfield yesterday, after a creditable objective had been achieved by Liverpool, as cute children in replica kits tottered wide-eyed after their fathers, and as an intoxicating relief had flooded the famous old stadium, Lucas Leiva said some words into a microphone, whilst clutching a small memorial in the shape of the number 21...

All Or Nothing For Klopp And The Reds

"A war of attrition, competition, competition, competition," he said. "This means a fight for everything week in, week out," he elaborated, but it turned out that Jürgen Klopp was not describing the ferocious rivalry between the members of the Liverpool squad to get cast in the latest Nivea television ad, a B-Movie fever dream which...

Candidates for Liverpool’s MOTM vs West Ham

Liverpool took one step closer to Champions League qualification for next season with a convincing 4-0 victory away at West Ham. The Reds went into this game knowing they simply had to win their remaining two games against the Hammers and already relegated Middlesbrough to seal Champions League qualification - but it wasn't to be...

Top Four: Who Wants It Least?

Initially, as I grimaced in recollection of the season's third-last serving of delicious Barclay's goodness, it was tempting to liken Liverpool's struggles to make any progress to the myth of Sisyphus - you know, the unfortunate chap punished by the gods of the Greeks for his offences against them. His sentence was to push...

Candidates For Liverpool’s MOTM Against Watford

Liverpool edged one huge step closer to qualification for the Champions League proper next term with a hard-fought 1-0 away win at Watford. Emre Can scored the solitary goal that separated the two sides - and I really cannot quite put the strike from the German into comprehensible words. In what was a first half deprived...

Liverpool v Crystal Palace Preview – Key Battles

Four wins and two draws from the set six Premier League games have meant that Liverpool have ensured the top 4 place is in their own hands, but that counts for nothing, if the Reds do not take as many points as possible from their remaining games. Among the teams battling for the Champions...

The Case for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Ahh, the summer time. Predominantly known for its pleasant weather, or, if you’re an avid football fan, the sheer amount of back and forth information – more often than not false – being spread amongst this curious concept known as the “rumour mill.” Which takes us to the man in question. The rumour being spoken...

Can Klopp Find The Right Folks To Win Trophies?

Bitter experience brings us all, inevitably, to the same conclusion - for the most part, people are awful. Now, optimistic philanthropist that you are, lovely reader, you may be bristling at such apparent negativity, but that is only because you are one of the good ones. You simply cannot conceive of the ugliness that...

Can The Liverpool Defence Be Perfect For Five Weeks?

Most of this week was spent waiting on some very significant news. It's a peculiar form of existence, waiting. Obviously, one has to press on with the mundanity of daily existence but always with an awareness that if that news is unfavourable, then the time doing those routine things would have been infinitely better...

The Mercury Is Rising At Anfield

Trusting your mental well-being to others is a precarious activity at the best of times. Placing your happiness in the hands, or error-prone feet, of a group of talented but notoriously flaky professional footballers, is surely a sign that you are, on some level, quite mad - as mad as a hatter, even. For another...