FSG and Boston Globe Article: Maximum Disruption for Minimal Share?
The ownership drama surrounding Liverpool shows no sign of abating any time soon. It reached fever pitch this week on social media, when The Boston Globe released their exclusive December article. With suggestions that FSG are now leaning towards a partial sale of the club as their preferred option, it may well be the outcome that many Reds were looking for in the first place. However with everything else that’s gone on in the last few weeks, it’s starting to …
Potential Julian Ward Replacements: Cristiano Giuntoli
In the final piece of our five part series around potential replacements for Julian Ward
We finish our journey in Italy and the region of Campania. Naples is a football Mecca, closely associated with Maradona, tourism and a shady underworld culture. In the boardroom of Napoli though, envious eyes are being cast towards a sporting director whose burgeoning reputation shows no signs of slowing down. This isn’t an obvious one for many, but it should be.
Cristiano Giuntoli is not …
Potential Julian Ward Replacements: Christoph Freund
In our five-part series, we take a look at potential candidates to replace Julian Ward this summer as sporting director. Following on from Paul Mitchell our second candidate sees us stay in Europe, but move to the landlocked nation of Austria and the famous Red Bull set-up in Salzburg. It would be an ambitious move should we manage to tempt Christoph Freund to Anfield. However, the evidence suggests it’s a risk that maybe worth taking.
The 45 year-old isn’t a …
Potential Julian Ward Replacements: Paul Mitchell
With the breaking news that Julian Ward is set to step down from his position as Sporting Director at the end of the season, Liverpool were left with three major positions set to be vacant by the end of this campaign. A new club doctor and director of research (Dr Ian Graham also confirmed as leaving) are also set to be replaced according to reports, giving FSG - or any new owners - a lot to tackle. On Anfield Index …
In the Bleak Midwinter: Hopes and Dreams for a Winter Break
As we enter the final few weeks of the season before the World Cup break, there’s a lot for Liverpool to evaluate during this period. The highest points total of an English side in the Champions League combined with a record low in their domestic completion under Jurgen Klopp has left many Reds tearing their hair out at times. Liverpool have made plans to fly out to Dubai for a mid-season training camp, based on logistics to allow players to …
Julian Ward & His Must-Win Transfer Window
When Michael Edwards handed in his notice last year, I immediately saw it as an elite Sporting Director not being backed by his ownership. For any structurally organised sporting entity, success must be garnered a Ross all levels for the on field situations to succeed. Michael Edwards became a wizard of both buying and selling players, yet the on going ‘net spend’ issue must’ve gotten too much for such a gifted operator. Edwards is still waiting for his next post, …
Opinon: United's Transfer Woes a Cautionary Tale (Downfall, Part 2)
Last week I penned a column about how Manchester United's current crisis reflects our own dark days before Jurgen Klopp took the helm. I outlined the struggle that comes with recognizing a "big club" isn't quite so big anymore. This week, for part two of this "Downfall" series on Manchester United, I'd like to look at how Liverpool used intelligent transfers to propel the club to the pinnacle of football, how United's transfer policies have contributed to their current crisis, …
How Liverpool Have Evolved In A Year
In the days leading to last seasons opening games, every single pundit had either Chelsea or Manchester City winning the Premier League. The general feeling was that the return of Cristiano Ronaldo would also propel Manchester United into contention, and Liverpool would be eased down the table.
In hindsight, the uneducated views of nearly all the experts who disregarded Liverpool now seem very foolish. Liverpool had just experienced their most injury-ravished season in history, and had relied on the defensive …
Darwin - Return Of The Number 9
I wrote just prior to the RB Leipzig friendly how patience was required for all new players. I was keen to state how pre season is nothing more than the warm up to the season, and how we had to trust the process of integrating new arrivals. The match score (and more to the point, the scorers against RBL), surely ratify some of those thoughts, and it hasn’t take long for the negative comments to swing round to pure jubilation. …
Joe Gomez & The Bigger Picture
I recall the summer that Liverpool signed the likes of Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing & Charlie Adam, they were also heavily linked with Blackburn Rovers starlet, Phil Jones. Jones would have been 18 years old back then, and I still recall the huge hype surrounding his massive potential. Back then, John Terry was probably the most well known English defender, and in the midst of a hugely successful Chelsea career. Jones was a dominant, imposing and talented central defender that …