Simon Mignolet: Thou Shall Not Pass
On a popular football management game - the one inventively titled Football Manager - the attribute for a goalkeeper’s distribution with feet is called “kicking”, not “passing”. This crude definition of one of the footballing aspects of a goalkeepers' game, indicates that there’s still some way to go before they’re considered the eleventh outfield player.
Brendan Rodgers is one of a growing number of coaches who would like their man between the sticks to contribute more when the team has …
A Career Resurgence For Mario Balotelli?
Mario Balotelli is well known for his attitude problems and lack of effort during football matches. When Liverpool signed the Italian in the summer transfer window, everyone knew it was going to be a gamble, would Mario play well for Liverpool or would he refuse to provide a pressing style of play? Throughout the season LFC fans have been wondering whether Mario Balotelli would ever begin to chase the ball and put any effort in whatsoever, and I think it is …
Sean Connery, Winners and Mario Balotelli
Mason: Are you sure you're ready for this? [walks up staircase]
Goodspeed: I'll do my best.
Mason: [stops and motions back to Goodspeed] Your best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f*ck the prom queen!
When the squabble happened over who would take the penalty at Anfield I like many watching it unfold had a range of conflicting thoughts and feelings. I didn’t like seeing Balotelli take the penalty from the Captain, Jordan Henderson, but at …
Bogey Teams | The Epitome of Liverpool's Frustration
For the centuries that this magnificent sport has been played, there is always that ‘one team’. The team that gets you so spontaneously dazzled as to why you can’t seem to break them down. From Tenerife to Real Madrid or Dundee Utd to FC Barcelona, everybody’s had one. Liverpool of course, being the wonderfully brilliant yet brain fart of a team that they are, have had many “bogey teams” over the last number of years.
Looking back over maybe the …
The Sturridge Effect
Selhurst Park hadn't been a welcoming theatre for Liverpool FC for the best part of twenty years, before Saturday night. The last Liverpool player to score a goal, for a winning side, at the home of Crystal Palace was none other than Oyvind Leonhardson, way back in December of 1997. Perhaps, therefore, there may well have been some justification for a gloomy sense of deja vu, sweeping the away fans, when Frazer Campbell slid in a rather fortuitous opener after 15 …
Liverpool v Besiktas | Europa League Preview
Don’t mention the Champions League...
...except perhaps when giving a timely reminder that this season will be the first in which the winners of the Europa League gain automatic qualification for Europe’s premier competition the following season.
Would it be better for Liverpool to concentrate their efforts solely on the league and attempt to qualify via finishing in the top four? Or should they take their chances in this second rate European cup competition? It’s a situation where Liverpool appear to …
(Raheem Can't Get No) Satisfaction | Sterling Contract Saga
As the seemingly annual Raheem Sterling contract saga drags on into another week, it’s worth taking in the following quote from one of the best man-managers the game has seen:
"You can't be satisfied just because you've achieved something. Satisfaction is the biggest enemy of an athlete." Ottmar HitzfeldBrendan Rodgers’ approach to these situations aligns well with Hitzfeld’s words, as the Liverpool manager always reinforces the dangers of rewarding a young player too early. In his recent comments on …
Crystal Palace v Liverpool | FA Cup Fifth Round Preview
Oh, Palace. How you’ve become the bane of Liverpool’s existence lately. Selhurst Park is no friendly place to play for any side, but we’ve performed worse there than any other ground. If you can even believe it, we’ve traveled there six times since 2000, and haven’t won once (0W-2D-4L). If Brendan Rodgers is adamant about focusing on the cup, then he’ll have to figure out a way to end this abysmal streak. With new manager Alan Pardew off to a …
Memoirs of a Brendan Rodgers Disciple
August 31st 2014
I knew it. I bloody well knew it! “Brendan Rodgers relied on Luis Suarez for the success of last season” they said. HA! Be the Lord, the Reds were as good as last year today. Liverpool went to White Hart Lane and told Tottenham “we are just better than you lot.” And we are. So much better. We might not reach the title this year, but top four is ours. Easily third, that’s for sure. Maybe second …
Jordon Ibe - The Future of Liverpool
Liverpool are renowned for generating a variety of prolific, promising young players either by purchasing them for extremely low prices or through the academy. As of late, a young player that has caught the eye of Brendan Rodgers and most Liverpool fans is Jordon Ibe, an English 19 year old who is well known for his pace and creativity. In this article I will be analysing Ibe's time at LFC and how his promising abilities can help Liverpool further their …