Midfield musings, a new identity and tactical potential for Liverpool
With Liverpool cruising to a 3-0 win over Watford on Saturday evening, Jurgen Klopp maintained the 2 point deficit to Man City. Another clean sheet and a highly satisfying win, albeit with a dogged rather than spectacular performance.
There's a certain symmetry to our away results against Watford since Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers. From the pitiful 3-0 reverse in his first season, to a thrilling 3-3 draw last season which pointed to our underlying defensive deficiencies. To then …
Should We Have a More Balanced View on Michael Owen?
A disclaimer before I begin: I’m a Michael Owen fan.
I’m of an age that means that I was just starting to be aware of football, and starting to play football when Owen was at his peak. The first football match I can ever remember seeing on TV? Germany vs England, in Munich. He was pretty good that day, along with fellow Liverpool players Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey.
When I watched the Premier League highlights after that, I looked …
What next for Loris Karius?
The signing of Alisson was a huge statement of intent from the club. Having reportedly singled him out as far back as January, it was clear that Jürgen Klopp was after a new goalkeeper, even before the closing stages of the 2017-18 season.
Until the Champions League final though, Loris Karius was doing a pretty solid job. He was a clear improvement upon Simon Mignolet and seemed to be growing in confidence as the season went on. His performances began …
Asensioooooo... is probably just looking for a new contract
Picking up the paper Wednesday morning in Madrid, the headline made me spit out my coffee... OK, tinto verano. “180 Milliones por Asensio,” read the top of the page. Unfortunately underneath that it read “MARCA,” which is not the most reliable publication in the world for transfer news. It falls somewhere above Don Balon and below your Uber driver's twitter feed on the reliability scale.
Liverpool? This is not the moment to talk about this. - Marco AsensioMarco Asensio …
The Case for Xherdan Shaqiri
Following an impressive start to their summer with the signing of Fabinho and the impending arrival of Naby Keita, Liverpool have looked to bolster what was their most glaring weakness of the season, shining brightly in the eyes of every fan who watched their side go down to Real Madrid in Kiev.
A lack of depth.
Xherdan Shaqiri, having been relegated with Stoke this season, has emerged as the cut-price option to bolster the Reds’ attacking unit. Should they bring …
Priceless Sadio Mane Must Not Go Unloved at Liverpool
Football moves at a relentless pace.
It only takes a string of good or bad performances to completely alter an opinion on a team or a player, with the modern game as knee-jerk as it has ever been.
When it comes to Sadio Mane, this definitely applies, even though any sane Liverpool supporter knows full well how brilliant he is.
He has been a revelation since joining from Southampton, becoming a key component of Europe’s most fluent, devastating attacking unit, …
Klopp's Liverpool Untitled... For Now
Some will say this Liverpool team failed, that they stalled at the final hurdle. Ending another exhilarating campaign with nothing to show for it, Klopp’s failure to win in six straight finals may be a source of humour for rival fans. It may even have some fans questioning whether his tenure has truly been a success.
It was just one of those days; ninety minutes bereft of luck with a series of unfortunate goalkeeping errors and an untimely injury to …
The Forgotten Talking Points | From The Champions League Final
I've waited a good 36 hours since the full-time whistle to write this - in part to compose my own thoughts and in part to have time to listen to the reactions of the players, pundits and supporters. While the Reds' journey to Kiev ended in abject misery, the road there was glorious. I'm pleased at how many supporters have chosen to focus on the pride we can feel in our club and the progress we've made this season to …
Player Ratings as Kiev proves one step too far for Liverpool
We'll always have the memories of this campaign, even if we haven't got the trophy. The travels, the songs, the goals.
There will be greater words filled with more sorrow and dejection than that written in the days and weeks to come, but they're my sentiments to you Reds this evening.
Here are the ratings from Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool.
Nobody will feel worse than Karius
Loris Karius (3): You've got to feel for the lad, regardless of your personal thoughts …
The Joy Of Hubris: Liverpool v Real Madrid
In some ways this is all to do with Gini Wijnaldum.
Last May he broke down the Anfield right and slotted a vital goal past Middlesbrough’s Brad Guzan to calm Red nerves and put us on the way to Champions League qualification. He was then pretty quiet for the intervening months save for a goal against Huddersfield Town. Eleven months from that Boro strike, however, he finally delivered a goal away from home. He chose the second leg of the …