The World Class Upgrade
Under the Roy Evans regime, Neil Ruddock, John Scales, Phil Babb & Mark Wright were the options in defence. They were the central defenders in the mid nineties that saw a period of great attacking football from the reds. The likes of Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman were part of an exciting line up that fell short of major honours, often let down by the sides defensive deficiencies. Robbie Fowler certainly underachieved (in terms of silverware) in his career, despite …
Joel Matip: The best partner for Virgil Van Dijk
We're four years into Joel Matip's Liverpool career and only now are we getting to see him finally fulfil his potential.
He arrived during the summer of 2016 and immediately had fans on his side purely by not being Martin Skrtel. For years prior, the Slovakian had been one of the mainstays in a leaky backline for the Reds.
Matip was not just seen as an upgrade but as a better fit in general. His first thought wasn't to retreat …
Do Liverpool need a Christmas Caulker?
To a casual observer, Steven Caulker's six-month loan move to Liverpool in January 2016 represented the most bizarre of transfers.
It's very rare that top-six Premier League teams actually bring players in on loan, rather than sending them away, especially from a team - Queens Park Rangers in this case - floundering in the Championship.
However, the deal made some sort of sense when the context was added.
Caulker, a phoenix from the ashes
With Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren …
Appreciating Liverpool's Future Captain
Remember when people said that £75 million was an exorbitant fee?
Liverpool have gone from a notoriously shaky defence, one which is able to instil fear into even the most resilient of Liverpool fans when they conceded a corner, to one which instils fear into event the sharpest of strikers.
And a lot of Liverpool’s surge to European force is down to the arrival of the most expensive defender in world football.
It wasn’t typically Liverpool’s way to fork out …
Alisson, Van Dijk & Keita: Liverpool’s New Game-Changing Spine
This time just over a year ago, imagine being told Liverpool would sign Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita in the 12 months that followed.
It would have felt like the most beautiful of pipe dreams, even if Alisson wasn’t the world-renowned goalkeeper he speedily blossomed into at Roma.
Great teams have great spines and Liverpool have lacked one for a rather harrowing amount of time.
For too long we have had to watch the likes of Simon Mignolet, …
Has Klopp built a stronger back-up squad to the XI he inherited?
This summer's been a bit of a whirlwind, hasn't it? We've had the highs and lows of England's World Cup campaign, with ironic jeers of 'it's coming home' appearing more and more realistic as the Three Lions reached the semi-final. The dramatic use of VAR to keep pulses racing as modern technology enlarges its grip on football. The widespread appreciation of Jordan Henderson and his importance to the national side in Russia.
I could go on.
As far as the …
Liverpool's Centre-Backs - Consistently Inconsistent
What a game! There is nothing like a European night at Anfield. I was several thousand kilometres away and couldn't fall asleep all night, like a little kid, just buzzing. The attack and midfield will rightfully claim most of the glory but the defending in the second half was probably the Red's best display in that regard in years. Holding the offensive juggernaut that is Manchester City to ZERO shots on target is as impressive as anything LFC have done …
Strengthening of the Spine: Klopp's long-term project coming to fruition
Jurgen Klopp’s first game vs Spurs (Oct 2015): Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Lucas, Can, Milner, Coutinho, Lallana, Origi.
Bench: Toure, Allen, Ibe, Bogdan, Randall, Sinclair, Teixeira
Jurgen Klopp’s latest game vs Burnley (Jan 2018): Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold, Klavan, Lovren, Gomez; Can, Wijnaldum, Chamberlain; Lallana, Mane, Solanke.
Bench: Karius, Matip, Robertson, Milner, Woodburn, Ings, Firmino.
What a difference two years make.
Recording their first win of 2018, Liverpool secured an injury-time winner in the most dramatic fashion to win 2-1. Bear …
Why LFC need Naby Keïta more than Van Dijk
Liverpool FC, since the departure of Rafael Benitez, has struggled defensively. Indeed, the last time the team conceded less than 40 goals in a league season was in the 2009/10 season, in which Liverpool conceded 35 goals. Since then, Liverpool have conceded 44 (2010/11), 40 (2011/12), 43 (2012/13), 50 (2013/14), 48 (2014/15), 50 (2015/16) and 42 (2016/17).
In that period, Liverpool has had Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Kelly, Coates, Toure, Lovren, Matip, Klavan and others who have all played at centre-back. …
Patience - the key to success for Liverpool
We live in fast times - a lot of things nowadays happen instantly. People have gotten used to that so much that it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and over react to some events. In the world of football every time a team doesn't win, it's a catastrophe - have a bad month and there will be fractions of fans calling for the manager to get sacked. If a 22 year old player is inconsistent and …