Virgil Van Dijk

Konaté vs Zlatan

It seems to be common within modern cinema, to pit an unstoppable force against the immovable object. It’s often a tale of strength, arrogance, and sometimes a legendary icon pitted against a worthy opponent. The last few weeks (indeed much of the season), has seen a certain rhetoric take place regarding certain players. The likes...

One Night In Southampton

When Jürgen Norbert Klopp arrived at Liverpool, there was a sense of relief and hope. The style of football quickly changed, the tempo of the matches picked up, the gegenpressing began to unfold, and certain players started to fall under the intense pressure. Brendan Rodgers and his patterns of play were forever changing at Liverpool,...

Liverpool 4 – 0 Southampton – The Player Ratings

Alisson Becker - 8.0 Some important stops allowed Liverpool to avoid any issues. The most important goalkeeper in Liverpool’s Premier League era, and irreplaceable in this side. Trent Alexander Arnold - 8.0 So impressive in his game. The elegance and natural ability he has is unmatched by any other attacking fullback. Another assist for this sensational talent,...

The Player Ratings: Liverpool 4 – 0 Arsenal

Alisson Becker - 7.5 Mistakes will come now and again, but the world's best stopper showed a commanding presence in a routine display. Trent Alexander Arnold - 9.5 Sensational. The teams primary playmaker is transcending the fullback position. Any manager in world football (club football anyway) would have this man over any other, and his domination of...

Liverpool’s Joe Gomez conundrum

The centre-back situation  Last season, Liverpool had no centre-backs. Now, the Reds allegedly have too many.  According to a report, albeit not the most reliable ones, Joe Gomez isn’t happy with his situation at Anfield. The 24-year-old is yet to start in the Premier League this term and the majority of his minutes have arrived in...

Joe Gomez – Patience Is A Virtue

What a difference a few months make. The majority of last season saw Liverpool’s central defenders fall away, in an horrific series of season ending injuries. Once Dejan Lovren and Ki-Jana Hoever were sold last summer, it was predictable that the failure to recruit, in defence, would come back to bite the reds. That...

Liverpool’s handling of Ibrahima Konate

Ibrahima Konate has made just two starts for Liverpool following his £36million transfer from RB Leipzig this summer.  The first arrived in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League and then he was included in the starting XI for the 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Norwich City. It has now been close...

Gini & Emre – The Need to Replace System Players

The summer window is now gone, and the next two windows will require some short and long term thought, with many areas now requiring you attention. Where the defence was strengthened (in the form of giant Ibrahima Konate), we are now witnessing a midfield dilemma, one that should have been avoided. The process of...

The Rearguard Solution

Centre-back partnerships can offer sublime foundations and turn teams into serial winners. Alessandro Costacurta and Franco Baresi jump to the front of that formidable list, as a partnership that allowed the rest of the side to dominate literally everyone. In the modern game (especially within the Premier League), the ferocity of play and sheer culmination...

Klopp’s Campaign Management

Stubbornness, single mindedness, arrogance and an absolute inability to adjust one's methods, can be the downfall of even the best managers in modern football. In recent years we have seen the likes of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, unable to adapt to the modern needs of Premier League football, with both departing the division at...