Virgil Van Dijk

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...

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...

Liverpool’s Magnificent Seven

I recently watched the remake of the Magnificent Seven, a modern take of the original classic. The film revolves around impossibly unrealistic scenarios, a suicide squad of unlikely heroes, with a battle to overcome the odds and succeed. The plot of the film is ridiculous, how the movie then plays out absurd, but the idea...

What will the return of Van Dijk mean for the Reds this season?

Liverpool were unable to defend their Premier League title last season. The Reds went through a disastrous period midway through the season, where injuries and poor form contributed to a steep decline. Jurgen Klopp’s side were able to steady the ship towards the end of the season. Impressive end of season form, including eight wins...

Don’t Look Back In Anger

The nervous nature and anticipation of a big major game rarely sees the emotional ride end when the final whistle blows. There’s sometimes jubilation, now and then dismay, and here and there it’s bitter annoyance. Football can offer the best of times, yet deliver periods of distress that can be absolute weekend destroyers. As match...