Category Archives: FC Liverpool

15 Brilliant remixes

“THERE are remixes and then there are remixes… When I first started buying 12″ records around 1986, it seemed every single had a dance remix available to buy for a pound or so more. Less so much a remix, more a lengthening procedure – what you got was essentially just the same record but extended at the start for four minutes or so with some pre-house disco beats knocked out by the likes of Shep Pettibone, Jellybean Benitez or Arthur Baker.” The Anfield Wrap

The Great Net Spend Rope Trick (And More Moneyballs)


“BACK in the dark days, when a Texan tyrant roamed free in the 2nd city of Empire, debt was the new black, and Liverpool football club was hurtling towards a never imagined abyss, its chief financier and ultimate unlikely knight in shining armour, the Royal Bank of Scotland, imposed upon the club the first in a series of double agents.” The Anfield Wrap

Money talks in the Premier League
“We are only three matches into the Premier League season, but already we’ve learned a fair bit about the teams and players. Here’s a look at how things are taking shape so far in the EPL.” ESPN

Premier League will test talented Coates

“On the verge of joining Liverpool, Uruguay centre back Sebastian Coates was last seen on the pitch in Buenos Aires celebrating victory in the Copa America, and then accepting an award for the best young player of the tournament. These are impressive credentials for a player who is not 21 until October. Coates is shaping up as a potential future captain of his country but, assuming the deal goes through, the challenge he now faces at club level is very different, and is surely going to stretch the youngster with the gangling frame.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Liverpool 3 – 1 Bolton Wanderers

“Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam scored their first Liverpool goals as the Reds crushed Bolton 3-1 to move top of the Premier League. The summer signings struck either side of a powerful Martin Skrtel header as the hosts, inspired by the outstanding Luis Suarez, produced an electrifying performance at Anfield.” ESPN

Liverpool 3-1 Bolton
“Fluid attacking, solid defending, intense pressuring and high-scoring. It was a sublime performance from Liverpool. Kelly’s injury and Klasnic’s late consolation goal for Bolton were slight annoyance’s in an otherwise perfect day. Suarez was up to his usual mischief, running Bolton’s defenders ragged and creating some great chances. The beautiful cross with the outside of his foot eventually lead to Henderson’s first Liverpool goal, which was expertly finished.” Joshua Kearney

Dirk Kuyt – Right for the Right?

“We all love the player that scores and gets assists. Those guys whose moments of genius at the end of an attacking move directly create the goals that get our teams to glory. And why not? The professionals, however – the coaches, the directors, the scouts, and so on – are capable of seeing things outside the box. Or, rather, inside the box. The large technical box of cogs and gears which power the team and allow those creative players to shine.” Tomkins Times

Andy Carroll grabs Liverpool’s third to cap routine win at Exeter City

“This was another of those occasions that confirmed how much more comfortable life is under Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool succeeding where they failed last year by overcoming lower-league opposition to progress to the next round of the Carling Cup with the minimum of fuss. Daniel Nardiello scored a late penalty for Exeter City but Liverpool were strolling by that stage, following an outstanding display by Luis Suárez, who left the field to applause from all sides of the ground.” Guardian

Tactical observations from Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool

“With his feet up and tapas in convenient reach, Cesc Fábregas would have been watching Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool with more than a bit of familiarity about it. While a makeshift and inexperienced team performed admirably, they always looked like they needed something special – someone special – to lift them. That burden often fell on Fábregas but on Saturday, he was able to sit back at home safe in the knowledge that he had chewed out of the bear trap that had began to stagnate him.” Arsenal Column

Pass, Move, Goal – Victory Over Arsenal
“Strangely, there seemed to be a fair amount of negativity from a fair few fans after Liverpool’s victory over Arsenal. Perhaps the Gunners’ problems had been overplayed to the point where there was a sense that the Reds were going to face some mid-table side.” Tomkins Times

Arsene Wenger & the Complex Current Frailty of Arsenal
“Pathetic fallacy is the use, by a writer, of words that give human feelings or qualities to objects or in nature. It reached, perhaps, the zenith of its usage in the gothic novels of the late eighteenth century, and one cannot help but wonder whether the likes of Bram Stoker or Mary Shelley might have been looking down approvingly on Saturday lunchtime as the heavens opened, both literally and metaphorically, upon Arsenal’s season. As London was washed by an unseasonable shower of rain, so were Arsenal swept aside by Liverpool, and in doing so, a trickle of criticism has become a torrent, to the extent that it is possible that the club’s season may evencome sliding to a halt before it has had the chance to build any momentum.” twohundredpercent

Arsenal 0 – 2 Liverpool


“Liverpool recorded their first away win over Arsenal since 2000 to heap more misery on the Gunners – who saw Emmanuel Frimpong sent off and lost injured centre-back Laurent Koscielny in a 2-0 defeat at Emirates Stadium. Samir Nasri impressed for the Gunners, despite being expected to join Manchester City, but Arsenal’s luck was out after Aaron Ramsey’s own goal and a last-minute strike from substitute Luis Suarez handed the visitors victory.” ESPN

Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool: Frimpong red card and Liverpool substitutions change the game
“An Aaron Ramsey own goal and Luis Suarez’s tap-in gave Liverpool their first league win of the season. Arsene Wenger was forced to play Samir Nasri despite his imminent transfer. Emmanuel Frimpong replaced the suspended Alex Song, and various injuries in defence meant that Carl Jenkinson started at right-back, with Bacary Sagna on the left. Kenny Dalglish left out Luis Suarez for fitness reasons, so Dirk Kuyt started on the right. Behind him was Martin Kelly, chosen over John Flanagan.” Zonal Marking

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2: More woe for Wenger as Dalglish’s men strike late to grab victory

“Liverpool recorded their first away win over Arsenal since 2000 to heap more misery on the Gunners – who saw Emmanuel Frimpong sent off and lost injured centre-back Laurent Koscielny in a 2-0 defeat at Emirates Stadium. Samir Nasri impressed for the Gunners, despite being expected to join Manchester City, but Arsenal’s luck was out after Aaron Ramsey’s own goal and a last-minute strike from substitute Luis Suarez handed the visitors victory.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2028181/Arsenal-0-Liverpool-2-More-woe-Wenger-Dalglishs-men-strike-late-grab-victory.html”>DailyMail

Frugal proves folly for Wenger
“It took just a 20-minute cameo from super-sub Luis Suarez to show Arsenal’s increasingly disillusioned fans and their under-fire manager exactly what sort of tangible result can be produced when a heavy investment is made. After watching Suarez’s telling contribution as a 71st-minute substitute in leading Liverpool to a 2-0 win, even the prudent Arsene Wenger must surely be willing to admit that, at £22.5 million, the Uruguayan represents the sort of ‘value in the market’ that he regularly claims is so elusive.” ESPN

Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger appeals for calm after Liverpool defeat
“Appealing for calm, Arsène Wenger said: “We live in circumstances where every defeat is absolutely a disgrace – an earthquake.” But there was no mistaking the tremors after Liverpool’s 2-0 victory as the Arsenal manager’s troubled team face the second leg of a Champions League qualifier against Udinese on Wednesday and a visit to Manchester United at the weekend.” Guardian

EPL clubs must rethink preseason

“After a long summer, the start to the Premier League season was a slight anticlimax. It was good to have football back, of course, but in terms of action, things were rather disappointing; few goals, a lack of shots on target and three 0-0s. Maybe that is normal. Players were naturally rusty after a couple of months off. Except this wasn’t normal, because the weekend saw fewer goals than any previous opening weekend in the Premier League’s 20-year history.” ESPN

Liverpool 1 – 1 Sunderland


“Striker Luis Suarez gave Liverpool the perfect start to their season but they wasted the opportunity to press home their advantage as they were pegged back by Sunderland. With £49 million worth of new signings on the pitch there was a feeling of optimism around Anfield and it was therefore fitting Suarez, the January acquisition who ignited the second half of last season, should score the first goal of the new Premier League campaign.” ESPN

Henry Winter: Liverpool’s new boys appear ready for the Anfield revolution
“Sometimes it can take time for new players to settle. In that feted Liverpool side, Peter Beardsley really shone only after Christmas. As Aldridge looked down from the radio box yesterday, and Dalglish attempted to marshal his resources from the dug-out, Liverpool’s new boys sought to live up to a famous tradition. Unlike in 1987-88, it will not happen overnight. Time, gentlemen, please.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Downing on the right? Meirelles on the left? The spirit of Rafa Benitez lives on…
“One of the most maddening things about Liverpool under Rafa Benitez was his frustrating penchant for playing square pegs in round holes (Peter Crouch on the left-wing, anyone?). After today’s disappointing draw with Sunderland, let’s hope history is not going to repeat itself under Kenny Dalglish. I grew up idolising Dalglish so I wouldn’t presume to question the King’s tactics; however, I just can’t understand the decision to move Downing to the right and play Raul Meirelles on the left wing for the last part of the game.” Liverpool Kop

Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland: Suarez Penalty Miss Proves Costly
“It’s the start of a new season, and for a soccer fan in America, it means setting the alarm extra early (or waking up on your own two hours early, shaking with excitement), putting on a pot of coffee, playing the appropriate tunes, and participating in rabid Twitter discussions on the coming match. The first one of the season is always special, as it seems to se the tone for at least the first half of the season.” EPL Talk

Andy Carroll still looking to let out his inner monster for Liverpool
“In January’s great striker sale, £85m worth of goalscoring talent passed through Anfield. Fernando Torres went out for £50m and Andy Carroll came in to break the record fee for an English footballer. There is no certainty of a return on either splurge. Starting a new campaign in the No9 jersey, Carroll was sometimes lumbering, off-target with his heading and often loose in his distribution of the ball. This is not to say that the £35m bank-transferred from Liverpool to Newcastle United is already burning around the edges. Plenty of good judges say this giant pony-tailed bruiser is England’s next top-class centre-forward.” Guardian

Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland
“Liverpool started off with an excellent first half performance – dominating possession, attacking and defending at a high tempo which Sunderland couldn’t cope with. Suarez missed a penalty he himself had won – Richardson brought him down – before heading in Adam’s freekick. The second half was not good enough – Liverpool were too deep and couldn’t keep the ball. Maybe due to the first half effort, the high tempo tired the players out, resulting in a much slower second half. It could have been a very different outcome had Richardson been sent off and if Carroll’s goal had stood in the first half.” Footy Room – Video

Man United still the favorite as Premier League readies for kickoff

“The new Barclays Premier League season is upon us and the teams are jockeying for position on the starting line. Here are my thoughts on how the pack is likely to break up this season: the top six, the bottom five, and the tight bunch in the middle. The clubs are not necessarily listed in order but I’m tipping Manchester United to take the title…” SI

Through Gritted Teeth #35: Liverpool 1988

“Occasionally in life, something happens that is so alien, so counterintuitive, so brain-jarringly wrong that it makes you question whether there can ever again be such a thing as certainty. It was May the 14th 1988, FA Cup final day, and I was in the pub. Nothing unusual or counterintuitive about that, as anyone who knows me would confirm.” Twisted Blood

LFC Season Preview – Time To Go Fourth?


Lucas Leiva
“My previous look at the season ahead revolved around the work we had done on the Transfer Price Index, and how the cost of a club’s XI (called its ‘£XI’, as inflation is taken into account) over the course of the season correlates fairly accurately with where they will finish in the table; and the higher up the division you go, the more predictable it gets. No team’s chances are chained to conclusions taken from retrospective analysis, but they do set a benchmark – a starting point – for what is probable.” Tomkins Times

Why Lucas is needed ahead of the rest of Liverpool’s midfield army
“I was at Anfield on Saturday for the final warm up match before the 2011-2012 Premier League season begins. It was a competent win against a good Valencia side. Agger was my man of the match yet others such as Downing impressed. Lucas was fantastic when he came on with a patient, intelligent and exciting performance within just 45 minutes of playing time – surprisingly sharp considering he’s only just back at training after his break following Brazil’s Copa America exit.” Joshua Kearney

A Degree of Progress Will Be Enough: Liverpool FC 2011/12 Preview
“When Paul Konchesky was sold to Leicester City earlier this summer, one of the strangest and most stressful periods of the past two decades in Liverpool’s history came to a close. Seen as the embodiment of the mediocrity that had somehow become the norm at the club, Konchesky’s departure was deemed as confirmation that the standards that had been allowed to drop were now being pushed upwards again.” A Liverpool Thing

The Reducer: Premier League Preview

“Welcome to The Reducer, Grantland’s weekly soccer column focusing on the English Premier League. A Reducer is a particularly nasty sliding tackle, one often aimed at something other than the ball (like, say, the knee or thigh). To pick one of hundreds over the years as an example, please watch Manchester United’s Paul Scholes commit midair assault with a deadly Puma boot on Barcelona’s (not particularly lovable, himself) Sergio Busquets in the 2009 Champions League final.” Grantland

Football Weekly: Premier League 2011-2012 preview
“James Richardson Check! Barry Glendenning? Check! Gags, predictions, stats and more puns than you could shake a stick at? Check-checkity-check-check! Yes, Football Weekly is back to preview the new Premier League season, with Sean Ingle and Gregg Roughley joining James and Barry to shoot the breeze over each team’s chances. Predictions abound, so keep this edition safe to beat us with later in the year.” Guardian – James Richardson

Being Tweeted Fairly? Footballers, Clubs & Social Media

“Footballers are always going to be in the headlines. Late night drinking, kiss-and-tell stories and mega transfers create big news stories. We even have Kenny Dalglish (and most of his extended family) on Twitter. Traditional media has relied on the mutually beneficial relationship between on one side players, clubs and managers and on the other, local and national journalists to publicise (and criticise) in equal measure. The advent of Twitter and other social media platforms has provided novel and more direct channels of communication and interaction. Clubs, associations, companies and individuals can communicate instantaneously with fans and followers. The immediacy, ease of communication and the instantaneous nature of, for example, tweeting players means mistakes and mishaps are inevitable. The more high-profile the individual, the juicer the story.” Tomkins Times

Premier League 2011-12: Manchester City can cause trouble for United

“As if it were not enough to win the Premier League title once again, Manchester United insisted on staying ahead of the pack even in the close season. Business was completed briskly, with the 20-year-old goalkeeper David de Gea bought from Atlético Madrid, Phil Jones, a teenage defender, coming from Blackburn Rovers and the winger Ashley Young relocating from Aston Villa. These were not breathtaking moves, but they sufficed to ensure that United would be made favourites at that moment to retain the title.” Guardian

Analyzing the Liverpool Midfield

“It’s not even August, and Kenny Dalglish has been busier than the Pitt-Jolies’ au pair brigade when it comes to restocking the barren midfield corps that awaited him last January. Well, it’s perhaps disingenuous to call it barren; more like, not stocked particularly well. Like if a $30 dish at a fine dining establishment boasted signature ingredients like soap, anchovies, a box of Rice-A-Roni, and a plunger. All things you might need, but not at once. And so, without so much as blinking an eye, he’s signed just about every midfielder ever so much as whispered about in the paragraphs of a transfer rumor mill.” Run of Play

Adventures of an American Liverpool Supporter At Anfield

“First off, I’ll spare the usual story–let’s just say I fell in love with the game and due to various (seemingly extraneous) reasons, fell even more deeply in love with Liverpool Football Club. And yes, I’m also an American–Texan to be precise. This site (and many others) are full of stories like mine. Americans who, for one reason or another, became passionate fans of teams thousands of miles away. That’s the short version, for now at least. What has finally distinguished me from this teeming multitude that wear jerseys and get up at ungodly hours to watch the English Premier League on weekends, is that I’ve made the trip to my football holy land–Anfield.” EPL Talk

Man Utd Fan Wears Rooney Shirt to Liverpool Practice, Escapes Alive

“Liverpool, currently on tour in Malaysia, had an interesting and — thankfully for one spectator — non-violent incident in the stands involving a brave soul and his choice of fashion. The fan wearing a Wayne Rooney Manchester United shirt was booed, taunted and eventually stripped of his shirt at Liverpool’s open training session in Malaysia.” EPL Talk

Is Stewart Downing Actually Stanley Devastating?

“A certain player happens to have completed more successful crosses in the past three seasons than anyone else in the Premier League; he is the top-flight’s 5th-most successful chance-creator over the past seven seasons, and the only one of that top five to not be in a Champions League side over the duration (the other four being the world-famous quartet of Fabregas, Gerrard, Lampard and Giggs). His club’s Player of the Year, he is someone who has regularly registered in excess of ten assists a season throughout his career, with as many as 14 in 2006/07, and is capable of getting double-figures in goals (he did so in 2007/08, and was just one shy of last season). All this, and on average fit to play in all but three games a season over the past five years. (Stats courtesy of Opta Joe.)” Tomkins Times

The Prem’s most wanted players

“In term of transfers, football clubs seem to go through crazes. The January transfer window was all about strikers, with Fernando Torres, Andy Carroll, Edin Dzeko, Darren Bent and Luis Suarez all changing hands for more than 20 million pounds each. In fact, those five transfers contributed to 159 million pounds of the record 225 million spent by Premier League clubs in that month.” ESPN

Ups and Downs

“So Marc Pelosi, a seventeen-year-old rising star of American soccer, may be be headed to Liverpool to develop his skills in the Reds’ youth program. He has made an interesting comment: ‘I have been told the current Barcelona coach said that if you don’t go to Barcelona, the second best place to develop is at Liverpool. It’s a great, top notch organization.’ (Pep Guardiola has indeed been reported as having said that, but I can’t track the quote to a reliable source. It would be surprising, though, if Guardiola didn’t have nice things to say about Liverpool’s youth program, since it’s run by people with Barça pedigrees, José Segura and Rodolfo Borrell.)” Run of Play

Transfer activity this summer is frenzied so far despite FFP rules

“This summer is quickly turning into one of the most frenzied transfer periods in recent years. In the Premier League alone, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have already spent a combined £77 million ($122.9M) on new players, a figure that could easily double before the end of August, as even bigger moves (Samir Nasri to Man Utd, Wesley Sneijder to Man Utd, Ezequiel Lavezzi to City, Stewart Downing to Liverpool) potentially come to fruition. Then there’s Chelsea, yet to sign a new high-profile recruit, and Arsenal, who’ll be eager to add to the £9 million ($14.3M) outlay for Gervinho in the wake of some high-profile departures. It’s feasible that total spending among the 20 first division English teams will top £400 million ($638.8M) this year.” SI

The 50 greatest managers of all time


Joan Bleau – 1645 – Cumberland
“Alex Ferguson looked on, realising a big lesson was needed here. He had been sitting in the Carrington canteen, chatting away to an old friend but keeping a vigilant eye on the Manchester United youngsters lining up for lunch. As underage forward Robbie Brady opened his mouth to order, he was suddenly cut off by someone cutting in. Cristiano Ronaldo, just in the door and having just received the 2008 Ballon D’Or, presumed the place in the queue to go with his new prize.” The Football Pantheon

Season Review: Premier League


“It might not enter the annuls of history as a vintage season, but 2010/11 arguably had more intrigue, twists, turns and drama than any other for a long while. And while the players have discovered Twitter (a new way for them to disgrace themselves) and superinjunctions (a new way for them to hide the old ways), there was plenty to enjoy on the pitch – for neutrals, mainly.” twofootedtackle

Liverpool Target Nolan Roux Is Half Guivarc’h Half Papin Says A French Scout

“In a summer packed with tedious transfer speculation surrounding the on-off-on-off sagas of Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Tevez, it was a pleasant surprise that Liverpool were this week linked with an €8m swoop for little-known Brest striker Nolan Roux. Liverpool sports director Damien Comolli obviously knows the French market well, but with Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez already at the club – not to mention Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez, and at time of writing, David N’Gog, Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic also on the books – where would Roux fit in? We asked a French football scout who has watched Roux in action for his thoughts.” Sabotage Times

Why I Fear For Jordan Henderson


“Jordan Henderson has yet to kick a football for Liverpool – even in training – and many are already writing him off. If playing poorly – or rather, failing to shine as expected – for England at any level is an indicator, John Barnes and Steven Gerrard would have been totally worthless for Liverpool; little matter that they are two of the club’s top five players ever. Hell, even Lionel Messi hasn’t been even half as good for Argentina as he has for Barcelona, and Argentina actually pass the ball.” Tomkins Times

A True Master Patrik Berger

“Saturday afternoon, along with hangover I was at probably the highest seat in the Liverpool Echo Arena, but it was a seat that did make for a good view of the whole of pitch at the Merseyside Master. Liverpool lifted the trophy captained by a very round John Barnes. His side included FA Cup winner Stephane Henchoz, Paul Jones the Southampton keeper who only ever played 3 games for Liverpool during an emergency loan spell, alongside him Norwegian Kvarme and the tournaments Golden Boot winner Paul Walsh.” Touchline Shouts

A football revolution


“Every tiny aspect of a football match can now be recorded and scrutinised. FT Weekend Magazine commissioned artist Giles Revell to create a series of images of the recent Champions League Final between Barcelona and Manchester United, using exclusive data extracted from the game by the analysis company Prozone” FT – Simon Kuper

Liverpool Formed 1892, Elected to Division Two 1893

“The club came into existence following a row between the directors of Everton FC and the owner of their Anfield ground, John Houlding. Houlding was a brewer as well as the club’s landlord. He insisted that only his beers be sold inside the ground and, as Everton grew in stature he put up their rent from £100 in 1884 to £250 in 1890. On the 12th March, 1892, Everton quit Anfield and three days later, Houlding formed Liverpool FC. Originally the new club played in the blue and white shirts that Everton left behind (see photograph – Everton changed to ruby red) but in 1896, they adopted the municipal colours of red and white and in 1901, took the city’s liver bird emblem as their badge.” Historical Kits

Liverpool FC Transfers: Centre Back Scouting Stats


“Liverpool FC Transfers are the talk of twitter at the moment with the transfer window now in full swing and, shockingly, with Liverpool FC completing its first piece of business of the summer, it promises to be a summer to remember. However a major talking point has been of the pursuit of Blackburn Rovers’ young central defender, Phil Jones. We’ll be looking at Phil Jones’ stats a little later on in this article. First up we’ll be comparing the renowned defenders from the top three and also comparing them to Liverpool’s centre backs, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. We’ll then look at the central defenders that are more likely to be available for transfer.” Anfield Index

The 50 greatest European club sides

“Alex Ferguson was left in no doubt. ‘In my time as a manager I would say yes, this is the best team I’ve faced.’ But then, on Saturday night at Wembley, the Manchester United manager wasn’t exactly analysing the issue with the most detached viewpoint. His team had just been utterly dismantled by Barcelona. And as he gets closer to the end of his career, it was a performance that will probably leave as deep an impression as that of Real Madrid at Hampden Park near the start of it in 1960.” The Football Pantheon

The tactical challenges facing Liverpool FC and how Kenny Dalglish can overcome them

“THE sporting commentariat are often fond of cliché, and in football there is no phrase more well-worn than the one about it being a game of two halves. But in Liverpool’s case, the 2010-11 season truly was bi-polar. The club’s renaissance under Kenny Dalglish, following a grim six months with Roy Hodgson at the helm, has seen the side tighten up defensively while at times playing some wonderfully free-flowing passing football.” Daily Post

The tale of how Guardiola and Barcelona fell in love

“‘Citizens of Catalunya, now we have it here with us,’ were Pep Guardiola’s words to the celebrating masses on 24 May 1992. Barcelona had been to Wembley and come back with the club’s first European Cup. The skin-and-bones No 10 with the full head of thick, jet-black hair was 21 years old. He had marched up to take charge of the extra-time free-kick from which Ronald Koeman would score, only to be pushed away by Hristo Stoichkov, five years his senior.” Independent

Five things to watch in the Champions League final Story Highlights
“It’s here: the biggest game of the year in world club soccer. Five things to watch for in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United (2 p.m. ET, Fox)…” SI

Can’t England get United behind the red half of Manchester in the Champions League?
“On the day of the game, when Manchester United last played in Lisbon in 2007, Sir Alex Ferguson commandeered a crew from in-house broadcasters MUTV and headed out to Oeiras, west of the city. In the Jamor sports complex, surrounded by woodlands, lies the Estadio Nacional, an oval arena, medium-sized, that is the traditional setting for the Portuguese cup final. Ferguson had the crew film him walking out on to the pitch and at various points around the stadium.” DailyMail

Champions League Final Predictions: What the bloggers say
“There’s nothing predictable about Saturday’s Champions League Final between Manchester United and Barcelona – but ITV have asked a selection of the top football bloggers to give it a go anyway…” itv

Liverpool’s Future Strategy


“If ever a football club’s season could be described as the proverbial ‘game of two halves’ that would be the one experienced by Liverpool fans this year. Following Roy Hodgson’s appointment as manager last July as the replacement for the popular Rafael Benitez, the Reds endured their worst league start in more than 50 years, falling into the relegation zone in October after a dismal home defeat to newly promoted Blackpool.” Swiss Ramble

Liverpool’s 2009/10 results underline the challenges Fenway face
“Under Hicks and Gillett, the Liverpool structure became more complex than in the days of the Moores family. There were two main UK holding companies; Kop Football (Holdings) Limited (‘KFH’) and its subsidiary Kop Football Limited (‘KF’) which in turn owned The Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Limited (‘LFAG’), the football club itself. KF was the entity that borrowed the vast majority of the money from the banks. At 31st July 2010 LFAG’s debt was limited to an inter-company loan to KF of £104.6m and bank loans and overdrafts totalling £37.7m.” the andersred blog

2010-11 English Premier League Final League Table

“The 2010-11 EPL season has finished with Manchester United winning a record 19th league title. The final table has them with a 9 point lead over 2nd place Chelsea and 3rd plcae Manchester City. On the other end, there are three sides who have been relegated to the Championship. These are Blackpool, West Ham United, and Birmingham City. The final league table is below with each team’s home, away, and overall record.” The 90th Minute

Aston Villa 1 – 0 Liverpool

“Aston Villa duo Stewart Downing and Ashley Young have been on Liverpool’s radar for some time and manager Kenny Dalglish witnessed first-hand their qualities as his side slipped to the defeat which ended their Europa League hopes. With Tottenham only drawing the Reds could have leapt into fifth place and secured European qualification with a victory but they rarely troubled their hosts on an afternoon when Villa’s two wingers provided the main attacking thrust.” ESPN

Geoff Twentyman’s tales of scout’s honour for Liverpool FC

“IT’S the job every supporter wants – and thinks they would be great at. The role of the football scout is one of the most important in the modern game. With stakes high, and pressure and expectation burdening clubs like never before, transfer market prowess has seldom been more crucial. Put simply, a club’s recruitment policy can be the difference between success and failure, boom and bust.” Liverpool Echo

Liverpool 0 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur

“Tottenham seized the advantage in the race for the final Europa League spot as Liverpool’s first match since the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as permanent manager ended in a 2-0 defeat. But referee Howard Webb could have been accused of having a helping hand in deciding the outcome with a series of questionable decisions which culminated in the award of a very favourable penalty for the visitors’ second.” ESPN

Liverpool 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute

Only Kenny can restore Liverpool way


“When Luis Suarez scored his fourth goal for Liverpool on Monday night at Fulham, there were fans typically beside themselves. They now had ‘the best player in the world’. Now obviously this is nonsense, and Suarez himself probably can’t believe his start. In the past, such form certainly wouldn’t have lasted. One thing you could set your watch by – almost without exception – is that whatever happened in the first year or two for a player signed by Liverpool, he’d end up devoid of spark and a lesser player.” ESPN

Just how do Chelsea get the best out of Fernando Torres?

“Fernando Torres’ biggest impact on Chelsea’s title challenge this season? Scoring two goals against them in a Liverpool shirt back in November. The Spaniard’s £50million move has prompted more questions than answers, and even though he has broken his goalscoring duck, Chelsea would have been better off without the formation and selection problems Carlo Ancelotti has faced since Torres’ arrival.” Life A Pitch

Fulham 2 – 5 Liverpool

“Liverpool may be about to be knocked off their perch by Manchester United but they showed they might just mount a serious challenge for a 19th league title of their own next season by destroying Fulham 5-2. The Reds made it 13 goals in their last three games and Maxi Rodriguez completed his second hat-trick over the same period, with Dirk Kuyt scoring his 12th in 13 matches for club and country and Luis Suarez wrapping up the rout.” ESPN

Adios Señor, Bonjour Monsieur.


Action Between the Will of Liverpool and a French Privateer, February 21, 1804 1823, Robert Salmon
“I have to admit that I wholeheartedly bought into the Spanish revolution at Liverpool; so much more than the French one that went before it. The big difference, of course, was that we got the best of Spanish: best manager, best players. By contrast, we had a second-rate French manager (by comparison with Arsene Wenger, at least). Given that Arsenal had not only got the better French manager, but got their first (two years earlier, in 1996), Liverpool was never going to be the primary destination for elite French talent.” Tomkins Times

An Ode to Sami Hyypia, a Truly Great Red


“Sami Hyypia called time on his outstanding career yesterday, retiring from Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 37. Even in the twilight of his career, Hyypia gave the Bundesliga club a glimpse of the consistent greatness he displayed throughout his ten years at Liverpool. Sami helped Leverkusen to a 4th place finish in 2009-10, his only full season at the club and was named to the Bundesliga Team of the Season.” Anfield On The Hudson

Liverpool 3 – 0 Newcastle United

“Goals continue to flow at Anfield under Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool strengthened their claim for European football next season with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle. The Reds, who have scored 14 in their last three home matches, moved above Tottenham into fifth place having rarely been troubled by the Magpies. Dirk Kuyt’s eighth in his last seven Premier League matches was sandwiched between another for Maxi Rodriguez, who hit a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Birmingham last week, and one for the impressive Luis Suarez.” ESPN

Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute

Great Managers Matter, and Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool Revival Should Teach US Soccer A Lesson

“As all of my regular readers know, I am a red-blooded Liverpool fan. Given the choice, I never walk alone. As such, much was my dismay when earlier this year, my beloved Reds found themselves in the relegation zone during the first few months of the EPL season. At the same time, since January, I have become elated with their success with King Kenny Dalglish at the helm. The turn-around has been remarkable, and yet paradoxical at the same time. While the personnel changed somewhat (sulky Torres out, Suarez and Carroll in), this small change in personnel to me should not a complete turn-around make.” Yanks Are Coming