The Kopite View

Liverpool Must Prove They Are Real Deal At Swansea

Liverpool travel to Wales today for a tough away fixture at Swansea, the Welsh side are fourth from bottom of the Premier League but they will provide a tough test for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

The Reds have been in tremendous form this season and are scoring goals for fun, but this is the type of fixture that has caused them problems in recent seasons.

Liverpool have struggled to beat teams from the lower half of the league table, in fact Swansea won this fixture last season, although the Anfield men had an important Europa League Semi-Final second-leg fixture against Villarreal a few days later.

Although Liverpool have enjoyed a good start to this season, there was a stark reminder of their weakness at Burnley, when they lost 2-0 in disappointing fashion.

Liverpool need to find consistency by winning the games they should win if they have to challenge for a top four place this season, and today’s game against Swansea is a must win game going into the international break.

Liverpool are still conceding goals but they have looked more solid defensively in recent games with Matip and Lovren forming a solid spine in the middle of defence.

The Reds are scoring a lot of goals this season and the impressive fact is that they are getting goals from so many different players and if they can keep up the good form then they should gain another important win today to keep the momentum going.

Henderson Silencing His Critics

Jordan Henderson is a player that has had more than his fair share of critics since joining Liverpool from Sunderland, and since taking the captain’s arm band from the legendary Steven Gerrard, his performances in a red shirt have been scrutinised even more.

But the former Sunderland player is made of strong stuff and he has constantly answered his critics in the best possible way, by producing superb performances on the park.

Henderson was superb in that wonderful season that almost took the Reds to their first Premier League title, and many people felt that the midfielder’s absence in the loss to Chelsea, cost Liverpool the title.

Henderson was the supporters’ favourite to take over from Gerrard as Liverpool’s captain, but after a difficult season last season, the critics voiced their opinions once again.

Injuries prevented Henderson from producing his normal level of performances, but despite not being fit he wanted to play.

The critics were sniping again at the start of this season but Henderson has silenced them once again by producing some outstanding performances.

His winning goal against Chelsea just highlighted a superb performance that proved that Henderson is fit again and back to his best.

Henderson will always unfortunately be compared to Gerrard because he is captain, and that is unfair because there will never be another, but Liverpool’s current captain is a tremendous player in his own right and it is great to see him back to his best.

                                          Liverpool Learning From Mistakes

Liverpool’s impressive start to the season is all the more remarkable because of the tough fixtures they’ve had, away fixtures at Arsenal, Spurs, Burnley and Chelsea tested Jurgen Klopp’s men, and a solitary home fixture against last season’s Premier League champions Leicester City wasn’t easy either.

But a record of 10 points from a possible 15 is a very good return from the tough run of fixtures to start the season.

Noticeably Liverpool are showing signs of improvement highlighted in the excellent performance and 2-1 win over Chelsea last Friday night.

The Reds hit Chelsea hard in the first half with an energy and tempo that left the home side struggling for a foothold in the match, and in the second half Klopp’s men managed the game superbly by hardly giving Conte’s team a chance to turn the game around despite pulling a goal back with half an hour left.

Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Arsenal was a rollercoaster of a game and the result could’ve went either way, and last week’s 4-1 win over Leicester City wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, with the champions missing a host of chances.

But although the win over Chelsea was only won by a one goal margin, I felt Liverpool won the game more comfortably than the score suggests because of the way they managed the game.

Liverpool always remained a threat going forward despite leading, but they remained disciplined and didn’t throw players forward in a cavalier-style when attacking.

Klopp’s team kept good possession in the second half and they never looked like conceding an equaliser with Matip and Lovren in commanding form in defence.

It just looks like Liverpool are learning from some of their end-to-end games from earlier season, and although they remain a real threat going forward, they look more solid defensively and better equipped to hold on to a lead.

Reds Can Kick-Start Season With Win Over Champs

With a win, a draw and one defeat recorded in Liverpool’s first three games of the season, a win over Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday would be the perfect way to ignite their season.

It seems weeks ago since Liverpool’s 1-1 draw away at Spurs, with the annoyance of the international break putting the Premier League on hold.

But Saturday’s visit of Leicester will bring a welcome return to Liverpool’s Premier League campaign with the added excitement of the opening of Anfield’s new main stand, giving the stadium a capacity of over 54,000.

I think the extra support will carry the Reds to victory on Saturday despite Klopp ruling out Klavan and Can for the fixture through injury.

It will be a welcome return to Anfield after a tough start to the season with three away games in the league and they will be aiming to make their home a fortress as a base for a successful season.

Leicester will provide tough opposition for the Reds after their morale boosting 2-1 win over Swansea City last time out.

It will be interesting to see if Jurgen Klopp selects Daniel Sturridge to start after leaving him frustrated on the bench against Spurs.

Personally I think Klopp will start the England striker because he knows that he will be desperate to show what he can do.

Liverpool against Leicester really does look a tasty fixture, and I think the Reds will shade it 2-1 with Sturridge scoring both goals.

                          Is Klopp’s First Summer Transfer Window A Success ?

So the transfer window has finally shut and now managers must get on with working with the players they have.

Concerning Liverpool’s summer business, there have been far more players leaving than arriving-

INS

Sadio Mane (Southampton)

Loris Karius (Mainz)

Joel Matip (Schalke)

Ragner Klavan (Augsburg)

Alex Manninger (Free transfer)

OUTS

Jose Enrique (Free transfer)

Kolo Toure (Free transfer)

Samed Yesil (Free transfer)

Jordan Rossiter (Rangers)

Joao Carlos Teixeira (Porto)

Jerome Sinclair (Watford)

Sergi Canos (Norwich City)

Martin Skrtel (Fenerbahce)

Jordon Ibe (Bournemouth)

Joe Allen (Stoke City)

Brad Smith (Bournemouth)

Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace)

Luis Alberto (Lazio)

Mario Balotelli (Nice)

ON LOAN

Jon Flanagan (Burnley)

Adam Bogdan (Wigan Athletic)

Danny Ward (Huddersfield Town)

Andre Wisdom (Red Bull Salzburg)

Lazar Markovic (Sporting Lisbon)

With all of Liverpool’s rivals spending big money to strengthen, Klopp has recouped more money from selling than buying.

Many people thought Klopp would spend a lot of money and bring in many new players to take Liverpool to the next level, but the German has decided to only bring in a few and has been more intent in scaling down his squad.

The left back and defensive midfield positions are two key areas where Liverpool supporters thought Klopp would address, but he seems to be happy with his current options.

It remains to be seen if Klopp has a strong enough squad to compete for honours this season after moving so many squad players on to pastures new.

I believe that Klopp has an abundance of options for midfield and attack and Karius will give Mignolet competition for the goalkeeping spot.

But I worry about Liverpool’s defensive options, Moreno is not good enough and looks like he doesn’t have the brains to mature into good left-back, so it looks like Milner will be Klopp’s first choice left-back and that is a major transition for the former Manchester City player, Joe Gomez is another option but after a serious injury it remains to be seen if he can return good enough to provide cover at left-back or for the centre of defence.

I’m also worried if something happens to Clyne because I don’t feel we have adequate cover in Connor Randall.

With Matip and Lovren looking like Klopp’s preferred choice in the centre of defence, will Klavan, Joe Gomez and possibly Lucas provide the necessary alternatives with Sakho seemingly out of favour with the Liverpool manager.

Time will tell if Klopp’s squad is strong enough, but he is a man that supporters can have faith in.

Liverpool’s Frustrations

It’s not easy being a Liverpool supporter, we have suffered years and years of anticipation and hope, only to see them dashed and our team fail.

This young season has already highlighted this all too familiar theme, first we beat Arsenal away from home for the first time in years, giving us a great start to the season, before losing away to newly promoted Burnley yesterday in a very disappointing performance.

Liverpool supporters believe we have the right man at the helm to take us to glory in Jurgen Klopp, but we still have many frustrations highlighted by yesterday’s defeat.

1.       Everyone can see we need a better left back except for Klopp and his coaching staff. Moreno has had plenty of chances and is not improving and Milner is not a left back either.

2.       We need to sign a defensive midfielder, Burnley’s counter-attacking caused us all sorts of problems without one, and Lucas is our only natural DM and he is too slow after all his injuries.

3.       Goalkeeper, is Karius the answer to our problems? Hard to tell, but Mignolet isn’t good enough and with Joe Hart seemingly available, Liverpool should seriously think about him.

4.       We lack leaders in the team and Henderson is not captain materiel.

5.       Yesterday’s defeat was like a Brendan Rodgers’ team, so much possession, without any penetration.

6.       Sturridge needs somebody to play alongside him, because he doesn’t have the pace, workrate and strength to play as a lone striker.

7.       We can rely on the Klopp’s enthusiasm to win games, we need better quality players and whilst we have been reluctant to spend money this summer, being more interested in bringing money in by selling, we will continue to see the inconsistency we are frustratingly used to seeing.

Yesterday’s performance and result wasn’t a bad day at the office, it is just where we are at, not good enough to be consistent or challenge for a top four place.

Respect For Martin Skrtel

It seems that Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel could be on his way to Turkey after reports suggest that Fenerbahce have made an acceptable offer of £5.5million for the defender.

Skrtel’s imminent departure will end nine years’ service with Liverpool in which he made 319 appearances and scored 18 goals.

Skrtel was not everyone’s favourite and had many critics during his career at Anfield, but he deserves tremendous respect for his commitment and service to Liverpool.

In recent seasons Skrtel became Liverpool’s best defender, although most critics including myself will argue that it was because of the club’s receding lack of quality in the centre of defence over the years.

Skrtel always gave 100% for the club and was a big, strong defender, although he did struggle against big, physical centre-forwards at times, but probably his biggest criticism was his grappling with opponents when defending set-pieces.

Personally I thought Skrtel was a decent defender, but my biggest fault with him was his lack of communication with fellow defenders, especially over the years when he became more experienced, he never organised his defence, he just defended as an individual and that was my biggest disappointment with him.

But Skrtel deserves respect for his service at Liverpool because he gave everything every time he pulled on a red shirt and I’d like to wish him well for the future.

My Team To Face Arsenal Tonight

There is no doubt tonight’s game is a massive game for Liverpool tonight as they try to keep their challenge for a top four spot going.

This week is a particularly tough week for the Reds with Manchester United visiting Anfield next weekend after tonight’s clash with a very good Arsenal team.

Liverpool’s injury problems have been well documented but Klopp still has the players available to select a team capable of getting a result against Arsenal.

The addition of Caulker, signed yesterday should help ease Klopp’s defensive worries and with Henderson, Sakho, Toure and Ibe all returning from injury I would like to see the German select this eleven tonight –

Mignolet

Clyne                               Toure                    Sakho                                Moreno

Can                Allen

Henderson

Ibe                                          Firmino                                                         Lallana

Klopp will welcome the return of Toure and Sakho from injury and I think they will both start as it is a big ask to throw new signing Steven Caulker into such a tough game so soon.

I expect Clyne and Moreno to play their usual roles down the flanks, helping both offensively and defensively with their energy and pace.

I’m going to go for maybe a surprise choice in midfield by selecting Joe Allen beside Emre Can to anchor Liverpool’s midfield. I’m picking Allen instead of Lucas because he had such a good game at Stoke last week with Arsenal’s pace he is more mobile that Lucas.

I’m hoping Henderson is fit enough to start and if he is, then he can be the man pushing from midfield with his energy to support the attack.

I’d go for Ibe, Firmino and Lallana up front because their movement can cause Arsenal’s defence problems more than a static Benteke can.

Benteke Is Running Out Of Chances

Since Jurgen Klopp arrived at Anfield he has endured a nightmare in terms of injuries to his squad, but the number of injuries has presented big money signing Christian Benteke with the perfect opportunity to prove himself to Klopp and the Liverpool supporters.

But so far he has failed to do so, despite scoring the winning goal in two consecutive Premier League wins during the festive period.

Although Benteke has been scoring goals, his performances have been criticised, with many critics disappointed with his workrate and his movement.

The Belgian international was disappointing in the defeat at West Ham last weekend and dropped for the Capital One Cup Semi-Final first-leg at Stoke on Tuesday despite being the only fit striker in Klopp’s squad.

Klopp made Benteke his captain in a make-shift team to face Exeter City in the hope that the added responsibility to lead a young Liverpool team would inspire the big Belgian.

But Benteke disappointed once again and came in for a lot of criticism after another poor display that saw Liverpool scrape a 2-2 draw to stay in the FA Cup.

Benteke just doesn’t look suited to Klopp’s pressing style of play and he must be running out of chances to impress the German.

Hammered At New Year

The Reds went to London in high spirits

A New Year and two wins in a week to end 2015

But West Ham were looking for their first double over the Reds since 1963

And a win to start the New Year would be tough

Klopp was left with a threadbare squad for the visit

With a growing injury list

Lucas came in for the injured Henderson and Ibe for Lallana

This was the Reds’ final visit to the Boleyn Ground

And they wanted a win

But things went bad early doors

Antonio headed past Mignolet 10 minutes in

As the Reds complained in vain

That the scorer fouled Moreno to start the move

The hosts were rampant

And almost doubled their lead

Lanzini shook the woodwork

As Mignolet spectated

Then Valencia raced through

But Moreno saved the day

West Ham continued to threaten

And Cresswell’s shot was thwarted by Clyne

Just before half-time

The Reds almost equalised

Can shot

But the crossbar saved the Hammers

Liverpool started the second-half well

Benteke should have scored

But skewed his shot when he should have scored

But Liverpool’s hopes were killed soon after

Old boy Andy Carroll headed a second

And the game was over

Despite the Reds’ efforts

Coutinho danced his way into the box

Then Lucas’ header was cleared off the line

Defeat was sore

And not the best start to 2016