Suarez Returns

24 Sep

Suarez Returns

 

Luis Suarez is at long last available to play for Liverpool again. His 10 match ban ended on Saturday and it was the only good thing for Liverpool relating to their defeat from Southampton. Liverpool looked short of attacking ideas on Saturday with Daniel Sturridge left a forlorn and frustrated figure.

 

The absence of Coutinho didn’t help Liverpool’s attacking options so the return of Suarez is a timely one with old foes Manchester United next up for the Reds on Wednesday. Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool’s American owners deserve tremendous credit for managing to hold on to their star striker during the summer when it appeared as if Suarez would head to pastures new.

 

But can Rodgers get Suarez to replicate the form of last season and can he prove just as prolific. Rodgers has to fit him back into the team alongside Sturridge who has stepped up to the plate in the Uruguayan’s absence.

 

Sturridge has thrived in the role of playing as the main striker but will he remain there when Suarez returns. I think Brendan Rodgers has to keep Sturridge playing where he is thriving and so he must either play Suarez on the left or in the number 10 position. For me Suarez will be better suited to playing in the hole behind the striker (Sturridge) where he will be more involved and more influential in Liverpool’s attacks whereas if he plays out wide he could struggle to influence attacks.

 

Suarez is a quality player and he is bound to add to Liverpool’s quality and striking options. But time will tell if his heart is still at Liverpool after all the transfer speculation during the summer. I think Suarez can only play one way and that is to give 100% no matter who he is playing for because of his love for the game.

 

Everyone knows that Suarez is no angel and he has missed a lot of football throughout his career due to suspensions from numerous misdemeanours that has plagued his career and tarnished his reputation.

 

So it will be interesting to see how Suarez behaves on his return to action. Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers will expect his behaviour to be much better but I don’t think Suarez can change. Suarez is so passionate about football and his emotions can cause him to react badly in a spur of the moment reaction.

 

All eyes will be on Saurez if as expected he plays at Old Trafford and hopefully his return grabs the headlines for all the right reasons.

 

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Liverpool 0-1 Southampton Match Report

22 Sep

The Kopite View Season 2012-13 Part 2 is now available on kindle format, buy it here at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kopite-View-Season-2012-13-ebook/dp/B00DP7UIGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372521782&sr=1-2&keywords=the+kopite+view  All the money from the sales of both books will be going to help http://hfsg.co.uk/ please help them by buying my book JFT96

 

Liverpool 0-1 Southampton Match Report

 

Liverpool lost their unbeaten start to the season at Anfield to Southampton who were the last team to inflict a league defeat on the Merseyside club.  A Dejan Lovren second half headed goal was the difference between the two sides, although the visitors thoroughly deserved the win with a superb performance.

 

The Team

 

Brendan Rodgers had to make a few changes to his team with Glen Johnson still out injured along with Coutinho who had an operation on his injured shoulder this week after sustaining it against Swansea on Monday night. Mignolet kept goal with a defence in front of him consisting of 4 central defenders including Toure, Skrtel, Agger and Sakho at left back. Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson, Sturridge and Moses made up the rest of the team with Aspas deputising for Coutinho.

 

The Match

 

Liverpool started the game under pressure as the visitors worked hard to press the hosts high up the park forcing Mignolet into more pass-backs than they would have liked. Liverpool found it hard to create chances in the early stages and were forced to try their luck from distance.

 

Sturridge teed up Henderson for a curling effort that was comfortably saved by Boruc before Lucas’ long range effort failed to trouble the Saints keeper. Gerrard went close with a 30 yard free-kick which forced Boruc into a superb save.

 

But just as Liverpool started to build up a head of steam Southampton almost caught them out with a sucker punch when a cross from the left fell to Rickie Lambert but a last-ditch intervention from Skrtel prevented the striker from firing at goal.

 

Liverpool responded with Moses bursting his way into the area before Boruc saved his prodded effort. Sturridge was then felled just inside the area but the referee waved away Liverpool’s appeals.

 

Then Sturridge met a Gerrard free-kick but his header looped narrowly over the crossbar.

 

Southampton started the second half energetically as they pressed Liverpool into mistakes. Lallana came close after forcing the hosts into a mistake but his effort was foiled by the arm of Mignolet.

 

Then Liverpool gave away a corner which Southampton scored from when Lovren headed past Mignolet with Gerrard unable to clear off the line.

 

The next attack saw Mignolet pulling off a great save from a low drive from Dani Osvaldo. Southampton continued to threaten Mignolet’s goal as Liverpool struggled to find their passing game in the second half and Mignolet had to pull off a triple save to keep Liverpool in the game when he thwarted Shaw from scoring after the full-back charged into the area, the rebound came off the grounded Sakho which Mignolet palmed out before he quickly reacted to punch away the ball with Southampton players waiting to pounce.

 

Substitute Sterling made a darting run down the right flank before cutting the ball across the face of goal for the onrushing Henderson but Lovren intercepted superbly.

 

Liverpool continued to try and work their way back into the game but chances were few although Sturridge should have done better when he cut in from the right before curling an effort over the bar with team mates better placed in the middle.

 

Liverpool’s day was summed up when Sterling was sent clear behind the Southampton defence in the dying minutes but the youngsters first touch saw the chance gone as Liverpool lost their first game of the season.

 

Summary

 

Liverpool’s worst performance for a long time, it was really poor. With injuries to Johnson and Coutinho Liverpool struggled without them. Rodgers started with 4 central defenders in defence which restricted Liverpool’s attacking options down the flanks. It looked as though Rodgers wanted to find a place in the team for Sakho as he started him at left back in place of Enrique. Aspas continued to struggle and was replaced at half-time. That was the poorest I’ve seen Gerrard play, he wasn’t himself. Liverpool looked lethargic and Southampton looked hungrier and fitter as Liverpool struggled to hold possession with some poor passing and Mignolet must have received more passes than any other Liverpool player as Liverpool were pressed back. Hopefully it was just a bad day at the office but Liverpool need to win these kind of games if they are to challenge for a top four spot.

 

 

 

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Swansea City 2-2 Liverpool Match Report

17 Sep

Swansea City 2-2 Liverpool Match Report

 

Liverpool returned to the top of the Barclays Premier League with a 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium. Former Liverpool player Jonjo Shelvey put Swansea in front in the second minute before making a poor back-pass which Sturridge capitalised on to bring Liverpool level. New signing Moses scored on his debut before half-time to give Liverpool the lead but Swansea equalised through Michu in the second half to give the hosts a share of the points.

 

The Team

 

Brendan Rodgers gave debuts to new signings Victor Moses and Mamadou Sakho in place of Daniel Agger and Aspas. Andre Wisdom also returned to the side deputising for the injured Glen Johnson at right-back. The rest of the team included Mignolet, Enrique, Skrtel, Lucas, Gerrard, Coutinho, Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.

 

The Match

 

Liverpool were stunned by former player Jonjo Shelvey who fired Swansea into an early lead in the 2nd minute.

 

Liverpool replied instantly when Shelvey’s pass-back was pounced on by Sturridge who then fired past Vorm to make it 1-1. The game started to settle down after the hectic start with Liverpool dominating possession.

 

Good work from Moses down the left flank resulted in a Sturridge header being saved by Vorm. Swansea continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack and one such attack led to Bony seeing an effort saved by Mignolet.

 

Liverpool took the lead on 36 minutes when Moses collected a wayward Shelvey pass before surging towards the Swansea penalty area and shooting low into the bottom corner past a standing Vorm.

 

Swansea almost equalised immediately when Michu’s drive was parried by Mignolet into the path of Bony but Skrtel produced a brilliant goal-line clearance to ensure Liverpool held onto their advantage at the break.

 

Liverpool started the second half in a positive fashion and Wisdom came close to adding to Liverpool’s lead only to be denied by Vorm. But Liverpool lost Coutinho after a nasty challenge by Williams, Aspas replaced the Brazilian.

 

Swansea started to dominate possession and their good play was rewarded when Michu shot low past Mignolet after headed flick by Shelvey.

 

Liverpool were pegged back for the remainder of the game as the lively hosts put the Reds under severe pressure with Mignolet producing a great save from a de Guzman free-kick with minutes remaining to give Liverpool a share of the spoils.

 

Summary

 

Good to see our first sight of Moses and Sakho. Moses looked electric and scored a great debut goal but understandably tired in the second half. Sakho played well considering the pressure Liverpool were put under in the second half apart from a few rash challenges. Sturridge looked as dangerous as ever and score a great goal. I don’t think Wisdom is just ready yet for the first team after another shaky night. But Martin Skrtel was my man of the match I thought he defended brilliantly highlighted by his goal-line tackle on Bony. Once again Liverpool ran out of steam in the second half and had to hang on a bit but I like the way we are grinding out results when under pressure. Overall, a good point after being under so much pressure in the second half.

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Hasten The Hillsborough Inquiry

16 Sep

The Kopite View Season 2012-13 Part 2 is now available on kindle format, buy it here at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kopite-View-Season-2012-13-ebook/dp/B00DP7UIGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372521782&sr=1-2&keywords=the+kopite+view  All the money from the sales of both books will be going to help http://hfsg.co.uk/ please help them by buying my book JFT96

 

Hasten The Hillsborough Inquiry

 

A year on from the original verdict of accidental death being declared false regarding the Hillsborough disaster and things are not moving very quickly, which isn’t surprising considering that it took 23 years to overturn the original verdict.

 

The inquiry has managed to interview 1% of the police officers whose original statements were mysteriously altered. At this rate the inquiry is going to take another lifetime with no one left alive who was at the match that fateful day, never mind those responsible.

 

We have already sadly lost John Glover and Anne Williams in the last year, who fought relentlessly for justice of the 96 and we don’t want to lose more before those responsible are brought to justice.

 

Managing to interview just three policeman in a year seems ridiculous and you just ask the question, “Why is it taking so long ?” The answer could be that it’s been established that the 96 deaths weren’t accidental , so that’s cleared everything up, so there is no rush to find the evidence just for the detail of who exactly is responsible.

 

164 police statements from the day had been changed before being presented to the first panel, most of them to remove anything negative about police behaviour. What we didn’t know until this week is that the figure is unfair to the police, because it turns out that they altered 238, and they changed the statements of 90 supporters as well.

 

This fact reassures you that if you have to give a statement to the police then they will amend any errors you have made at a later date, giving you peace of mind.

 

We also know the police conducted a campaign to blacken the name of the supporters by making up stories about them to the press. A certain story they informed to the Sun newspaper about people looting from the dead bodies after the disaster, which the Sun printed on its front page, causing outrage. The police failed to mention to the Sun that the people stealing from the dead bodies was their colleagues who have admitted to putting the cash they “found” in their funds.

 

A larger sum of money was claimed by others including Norman Bettison, the policeman who’s been named by colleagues as the person allegedly responsible for spreading the slanderous stories about the supporters to the press.

 

Bettison had the audacity to make a claim to the Hillsborough Victims Fund for money to buy a holiday home for officers, because they were present on that day and claimed that they were also victims of the tragedy.

 

Bettison claimed that he was forced to resign, but his pension of a million pounds will remain intact, along with his knighthood. It beggars belief how untouchable this man is with so many wrong doings coming to light about this man with such a title for his great service to the force. Well he obviously looked after his colleagues well and protected them to earn his sizeable pension and impressive title.

 

The new investigation is now in the hands of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is ironically run by John Stoddard, whose previous job was chief of police.

 

The supporters were the heroes that day not the villains that they were tarnished with for so long, and now that the truth is out, they deserve to know the result of the Hillsborough Inquiry sooner rather than later and the speed things are moving at in the first year of this inquiry needs to be hastened before we lose more people who deserve justice through the passing of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Big Decisions For Rodgers

15 Sep

The Kopite View Season 2012-13 Part 2 is now available on kindle format, buy it here at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kopite-View-Season-2012-13-ebook/dp/B00DP7UIGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372521782&sr=1-2&keywords=the+kopite+view  All the money from the sales of both books will be going to help http://hfsg.co.uk/ please help them by buying my book JFT96

 

Big Decisions For Rodgers

 

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has some big decisions to make over the coming weeks as he looks to ensure Liverpool’s good start to the season continues. Daniel Sturridge has grabbed all the headlines but Liverpool’s resurgence has been built on their defensive foundations with the Reds having kept eight clean sheets in their last ten league matches.

 

New Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has yet to concede a league goal and he has showed impressive form in this young season highlighted by his match winning penalty save in the final moments of the match against Stoke. But the Belgian is the first to acknowledge that he has benefited from the efforts of those in front of him.

 

Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Kolo Toure and Jose Enrique snuffed out the threat of Stoke and Aston Villa before Martin Skrtel deputised for the injured Toure in a the hard-fought victory over Manchester United.

 

However, with Glen Johnson sidelined for around 5 weeks with an ankle injury picked up during the victory over Manchester United, Brendan Rodgers will have to replace the England right-back who has started the season so brightly.

 

Martin Kelly is still struggling to find his match fitness after such a long injury lay-off, so the right-back position appears to be a two-way battle between Toure and Andre Wisdom.

 

Toure has played there in the past and it would be a clever way of accommodating the return from injury of the Ivorian as it would be harsh to drop Skrtel after his man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United.

 

Rodgers has to choose between the experience of Toure and the athleticism of Wisdom, who did nothing wrong when he came on against United but struggled against Notts County and the pre-season match against Celtic.

 

The other dilemma for Rodgers is how to find a place in the team for Mamadou Sakho. Liverpool’s form means there is no pressure on Rodgers to throw the big French centre-back straight into action. Sakho is still working on his fitness since arriving at Anfield so it would be a surprise if he featured against Swansea.

 

But over the coming weeks Sakho will be staking a claim for a place in Liverpool’s defence and there is no way the Reds paid £15 million for him to warm the bench. You only pay that kind of money for a starter but who will make way for Sakho ? Not Agger, that’s for sure, as long as he stays fit Agger’s name will be one of the first names on the team sheet.

 

One solution to Rodgers’ defensive dilemma would be to switch to playing three at the back, which Rodgers tried at times last season.

 

But now Rodgers has the players capable of making 3-5-2 a viable option. A back three of Agger, Sakho alongside Toure or Skrtel , could be installed with Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson as wing-backs. Until Johnson is fit, Jordan Henderson would be an alternative on the right.

 

That would allow Rodgers to play Coutinho in the central role where he’s at his best in front of Gerrard and Lucas. Sturridge would then lead the line alongside Victor Moses or Aspas until Luis Suarez has served his ban.

 

There is now plenty of options for Rodgers with his summer signings but he has to make some big decisions regarding his team over the coming weeks to ensure his team continue their good start to the season.

 

 

 

 

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Sturridge Couldn’t Be Risked

14 Sep

Sturridge Couldn’t Be Risked

 

Daniel Sturridge missed England’s World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine with a thigh problem sustained in Liverpool’s win over Manchester United but he could be fit for Liverpool’s trip to Swansea on Monday night after returning to training on Friday.

 

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has dismissed claims that Sturridge took the easy option to miss England’s matches by claiming that it was the FA doctors who made the decision on his fitness.

 

Rodgers stated that “Daniel was disappointed to miss England,” and said “medical experts made the decision. They deemed him not fit enough.” Rodgers also highlighted the fact that with Liverpool’s match not being played until Monday night has given Sturridge a better chance of being fit.

 

Sturridge and Rodgers should not be questioned regarding his absence from England’s matches because he made it clear that he had played against Manchester United while struggling with an injury and his injury should not be risked by playing for England.

 

People seem to forget that it was while playing for England at the end of last season that he picked up an injury which prevented him from taking part in most of Liverpool’s pre-season. Sturridge only appeared for 45 minutes against Celtic in Liverpool’s final pre-season game before Liverpool’s season started.

 

Sturridge has played in Liverpool’s first three league games of the season and is still playing catch up regarding his fitness after being injured for most of the summer. Liverpool have to protect their player from further injury after just coming back to fitness.

 

It is true what Rodgers says that with Liverpool playing on the Monday gives Sturridge more time to recover from his injury. Sturridge reported for England duty and he was assessed by England’s doctors so to question his commitment to his country is a joke.

 

There are times when it does look very suspicious when players pull out of international games only to be fit the following Saturday for their club’s fixture, but it is ridiculous to question Sturridge.

 

England will reap the rewards of an improving Sturridge in the coming months and years, but to possibly cause further injury to him when he is carrying an injury would have stupid. The English FA realised this and made the right decision but there is always some people out there who want to question a player’s commitment.

 

 

 

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Underrated Glen Johnson

12 Sep

Underrated  Glen Johnson

Liverpool and England right back Glen Johnson has made tremendous progress during his time at Anfield but still doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Johnson seems to be one of those players that is overlooked regarding his performances, probably because he is so consistent.

Johnson has been an England and Liverpool regular and now at the age of 29 both England and Liverpool are seeing the best of him. Johnson is quick and dangerous going forward and weighs in with a few goals from his attacking exploits.

Johnson had been criticised for his defending in the past but not so much nowadays. His defending is first class and not many attackers get behind him. Johnson makes last ditch tackles to prevent the opposition scoring on countless occasions and he recently picked up an injury after applying a full blooded, bone crunching tackle on Manchester United’s Patrice Evra which unfortunately will keep him out for several weeks of action.

You don’t realise how much you miss someone until their unavailable and Liverpool will appreciate this with Johnson’s injury. The obvious replacement for Johnson will be Andre Wisdom but he still lacks experience and it was recently rumoured that he might have went out on loan to another club to gain the necessary experience until Sebastian Coates suffered a season ending injury.

Martin Kelly is still recovering from his long term injury as he struggles for match fitness and so Liverpool could find Johnson’s injury a real problem.

Johnson’s versatility has also seen him play at left back where he has displayed just as much consistency as on the right. Johnson’s experience is valuable to the younger players coming through too and there will be a lack of experience down the right side of Liverpool’s defence in the coming weeks that could pose a problem.

I was never that keen on Johnson’s arrival to Anfield and the expensive price tag didn’t help on my assumption. But it is never a player’s fault that a club is prepared to pay “silly” money for them, but it can cause problems of expectancy from supporters.

I thought Johnson was poor at defending and never created enough going forward but during his Anfield career I have been proved wrong and appreciate him now as a top class defender. But Johnson still doesn’t receive the recognition his talent deserves and it is about time he was appreciated.

Probably Glen Johnson likes it the way the spotlight is never on him as he continues quietly performing consistently for club and country. It’s just a shame he will need to wait a few weeks to continue his tremendous form.

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Smells Like Team Spirit

11 Sep

The Kopite View Season 2012-13 Part 2 is now available on kindle format, buy it here at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kopite-View-Season-2012-13-ebook/dp/B00DP7UIGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372521782&sr=1-2&keywords=the+kopite+view  All the money from the sales of both books will be going to help http://hfsg.co.uk/ please help them by buying my book JFT96

 

Smells Like Team Spirit

 

Bill Shankly’s 100th anniversary of his birth has recently been celebrated by Liverpool Football Club and it is a tribute to Liverpool’s greatest manager that Liverpool are playing with a hunger and passion that he demanded from his players.

 

Shankly demanded 100% from his players and current manager Brendan Rodgers has his players singing off the same hymn sheet as Bill Shankly’s men.

 

Brendan Rodgers has taken over Liverpool with a few similar circumstances that Shankly faced. OK, so Liverpool are not in the second division and Anfield is not the “biggest toilet in Liverpool” anymore,  but Anfield Stadium is in need of modernisation and Liverpool have fallen from grace in recent years after the disastrous ownership of Gillett and Hicks and Liverpool’s current American owners are striving to bring back the glory days.

 

Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and even Tottenham Hotspur have overtaken Liverpool nowadays and Rodgers has the tough task of bridging the gap that has widened between these clubs to make Liverpool a top four club again.

 

Liverpool can’t compete in the transfer market against these clubs until they get back into the Champions League and Liverpool have had to alter their strategy and buy young players with potential or players like Sturridge who need the chance to prove themselves.

 

Liverpool’s new transfer policy has impressed so far with players like Coutinho, Sturridge and also free transfer, experienced defender Toure coming in who brings great experience alongside Liverpool’s youngsters. Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers cleverly reduced the wage bill along with bringing in new faces.

 

Moving high earners like Carroll, Downing and Reina during the summer was a clever piece of business although Liverpool still paid big money for players they felt would take the team forward under Rodgers’ plans. Signing Mignolet and Sakho did cost a lot of money but Liverpool have learned their lessons from the past days of overspending on Carroll, Downing and Henderson.

 

Shankly moved many players on who he knew were not good enough to play in the Red shirt and shaped his team with his own signings and Rodgers is doing the same with his team.

 

Like Shankly Brendan Rodgers had a difficult start to his career at Anfield by only winning two of his first ten league games in charge. But over the course of last season Liverpool have showed signs of improvement and now with this summer’s transfer dealings Liverpool look to have a stronger squad with players that Brendan Rodgers wants in his team. The mix of youth and experience looks like the perfect combination along with the emergence of youngsters breaking into the first team from the youth set-up.

 

Liverpool have enjoyed their best start to a season in many years and although only three games in Liverpool find themselves top of the league with three wins in three games. But the victories have shown how the team is growing under Brendan Rodgers with some great football being played in the Stoke and Villa wins and many goalscoring opportunities being created. Then there has been the steely determination shown and great desire to battle for the victory when under pressure witnessed in the Manchester United game and also in the second half of the Aston Villa victory.

 

There have been some tremendous examples of commitment shown already in this young  season  highlighted by Gerrard flying into tackles against United and the crunching challenge by Glen Johnson on United’s Patrice Evra which led to Liverpool’s right-back having to leave the field, Sturridge played the ninety minutes against Manchester United with an injury and his determination to play paid off as he proved to be the difference on the day with the only goal of the game. This is only a few examples of commitment that Liverpool players are showing under Brendan Rodgers’ leadership but it shows how much the players are playing for their manager.

 

In similar games Liverpool would have lost goals and drew or lost these type of closely contested matches but there is a collective will to win within this group of Liverpool players Rodgers’ has assembled. This group of players are showing the type of determination and spirit that Bill Shankly installed in his team and this quality is vital in any successful team.

 

You can have the best players on the planet but without “team spirit” you won’t win anything and Liverpool seem to be heading in the right direction with a talented young squad complimented by a determined attitude that Bill Shankly would have been proud of.

 

 

 

 

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Liverpool Strengthen Defence

4 Sep

The Kopite View Season 2012-13 Part 2 is now available on kindle format, buy it here at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kopite-View-Season-2012-13-ebook/dp/B00DP7UIGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372521782&sr=1-2&keywords=the+kopite+view  All the money from the sales of both books will be going to help http://hfsg.co.uk/ please help them by buying my book JFT96

Liverpool Strengthen Defence

Liverpool made some shrewd acquisitions to their squad during the summer, and especially in defence. Liverpool looked vulnerable in defence with the loss of Jamie Carragher to retirement in the summer and with the recent news of Sebastian Coates suffering a season ending injury while on international duty. Liverpool looked short of central defenders with only Martin Skrtel, Martin Kelly and Andre Wisdom able to partner Daniel Agger in central defence.

But the addition of Kolo Toure on a free transfer from Manchester City has added quality and experience to Liverpool’s defence. Liverpool added another two defenders on the last day of the transfer window with the signings of Tiago Ilori from Sporting Lisbon and Mamadou Sakho from Paris St. Germain.

Ilori is only 20 years old but is 6 foot 3 and very quick, he might not go straight into the team and be one for the future, but Sakho could go straight into the team. He is a French international having made 14 appearances for his country and has played 151 times for Paris St. Germain.

Sakho is only 23 years old but very experienced, he plays primarily as a centre back, but can also play as a left back if necessary. Sakho is renowned for his leadership and hard-working attitude and he is very strong in the tackle. Sakho is an intimidating sight and stands 6 foot 2 and usually has an eccentric hair style.

Sakho made his debut for Paris St. Germain in October 2007 when manager Paul Le Guen gave the defender his chance. On his league debut, he became the youngest ever player to captain a Ligue 1 club after wearing the armband in the club’s 0-0 draw with Valenciennes.

Sakho’s playing style has brought comparisons to former French international Lilian Thuram. Sakho has earned caps and captained France at every youth level before being capped at senior level.

Sakho helped Paris St. Germain to the 2008 Coupe de la Ligue when he played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 win over Lens. The victory earned Sakho his first major trophy of his career as he made 16 appearances during the season.

The following season Sakho made 34 appearances and helped Paris St. Germain to 2nd in the league. Sakho has a wealth of experience for someone so young and Liverpool have targeted him as the ideal player for their defence by paying the sum of £18 million for his service.

Liverpool are quite a small team which can leave them vulnerable at set-pieces, so Sakho’s physique and height will help Liverpool in these situations.

The leadership that Jamie Carragher gave to the team was so important as most of Liverpool’s defenders are quiet, so Sakho will be a great replacement for Carragher’s leadership skills, as he is very good at organising his defence.

Liverpool have looked struggled against big powerful strikers during the last couple of seasons so Sakho’s arrival will help deal with that problem because he is a big physical defender who is not scared to put his foot in.

Liverpool’s squad is looking stronger this season with the additions that Brendan Rodgers has made. There is a good mix of youth and experience in the squad and plenty of competition for places in every position.

During the summer it looked like Liverpool were going to be very short of defenders and strikers, although the midfield department looked strong. Liverpool looked like they were going to lose their star striker Suarez, so to keep him has been massive for the club as he tried to manufacture a move away for most of the summer. But Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool’s owners dealt with Suarez superbly and it seems like he is now happy to stay and continue his career at Liverpool for at least another season.

Liverpool added Moses from Chelsea on a season’s loan which will help Liverpool’s attack and the development of youngsters like Sterling, Ibe and Morgan to name a few is another option for Rodgers.

But Liverpool’s defence suddenly looks very strong with Johnson, Kelly, Flanagan and Wisdom all competing for right-back and Wisdom, Kelly, Ilori, Sakho, Agger, Toure and Skrtel all competing for the 2 positions in the centre of defence. Liverpool also have options at left-back with Enrique and new signing Cissokho when he returns from injury, there is also the option of switching Glen Johnson to left back too.

Liverpool don’t have the added fixtures this season that inclusion in European competition creates, so that will help Liverpool concentrate on challenging for a top 4 place.

In only Brendan Rodgers second season in charge his team is now starting to take shape as he has moved players out who doesn’t suit his style of play and he has brought players in that he wants to take Liverpoool forward and Sakho will play a major role in Liverpool’s success.

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Happy Birthday Shankly

2 Sep

The Kopite View Season 2012-13 Part 2 is now available on kindle format, buy it here at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kopite-View-Season-2012-13-ebook/dp/B00DP7UIGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372521782&sr=1-2&keywords=the+kopite+view  All the money from the sales of both books will be going to help http://hfsg.co.uk/ please help them by buying my book JFT96

 

Happy Birthday Shankly

 

I thought it only fitting that I should write an article about Liverpool’s greatest manager to mark Bill Shankly’s 100th birthday . Bill Shankly was before my time but like any Liverpool fan I have learned about him over the years and even read his one and only autobiography about him quite recently. It’s hard to write an article on this great man as so many better people and writers than me have said it all before. But I just wanted to have my say of what this great man means to me.

 

I was only 10 years old when the great man passed on and I had just recently started supporting Liverpool but I didn’t know who he was but I had heard of him, and I remember the sad news that day of his passing and the reaction of my father who obviously new a lot more about him. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to experience his time in charge of Liverpool, but I have consulted people who did and they said that it was an amazing time to be a Liverpool supporter.

 

All the great stories you hear of this great man from former players are legendary like his achievements. The way he has touched every Liverpool supporter even after so many years after his death shows what this man done for this club.

 

Coming from a small mining village in Ayrshire which is sadly no longer inhabited as I quite recently visited only to find the Shankly memorial standing. I think his mining back ground stood him in good stead for his future career. Football was the only alternative to a life down the pit, and Shankly grabbed it with both hands as he forged a career in football.
I don’t want to bore you with the facts of his career as I’m sure you know all about them, I just want to tell you how he has touched me.

 

I also live in Ayrshire, and I think that is why I took an added interest in his life. I have learned so much about Shankly over the years by supporting Liverpool and I am absolutely fascinated by the great man. I always try to watch programmes on TV about Shankly or read articles in newspapers about him as I respect the man so much for what he has done for Liverpool. I am currently reading the recently published Red or Dead which is another book about Shankly and a very interesting read too.

 

His achievements at Liverpool are all the more remarkable considering the state of the club at the time. Shankly called Anfield “the biggest toilet in Liverpool”. Shankly transformed the club totally and even maintained Anfield and Melwood himself as Liverpool’s facilities were so run down. Shankly put everything into his job and he expected his players to do the same.

 

He had a tremendous rapport with the supporters and told his players that they were lucky to play for them. Shankly would always have time for Liverpool supporters, he would reply to every letter personally and he would give match day tickets away and even play football with them. He loved the supporters and they loved him back.

 

The way Shankly changed the training methods, the players’ diets and obviously the team was amazing, and how the transformation of the club happened relatively quickly as Liverpool’s results on the park improved. Shankly built a brilliant team as he took Liverpool back into the First Division after languishing in the Second Division.

 

He kept improving the team, bringing in tremendous players with the likes of St. John and Ron Yeats strengthening the team. After much success in the 1960’s Shankly realised the core of his team was getting too old and with his priority on improving the team he replaced players that had been with him for so long. He brought in the likes of Clemence, Heighway, Hughes, Toshack and Keegan and basically built a new team that would keep the success coming.

 

Bill Shankly built Liverpool into one of the top football teams in the country and his methods and close knit team of coaches (The Boot Room Boys) would ensure that Liverpool would continue at the top of the English game for years to come after his retirement. Nobody really knows why he really retired but I’m sure he only did so because he knew that Liverpool had a great man in Bob Paisley to reign after him.

 

Liverpool provided a perfect tribute on the eve of Shankly’s birthday with the Kop displaying a mosaic and a minute’s applause prior to kick-off against Manchester United and Liverpool’s win catapulted them to the top of the League, just where Shankly would want them.

 
Bill Shankly you will never be forgotten.

 

He made the people happy.

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