Tag Archives: Anfield

Liverpool 1-0 Manchester United Match Report

1 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 1-0 Manchester United Match Report

 

Daniel Sturridge provided a fitting tribute to Bill Shankly with a 4th minute winner against old rivals Manchester United at Anfield on the eve of the great man’s 100th birthday. Sturridge scored his 3rd goal in 3 matches as his goals have been enough for Liverpool to record three 1-0 wins to start the season and fire them to the top of the league which is appropriate as Liverpool celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bill Shankly.

 

The Team

 

Brendan Rodgers suffered a few injuries in midweek against Notts County with new signings Cissokho ruled out for possibly 6 weeks along with Kolo Toure who was stretchered off in extra time and Joe Allen also had to come off after picking up an injury. Forgotten man Martin Skrtel came back into Liverpool’s defence with the absence of Toure. Simon Mignolet kept goal with Johnson, Enrique and Agger alongside Skrtel in defence. Coutinho, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Aspas and Sturridge made up the rest of the team.

 

The Match

 

Anfield produced a tremendous tribute to the great Bill Shankly on the eve of what would have been his 100th birthday by producing a mosaic on the Kop and a minute’s applause prior to kick off.

 

The game kicked off with United surging down the left flank before a Giggs cross was easily collected by Mignolet.

 

But in the 3rd minute Liverpool won their first corner of the match which Gerrard took and he found Agger who headed towards goal only to be diverted into the United goal by the head of Sturridge and send Anfield into raptures of delight.

 

The goal lifted the already noisy Anfield up a notch as the Liverpool fans celebrated. But United responded and van Persie went close with an overhead kick.

 

The game started to shift from end to end as Welbeck forced Mignolet into action before Gerrard produced an effort at the other end.

 

United started to settle into the game after the frenetic start and a corner taken by Young missed everyone as it rolled along the 6 yard box.

 

Then Johnson produced a superb block as Welbeck looked to fire in an equaliser. But Gerrard was orchestrating Liverpool’s midfield superbly as they enjoyed good possession.

 

Next it was Liverpool on the attack as Gerrard fired a free-kick on target but De Gea was equal to it. Aspas and Cleverley picked up yellow cards as things became a bit heated and Cleverley’s booking resulted in Liverpool receiving a free-kick in a dangerous position but Coutinho’s effort was high and wide.

 

Then within the space of 2 minutes United picked up another 2 yellow cards when Carrick and van Persie were punished.

 

The referee blew for half-time with tempers flaring as Gerrard and van Persie squared up to each other.

 

United started the second half on the attack and pushed Liverpool back as they looked to draw level. Glen Johnson had to head a dangerous cross behind for a corner as the pressure mounted.

 

Then Gerrard took a free-kick but Agger headed over. But United were dominating possession now and van Persie had the next effort but it was deflected wide.

 

Then Young had a volley blocked after Agger’s weak headed clearance before Welbeck thought he had won United a penalty after colliding with Aspas in the box.

 

Brendan Rodgers brought on Sterling for Aspas with 30 minutes to play in hope of giving Liverpool an outlet with his pace. But the game became very scrappy with both teams losing possession too easily.

 

Substitute Nani’s corner kick was then headed over by Giggs at the near post as United kept up the pressure on the Liverpool defence.

 

Moments later a dangerous run by Evra was brought to a halt by a crunching challenge by Glen Johnson which resulted in the Liverpool defender having to be replaced by Andre Wisdom.

 

Then Nani unleashed a rocket from the edge of the box but Mignolet punched the shot to safety as Liverpool continued to defend.

 

With time running out for United they produced the chance they wanted when van Persie was slipped through behind the Liverpool defence but for once the Dutchman fired into the side-netting.

 

With 5 minutes to be added on at the end Liverpool kept possession in the United half before Sterling surged forward before firing a shot into the top corner which De Gea tipped over the bar.

 

Anfield celebrated when the final whistle went as Liverpool made it 3 wins from the games.

 

Summary

 

The tribute for Bill Shankly was special before the kick-off and the atmosphere inspired Liverpool to get early goal. I was worried about Skrtel being recalled to the team because of Toure’s injury but Skrtel was brilliant and was my man of the match. Skrtel’s performance was more impressive because of the fact that he hasn’t been playing regularly for the last year. Liverpool didn’t play as well as previous games but the work rate and resilience was impressive as United pushed for an equaliser in the second half. Gerrard was superb and produced a few great tackles and I liked the way he sorted out van Persie before half-time. Glen Johnson was also brilliant in defence and he produced a couple of bone crunching tackles, unfortunately one of them resulted in him having to leave the field. But Liverpool made a big statement by beating United and proved that they can compete with the big teams and the result can only boost confidence with the fact that Liverpool are top of the league.

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Liverpool’s Destroyer

29 Aug

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’s Destroyer

Lucas Leiva made his Liverpool debut 6 years ago and it is amazing how his reputation has changed since his first appearance in a Red shirt. Lucas has been one of the most criticised Liverpool players in recent years, and I was one of his biggest critics. I thought Lucas was the worst Brazilian player I had ever seen, and the worst Liverpool player since Traore.

I used to think that he was too slow and too small and couldn’t tackle a fish supper but how wrong I was with my judgement. He has transformed into Liverpool’s most improved player, and I now rate Lucas as Liverpool’s most important player.

Liverpool lost a lot of talent in recent years with players of the calibre of Xabi Alonso and Mascherano leaving Anfield in recent, many people wondered if Lucas was ready to become a regular in Liverpool’s midfield after a much criticised beginning to life at Anfield. But he got his chance to play regularly in Liverpool’s midfield early in the 2110-11 season when Mascherano left for Barcelona. Mascherano was terrific in the holding midfield role and it was a big task for Lucas to step in and replace him.

Lucas made steady progress that season as a holding midfielder and after a brilliant start to the following season his season was cruelly ended by injury at Stamford Bridge when Liverpool beat Chelsea in the quarter-final of the League Cup. Lucas suffered damage to his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee which kept him out until the start of the 2012-13 season.

Lucas’ bad luck continued when he suffered another injury in Liverpool’s second League match of the season against Premiership Champions Manchester City when he injured his thigh in the warm-up prior to kick-off. This injury kept him out for a further 3 months. But once again Lucas showed what a fighter he is by recovering from a serious injury not once but twice to return to Liverpool’s midfield.

Lucas came back into the team and played regularly last season notching up 31 appearances in total as his fitness and form improved with games. Liverpool’s form in the last 2 season has been highly influenced by Lucas’ appearances.

In 2011-12 Liverpool finished a lowly 8th position in the Premiership and I believe a large part of their problem was the absence of Lucas from the team from November until the end of the season. Whereas Liverpool had a terrible start to last season winning only 2 of their first 10 League games again in Lucas’ 3 month absence.

But when Lucas returned to the team in a regular basis Liverpool’s form and results improved, highlighted by an end of season run of only 1 defeat in the last 13 games.

Lucas has become so important to the Liverpool team in the holding midfield role and he has become one of the best in the Premiership in that role. The loss of midfield talent in recent years has given Lucas the chance to establish himself in the Liverpool midfield and he has grabbed the chance with both hands.

It is no secret that Lucas has endured some tough times in his Liverpool career, a young player moving to a different country to one of the biggest football teams in the world to apply his trade could not have been easy, but his treatment from some sections of the Liverpool support made it much more difficult, where many players would have struggled under that kind of pressure. But Lucas proved that he is a fighter both on and off the park as he fought and established a regular place in Liverpool’s midfield.

But the way Lucas has worked at his game by keeping his head down and improved his game has to be applauded. Lucas has worked on his strength and is very rarely knocked off the ball now as he appeared light weight in his younger days, and his reading of the game is a great attribute as he senses the danger of opposition attacks very early. Lucas covers every blade of grass during games and he rarely gives the ball away when in possession.

It has been obvious to notice Lucas’ value to Liverpool for his unfortunate absence through injury as no player has replaced him as effectively. Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard have all recently tried to replace the Brazilian, but none have filled the role as well as results have proved.

Liverpool lost a lot of goals in the first part of last season when Lucas was out injured but their goals conceded improved greatly on Lucas’ return as he offers his defence superb protection.

Even in the first 2 games of the season Lucas’ statistics are impressive as Liverpool recorded 2 wins in their first 2 games along with 2 clean sheets.

Against Stoke Lucas attempted 74 passes with a conversion rate of 86.5% and he made 8 tackles winning 75% of them.

In Saturday’s game at Aston Villa Lucas made 5 tackles winning 60% of them and he also attempted 77 passes (more than any other Liverpool player) completing 90.9% them.

Statistics are not everything but they do prove how involved Lucas is in Liverpool’s midfield, his tackling and passing statistics are impressive and he is such a valuable part of Brendan Rodgers’ plans.

The holding midfield role is such an important position in the modern game with wing-backs pushing so high up the park in many games the holding midfielder has a lot of covering to do especially against the counter-attack to protect the centre-backs, and Lucas is excelling in this position as Liverpool’s destroyer.

Lucas is now 26 years old and is very experienced at Liverpool having played over 200 games for the first team and I can see him being a future Liverpool captain through his service at Anfield and also by his good organisational skills as he has grown in confidence over the years and looks a perfect candidate.

It is hard to believe Lucas made his debut for Liverpool 6 years ago and I hope he plays at least another 6 years for Liverpool. It’s funny how time can change your opinion of a player.

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Liverpool 4-2 Notts County Match Report

28 Aug

Liverpool 4-2 Notts County Match Report

 

Liverpool turned their attention to the Capital One Cup with a second round tie against Notts County at Anfield. Early goals from Sterling and Sturridge seemed to have the Premiership side on easy street, but the Division One side hit back in the second half with goals from Arquin and Coombes to take the tie into extra time. Despite being reduced to 10 men through an injury to Kolo Toure, Liverpool added goals from Sturridge and Henderson in the extra period to finally kill off any hopes of an upset.

 

The Team

 

Brendan Rodgers wasn’t taking any chances against Notts County as he fielded a strong side with Mignolet, Cissokho, Toure, Wisdom, Johnson, Allen, Gerrard, Alberto, Sterling, Ibe and Daniel Sturridge. The blend of experienced first team players alongside speedy youngsters Sterling and Ibe formed an attacking line-up.

 

The Match

 

Liverpool started the match on the front foot and they were rewarded with an early goal inside the first four minutes when Sterling charged through the centre of the County half before drilling a powerful shot underneath the arm of Bialkowski and into the corner of the net.

 

Liverpool’s good start was hindered by an injury to new signing Cissokho as he was replaced by Daniel Agger. But Agger almost made an immediate impact when his glancing header rattled off the far post from a Gerrard free-kick.

 

Liverpool continued to create chances and Sturridge was next to go close when he curled an effort wide of the far post after great work from Joe Allen set him up.

 

But Sturridge made no mistake with his next opportunity when he rifled a shot into the far corner after receiving a defence splitting pass from Gerrard to put Liverpool 2-0 to the good.

 

Liverpool continued to press for goals and Agger’s powerful header was brilliantly saved from Bialkowski as the pressure mounted.

 

Next it was Gerrard with a trademark burst into the box before rattling the post after receiving a perfectly weighted pass from Sterling.

 

The second half brought a change of mood from the home side as they looked to conserve energy by sitting a little deep and allowing Notts County more possession.

 

Callum McGregor tried an ambitious 30 yard drive but it was easily gathered by Mignolet. But the game changed when Arquin headed past Mignolet after Smith’s header across goal from a floated set-piece sending the travelling supporters wild with delight.

 

Liverpool responded to losing the goal with Toure half-volleying a Gerrard cross against the woodwork as Liverpool’s bad luck in front of goal continued.

 

The 2-1 scoreline looked enough for the Reds until Arquin surged to the Liverpool bye-line before his cross found Coombes who shot past Mignolet at the back post to shock the hosts.

 

The last thing Liverpool wanted was extra-time and Agger went close with a deflected shot before Sterling sliced Glen Johnson’s cross wide of the post.

 

As the game moved into an extra half hour Liverpool found themselves reduced to 10 men after Toure left the field on a stretcher and all Liverpool’s substitutes used.

 

But despite the disadvantage, Sturridge fired his side in front again after a rapid counter-attack involving Coutinho.

 

Moments later Henderson made it 4-2 with a terrific individual goal which saw him nutmeg Liddle before calmly side-footing past Bialkowski into the corner of the net.

 

Liverpool made hard work of their win after leading comfortably at one stage but after a scare they will be only too glad to be in the draw for the next round.

 

Summary

 

I was very pleased to see Rodgers start with a strong team in a cup competition and also give youngsters Wisdom, Ibe and Sterling a start. Liverpool played well in the first half and should have been more than 2 goals to the good but they did get complacent in the second half and almost paid for it. But Liverpool did show great character to go on and win in extra time after going down to 10 men. Sad to see Toure leave the field on a stretcher as he was playing superbly in defence, Sterling was another who played well and great to see him score. But Daniel Sturridge is on fire at the moment and long may it continue. Stressful game with a happy ending.

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Liverpool 1-0 Stoke City Match Report

17 Aug

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 1-0 Stoke City Match Report

 

Liverpool got off to the perfect start to the new season with a 1-0 win over Stoke City at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge provided the only goal of the game with a stunning 25 yard strike. Liverpool dominated the match creating a number of good chances but were left to thank goalkeeper Simon Mignolet for an amazing penalty save from Walters in the last couple of minutes.

 

The Team

 

Brendan Rodgers gave 3 players their Liverpool debuts with Simon Mignolet starting in goal with Kolo Toure in front of him in the centre of defence, Aspas started in an attacking role. Glen Johnson, Jose Enrique and Daniel Agger completed the rest of Liverpool’s defence. Coutinho, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson and Sturridge made up the rest of Liverpool’s team for the first game of the season.

 

The Match

 

Both teams were greeted to a very loud rendition of Liverpool’s famous anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone prior to kick-off and the atmosphere certainly inspired the Liverpool players as they flew out of the blocks at the start of the match.

 

But it was Stoke who almost took an early lead when Robert Huth smashed a shot against the Liverpool crossbar after a Stoke corner kick.

 

Liverpool forced Stoke back into their defensive third and Sturridge headed the ball into the net from a Gerrard cross, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

 

Then 2 minutes later Toure headed another Gerrard delivery against the bar with Begovic beaten, Sturridge could only blast the rebound high over the bar.

 

A minute later Sturridge’s cross-shot was cleared off the line by Erik Pieters as Liverpool created chance after chance with some sharp passing and movement.

 

Coutinho almost put Aspas through in the box but his pass was just too strong and Aspas’s stretched effort was easily saved by Begovic.

 

Liverpool’s energetic performance was typified by the efforts of Aspas, Coutinho and Sturridge as they pressed high up the park.

 

Enrique was then denied by Begovic after combining with Aspas inside the Stoke area and Gerrard shot over from the rebound.

 

Begovic once again frustrated Liverpool, this time saving a shot from Henderson after another great pass from Coutinho.

 

Moments later it was Sturridge being denied by Begovic after he fired a right-foot shot at the Stoke goal.

 

But a minute later Sturridge broke the deadlock with a stunning 25 yard strike low into the bottom corner as Begovic was finally beaten.

 

Stoke responded to losing a goal with Walters bringing out a good save from Mignolet as Stoke tried to level before the break.

 

Then just before the half-time whistle Lucas cleared off the line from a Stoke corner to keep Liverpool’s lead intact.

 

Liverpool started the second half the way they started the first with Coutinho driving down the left wing before curling an effort wide of goal.

 

Begovic continued to excel in Stoke’s goal as he saved from Henderson after a cross by Coutinho. Moments later Sturridge had another shot saved by Begovic which resulted in a corner.

 

Aspas flicked a header just wide from Gerrard’s corner-kick. Liverpool continued to press for a second goal and Henderson couldn’t have went closer when  his curling strike bounced back off the inside of the post with Begovic beaten.

 

As time ran on and only one goal separating the teams, you could sense a nervous atmosphere surrounding Anfield and Stoke appreciated this as they pushed forward.

 

But Gerrard tried to calm the nerves as he stepped up to take a 30 yard free-kick, but not for the first time Begovic was equal to it as he clawed away the ball in spectacular fashion as it headed for the top corner.

 

Then former Liverpool player Adam had Mignolet worried as he tried his luck from the half-way line, the big Belgian just managing to tip the ball over his bar.

 

But with 3 minutes to go Liverpool were stunned when Stoke were awarded a penalty after Agger was adjudged to have handled the ball as he attempted to defend a Stoke free-kick.

 

Walters hit the resulting penalty kick low to Mignolet’s right, but the Belgian guessed the right way and palmed away the strike before reacting quickly to block Jones’s follow up to the delight of the Liverpool players and supporters .

 

Liverpool managed to hold out for the remaining minutes to go top of the league, if only for a few hours.

 

Summary

 

Liverpool really did play well and should have won by a bigger margin, but for an amazing goalkeeping performance by Stoke’s Begovic and some poor finishing. Liverpool played a high tempo pressing game that Stoke found difficult to cope with. Liverpool’s movement was also impressive, especially from Aspas, Sturridge, Coutinho and Henderson who all interchanged their positions frequently. Sturridge looked impressively sharp considering he missed most of pre-season through injury and he deserved a goal for his efforts. Stoke are the type of team that Liverpool have struggled to beat in recent years and that makes the win particularly pleasing, although it was heart in the mouth stuff at the award of the late penalty. But what a great double save from debutant Mignolet to seal Liverpool’s win. It would have been really difficult to take if Liverpool had not won the match after playing so well. Overall a great win and start to the season for Liverpool and hopefully Liverpool can build on this good start in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

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Disappointing Downing

13 Aug

Disappointing Downing

 

Liverpool have offloaded winger Stewart Downing to West Ham after a disappointing career at Liverpool. Downing was signed by former manager Kenny Dalglish in July 2011 for a fee of £20 million in a summer of big spending for Liverpool.

 

But since Dalglish’s departure Liverpool’s owners have altered their strategy under Brendan Rodgers by reducing the wage bill. Rodgers had moved high earners on to pastures new and brought in new players on lower wages.

 

Joe Cole, Andy Carroll, Pepe Reina and now Stewart Downing were all big earners and have now been moved out.

 

Downing looked an exciting acquisition at the time, an experienced England international who played on the wing was the ideal player Liverpool were looking for at the time when they had very few wide men.

 

But Downing struggled at Liverpool and only contributed 7 goals in 91 outings for the club. It was a poor return for such an expensive signing who was reportedly on £80,000 a week.

 

Downing’s highlight during his 2 year Spell at Anfield was his man-of-the-match performance in winning his only honour with the club as Liverpool defeated Cardiff City in last year’s League Cup Final.

 

Far too often Downing would fail to deliver a telling ball into the opposition penalty area for Liverpool’s strikers. Even when Downing cut inside from the right flank to create a shooting opportunity on his favoured left foot, he very rarely hit the target, never mind score.

 

Brendan Rodgers criticised Downing shortly after becoming manager at Anfield and even started young Raheem Sterling on the wing in preference to Downing at the start of the season.

 

But Rodgers brought Downing back into the side later in the season, although he revealed in December that Downing could leave the club.

 

Downing became a regular for the remainder of the season, but not always in his familiar role on the wing, Rodgers frequently used Downing at left back.

 

In fairness to Downing his performances were much better last season than in his first season with the club. His work rate was impressive and he looked a more confident player. But for all Downing’s endeavour and new found confidence, Downing is a player that lacks “heart”, the heart to go in where it hurts to score a goal, the heart to not shirk a tackle, but most importantly for a player who plays on the wing, the heart to take a defender on and get to the bye-line, Downing never did this enough at Liverpool.

 

Liverpool never got their money’s worth from Downing and decided to cut their losses on an expensive failure with a costly weekly wage.

 

You can’t fault Downing’s effort but he just wasn’t good enough for Liverpool Football Club, and he now continues his career alongside another Liverpool failure, Andy Carroll at West Ham.

 

Brendan Rodgers is starting to shape his own team after transferring players that don’t fit into his style of play, and by bringing in players that do.

 

Rodgers has allowed another player with a wealth of experience to leave the club and Liverpool now have a very young squad with not many “old heads” in the squad, as Liverpool look to youth to take them forward.

 

Rome wasn’t built in a day but Rodgers is gradually building his empire with young, enthusiastic players that he hopes will take Liverpool back to where they belong.

 

follow me on twitter @theliverword

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spearing Leaves

9 Aug

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

 

Spearing Leaves

 

Jay Spearing has left Anfield for pastures new as he completed his move to Bolton Wanderers after passing a medical. Spearing was loaned out to Bolton last season and has now made the move permanent as he takes the next step in his career.

 

Spearing is a local lad raised in Wallasey, Merseyside, a graduate of Liverpool’s Academy. Spearing captained the under 18 side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2007. He has been involved with Liverpool since the age of seven and was promoted to Melwood in 2007 to train with the first team after impressing in the club’s Academy.

 

Spearing made his competitive first team debut on December 2008 coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 Champions League win against PSV Eindhoven. Spearing also appeared in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

 

In 2010 Spearing was loaned out to Leicester where he made nine appearances for the Foxes scoring one goal before returning to Anfield.

 

He was included in Liverpool’s squad for the 2010-11 season and started and played the full 90 minutes against Rabotnicki in a Europa League qualifier. Spearing made his first ever start at Anfield against Steaua Bucharest in the Reds’ opening group game which Liverpool won 4-1. Spearing enjoyed a good spell in Liverpool’s first team due to the absence of Steven Gerrard and out of favour Christian Poulsen where his performances rewarded him with inclusion in England’s under 21’s provisional 40-man-squad for the 2011 Under 21 European Championship.

 

After ending the previous season a regular in Liverpool’s first team Spearing suddenly found himself down the pecking order when Kenny Dalglish signed Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing to strengthen his squad. Spearing found it difficult to feature in the first team with the new additions.

 

Not long after Brendan Rodgers’ arrival Spearing was loaned out to Bolton where he made 39 appearances last season. His performances have encouraged Bolton to make the move permanent.

 

Spearing leaves Liverpool after making 55 appearances for the Reds with an attitude that gained him much respect with his whole-hearted performances. Like most youngsters that come through the youth system Spearing found it difficult to play regularly after breaking into the first team. His hard working style of play which saw Liverpool use Spearing as a midfielder that plays just in front of the defence breaking up opposition attacks and protecting the defence, but Lucas seems the preferred player for this role for Liverpool, but unfortunately for Spearing the competition for places in Liverpool’s midfield is tough.

 

I think Spearing has made the right decision by joining Bolton although it must be difficult leaving your boyhood heroes, but to go to a great club like Bolton where he will get the opportunity to play regularly and possibly even be able to commute from Liverpool for training and games.

 

It is no good for any player who has ambition to sit on the bench with opportunities few and far between and Spearing loves his football and he is now at a stage in his career where he needs to be playing regularly and because he is a graduate from the Academy I think this saw him overlooked with manager’s bringing in their own players through transfers.

 

Spearing has never let Liverpool down when called upon and he will go to Bolton with the best of wishes from all concerned at Liverpool.

 

Liverpool have a brilliant crop of youngsters coming through at the moment with everyone connected to Liverpool anticipating great things from them. But will they play regularly for Liverpool ?

 

They will face the same problems that Spearing has faced with the competition for places at a club like Liverpool always tough. Clubs like Liverpool always bring in new talent through transfer dealings and this makes it even more difficult for youngsters to play regularly as managers always seem to play the players that they have paid money for.

 

It is happening at Liverpool just now with Jack Robinson loaned out to Blackpool and Suso being loaned back to Spain and Coady also being loaned out to Sheffield United. These 3 players have all experienced first team action and although the loan will benefit the players and give them more experience, it will be interesting if they will feature when they come back to Anfield, or be offloaded.

 

Wisdom and Sterling are the other two players who featured last season along with Suso but it remains to be seen how they will be used in the new season with the arrival of new players Aspas, Alberto and Toure who have strengthened the squad.

 

Jordan Ibe is another exciting prospect but at 17 it is a bit far fetched to expect him to play regularly. It would be tremendous if Liverpool’s youngsters can establish themselves in the first team similar to the team of youngsters that Manchester United were blessed with in the 90’s when Beckham, Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers broke through. Those youngsters gave United the nucleus of a team that was to become more experienced with age and give them great success. So it would be great if Liverpool could see their youngsters mature and become first team regulars for years to come and not end up leaving Liverpool like Jay Spearing who had to leave Anfield for first team football.

 

 

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Gerrard’s Testimonial

3 Aug

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 2-0 Olympiacos Match Report

 

Anfield paid tribute and showed their appreciation to one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players Steven Gerrard in his testimonial match against Olympiacos. Goals from Joe Allen in the first half and Jordan Henderson in the second half capped a superb day for the Liverpool Captain.

 

The Team

 

Although the match was Steven Gerrard’s testimonial it was still an important match in terms of match fitness for Brendan Rodgers and his squad as they prepare for the start of the new season. Rodgers started a team that looked like the one that could start against Stoke in Liverpool’s first game of the season. Mignolet, Enrique, Agger, Toure, Johnson, Lucas, Allen, Coutinho, Sterling and Aspas started alongside the man of the moment Steven Gerrard.

 

The Match

 

Steven Gerrard was welcomed by a guard of honour formed by both sets of players prior to kick-off and a standing ovation from the Anfield faithful as they saluted their hero.

 

Liverpool enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages with loud cheers every time Gerrard received a touch of the ball. Joe Allen flashed a shot wide in the game’s first real effort.

 

Moments later Joe Allen pounced on a sloppy pass from the visitors before releasing new signing Aspas but the striker’s effort was blocked away.

 

Gerrard had the crowd excited when he lined up a long range drive but his effort was off target. Then Gerrard had a joke with referee Hasey when the unfortunate referee intercepted one of his passes.

 

Next Aspas showed a lovely bit of skill when he cleverly beat his marker before shooting into the side-netting with Joe Allen again providing the assist as his attacking runs forward were providing a big threat to the Greeks.

 

Liverpool continued to attack with Sterling and Coutinho combining in a counter-attack before Sterling’s weak shot was easily saved by the keeper.

 

Then Liverpool should have taken the lead when an extravagant flick by Aspas found Allen in the centre of the penalty area but the midfielder side-footed his volley over the bar.

 

But Allen made no mistake moments later in the 23rd minute when Joe Allen tapped home an Aspas low drive across the face of goal to give Liverpool a deserved lead.

 

Liverpool looked to be enjoying themselves with the goal encouraging them even more and next it was Glen Johnson to try his luck from long range but his strike just missed the far corner.

 

Brendan Rodgers continued with the same eleven players to start the second half and Liverpool continued to attack their visitors as Coutinho glided past a couple of defenders before shooting towards the far post but Olympiacos goalkeeper Megveri saved comfortably.

 

Then the lively Sterling curled a shot wide as he continues to impress this pre-season, before watching his lob go agonisingly wide of the post before the Anfield crowd showed great appreciation towards the introduction of Luis Suarez and Jamie Carragher.

 

Jordan Henderson also made his entry for Joe Allen and within seconds he made it 2-0 for Liverpool after finishing off a move involving good work from Raheem Sterling.

 

Henderson almost scored his second goal moments later but he shot straight at the keeper. Jose Enrique was thwarted by the keeper in the next attack after finding space in the box.

 

With 15 minutes remaining when the Kop saluted a former favourite when Robbie Fowler was introduced, and the crowd was on its feet when Gerrard slipped the ball through to Fowler but his quick strike was deflected wide for a corner.

 

Then with 6 minutes remaining Steven Gerrard was replaced by Jay Spearing to a standing ovation as he left the field and end an emotional day for the Liverpool skipper.

 

The match finished 2-0 in another impressive performance for Liverpool, but the day was all about Steven Gerrard.

 

Summary

 

The Liverpool supporters paid their respects with a tremendous turn out at Anfield for Steven Gerrard for his testimonial. But Liverpool treated the match seriously as they showed great energy and commitment from the start as Olympiacos were pegged back for most of the game. Rodgers started the match with eleven players that will probably start the match against Stoke and he gave them an hour before making the expected substitutions. Aspas looked lively up front and Sterling is showing great confidence in his play that lacked at times last season. Joe Allen was very impressive as he starred in an attacking midfield role and should have scored a hat-trick in the first half, but it was good to see him score and get into forward positions. Lucas is looking back to his best as he thwarted countless Olympiacos attacks. Great finish by Henderson after just coming on and he could be an important player for Liverpool this season as he looks more confident. Overall it was a good performance by the team and a special day for a special player Steven Gerrard.

 

 

 

 

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No Way To Treat Reina

31 Jul

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No Way To Treat Reina

 

Reina came out the other day in an open letter to Liverpool supporters to explain his leaving of the club and express his displeasure at the way his move was handled by the club. Reina explained that he was happy to stay at Liverpool and fight for his place and would even have been happy to extend his stay at Liverpool.

 

But he claims that his loan move away from Anfield to Napoli was conducted without his knowledge. Many people believe Reina was trying to instigate a move to Barcelona earlier in the summer, but that fell through when Victor Valdes announced that he was staying at the Nou Camp.

 

Reina has been Liverpool’s number one goalkeeper for a very long time and has arguably been rated as the best Liverpool goalkeeper in the club’s history. Reina has been the perfect professional during his stay at Anfield during such turbulent times with a change of ownership and a revolving manager’s door. The Spaniard has showed superb consistency during his spell at Liverpool although his standards had slipped slightly in the last couple of seasons.

 

Reina has been Liverpool’s Player of the Year, he has captained the team, and has broken records for the Reds.

 

But after eight years service, Reina claims Liverpool shipped him out behind his back and he feels, in his words, he “deserved better than that.”

 

The alarm bells were ringing when Liverpool paid big money for Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet. Brendan Rodgers claimed his signing was for competition for the goalkeeper’s jersey. But Liverpool don’t have the money to pay big money for a back-up goalkeeper and it was obvious Reina was going to leave.

 

In fairness to Rodgers he didn’t want to be stung again like last summer when he was left without many strikers after loaning Carroll out to West Ham at the end of the transfer window. Reina was rumoured to be looking for a move back to Spain and Barcelona in particular, and Rodgers was making sure that he was going to bring in a goalkeeper before losing one. I don’t agree with Rodgers’ reason for buying Mignolet as competition for the goalkeeper’s position, Rodgers and the club should have been honest and explained that they wanted to cut the wage bill and they should have showed more respect to a tremendous servant to the club.

 

But with Reina’s move to Spain falling through Rodgers was left with two top class goalkeepers and one had to go, no way could it be Mignolet after his recent big money arrival, and Reina was reportedly Liverpool’s second highest earner at Liverpool and Liverpool’s recent managerial strategy is to cut the wage bill, so Reina had to go.

 

 

It is strange how Liverpool have treated a man like Reina who has never let the club down so badly, while they are basically pleading on their hands and knees to keep Suarez who has never been out of trouble since his arrival to Anfield.

 

Both players have great values, but only one seems worthy of fighting for, disappointingly Reina was surplus to requirements for all his ability and sevice to the club. But Reina’s exit from Liverpool deserved to be more dignified.

 

Liverpool are looking for loyalty from Suarez, where Reina looked for loyalty from Liverpool.

 

One thing is for sure Reina will always have a place in the hearts of Liverpool supporters.

 

 

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Liverpool’s Best Signing

16 Jul

Liverpool’s Best Signing

 

Liverpool made their biggest signing of the summer this week when Steven Gerrard put pen to paper on a contract extension. Forget about the signings of Aspas, Mignolet, Alberto and Toure, Gerrard’s signing is the most important one.

 

Gerrard has been a figure head for the club for as long as most Liverpool fans care to remember and his contract extension will probably tie him to the club for the rest of his playing career. Gerrard is such an important player for Liverpool, he is the captain of course, and of England. His ability is renowned across the globe, but it isn’t just his ability that is admired, but his leadership and inspiration to galvanise Liverpool when they are looking beat. He has inspired Liverpool to many amazing comebacks over the years, that amazing goal against Olympiakos in the Champions League, the Gerrard Cup Final against West Ham where he produced 2 stunning goals, and the first goal in Istanbul to start the unforgettable comeback to win the Champions League in 2005.

 

Gerrard is getting on a bit now and is in the twighlight of career but his importance is still unparalleled by any other squad member. Last season Gerrard played in nearly every Premier League match for the Reds and proved that there is plenty miles left in the tank.

 

With the loss of Carragher through his retirement from football, Gerrard’s experience and importance has never been more needed and his contract extension hopefully sets an example to others that he is still as determined as ever to help his beloved Liverpool.

 

His loyalty to the club will influence other players who might be thinking of moving away and could also encourage new players to sign who might have been undecided on coming to Anfield, the rest of the summer will prove if Liverpool can attract more new players, but if they do, then I’m sure Gerrard will be a big influence in tempting them.

 

Liverpool have many youngsters breaking into the first team and Gerrard has helped them along the way by setting an example in training and now he can help continue their development into the first team as the likes of Sterling, Morgan, Wisdom, Ibe but to name a few are being inspired by Gerrard’s attitude and his dedication.

 

Gerrard’s role in the team has changed slightly in a deeper midfield role, but he seems to be thriving on it with more space than by playing further up the park. The return of Lucas from injury has been a major help for Gerrard as his industry frees Gerrard up to play the “American Quarterback” role, where he can spray passes all over the park and influence games with willing runners upfield. Gerrard’s delivery at dead ball situations are lethal and provide so many goals and create so many chances for Liverpool and his calmness at taking penalties highlights his responsibility of being captain of Liverpool.

 

See what the rest of the summer brings, but I’m sure you will agree that Gerrard’s signing is the best Liverpool signing of the summer.

 

 

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A Fallen Idol

10 Jul

A Fallen Idol

 

It is so sad that Luis Suarez wants to leave Liverpool Football Club and move to a club that can give him more money and Champions League football. In most scenarios you wouldn’t fault a player wanting to take a step up in his career, but with Suarez the situation is different. Suarez has constantly been in the headlines since his arrival to Anfield, and not for all the right reasons, in fact mostly for unsavoury actions that we all know about.

 

But through every controversial incident Liverpool Football Club and their supporters have constantly stood by the Uruguayan and backed him. Suarez owes Liverpool at least another season of his service, especially after his last unsavoury incident which involved him biting Chelsea defender Ivanovic. Suarez still has to serve 6 of the 10 match ban for his punishment.

 

But the way Suarez has continued to manufacture a move away from Liverpool this summer is extremely disappointing. Suarez has made his feelings known in numerous interviews while on international duty with Uruguay, and that is really disappointing. Suarez should be keeping his mouth shut and let his agent deal with a move away. His excuses about blaming the media for a move away from Anfield are disgraceful too, it wasn’t them that made him bite Ivanovic for example. There are even strong suggestions that Suarez might move to another English club, and that would infuriate the Liverpool supporters.

 

Liverpool lost Torres not so long ago to Chelsea and that hurt the Liverpool supporters after the love they showed him. Torres has suffered from the Liverpool support since his move as the fans let him know what they think each time he plays against Liverpool. But if Suarez moves to another English club the Liverpool supporters will be even more angered than when Torres moved. A move abroad would be the best move for Suarez as long as Liverpool receive good money for the transfer.

 

The whole summer saga with Suarez wanting to leave has soured a lot of fans of him and most are just wanting rid of him sooner rather than later, so that there is still time to find a replacement. Suarez has not been loved by many football supporters for his style of play. But at Liverpool he found many friends who loyally supported him. But now it looks like he has lost them too and he is proving to be just another footballer who doesn’t care about the team he plays for as long as they pay him.

 

No player is bigger than the club and Liverpool will go on without Suarez. Liverpool have lost better players in the past and found replacements and Suarez will be no different. Keegan, Dalglish, Rush, Fowler, Torres to name a few have all been replaced and Suarez will be too.

 

Suarez will be hard to replace and I fear his loss will be detrimental to Liverpool’s challenge for a top four place, but Suarez has made his intentions known and I don’t think there is any going back to Anfield for Suarez. Suarez has been idolised since arriving at Anfield but in a short summer his reputation has been tarnished.

 

Suarez will leave Liverpool this summer, the question is where will he be going ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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