Liverpool remain unbeaten in latest friendlies

Thailand 0 Liverpool 3

July 28 2013

Brendan Rodgers rolled out a very strong first team in our latest match against Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium, with Aspas and Borini leading the line with Luis Suarez working his way to fitness starting in the bench.

Liverpool started well with Coutinho dictating matters.  Early chances fell to Aspas his  close range shot blocked over for a corner and Borini who made an excellent inside channel run to latch onto a chipped pass by Johnson and to see a clipped volley well stopped by the goal keeper Kosin Hathairattanakool.

Coutinho then sent the fans into raptures with a sublime piece of skill and finishing.  Picking up the ball from a loose pass, he stepped inside his marker, before jinking past two defenders and faking to shoot, leaving the defender trailing, before coolly slotting the ball into the corner of the net.

Even taking into account the heat (33 degrees in the shade and 90 per cent humidity) Liverpool struggled to control the game and Thailand began to gain confidence and as with Melbourne in the previous game the home team looked comfortable in possession.  Picking the ball up from a Lucas misplace pass Teerasil  Dangda cut inside Agger and sent a curling shot flashing past the Liverpool far post with Mignolet scrabbling across to cover.  Mignolet pulled off a sharp save from a snap shot just after.

The hard working Iago Aspas double the advantage soon after the break, when the visionary Countinho committed the defence with a run through the centre before popping of an exquisite through ball into the stride of the striker who dispatched past Hathairattanakool.

Steven Gerrard capitalised from Aspas hard work from his driving run and the Spaniard had the awareness to flick the ball back to his captain, who in turn produced a delightful chip floated tantalising over the keepers out stretched arm and into the net.

The crispness of Liverpool’s passing at the end last season has yet to find its way consistently into these pre-season friendlies.  At the moment the fluency seems to come at the start of games and after multiple substitutions  when the game becomes stretched.

Suarez almost made it four, from a trademark Gerrard whipped in free-kick from wide left, when his header smacked off the bar (would’ve been interesting to see his celebration had it gone in...).  Gerrard, also saw an effort hit the bar as we strove to increase our dominance.

Critical Eye:  For the second game in succession we struggled in the second period of the first-half to exert our dominance and I am not sure we have the physical players capable to steamrollering teams and of the midfield players available for a central berth, Jordan Henderson seems the only player capable of continual box to box runs and robust tackles as the captain plays now in a self-contained manner.

For me, the jury is out on Joe Allen.  At the moment Gerrard, Countinho and Lucas seem shoe-ins and the responsibility lies with Allen if he is to be the ‘chosen one’ in the engine room  to provide drive and ferocity.  The manager has tremendous belief in the former Swansea player, but he appears too lightweight to provide that combative edge so will Jordan Henderson prove the better bet in the long run, especially as the manager seems to feel in letting go Shelvey that we have enough cover.

Team: 22 Simon Mignolet, 3 Jose Enrique, 5 Daniel Agger, 4 Kolo Toure, 2 Glen Johnson, 21 Lucas Leiva, 24 Joe Allen, 8 Steven Gerrard, 10 Philippe Coutinho, 8 Iago Aspas, 29 Fabio Borini

Substitutes: 1 Brad Jones, 37 Martin Skrtel, 34 Martin Kelly, 38 John Flanagan, 7 Luis Suarez, 20 Jay Spearing, 47 Andre Wisdom, 49 Jack Robinson, 14 Jordan Henderson, 6 Luis Alberto, 19 Stewart Downing, 31 Raheem Sterling, 44 Jordan Ibe, 16 Sebastian Coates, 11 Oussama Assaidi, 52 Danny Ward

Attendance: 34,000

Melbourne Victory 0 Liverpool 2

July 24 2013

Goose pimples knew no bounds with 95,000  excited souls in a sea of red belting out YNWA.  Totally astounding, awe inspiring and if any newbies wanted to know how it felt to be a red it was there for all to see and hear.  Luis Suarez returning to the squad for the first time since his infamous biting of Branislav Invanovic came on late to set up the winning goal for Aspas.

Liverpool with a very different starting line-up from the victory over the Indonesian XI, were disjointed and struggled to come to turns with a Melbourne side shorn of many of their of Soccerros who were on duty at East Asian Cup in South Korea.  What the home side lacked in quality they more than made up for in drive and enthusiasm and seemed to harry Liverpool out of any rhythm.  Melbourne showed a capacity for possession as if they were into role reversal.

Steven Gerrard whose every touch was greeted by rapturous cheers saw a long-range drive well saved by keeper Nathan Coe and the skipper who was not to be denied.  As he has so often in his career, the Liverpool skipper strove forward interchanging with a fellow midfielder (Allen) before dispatching his finish in fine style.

Liverpool struggled to make any head way, before deciding on the hour to replace Gerrard with Lucas and a plethora of changes with just under twenty minutes go.  The mercurial Uruguayan, Suarez, it was who received a pass from a corner glided into the area to cross for Aspas to add the finishing touch.

Suarez looked sullen and downcast as if he was making sure that everyone across the globe got the message that he does not want to be at the club and even 95,000 clamouring fans would not change his mind.  It seems Brendan Rodgers message to the player is falling on death ears.

Team: 1 Brad Jones, 2 Glen Jones, 37 Martin Skrtel, 47 Andre Wisdom, 3 Jose Enrique, Steven Gerrard, 24 Joe Allen, 14 Jordan Henderson, 44 Jordon Ibe, 29 Fabio  Borini, 31 Raheem Sterling

Substitutes: 22 Simon Mignolet, 5 Daniel Agger, 6 Luis Alberto, 7 Luis Suarez, 9 Iago Aspas, 11 Oussama Assaidi, 16 Sebastian Coates, 19 Stewart Downing, 20 Jay Spearing, 21 Lucas Leiva, 34 Martin Kelly, 38 John Flanagan, 49 Jack Robinson

Attendance: 95,446

Referee: Jumpei Lida

Should We Sell Suarez To Arsenal?

Suarez... would you sell him? Well it's reaching that point in time when getting in a replacement is going to prove difficult. The top strikers in his price range have already moved and even the next tranche down are looking to clubs qualified for the Champions League.

Would I sell to Arsenal? Would I hell!!! We are competing to snatch their Champions League place away. What ever happens, we should refrain from selling to another Premiership club. In fact, the goal should be to hold on to him if possible, just as Spurs look as though they're now doing by offering Gareth Bale a new contract.

Even if we receive £50 million plus from Arsenal, it's naive to believe that we would be guaranteed two world-class players for that price.  A month ago Gonzalo Higuain was supposedly available for between £20-25 million, on Wednesday he's bought for a reported £34.5 million and Arsenal see one of their top targets, disappear to Napoli, with £55 million burning a whole in their pockets from the sale of Edinson Cavani to Paris St. Germain.

Luis Suarez

 

Fans have made Philippe Coutinho a firm favourite because of some very promising displays, and listening to the little Brazilian, he is determined to continue to up his game to force himself into his countries World Cup squad. Should he not make the final squad and we not make th Champions League, Rodgers shouldn't be surprised to get a knock on the door with another disaffected player on his hands. If we don't believe that will happen, look at the distress Christian Benteke caused after his first decent season in top class football.

Football is a fickle business with contracts not being worth the paper they're printed on. As such, Liverpool Football Club has too move away from the feeling of becoming a selling club which many see us as anyway. The only way to get around this is to become successful sooner rather than later and first port of call is to get Suarez to stay and not jump on the removal van which seems to swing by every few years and has seen Alonso, Mascherano, Torres and even Benayoun leave for pastures.

When one listens to Liverpool stalwarts such as John Aldridge and Ian St. John talk about how players like Aspas have been hit with their realisation that they're now at a great club, it must hurt every Liverpool supporter to hear players saying either they need to get away to be successful or choosing to go elsewhere because Champions League is the criteria by which success and greatness is now judged.

It's good to hear Ian Ayre say today "The situation with Luis Suarez remains the same.  It's never been our intention to sell Luis."  I hope so!

There was a time at this football club when failure would not be tolerated and we need to bring that mentally back into the melting pot... why? Because quite simply we are Liverpool Football Club.

Indonesia XI 0 Liverpool 2

In front of a packed and sensational 75,000 crowd, Liverpool enjoyed their second friendly victory and the first on the pre-season tour of Asia and Australia with Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling the scorers. Steven Gerrard started his first game since his shoulder operation and looked decidely sharp against an Indonesia XI in Jakarta.

Brendan Rodgers fielded a strong team with nine full internationals and he didn't have to wait very long to see his side take the lead. Philppe Coutinho pushing forward tried to feed the ball into Luis Alberto, but was fortunate to see the ball ricochet back to him, instinctively the Brazilian chested the ball between two defenders and surged on goal to slot coolly under the advancing goalkeeper Kumia Mega. Downing, after some wonderful work by Enrique, down the left, shot straight at the keeper from close range.

 

Aspas looked for the one-two with Luis Alberto, but the young Spaniard drifted past the closing defender before unleashing a fine right footed drive which flinked the bar ob the way over. Sergio van Dijk hit an excellent swerving left footed drive centrally from distance, which new Liverpool number one Simon Mignolet push round the post.

Aspas after the rounding the keeper was unlucky to have the ball taking a big bobble which balloned his shot high and wide.

 

Raheem Sterling celebrates his winnner

 

After the hour Rodgers made a swave of changes in addition to Gerrard and Enrique been replaced by Allen and Robinson at half-time. Sterling was positive from the onset and hit the woodwork before linking up with Ibe with an electric burst of a pace down the left, which started from outside his own area, where he left two opponents trailing for pace, he then had the presence of mind to pass the ball into the stride of Assaidi, who in turn rolled the ball to the side for Sterling to tap home four minutes from time.

 

Match reaction: Liverpool are a work in progress in only the second friendly of the season, but it was a very workmanlike performance against a team who a few days previous, were beaten 7-1 by Arsenal and chances have to be taken by a team shorn of the talents of Sturridge and Suarez.

One side bar - we looked unconvincing defending corners and concentration levels have to maintained especially as we lack stature.

 

Once again Coutinho looked a class act and is taking up the mantle of responsibility as main play maker, especially when he plays in a more central berth. Once again Sterling and Ibe showed positives and one can't help draw comparisons to the lack of electricity and decisiveness in the play of Stewart Downing.

 

Massive respect to the Indonesian Reds whose rousing renditions of You Never Walk Alone were mind blowing and will never be forgotten.

Can we compete?

In the 1970s, the League Championship was won by amongst others Everton, Derby (twice), Leeds and Nottingham Forest and in the 12 years proceeding the start of the Premiership, taking into account Liverpool's dominance during that period, Aston Villa, Everton (twice) and Leeds were still able to win the League.

Since the start of the Premiership, the only club able to win the competition who won the League during the 70's and 80's is Arsenal. Whether we want to use our European ban or unprofessionalism in the boardroom for the lack of success, the overlying criteria for winning the League appears to be a big budget.

Year in year out Man United buy-in at least one marquee signing. At the end of the 2012 season it was van Persie whose goals won them the Premiership last season. Chelsea and Man City having moved in the same strata have pushed even Arsenal out on a limb. So much so, they are now under pressure to revise their transfer action plan.

For Liverpool's own plan of action to work, that is buying young talent and hoping they hit the ground running with enough quality to make a challenge, takes an enormous leap of faith. With Suarez in toe, and a few quality buys, that leap of faith seems as if it has a safety net beneath it.

But, that feeling right now appears on shakey ground. If we loose Suarez does Rodgers have the gravitas to pull in an equally big name? Does an ageing Steve Gerrard, still have leadership powers to make others follow him into the trenches and players want to sign for the club to play alongside him?

Even average British players cost £10 million or so and Rodgers has shown a degree of acumen in the transfer market to pull off some very adept signings, but we need to broker deals for top flight players or that wait for the Premiership will remain a distant dream.

The forthcoming season is pivotal for tha manager. Any falling away, will highlight and be seen as the direct failure of their Moneyball project which is basically changing the historical approach used to look at how players operate, which is seen as flawed.  Using a new method (originated in Baseball) which they appeared to have implemented to enable the team to operate on a level with the top teams, by buying players  using a sabermatic approach based on analytical evidence, FSG seems for now anyway, to be reticent to buy at the top end of the market.  The method was used to good effect by the 2002 Oakland Athletics and since been copied by many competitors in baseball such as the Boston Red Sox.

To understand its use is too look at how to plug the gap between Man United, Manchester City and Chelsea. By employing, this type of reasoning the Athletics, who had a budget of $41 million in terms of players pay for 2002, compared to the New York Yankees ($125 million), more than held their own and managed to get themselves into the playoffs over two successive seasons by looking at players undervalued in the market, but talented enough to compete at the highest level. If Liverpool, can bridge the gap using this method, it would be a miracle of the first order and propel Brendan Rodgers into the big time.

Interesting times at Anfield.

Preston North End 0 Liverpool 4 (Friendly)

Team:
2 Simon Mignolet
4 Kolo Toure
5 Daniel Agger
10 Philippe Coutinho
11 Oussama Assaidi
14 Jordan Henderson
20 Jay Spearing
24 Joe Allen
29 Fabio Borini
38 Jon Flanagan
44 Jordan Ibe

Subs: 2 Glen Johnson; 6 Luis Alberto; 9 Iago Aspas; Daniel Pacheco; 19 Stewart Downing; 21 Lucas Leiva; 31 Raheem Sterling; 34 Martin Kelly; 37 Martin Skrtel; 47 Andre Wisdom; 49 Jack Robinson; 52 Danny Ward

New boys Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure made their debut's in the friendly against North West neighbours in celebration of what would've been Bill Shankly's 100th birthday. The legendary manager served both clubs with distinction and in recognition the Shankly Shield was played for his on honour.

Jon Flanagan and Joe Allen returned from knee and shoulder injuries respectively.

The other new boys Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas started on the bench with Daniel Agger in the absence of Steven Gerrard and the retired Jamie Carragher captain for the day. Rodgers also used the match as a shop window for players moving towards the exit door, with Assaidi and Spearing (starting at right-back) and Daniel Pacheco also coming on in the second-half.  Martin Kelly, out for most of last season, was given a 10 minute blow out toward the end of the game.

The possession game, Rodgers trademark was evident from the start and on a very hot day was obviously energy saving. The first goal game resulted from Liverpool pressure on the edge of the Preston area, with ex-LFC youth graduate John Welsh uncharacteristicly caught on the ball, before bringing down Coutinho, who dispatched the penalty with the ease one would expect.

Fabio Borini should have made it two after Flanagan strode majestically out of defence to intercept a Preston attack, before taking on Coutinho's return pass and releasing Borini for a one on one, which he inexplicably slipped outside the near post. Liverpool didn't have to wait long to extend their lead when the impressive Jordan Ibe coming in from the left, bought himself a yard of space before dispatching his shot inside the near post. Assaidi, almost followed up, working some space for himself in the area, before seeing his shot well saved.

The second half saw Rodgers make ten outfield changes barring Kelly from the bench. Excellent to see Lucas back for his first pre-season in two years following his first serious knee injury. The game moved into a sedate pace even with a new set of outfield players, although Raheem Sterling looked decidely sharp.

With Liverpool controlling the game, a hopeful defensive hack upfield found its way to Sterling, who on the turn flicked inside to Aspas, who returned the compliment sending the winger through to show a calm authority in rounding the keeper to slide home. Aspas, fed by Johnson, drove in an angled shot from the left side for his first goal in a red shirt to make it four.

In Ibe and Sterling, Liverpool have two youngsters of prodigious talent. Both are direct and pacey and have an eye for goal, possessing terrific work ethic. They illuminated both halfs commiting defenders at will and linking up with Coutinho and Aspas respectively. Iago Aspas showed tremendous touches and awareness and an eye for goal and should be an asset for the team going forward. Luis Alberto ghosted into some great positions and just failed to apply the required finshed. 

Daniel Pacheco, he of the prodigious talent, showed flashes of just why his talent has always been so highly rated and seeing this gifted individual once again in a red shirt, one can only hope he finally makes it at the top level in any first team, if not at Anfield.

It was a nice ice breaker to the season, comfortably winning the Shankly Shield. If one has any apprehension, it is that Rodgers still has a lack of physical prowess and height within the squad and we can only hope that the transfers that he and Ian Ayre say they are still to make will alleviate that glearing absence.

Rodgers speaking to leaving to LFCTV said, "The players have been back for 11 days now and I thought their work-rate, quality and intensity in the game was very good so I'm very pleased," he told LFCTV. "Mignolet was very confident and very composed. He had a great day today. Everything he did, he did it well. And he's already integrated really well and I thought he was solid.

"Touré is a very experienced professional. He's been around for a long time and he's a wonderful player. He's got great experience and he defends really well. Then in the second half I thought the two boys did really well.

"Alberto fits into the mould of what we're looking to do here. We want technically gifted players who work hard and some of his touches were fantastic. He's incisive with his passing and so I'm very pleased with him."

Board Constraints Could Stop Liverpool Competing

So it seems we’ve been barking up the wrong tree. Liverpool Football Club is still the 9^th richest club in world football, which is some going considering that up until January 23 we were 5^th in the Premiership for attendance with 44,674 (536,089).  Credit where credit is due, John W Henry and co have steered the good ship LFC away from the economic iceberg which countrymen Hicks and Gillet almost dashed our hopes on.

Or has it?  The annual accounts revealed that the club’s debt rose to £87.2 million.  While the annual loss was £40.5million (down £8.8million on the previous year), the loss shows the impact a continuous lack of Champions League football has had, the overall debt has risen by £22million.

That being said, it throws even more light on our transfer policy.  Great play has been made of club policy in acquiring top young talent, but it seems economic prudence is the marker by which the board stipulates is paramount to any transfer.  The board placed a set price on Ince and Coutinho  and refused to go much beyond their valuation. While economically that’s an admiral stance to take, unfortunately making a football club viable and then become a winner to boot just doesn’t cut the mustard, unless as in Germany, every club, in theory, sings from the same hymn sheet.

Man United, League winners by twelve points and ahead of us by a massive 28 points, have arguably the two of the top five players in the league, but it still hasn’t stopped them from splashing out £15million on Wilfried Zaha who many observers believe to be one of the most exciting home grown youngsters in years and on the verge, as I’m writing, of signing the brilliant Barcelona and Spanish under-21 captain Thiago.  By all accounts they were looking at re-signing the mercurial Ronaldo.

Was the price too rich for LFC blood or did Iain Ayre and Brendan Rodgers just not rate the player, so we didn’t even enter the race for Zaha or Paulinho? The club’s stance on Thomas Ince was easy to understand as there’s the embarrassment factor of paying a huge sum for a player who until recently was on the Anfield books and next summer will be available on a free transfer which throws up too many internal questions.

How is Brendan Rodgers supposed to keep pace with Fergusson, Mourinho, Pellegrini and with Wenger seemingly about to let the moths out of the Arsenal wallet,  knowing that he’s not allowed to enter the ball park marked top players or the ball park marked exceptionally talented youngsters?  A tad unfair don’t you think to manage with one hand tied behind his back?  FSG   could justifiably say “once bitten, twice shy” with Allen, Borini, Henderson, Downing and Carroll costing almost £100million and failing to set the world alight.

Are we trying to get back to the top on the cheap or making sure the mistakes of yesteryear do not return to destabilise us? Have we been banished from the top table by the inadequacies of our own board or is this just the culmination of years of miss-management finally catching up with us and we are now as one blog follower Livi said, “feeding off crumbs from the big table”?

The club’s debt rose by £21.8 million to £87.2 million in the 10 months between August 1 2011 to May 31 2012.  Even if the losswas substantially less than the previous year’s £49.3million and that’s taking on board the fact we got to the two domestic finals it’s still a substantial increase.

Managing Director Ian Ayre claims that even £9.5million of “exceptional payments” which included the pay-off to Kenny Dalglish will not hinder the club movements into the transfer market.  The board pumped an interest free inter-company loan into the Liverpool coffers to keep the debt at a manageable level to stave off the threat of another few seasons of not challenging for a Champions League position let alone winning the Premiership.

While I’m not saying that Liverpool Football Club should throw money around like confetti destabilising the club’s future, both Rodgers and the Board are correct in their assertion that the need to re-build the foundation and structure of the club was intrinsic to its future, but the other teams will not stand still.   The board, I believe have missed the boat in their determination to realigned the club using UEFA’s fair play rules as the barometer  because the massive increase in Premiership money will still keep the bigger clubs top of the pile.

On the face of it the Premier Leagues new financial regulations has strengthen Liverpool’s stance with clubs potentially penalised with a points deduction if they make a total loss of more than £105million over the next three seasons, in  addition, player wages will be curtailed from next season.  Incidentally, if these regulations had been in force over the last three seasons preceding the last one, LFC would have been punished with a points deduction  after reporting losses of over £105million (with Chelsea and Manchester City over that period).

The club having rid itself of many of its high wage earners before the 2012-13 season, is preparing for the new guidelines which state clubs whose total wage bill is over £52million will only be allowed to increase their salaries by an accumulative £4million over the next three seasons.

It’s difficult to see how these regulations can be enforced with the spending power of the Manchester clubs and Chelsea where advertising revenue can be raised to levels which will make up for any shortfall which shouldn’t be difficult given the rarefied atmosphere these clubs operate in, particularly taking into account the curb on wages only applies to television revenue.

The club finishing last in 2012-2013 received £60 million (rising from £39 million) which is the same as Man City earned for winning the Premiership in 2012, which means the prized Champions League places will have grown exponentially.  By 2014, depending on the level of overseas television income, the Premier League winners could receive somewhere between £90 and £110 million.

If one takes future Premiership revenue into account, and then looks at our lost revenue on match day compared to Arsenal and Man United and the probable ways of getting round UEFA’s rules like the signing of massive one off contracts under the guise of advertising revenue we still trail along way behind.  As I said, the brilliant work by the board in terms of the club’s off the field activities is keeping Liverpool, although a long way behind, on the same lap as the big boys, but where the Manchester clubs and Chelsea will again have the advantage is their continuation year on year in the Champions League and it’s why we need to breach that gap sooner rather later.

This is why I believe FSG are naïve in their belief that Financial Fair Play will lead to a level playing field.  Ian Ayre stated, “The recent rules that we’ve adopted at the Premier League will expect people to break even and limit their spending and player wages.  We will conform just as everyone else does.

“We’ve been a big advocate in pushing for that so we’re certainly not going to fall foul of it.”  Does Mr Ayre really think because LFC are subscribing to the news rules the imbalance will change?

It will be interesting to see whether the Premier League sanctions points reduction for teams who fail to comply with the new regulations.

Arsenal announced profits of £17 million in the six months leading up to November 2012 which bolstered their cash reserves up to a staggering £120 million.  When you consider that the club invested £40.9 million on four new players and extended players contracts it has to be said that Arsenal are pinning all their hopes on financial fair play.  Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood said ‘These new rules will be good for us, good for the Premier League and good for the game as a whole.

'It is important that we maintain the quality and level of competition if the game is to continue being a compelling spectacle and we believe the introduction of tighter financial regulation will assist all clubs to compete while remaining financially responsible.'

Its admiral thinking, but the lifeblood of any club is its fans and the announcement of stockpiles of cash will only make the losses of Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas with the replacements of inferior models more painful.  While Arsenal made the Champions League another trophy less season is hard to bare for Gooners fans.

The Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST) said the figures highlighted the need for the club to spend more money on team strengthening.

An AST spokesman said: 'These figures contain few surprises. They show that Arsenal yet again made a profit from the sale of their best players and that the club has large cash reserves. 'Arsenal fans have contributed to this financial health through paying some of the highest ticket prices in world football. A further improvement in the club's financial strength is expected when new TV monies and commercial deals come on stream in 2013 and 2014.  AST members want to see this money used for more, and better, investment in the team'.

Top players these days want to sign for teams who qualify for the Champions League, while Fabregas may have left Arsenal to ‘go home’, the loss of van Persie is more keenly felt as he left the club to win silverware, and  did so in his first season at Old Trafford, which sends out a massive message.

Moreover, just as Arsenal lost van Persie, there is the huge possibility of us losing Luis Suarez.  I hear the arguments that we replaced Keegan with Dalglish, but the difference was that then we were the premier team in Europe and had the choice of the cream in terms of the top British players of the time.

Suarez is now seen as the replacement for Torres, although he was originally bought to play alongside the Spaniard and Suarez has admitted the thought played a large part in his signature.  With Gerrard now in his 34^th year, Suarez is the world-class light the club needs to pull in other talent and right now we are in the position where we have to push on or languish amongst with the also rans.  If Suarez leaves a player of equal standing must be brought in if we are not to languish among the also-rans.  Paulinho, on the verge of signing for Spurs said recently, "To play in England for a great team like Tottenham is a dream. What I respect about Tottenham is the ambition they have shown.

"This summer there has been interest in their coach and their best player - and they have been clear they are both not going anywhere."

Conversely, FSG are releasing funds, though not at the top end of the market, it’s been enough for Rodgers to buy-in quality like Sturridge and Coutinho who at the moment seem relative bargains and Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto who may well be more of the same.

Borussia Dortmund have a proven track record for building teams over the years without shopping at the top end of the market, by concentrating on quality and with a proven breeding ground for bringing young players through their much vaunted youth set up and pinpointing talented South Americans, rather than stressing the need to spend £30 million on one player is a much better way, for them, to approach the transfer market. Thus it is possible to go against the grain. The difference is that Liverpool are up against three world super powers in their own backyard, hence by the time the youth team becomes the potent force the owners would like it to be, the gap to the top three could turn out to be as wide as the Laurel Canyon.

Bayern Munich’s mantra is to have a good business you need a good team… says it all doesn’t it.

The club needs to make a statement of intent, by buying in a recognise world-class talent, if Suarez is to leave, the talent coming in needs to be more than one of that ilk.  The pressure is now on Brendan Rodgers, having seen the club improve dramatically in the second-half of his first season. 

If Liverpool fail abysmally to get into the top four next season, I’m afraid Rodgers will have to go, because he and the board have maintained their mantra of only buying in a particular type of player with sell on value and as such can only be measured, as they should be, by the results of those players and not by the fact that have not made big money buys. 

 

The transfer market is open and we will see whether we can compete with Arsenal and Tottenham and for that matter the “big three”.

Ayre said recently, “We can still attract top players to Liverpool – I have no doubt about that.”

“I have never been in negotiations with anyone who has said they want to sign for Liverpool, because we are not big or successful enough.

“We’re focused on finding great young talent but we also need experience and leadership. It’s about getting the right balance.” 

 

Let’s see if the club lives up to his words or it proves to be yet another false dawn.

Season Review 2012-2013

Pepe Reina: The Spaniard's cloak of invincibility slipped even further this season, not helped by his propensity for silly mistakes, some of which proved costly. The Man City draw comes to mind at a time when Liverpool were looking to propel themselves forward for a bite at the Champions League apple.  The worrying factor for the manager was that his world-class keeper could barely stay fit during the first-half of the season, worryingly picking up different muscular injuries along the way.  His concentration levels seemed off kilter with the constant speculation of a move to Barcelona, gathering steam after his father's comments of a possible move and Victor Valdez stated wish to move away from the Catalan giants to eek out further challenges. Will be interesting to see if the fan's favourite becomes the second member of his family to keep goal for Catalan giants.   Should he leave, which is more than possible after the recent purchase of Simon Mignolet, we will miss his leadership which will leave an almighty gap with the retirement of Jamie Carragher.   4/10

Brad Jones:  Apart from the odd blemish, the Australian stopper followed on from the previous season serving the club with distinction.  He played in more games in 2012-13 than he could have imagined and although one would struggle to find a place for him in the top twenty-five goalkeepers in the Premiership, his conviction to the cause and bravery should not be under stated and his progress was recognised with the signing of a new long-term contract in December.  6/10

Glen Johnson:  Upped his consistency levels to such an extent, that he is now the best English right-back  by some distance.   The marked improvement defensively showed up

particularly in one on one's and his covering across the backline. Unfortunately, he fell away in a few performances toward the end of the season when his concentration wavered, either not putting in a challenge or being beaten on the back post in the air, which is disappointing when one considers the player's physique and his height at 6ft 2in.  It should not detract from a stellar season and one looks forward to further improvement as he seems to have reached his peak.  8/10

José Enrique: An improved performer this season showing the form he displayed in the first half of his initial season.  As with Johnson, he attacks with purpose and often linked up with Suarez to devastating effect.  He has shown his passing is both short and long range and his distribution can often be quite clever.  Like Johnson, if he could eradicate the odd silly mistake from the defensive part of his game, which is purely down to concentration and a propensity to hold on and occasionally loose the ball in dangerous areas, he could well develop into one of the foremost left-backs in the Premiership. 7/10

Daniel Agger: The Dane's talents have never been in question as a ball playing centre-half, but this last season was underwhelming.  Where at the start of the season the expectations levels were high following the Danish captain's statement of intent not to ply his trade elsewhere, his performances were less than stellar, but more disappointing for a national captain was his failure to show leadership of any consequence.  In fact, the defence only hinted at any cohesion with the addition of Jamie Carragher.  Next season will be the most important of his Liverpool career as the focal point of the defence and will determine whether he could be a future club captain. 5/10

Martin Skrtel:  His performance in the away game at Southampton was systematic of a player whose confidence levels had hit rock bottom.  Brendan Rodgers lack of faith in the Slovakian can't have helped a player who at his best has a host of admirers around Europe and was Liverpool's player of the season for 2011-12.  His recent comments, supplemented by his agent's, suggest, sadly, we may just be seeing the watershed of his Liverpool career.  3/10

Sebastian Coates:  If ever a player suffered from a lack of support its Coates.  Still only 22 years old, he arrived from Nacional in August 2011 with great fanfare having been voted the best young player at the 2011 Copa America.  There is no denying he has been disappointing in his appearances in a Liverpool shirt appearing to struggle with the physicality of the Premiership.  He would though have benefited from being loaned out or been given a longer stint in the first team, but sadly, he is another whose Liverpool career seems to have run its course.  0/10

Jamie Carragher:  His competitive edge has never wavered despite not quite being at his combative best moving toward the end of his career, but the club's vice-captain still managed to usurp Martin Skrtel and had the manager and others clamouring for him to overturn his decision to retire at the end of the season. .  His performances have struck a chord to remind us the standards required to be a Liverpool centre-half, let alone to play for the club.  Alex Fergusson tribute to Carragher said it all, "He's absolutely a player I admire," Sir Alex told the club's official website. "He's the epitome of a loyal, dedicated player who Liverpool have been lucky to have for more than a decade.

"He's been a bedrock of their defensive qualities for years and years. I loved him. He's a fantastic example for any young lad that wants to play the game. He's been a really, really good professional."

Carragher struggled for appearances in the first half of the campaign but has started 14 of Liverpool's last 16 Premier League games, and Sir Alex compared the centre-back to former United captain Steve Bruce.

"He's absolutely the type of player a manager wants," Sir Alex continued. "I used to rave about Brucie [Steve Bruce] and the nine years he had with us, and I think Jamie Carragher is that exact same mould - can play with injuries, gets knocked about and gets back up, hardly misses a game.

A true club legend.  6/10

Martin Kelly:  Started the season buoyed after becoming a late inclusion in the Euro 2012 squad, he was struck down for the second season in succession with a long-term injury, just as he seemed destined to hold down a first team place.  Whether his future is at right-back or centre-half is an interesting question for the pacey defender, but what is not in question is how highly rated he is at the club.  He signed a new long-term contract in February.  N/A

Andre Wisdom:   Robust in the tackle and showed enough maturity to make many observers forget that he is a centre-half by trade.  Martin Kelly's return may just hasten his move back to a central berth, but he let know one down with his performances and what was overlooked is just how comfortable he is on the ball.  If Brendan Rodgers is looking for depth at centre-half for next season he could do no worse than the Leeds born defender.  6/10

Joe Allen:  By the end of last season his £15million price tag seemed to be weighing down on him to such an extent that it appeared to be stifling his performances.  But, as we now know, the ex-Swansea midfield controller was playing with a shoulder injury.  It makes it all the more surprising and misguided that Brendan Rodgers continued to play the Welshman, with his level of performance being so poor, than one wondered whether he had any business being at the club.  Midfield is an area that Liverpool are over endowed  and as such there was no need to take such a risk.  Encouragingly, he managed to score his first league goal for Liverpool, but with Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva the dominant midfielders and with the club seemingly on the lookout for external talent, the cold realisation is that drive and power is a requirement in the engine room, and as such the 'little man' will have to up his game with additional elements to remain in the first eleven.  4/10

Lucas Leiva:  Steven Gerrard's improved form in the second half of the season was in no small part to Lucas finally getting over his long-term knee injury.  It allowed Gerrard to escape the shackles of holding the midfield together and becoming more of an attacking force, linking up with Coutinho and Suarez.  Lucas work in front of the defence should not be underestimated, as much as his play is understated, he makes countless interceptions and has added a variety of subtle passing to his armoury.  A fit Lucas at the beginning of the season and a Daniel Sturridge in toe may just have helped us to build a winning momentum through the season. In saying that, whether he is and can make the leap to become top class is open to question.  6/10

Jordan Henderson:  Impressed many during the season with performances hinting a long-term career at the club is not beyond him.  His team mate’s celebration following his stunning volley against Norwich showed just how much they recognise his whole hearted approach, often bursting through to support the striker and adding vitality to the midfield.  He showed tremendous strength of character to come back from ferocious criticism the previous season and one detected warmth among the Anfield faithful for a player who was voted England under-21 Player of the Year for 2012 by supporters and captained England under-21 at the European Championships. 6/10

Stewart Downing:  Another who showed fantastic fortitude to raise his game and put in some potent performances adding some much needed goals to his output.  Was on his way out of Anfield with 18 months’ worth of disappointing performances wearing thin the patience of his manager, who in a un-Liverpool like manner criticised the player in public, stating the player could move on in January.  Downing to his credit, fought back not just verbally, but displayed his best form since his arrival at the club in July 2011.  One sensed the player knew he was in the last chance saloon and operated accordingly.  His improved form might be enough to keep him as an important squad member, but as Rodgers seeks to improve Liverpool in his second season, he may struggle to hold down his first team place.  5/10

Steven Gerrard:  The England captain enjoyed an injury free season, but unlike his halcyon days, he understandably played in a more measured and less dynamic way, controlling the tempo of games and turned defence into attack with stunning long range passing.  His surging runs are not as frequent, just more controlled, and I lost count of the times colleagues failed to pick out runs with loose passing.  His ubiquitous influence is very much still the heart-beat of the side, although he has been supplanted by Suarez as the inspirational figure. His level of performances this last season gives one the impression he will be around for a few seasons yet. 6/10

Raheem Sterling:  The lack of depth forced Brendan Rodgers into picking the youngster.  It says a lot about his fearlessness and the impact he made early on, that stories were abound that the club were being forced to offer the youngster improved contract terms as rivals were looking to pounce in the January transfer window.  He has a prodigious work ethic, often working back to support the defender behind him.  One felt as the season went on his struggled as teams began to work him out and as he came up against more physical opponents.  He has the prerequisite 'smarts' to get over those perceived problems as he gains more experience and begins to fill out.  All in all, a promising first season as he took on the mantle of being Liverpool's premier winger scoring his first Premiership goal. 5/10

Jonjo Shelvey:  After some strong early season performances, particularly in the Europa Cup, he dropped out of contention which is hard to quantify considering the form of Joe Allen.  In a season which saw him making his debut for England in the World Cup qualifier at home to San Marino and continued excellence for the under-21s, his absence from the run-in seemed mystifying and it appears sadly, that the talented youngster maybe heading for pastures new.  3/10

Jesus Fernandez Seaz (Suso) - Arguably the most naturally gifted player at the club, with the ability to dribble with the ball close to his feet and a passing range which only his club captain is able to top.  His lack of stature is the only thing holding him back in the Premiership at the moment and on a few occasions he was substituted at half-time. With Coutinho on the scene he has direct competition and one suspects he would rather play in the hole rather on the left had side. 4/10

Fabio Borini:  The Italian striker's first season was decimated by two injuries.  The first of which left the club with one recognised striker and the second cruelly as he'd worked his way back into the contention all but ended his season with a dislocated shoulder. He returned in the last few games to score his first Premiership goal for the club and looked incisive.   He is highly thought of in his homeland as one of the best young strikers and hopefully will push on next season even with Apas and Alberto entering the equation. 3/10

Luis Suarez:  After two and half seasons at Anfield is arguably behind only Messi and Ronaldo respectively as the best players in the world.  The Uruguayan has overtaken Gerrard and is now carrying Liverpool.  Some of his performances have been simply devastating and until Daniel Sturridge arrived he was the Liverpool attack.  We are now in the dangerous position of hoping rather than been relatively certain of his stay and should he leave will be in the position of losing a truly world class player destined to be a great one.   The Uruguayan once again blotted his copy book with his unconscionable act of savagery against Chelsea which brought LFC into disrepute and cost the club with his ban overlapping in next season. 9/10

Daniel Sturridge:  His explosive start to his Liverpool career only made fans wonder what might have been had he started the season at Anfield alongside Suarez.  The pairing almost pulled the loss at Old Trafford out of the mire with a second-half performance which had fans looking forward to possible Champions League entry.  The £12million looks money well spent and Anfield could be a happy home for the England International.  He has a disturbing knack of picking up injuries just as he appears to be pushing on and was injured playing for England in the close season and we can only hope that he’ll be back in time to have a pre-season, especially with Suarez still serving his ban.  6/10

Osama Assaidi:  Difficult to fathom just why Brendan Rodgers bought the ex-Heerenveen winger.  We saw enough of him in flashes to see his potential coming off the bench.  There were occasions when the Liverpool bench looked sparse with youngsters helping to fill the breach and one could only wonder whether the Moroccan International had failed to impress a manager who spent £3million to beat of interest from clubs in Holland and the Premiership in training.  1/10

Philippe Coutinho:  The Brazilian has already become a firm favourite with supporters taking to the Premiership like a duck to water.  Able to play in colleagues on the run and play pinpoint passes from wide or central positions.  He has built himself an upwardly mobile place in the club stats having already a number of assists and goals.  Possessing the ability to beat defenders with just a drop of the shoulder, he has a burst of pace over the first five yards and as he proved an undoubted match winner who combines well with Enrique and his fellow South American Suarez and with Sturridge there relationship appeared almost telepathic.  As time goes on he'll become more combative, which will enable him as with Suarez to become one of the team's leaders,  7/10

Notable others:  Samed Yesil showed in flashes he could be poacher of some repute with a sharpness in the box and a directness in front of goal which saw him start in the Europa League.   Unfortunately, injury finished his season just as he was looking to kick on. Anyone watching Jordan Ibe’s progress since his debut for the under-18s in 2012 will not be surprised by his impressive debut in the final game of the season against QPR when he laid on an assist for Philippe Coutinho.  Definitely one for the future.

Loaned players:

Player	Team	Appearances	Goals
Andy Carroll	* West Ham (Sold to West Ham for a reputed £15 million with add ons)	24	7
Michael Ngoo	Heart of Midlothian	17	5
Daniel Pacheco	SD Huesca	17	4
Jack Robinson	Wolverhampton Wanderers	11	0
Jay Spearing	Bolton (voted player of the season by Supporters’ Association and also scooped the club’s player of the season)	37	2

Brendan Rodgers:  Next season will be the barometer used to measure whether Liverpool are going forward under  Rodgers or whether his 180 page document was merely a false dawn written by a manager/coach swimming against the tide of expectation.  At our best we've played some of the most thrilling and dynamic football in the League and it's to Rodgers credit, his positive outlook and his fervent belief that football should be played in an entertaining manner.  

He buys similar bodied players in stature which sometimes leaves us susceptible against the more physical teams.  He's plagiarized the Barcelona play book, but even they recognise the need for steely resolve and have Sergio Busgetts and Alex Song at the bottom of the midfield doing the dirty work and no surprise that these two are physically taller and stronger in the tackle than their more celebrated colleagues, although they still felt short to the more powerful Bayern.  Swansea while keeping Rodgers basic philosophy, have added more power to their play at both ends which enabled them to compete and become a force away from home.  We need to adapt to different philosophies of play as this is not La Liga where most teams play football without the physical threat.  Even Chelsea with the wonderfully gifted talents of Mata, Oscar and Hazard have found it difficult to play all three, in the Premiership and it was the same for Liverpool at St. Mary's and a good portion of the home game against Spurs where we struggled to live with their power and pace having started with Downing and Coutinho supplementing Sturridge and Suarez leaving the midfield bereft. 

Gone are the days where Steven Gerrard is going to carry the team on his own and Rodgers must look long-term for his captain's replacement which will allow him to be more strategic in the way he deploys him.  We have been found wanting in some games pure and simple because of the lack of depth and quality in the squad.  Rodgers needs to add ready-made quality to the squad and it's the one thing he should've learn from Suarez who was a quality player before his arrival. 

 
There are positives.  We could and should have beaten Man City twice and Man United at home.  A lot has been made of our failure to beat those above, but we more than held our own and it is how Rodgers channels this into moving the team forward that will set out whether we compete with the big four.

We let ourselves down in home matches against WBA and Aston Villa which turned out to be vital points dropped, in our quest for European qualification.  All in all, with Rodgers at the helm, the club has managed to stabilize itself following the traumatic last few years.  On the field we haven't gone forward as much we would’ve liked, but with the glittering skills of Luis Suarez he knows that should he add some more talent to the team he may on the verge of moving the side into contention for a top four position. Should he not be supported by the board, then 2013-2014 may see us lose Reina and Suarez and our ability to compete at the top end.  One would like to see us succeed with a British manager at the helm and hopefully Brendan Rodgers is that man.  6/10

The Board:  The board haven't been backwards in coming forward, having backed managers financially, but we need to move on to the next level.  Critically, at the start of the season their failure to back the manager in the transfer market left us short upfront.  The drive to balance the books saw Andy Carroll go to West Ham on loan and no viable alternative come in.  Alternately, the success of Daniel Sturridge proves the club could've returned to the Champions League ahead of schedule and one wonders whether it was a lack of foresight on their part or just naivety in not knowing enough about the game to recognise how difficult it would be to challenge on any front with one top striker, all be it a world class one.  It begs the question, as to just just how much control Rodgers had in terms of transfers at the start of last season.

The summer transfer window will see whether the board understands the rationale of bringing in top players to help Gerrard and Suarez or stick rigidly to their mantra of bringing young players with potential rather than world-class players to take us to the next level.  Liverpool are at least four players short of being able to build an aura of authority to consistency challenge for a top four position and I challenge John W. Henry, Tom Werner, Ian Ayres and co to work with Brendan Rodgers to achieve that this summer. 

Hopefully the board shares Steven Gerrard's views in what needs to be done.  "We're not far away," said Gerrard speaking after the win against Villa.

"There will be some improvements in the summer to the squad and we believe we can then put in a better challenge for the top four next season. “We know what our problem is and it's inconsistency.

For the majority of the games [last season] we have played well enough to be higher up the league than we are, but when you look at performances like Southampton, Aston Villa at home, West Brom away, Arsenal at home; there's a handful of games there that this team hasn't turned up. That's the reason why we are sitting where we are in the table. But there have been some fantastic performances, ones that are well worth a top-four finish."

"If you have players like Coutinho and Suarez in your team then you win games," said the 32-year-old. "Ever since I was a player as a kid, you always find it easier to play alongside quality players. All the way through, Michael Owen, [Fernando] Torres, Suárez, Coutinho, they are the easiest players to play with."  John W. Henry were you listening?

 
The board sacked Kenny Dalglish over his ill-judged support over the racism row with Patrice Evra.  There followed a root and  branch clear out of the club's PR Department,  yet over the Suarez 'Bite Gate' affair the club instead of being seen to act by banning the star striker, they fell foul of not seeing the wider picture.  If we had been blessed with a few more world class players in the locker would the board have seen fit to have issued its own tough ban or even let the player go?  One doesn't want to aim cynicism at their attempts to be fair to the player as the FA in their wisdom and own attempts to lay down the law did not, as the PFA had, offer an olive branch to help the help the player who obviously has a character flaw in his make-up. 5/10

2012-2013 (Review):  The season started with no gargantuan expectations, but through it expectations were raised time and again with performances against the top six clubs.  Time again it was one step forward and two back with under-par performances against Aston Villa and WBA at home and a humiliating performance away to Southampton spelt curtains for the push towards a European place.

Luis Suarez stood head and shoulders above his colleagues and usurped Steven Gerrard as the go to man in the side.  One felt in the first half of season, he and he alone kept us away from the mediocre.  If he came to us as world class talent he finished the season as one of the world's great players, but even his explosive play couldn't get us into the top four.

Liverpool supporters are some of the most knowledgeable in the game and understand the position having seen promising performances against the Manchester United (home and away), Man City (home and away) Spurs (home) and Arsenal (away) and beating Chelsea away.  We threw away game after game, unable to finish off teams.

The lack of depth and was keenly shown up in our Europa Cup performances, where  Rodgers often threw, youngsters into the fray and didn’t look too perturbed after we were summarily dismissed from the competition.

The defence one of strongest the previous season, leaked goals throughout.  Martin Skrtel, a rock, saw his form dissipate to the point that Jamie Carragher regained his place in the twilight of his career.  It was disappointing to see the level of support given to the player who is a top quality defender.  Granted Jamie Carragher came back to provide organisation and leadership, but the goals still leaked and alongside him Agger was lucky not to find himself in the same boat as his normal centre-half partner.  The spine of the team lacked a combative edge and needs to be addressed.

All is all, with the tools on hand, 7^th place is about par for the course considering the turn over at the start of the season, but with three undoubted world-class players in the ranks in Reina, Gerrard and Suarez the disappointment felt that we hadn’t at least usurped Everton was keenly felt.  Progress in the second-half of last season lends one to believe that relative progress in 2013-14 is attainable.  5/10

So success for the forthcoming season would be in my eyes a strong push for fourth and even third place and a strong showing in both domestic cup competitions with no European Cup to use as an excuse.