Manchester City vs Liverpool: Post-Match Thoughts

Yesterday, Liverpool faced their first big challenge of the season when they came up against Manchester City. Despite being the clearly superior team for large parts of the game they could not capitalise, and the clinical Manchester City ended up winning 3-1.

Much like our game against Southampton last week, Liverpool failed to make their trademark fast start. It’s disappointing to see this element of our game disappearing, as it was this that allowed us to be practically home and dry in some games after just half an hour last season. That said, we were into our rhythm before too long. After five minutes or so of having the lions share of possession, City were pushed back, and Liverpool started to get on top. Daniel Sturridge created one of the best opportunities, beating Vincent Komapny excellently with some skill then forcing a smart save out of Joe Hart at his near post. Despite all the pressure, Liverpool failed to make a breakthrough. This was, in part, down to some good defending from the reigning champions. However, the system of using a lone striker may also have played a part. Sturridge looked isolated for large parts of the game, and Coutinho’s poor performance meant the play from midfield into attack was, at times, disjointed.

It was inevitable really that, having dominated the game so much for so long, Liverpool would concede a soft goal. Such a goal came just before the break. New signing Alberto Moreno, who up to this point had looked good, was caught on the back foot when Dejan Lovren’s headed clearance fell towards him, and Stefan Jovetic nipped in to steal the ball and lash it home. It was a harsh welcome to the Premier League for Moreno- the pace of the games is quicker than perhaps in any other league in the world, and waiting for the ball to come to you will often, as it was on this occasion, be brutally punished. Due to this, Liverpool went into the break undeservedly behind.

Perhaps this shook Liverpool, for it was not the same bright, attacking side that came out for the second half. The defence looked worryingly vulnerable, and this proved to be the case after just 10 minutes of the half. It was Jovetic again who capitalised on some woeful defending, this time from Dejan Lovren. The Croatian wandered forward aimlessly, seemingly totally unaware of where he was in relation to the rest of the back line. This left Nasri with bags of room to slot a pass through to Jovetic, who finished well. Liverpool rallied a little after conceding, and the introduction of Lazar Markovic (in place of Philippe Coutinho) on 59 minutes certainly livened up our attacking play. Indeed, his clever interplay down the left with Moreno very nearly produced a goal just minutes after he came on. We started to produce some sustained pressure, and it looked as if we might just be able to drag ourselves back into the game. Sadly, it didn’t pan out that way. Aguero came on for the injured Dzeko with 21 minutes to play, and scored just seconds later, essentially killing off the game. Once more, question marks were raised over the defence. A nice ball from Jesus Navas carved open the entire back line, and Aguero raced through to smash the ball home past Mignolet.

At this point, Rodgers took off Sterling and brought on Rickie Lambert. The change certainly had a positive impact on the team, but not because of the quality of Rickie Lambert; it was the change in system that caused Liverpool to improve so dramatically at this point. Having two forwards instead of one just seemed natural, and our play became much more fluid and attacking. It was the two strikers, Sturridge and Lambert, who combined to get Liverpool a consolation goal. Sturridge whipped a ball into the box, and Lambert turned it goalwards. After some ricocheting off Hart and Zabaletta, the ball somehow found its way into the goal.

The fact that we improved so notably when playing with two strikers in encouraging. We have just brought in Mario Balotelli from AC Milan, and though some people are questioning whether he will succeed at Liverpool there is no doubt that he is a talented striker. Astute though the purchase of Lambert was (for just £4million, he offers a nice alternative option for desperate situations), he simply isn’t viable as a regular second striker as he cannot function in Liverpool’s high-pressing, fast-paced system. Balotelli, on the other hand, should be able to function well alongside Daniel Sturridge. It’s a shame the Italian wasn’t registered in time for the clash with City; if he had been, things might have panned out differently.

It is naturally extremely frustrating to have lost, especially to a team that come the end of the season are surely going to be right up there with us in the fight for the title, but it is only one game and the season is yet young. Although the game showed that there were still definite defensive deficiencies that need to be addressed, there were also lots of positives to take from the performance. To have outplayed the champions for the majority of the first half is an achievement, and, aside from being glaringly at fault for the first goal, Moreno had a pretty good game. For me, though, Markovic was the most encouraging thing to take from the game. When thrown into the mix, he immediately injected positivity and pace into our side, and made us look altogether more dangerous. It makes a refreshing change from last season to have players waiting on the bench who are good enough to come on and make a genuine impact.

Next up in Liverpool’s fixture list is another potentially challenging game. We play Tottenham at White Hart Lane; though I’m sure we all remember how well that went for us last year, Tottenham are already looking an improved side under Mauricio Pochettino. Indeed, though it means next to nothing so early on, Tottenham currently top the table. However, I think that, should Balotelli be able to make a smooth transition into the team right from the off (admittedly a big ask), then we have a very good chance of taking all three points.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Manchester City vs Liverpool: Clash of the Titans

In just the second gameweek of the season, the Premier League is treating us to what promises to be an excellent match. The winners of last season are up against the runners-up who pushed them right to the wire last time out, and both will want to put a marker down early for the new season. Liverpool have already drawn first blood, emerging triumphant on penalties after a 2-2 draw in pre-season, but this time around there’s more at stake than pride.

The meeting between the sides in pre-season could well prove to be a foreshadowing of what we will see in this game. When Manchester City face Liverpool, a high-scoring affair is usually the order of the day. Both sides have defensive frailties, and the attacking strength of the two teams mean these frailties get exploited. Liverpool struggled to contain the not particularly inspiring Southampton attack in their first match of the season, so coming up against the likes of Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero will certainly be testing for them. City too looked below par in the opening game; though they didn’t concede, that was more down to Newcastle’s woeful finishing than City’s excellent defending. As such, the front men of both teams will be licking their lips at the prospect of this fixture. In terms of Fantasy Premier League, all three of Sergio Aguero, Daniel Sturridge and Edin Dzeko could be on for good points. Raheem Sterling is also one who could score well; he has been playing as a second striker of late, a position from where he can get lots of goals. This could be the last game in which Sterling features up front, as the imminent arrival of Mario Balotelli will surely force the 19 year old to move back into the number 10 role.   

Does this mean that playing any Liverpool or Manchester City defenders in your fantasy team this week is definitely a mistake? Not necessarily. Liverpool are notoriously bad at dealing with set pieces, so the City centre-backs stand a decent chance of notching from a corner or free kick. Liverpool’s defenders stand less chance of scoring well, but new boy Alberto Moreno could make his debut, and he has a reputation for running at defenders and generally exhibiting an attacking style- this could lead to assists. Still, it would certainly be classed as a gamble to field any of these players, as a clean sheet for either side looks distinctly unlikely.

Both sides have distinct danger men. The threats of Daniel Sturridge, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling have already been mentioned, but there are others to watch out for. One man Liverpool will be particularly wary of is Yaya Toure. With Fernandinho/Fernando playing deep, Toure will be able to push on up the field with more freedom than he did last season. This could result in an even higher goal and assist tally for him than in the last campaign. David Silva and Samir Nasri are also ones that, from a Fantasy point of view, could score points- in a stretched game, they have the potential to pick a killer pass that undoes the entire defence and sends someone clean through on goal. Liverpool, too, have players who could score points. Coutinho and Henderson are in some ways the Liverpool equivalent of Silva and Nasri- either of them could pick up an assist. It was Henderson who picked the glorious pass for Sterling’s goal against Southampton; he is clearly a very able player.

Both Liverpool and Manchester City exhibit a refreshing, expansive, attacking style of play. Clever, intricate passes are combined with incisive runs to produce marvellous goals. This is one of the reasons why they both score so many (they were the two highest scorers last season), but also one of the reasons why they concede with such regularity. Inevitably, committing multiple players forward to try and create an opening results in holes being left at the back.  Due to this, I think we can expect to see an exciting, end to end sort of game. This will suit Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, whose pace makes them well-suited to mounting attacks quickly.

The very nature of football dictates that all of this could be totally wrong. The art of prediction is a very imprecise one, and this fact is what makes fantasy football such an interesting, at times extremely frustrating game. Although on paper it seems clear that this game will feature goals on both sides, it might end up being a dull 0-0 draw! Still, seeing as I’m previewing the match and all that, I’ll take a stab at a score prediction. I think we’ll see a repeat of when the sides met in America in pre-season: a 2-2 draw. 

Liverpool 2-1 Southampton: It’s Not Vintage, But It’s Victory

So much for easing us in lightly. Liverpool’s first game of the season did end in victory, but it certainly wasn’t done the easy way. It took a 79^th minute winner from Daniel Sturridge to scrape victory for the reds, and the argument could be made that the win wasn’t deserved. Still, at the end of the day it’s the three points that matters, and the win moves Liverpool joint top of the Premier League.

 Right from the off it was apparent that we weren’t going to be treated to a vintage Liverpool performance of the like we got so accustomed to last season. We didn’t come out all guns blazing, and were happy to knock it around without really penetrating the Southampton defence. Part of the problem can be traced to the selection of Lucas- his clumsy, disjointed style of play broke up the midfield and prevented good transition from midfield to attack. However, after just over twenty minutes Liverpool did manage to get a goal. The pundits have been droning on prior to the season about how Liverpool will struggle to score in tough games now they don’t have the magic of Suarez, but it appears that we can now rely upon the magic of Henderson. It was his glorious long ball that found Sterling, who finished extremely coolly past Forster. This in itself is very encouraging for the season to come; the only thing Sterling was lacking at times last season was a clinical finish, which is something he appears to be adding to his game.

The control of possession which the reds had managed to exert over the game up to this point vanished after the goal. Southampton were able to push forward a lot, and they looked dangerous at times. Morgan Schneiderlin came the closest to scoring, forcing Mignolet into a good save. Liverpool made it to half time with their lead still intact, but it was clear that something would have to change if they wanted to hold on to it. The second half started, nothing changed and the inevitable happened. Nathaniel Clyne’s 56^th minute goal was no less than Southampton deserved. That said, it could and should have been prevented. Tadic’s backheel, though executed with pinpoint accuracy, was excruciatingly obvious. Johnson, who other than Lucas was our worst player, was a mere spectator as Clyne ran round him and smashed it home. On the plus side Johnson will probably no longer be featuring in the first team very much- Manquillo (who had a very good game) is making the right-back position his own, and new signing Alberto Moreno will slot in at left-back.

If Rodgers was hoping that conceding the goal would prove to be a wake up call for his team, he was left disappointed. Southampton continued to pile on pressure, and it took some truly desperate defending at times to stop the Saints taking the lead. Lucas coming off for Allen improved Liverpool’s play a little, but it wasn’t until Coutinho made way for Lambert that we were really able to get going. This wasn’t because Lambert terrorised his former club (although he played fairly well); it was because the change meant that Sterling moved into the number 10 role, which allowed him to wreak havoc. His pace and movement put us back on the front foot, and it was he who set up the winning goal. He flicked the ball on with his head from the edge of the box, and Sturridge had positioned himself perfectly to knock the ball home from close range.

Still, the game wasn’t over. Much like after the first goal, Liverpool regressed after scoring. Their half-hearted attempt at keep-ball in the immediate aftermath of the goal fizzled out pretty quickly, and soon the reds had nearly everyone camped in their own box, trying to absorb the huge amounts of pressure Southampton were applying. It very nearly wasn’t enough- Mignolet made a simply amazing reaction save to tip Schneiderlin’s effort on to the underside of the crossbar, and Long somehow headed his follow-up attempt wide of the target. After this Liverpool managed to wind down the clock in the corner, and they saw the game out.

There are both positives and negatives to take from this game. The obvious positive is the three points, which is the ultimate aim of any Premier League game. Another encouraging sign was the goal and assist for Raheem Sterling, who looks all set to have a very big season for us. The versatility that Rodgers has given the team with his transfers also showed- changing the system to put Sterling through the middle was what changed the game and won us the match. The negatives were also quite apparent- Lucas and Johnson simply aren’t good enough to play for Liverpool, and the defence, though improved, still looks shaky. Personally I think that Sakho and Lovren would be a better choice of centre-back pairing that Skrtel and Lovren, as Sakho strikes me as much less error-prone.

Overall though, we can’t complain. We’ve got off to a winning start, something that prior to last season’s victory over Stoke we had failed to do for a long time. Though by no means the ideal performance, the main weaknesses that we exhibited are relatively easily fixable, and I’m sure the team will be exhibiting much nicer football than this before too long. Facing Manchester City is the ultimate kick up the backside, so I’m sure the team will be much more fired up for next week’s game. With a bit of luck they’ll be able to continue their winning start to the season.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Liverpool's New Signings- Fantasy Football Focus

After the sale of Luis Suarez earlier in the transfer window, Liverpool have been very busy bringing in new players. So far, there have been six new arrivals at Anfield (seven including Origi, but he’s out on loan for the season and is therefore irrelevant to this article), with more rumoured to be on their way. Whilst all these signings are undoubtedly good for the team as a whole, it throws up some FPL dilemmas. Liverpool were ideally suited to Fantasy Football last year- not only did they love scoring goals, they also had a small squad. This meant rotation risk was low. Now, however, all that is changing.

Having finished as the Premier League’s second top scorer last season despite missing a sizeable number of games through injury, Daniel Sturridge looks nailed on to start whenever he is fit. Mignolet too looks to be a certain starter, for want of any real competition. Other than this, there is nobody in the Liverpool squad who could be called a guaranteed starter. This means that you have to be doubly careful when selecting Liverpool players for your team; it’s not all about picking ‘the best’ players, potential game time has to be factored in as well.

So who out of the new signings is likely to play relatively regularly as well as score good points? Let’s start with the man on loan from Atletico Madrid, Javier Manquillo. As the most recent acquisition, we have yet to have a chance to see him play for Liverpool, but reports about him from Spain are generally very positive. He is a right-back, and I think he could get decent game time. Glen Johnson’s tactics of ‘run, cut inside, get tackled, fail to track back, repeat’ are getting tiresome, and it seems likely that he will at least rotate with Manquillo, if not get usurped from the starting line-up altogether. The safest (and in my view most sensible) thing to do is to hold back on getting Manquillo until it becomes more clear how regularly he’ll play, but if you like a gamble then 5.0 million is a very reasonable starting price.

Dejan Lovren

The other new defender Liverpool have purchased is Dejan Lovren. He is a good defensive leader- this is something Liverpool sorely missed last season. Hopefully he will help the reds to become much more solid at the back, and keep a lot more clean sheets than they managed last year. However, as with all the new signings, there is a question mark over how often he will play. It seems likely that he will get a fair chunk of game time; he’s a good player, and Liverpool showed faith in him by paying a large fee. That said, he faces stiff competition from Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho. Unless Rodgers opts to go with three at the back this season (a definite possibility- he experimented with it last year), then only two out of these three can start. If Lovren isn’t going to start the vast majority of games, then an FPL value of 5.5 million looks like a fairly steep price to pay. As with Manquillo, my advice would be to hold off on Lovren. If he does start nearly all the games in the first few weeks, and Liverpool prove themselves to have become more adept at keeping clean sheets, then that is the time to bring him in.

Adam Lallana

Now we move on to the midfielders. First up, Adam Lallana. The advice here is simple- don’t get him. He injured his knee in training, and is not expected back until late September. Once he comes back, he could be one to consider, though he will probably be rotating in and out a little as Coutinho, Markovic (I’ll come to him in a second) and Sterling are all also competing for a place in the three positions behind the striker. At 8.5 million, even if Lallana was fit, I would much sooner have Sterling in my fantasy team.

As promised, I’ll now move on to Markovic. Sadly we’ve only got to see him in action once for Liverpool, as a niggling injury kept him out of the majority of pre-season. Still, he looked very positive in the one game he’s played. His pace is electric, and he is capable of finding seemingly non-existent gaps in the defence and running through them. However, though still reasonable, his finishing is not what it could be. He faces a fitness race to be ready for Liverpool’s opener, but he’ll certainly be fit for their second game. If you’re the sort of FPL player who likes taking risks right from the start, I’d recommend getting Markovic. Whilst Lallana is out injured, Markovic, Coutinho and Sterling all look set to get regular game time. With less than 2% of players picking the 7.5 million valued Markovic, he could prove to be an excellent early differential that allows you to open out a good early lead over your competitors. Once Lallana returns, however, he will be in and out of the first team, and you might want to consider replacing him.

The other midfielder Liverpool have acquired is Emre Can. He is versatile, and can be employed either as a defensive midfielder or a central midfielder. He has been played regularly in pre-season, and been one of Liverpool’s best players. Though it will be extremely hard for him to cement a place as a regular starter, as he is up against the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and Lucas, he certainly looks capable of muscling his way into the side. Under normal circumstances, I would never recommend getting a defensive midfielder in fantasy football. However, from the few games I’ve seen of him, Can appears to be in the same mould as Yaya Toure. This isn’t a direct comparison of talent (Can is only 20 after all), but merely an observation that their styles of play are similar. Can likes to make marauding runs up the pitch from his defensive position, and his sheer presence means he usually makes his way through players with ease. If he does manage to become a regular starter, I think he could score a fair few points, so for just 5.0 million he cannot be overlooked.

Rickie Lambert

The final signing to evaluate is Rickie Lambert. I cannot overstate how stupid you would have to be to get him in. Unbelievably, 10% of fantasy players have got him in their teams, and if you are one of them then you need to get him out. His game time will almost certainly be extremely limited; I wouldn’t get him in my team if he cost 4.5 million. As it is, he costs 7.5 million, making him by far the least viable fantasy prospect of all Liverpool’s new signings.

In conclusion, the general rule to go by when considering getting in one of Liverpool’s new signings is ‘wait and see’. The majority of them are unknown quantities to a large extent, both in terms of talent and of the amount of game time they will be given. However, if you want to take a punt, then getting in either Manquillo or Markovic from early on could turn out well for you.

-James Martin

How Will Liverpool Line Up Next Season?

Photo: David Rawcliffe

The warning signs are there in the title to this article- the following piece of writing will contain no solid fact whatsoever. It will be almost entirely speculation on my part, and will, in all probability, turn out to be totally wrong. I am not blessed with the footballing brain of Brendan Rodgers, and as such my ideas of how Liverpool should play their football next season may not exactly tally up with his! Still, I’ll give it a shot.

One of the reasons it is so hard to determine exactly how Liverpool will look to play in the coming season is because the exact personnel of our starting eleven is unknown. It is a fair assumption that our midfield will be subject to a lot of rotation; we have more games this season due to being back in the Champions League (yay!), and Sterling, Markovic, Coutinho, Lallana, Ibe, Suso and Texeira are all capable of stepping up to the plate. All of these players can ply their trade in the number 10 role or in a wider position-this gives the side a huge amount of versatility. In some games we could opt for the raw pace of Sterling, Ibe and Markovic- this would lead to a deadly counter-attacking style. In other fixtures we could go down the route of sheer technical ability as opposed to pure pace; Coutinho, Lallana, Suso and Texeira are all extremely gifted on the ball. A combination such as this would lead to a shift towards the ‘total football’ style so widely discussed when Brendan Rodgers first took the reigns at LFC, as all of these players have exceptional passing ability. This ability to mix things up not only from game to game, but also within games, gives us a huge adaptability. This was something we were, to an extent, lacking last season.

All of this goes on the assumption that we will be playing three attacking players behind a lone striker- it is feasible that this might not be the case. The signing of Loic Remy from QPR looks imminent, and he is undoubtedly a talented player. It is inconceivable that he should push Daniel Sturridge out of the side, so perhaps Rodgers is planning on playing two up front. Of course, it could just be that Remy is being brought in to strengthen the squad, and is only being purchased as back-up, but the possibility of a two-man front line has to be considered.  With Remy out of the equation, a 4-2-3-1 would make the most sense: two of Can, Henderson, Gerrard and Allen could occupy the deeper roles, with a combination of the aforementioned midfielders in the three and Sturridge up front on his own. Once Remy is factored in, it becomes harder to predict what Rodgers might do. It is possible that he could revert to a formation he used at times last season- the formation he dubs ‘the 4-4-2 diamond’. Better known to some as the 4-1-2-1-2, this features one holding midfielder, two central midfielders and one out-and-out attacking midfielder playing behind two strikers. This was utilised sometimes last season to allow the SAS partnership to thrive; there is no reason to suggest that it might not be used once more to make full use of the SAR partnership (admittedly not quite as catchy). Though this could be deemed the most beneficial for Sturridge and Remy, it means there is only one attacking midfielder in the line-up, meaning multiple attacking midfielders would have to be played out of position. The signings of Lallana and Markovic this transfer window suggests to me that Rodgers is not looking to regularly go for the 4-4-2 diamond, and his preference is to opt for something closer to the 4-2-3-1 in order to make full use of our massive amounts of quality in the attacking midfield area.

The question many fans are most eager to find the answer to is whether Liverpool will play more defensively next season. Our one obvious shortcoming last season, the flaw in the team that ultimately cost us the title, was clearly our defence. As such, it would be ludicrous to suggest that Rodgers will not look to strengthen the team’s defensive qualities in one way or another. However, I don’t think he will look to address the defensive frailties by lining up in a more defensive manner. Liverpool’s main asset is their great attacking football, so to compromise that by committing fewer men forward would be akin to shooting oneself in the foot. Instead, I think it likely that our defence will be strengthened by means of new acquisitions in the transfer market. We have been persistently linked with Dejan Lovren since before the window opened, and he would not be a bad signing. The fees being bandied about are ridiculous, and I certainly don’t think he is worth the £20 million figure being cited, but he seems to be a solid centre-back. Other than Sakho we have no defenders who are good enough to be regular starters if we want to mount another serious title challenge, so the signing of Lovren (or similar) and at least one new full back is imperative. If we manage to bring in the right players, we won’t need to play in a manner any less attack-minded than last season, as we will have a defence which can be relied upon.

To sum up, there is no way of knowing for sure exactly what we’ll be seeing from Liverpool next season, but that’s all part of the excitement. On August 17^th the plans of Brendan Rodgers will start to be revealed, and we can begin to see for ourselves what Liverpool have in store for us in 2014/15. All we can do until then is hugely over-analyse pre-season games, get whipped up into frenzies about made-up transfer targets and altogether get carried away by the whirlwind of madness that is the close season. The only certainty is that, come what may next season, we will be behind the club with the huge support that can only be given by the best fans in the world.

 -James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Not again… Suarez Saga Version 2.0

This feels all too familiar. The moment Suarez sank his teeth into Chiellini, Liverpool fans everywhere knew what was coming. It’s nothing new- the only real difference to last time is that instead of Real Madrid being the front-runners to take Suarez from us it’s Barcelona. I was tempted to just dig out my article from last time and tweak it a little- it all still applies. Much like last time, everyone seems absolutely convinced Suarez will be off to Spain. But will he?

In short, I have no idea. The only people who have even an inkling of where Suarez will be playing his football (or, more accurately, serving his suspension) next season are the Liverpool transfer committee, and sometimes I’m dubious as to whether they have a clue either! Either way, all is not lost. Contrary to what jealous fans of other Premier League clubs will tell you, Liverpool are by no means a ‘one man team’. Yes, Suarez contributed a vast amount of goals and a sizeable number of assists in the last campaign, but other players also did exceptionally well over the course of the season. Indeed, Daniel Sturridge was second top scorer in the Premier League! If we are to lose the best striker in the league, it is certainly a nice consolation to have the second best ready to step up.

It’s not like we’d be giving Suarez away for free either. If Barcelona (or anyone else for that matter) are to secure the services of Suarez, it will cost them a lot. A conservative estimate of the fee Liverpool might receive for Suarez is £60million, and to be honest he’s probably worth a lot more than that. Armed with this money to spend on top of the rumoured £40million that FSG made available at the start of the window, Brendan Rodgers can make Liverpool’s already excellent team even more formidable. A large investment is needed to sure up our main weak point from last season: the defence. If we can bring in some top class full-backs and centre-backs (no, I’m not talking about Dejan Lovren)  as well as maintaining our attacking flair then it is not unreasonable to suggest that Liverpool are in an extremely strong position to win the league this season. Of course, when losing the 3^rd best player in the world, it is easier said than done to ‘maintain attacking flair’, but just one good signing would ensure we still have a front line that strikes fear into opponents’ hearts. We have been heavily linked with both Shaqiri and Sanchez- imagine Sterling, Coutinho (or Lallana, if we must) and one of Shaqiri or Sanchez in a three behind Sturridge. Tasty.

But all this conjecture is pointless if, as nearly everybody seems to have now written off as a possibility, Suarez stays put. I even saw a ‘Goodbye Suarez’ video posted on YouTube the other day- he’s not gone yet! Everyone got themselves worked up into a similar frenzy last year; you get the feeling that it’s only a matter of time before some moronic fans start their ceremonial burning of Suarez shirts. Liverpool are under no obligation to sell Suarez unless a release clause is met, and even then nothing is set in stone. The club essentially admitted that Arsenal’s insulting bid of £40million plus 1 pound did in fact trigger a clause, but they ignored it anyway. Despite all of his controversies, Liverpool won’t be eager to get rid of their prize asset; unless the price is right, then it’s safe to say that Suarez won’t be going anywhere.

To sum up, whether Suarez goes or not is not only beyond our control but also, in the grand scheme of things, not that big an issue. If he stays, then we have the privilege of having a world class striker playing for us for the majority of the season, and he will doubtless help us to push on and challenge for the title again. If he goes, then we’ll have plenty of money with which to strengthen the squad, which will also undoubtedly stand us in good stead to launch another title challenge.  Either way the club benefits, so let’s all just relax and see how events unfold.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

World Cup 2014: Who Will Win the Golden Boot?

I’m back! As you may have noticed from my rather straightforward, pun-free title to this piece, I’m somewhat rusty when it comes to football writing: I’ve been busy with exams. Those are out of the way now though, so I have 10 weeks ahead of writing to my heart’s content.

But enough about me, let’s move on to what you all actually care about- football! I’m taking a break from articles about Liverpool to bring you my views on the World Cup, which, in case you’re reading this having just woken up from a coma, is currently taking place in Brazil. Almost two full rounds of fixtures have now been played, and the question of who might win the golden boot can start to be seriously considered.

First up on the list of potential winners is the man who got the award at the last World Cup- Thomas Muller. No player has ever won back-to-back golden boots, so it would be an extremely impressive achievement. He certainly started the tournament in a way that made many people view him as favourite; he bagged a hat-trick in Germany’s first game, a 4-0 win over Portugal. He also looked bright in their match against Ghana, but failed to find the back of the net, meaning he remains on 3 goals for the tournament. The only reason I wouldn’t look upon him as the out-and-out favourite is because of his versatility. Although he is deadly in a centre-forward position, he isn’t always played there. For example, against Ghana, Muller moved wide midway through the second half to accommodate the 2006 golden boot winner Miroslav Klose. Though undoubtedly still effective from the flanks, he is more likely to notch assists than goals.

Another front runner is Robin Van Persie. He too has found the back of the net three times so far, including one sensational diving header against Spain. The 5-1 win against the world champions flattered the Netherlands somewhat, but there is no denying that they look capable of progressing to at least the quarter-finals in the tournament and possibly further. As such, it seems likely that Van Persie will have plenty more opportunities to score goals, and having been released from the shackles of David Moyes he is free to show just what he is capable of. He will probably fancy his chances of taking home the golden boot, but he faces stiff opposition.

Some of this opposition comes from within his own team. Arjen Robben is another man who has scored 3 in the tournament so far, and frankly he is looking deadly. His one-footed nature has been well-documented, but with his electric pace he can usually make himself enough time to switch the ball to his excellent left foot. For his club, Bayern Munich, Robben is played as a winger. Indeed, this is the position he has played throughout most of his club career. For the Netherlands, he plays a slightly different role. We have seen him play alongside Van Persie as a second striker at this tournament, and he is thriving. The only real question mark over Robben is whether his pace alone will be enough to get him goals at the business end of the tournament, although the fact that it was enough to totally bamboozle the defence of the reigning champions indicates that his pace will serve him well against any opposition.

Reluctantly, I also include Brazilian star Neymar in this list. Personally I don’t think that he’ll win the golden boot, but he’s found the net twice so far and the people of Brazil are pinning their hopes on him to deliver the goods. His two goals so far have been a badly hit but well-placed long ranged effort and a penalty that shouldn’t have been given in the first place- not exactly inspiring stuff, but the golden boot is for quantity of goals, not quality. Still, there’s only so many lucky breaks that one player can get, so if Neymar is to win it he will have to up his game. Add to this the fact that he’s not actually a striker (he plays behind Fred), and his chances of winning the award look slim.

The next two players to come under consideration are very much outsiders when it comes to winning the award, not because of their lack of goal-scoring prowess but because of the teams for which they play. I have written about the wizardry in front of goal of a certain Mr Luis Suarez more than most, but Uruguay have an uphill struggle to get out of the group stage: they have to beat Italy in order to progress. If Suarez does feature in the knockouts, he is sure to keep scoring and has as good a chance as any of winning the golden boot. He has the best goals to games ratio of anyone in the tournament, playing just one game and scoring twice. The other player who gets a brief nod of recognition in relation to the award is Enner Valencia of Ecuador. He is a classic poacher, and has already nabbed 3 goals for his country at the tournament. However, to guarantee their place in the last 16, Ecuador have to beat France, which looks rather unlikely.

One man who the Ecuadorians will be particularly wary of when facing the French is my favourite for the award, Karim Benzema. He too has a goal tally of 3 so far, and has looked extremely dangerous in front of goal. He could have been on 5 by this stage- one of France’s goals against Honduras came from the keeper parrying a Benzema shot into the net, but it went down as an own goal, and he also saw his penalty saved by Benaglio against the Swiss.  He often plays as the lone striker for France, so he gets the lion’s share of the chances, and he is extremely adept at taking them. He is a player who tends to score in bursts, and from what we’ve seen so far he appears to have hit a good vein of form at the perfect time for his country. France have looked formidable so far at this World Cup, and the further they progress the more chances Benzema will get. I think that he is on track to become the first Frenchman to win the award since Just Fontaine in 1958.

The fact that these 7 players can all be considered well and truly in the running for the award shows just how open and exciting this World Cup has been so far. Indeed, there are many huge names I haven’t even mentioned. None of Aguero, Messi and Ronaldo even made the list, though one would have to be a fool to entirely discount such stars of the sport from winning the golden boot. All in all though, based purely on what we’ve seen so far, I think that Benzema is the most likely to score the most goals and take home the award.

-James Martin

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