The Lucas Leiva Situation

Only one game into Liverpool's season it is very difficult and far too early to read into a lot of things. I got a little tired of just how much our win at Stoke was analysed and poured over by both the professional press, unofficial bloggers, podcasts and on social media. I could understand it though, we've all been so desperate for the season to start, we're all so full of hope, we want to know that the signs are good. For me it was difficult to gauge much from our hard fought win at Stoke, other than we are naturally still a work in progress (hard not to be in the first game of the season) and that Coutinho is going to be absolutely vital for us again. 

However, something which we could see from the opening day with some certainty are which players are in favour and which aren't. We all knew Borini, Enrique and Balotelli were out in the cold, but the omission of the likes of Sakho, Markovic and Lucas from the match day 18 was very telling. 

Yes it is a long and busy season, particularly for us with the Europa League to contend with and a large squad is essential for any top side. But this opening game was as important as it gets and you would have to assume that Rodgers started the season with a match day squad made up of those he rated the highest and trusted the most. 

We have rejected a loan for Sakho which suggests that we are looking to keep him, and rightly so considering we aren't flooded with quality centre backs. You would like to think that Sakho will still play a big part in our season. Markovic is still very young and Rodgers has openly said that he will definitely be needed (perhaps largely  in Europe). It is the omission of Lucas which both concerns me and intrigues me the most. 

I've lost count of the number of times Lucas has had to prove himself at Liverpool, and each time he has done it emphatically, but to be left out again feels like one time too many for the Brazilian enforcer to come back from the brink. Carragher has spoken out to say that he expects him to leave - he knows him well, and confirms what we all assumed; Lucas is a top professional, a good man and a guy who wants to play football. He feels he is more than good enough to be starting for Liverpool, and if he isn't, he will have to look elsewhere for regular football. 

I don't think anyone would bemoan him for taking that view. He is a high quality payer who deserves regular football at a top club. Many would say, and perhaps rightly, that the pace of the Italian league may suit him better for the remainder of his playing career. But the thought of Lucas leaving still leaves me with some nagging concerns and worries. 

It worries me because I still think our best periods of what was a pretty awful season last season were when he was in the side. Ok we have made some good looking signings and it all feels very different from last time out,  but we're still yet to find out. Ok, Emre Can has a season under his belt and more experience and perhaps he is ready to step into a dominant midfield role. He's younger and quicker than Lucas, but very much unproven still. Ok, Joe Allen can do a job defensively and again is very dynamic, but you wouldn't say he was an out and out DM who can shield a back four. 

What worries me most is the idea that Rodgers simply doesn't see the benefit of a truly defensive midfielder. I would love to see the return to our full flowing attacking football as much as anyone. We nearly won the league with that approach (and a truly world class forward in our side) but ultimately we didn't win the league and that was down to some very poor defending at times. We don't have Suarez any more and although I'm confident we'll score more goals this season, we also need players with the guile, grit and experience to close a game down, to make it ugly. Lucas has all those qualities. 

I've already mentioned our busy season and the need for a large squad, and the brilliance of a large squad is that it can contain a variety of players with a variety of qualities. Were Lucas to leave I would worry that we would be left with no players who have the true ability to shield a back four, break play up and grab the momentum of a game back. 

I would also be worried that we are losing a great professional with a lot of experience who can really help our young players develop - we all know we've lost a fair few of them already. 

Time will tell whether my concerns are well founded, and I truly hope I'm wrong if Lucas does go, but I'm afraid although Rodgers has my backing, he still hasn't quite retained my trust. 

RAOTL Column - Liverpool you got me dreaming...

This article was first published in Issue 214 of Liverpool Fanzine Red All Over The Land - pick up a copy at the Bournemouth game or subscribe now. 

A colleague of mine is a massive Derby fan and a real football connoisseur who enjoys a good football podcast. I pointed him in the direction of The Anfield Wrap knowing that despite not being a Liverpool fan he’d appreciate the quality of footballing knowledge and insight as well more than the odd mention of Jordan Ibe who Derby fans still pine over.

About a week later he came over to me and said “I’ve been listening to Liverpool fans talk about Liverpool for a week, and now I’m convinced that you’re going to win the league.” “I know the feeling” I replied.

And that’s what football is all about - hope. Supporters of all clubs must get it, but I think Liverpool fans more than most; that pre-season feeling of hope… the feeling that this year will be our year. The plethora of new signings look the business, we’ve just battered some Thai XI 4-0 or something… the players are talking about unity and a great team spirit… what could possibly go wrong? We’re going to win the league!

But as in life in general, where would we be without hope?  It’s what keeps us going and this pre-season is no different. Every summer since I can remember (so about 1993) I have started the season thinking we are going to win the league. And we never have. But this summer is no different. Because if you don’t believe? What is the point?

Last summer we had just come as close as we have for years to winning the league, as the players did their lap of honour round Anfield the place was full of excitement and hope for the future - some of our summer business looked a bit strange, but in Brendan we trusted. As we all know… that hope couldn’t have turned to despair fast enough. This summer we were wondering who would be in charge come the 8th of August let alone whether we’d have any chance of challenging for the league.

Yet as ever I am excited about the season ahead… I have real hope. After FSG decided to stick with their man and give him a rare 2nd chance the club have done some very swift and what looks like shrewd work in the transfer market. Of course it’s easy for transfers to look good in pre-season and as we know from last summer, the proof is in the pudding, but when you look at what went wrong last season it appears that we have looked to address those problems and with some good personnel.

Despite what some people thought of him we have lost an experienced right back in Glen Johnson but replaced him with an extremely capable young English player in Nathaniel Clyne. He looks confident and assured in his pre-season displays and excitingly a defender first and foremost. But that is not to say he doesn’t like to get up the pitch and join in attacks.

Replacing Steven Gerrard is impossible, but in James Milner we have bought a hugely experienced footballer, a great professional and a player who is a lot more talented than perhaps some people give him credit for. Quitely people are talking about this signature being one of the deals of the summer. He also possesses something that is so hard to get hold of - he knows how to win. It’s something our young squad lacks - the experience of winning things and his knowledge and presence both on and off the pitch could prove invaluable.

We all know one of the biggest issues we had last season was a lack of goals and we certainly look to have tried to do something about that. Benteke, Firmino, Ings and let’s not forget Origi have all come in. Again there are differing opinions on all of them, but you certainly can’t accuse us of lacking options up top. Everyone seems naturally most excited about Firmino purely because he’s Brazilian and a bit of an unknown - the YouTubers out there would have you believe he will be the next Suarez. I think it’s unfair to expect that much of him before he’s barely kicked a ball, but his record in German is strong and he sounds like the sort of player we will love, skillful, hard working and he scores goals. Let’s just hope he can adapt quickly to Liverpool and the Premier League.

The Benteke signing has been lamented by some and I find that strange. Of all our signings I think he is one of the safest bets. He is proven in the Premier League and his goals to game record is right up there with some of the Premier League’s recent greats. It is nonsense to suggest that he is just a big target man in the ilk of Balotelli and that he won’t suit our style of play. Yes he is big and strong, good in the air and able to hold play up. But he is also fast, skillful, a good finisher and possesses intelligent movement.

Ings is a good young English player and it’s always important to have those in your squad. He works hard and doesn’t mind a good press, which we all know Brendan loves. I do think he has some work to do to prove that he is capable at the very highest level, but I’m pleased that we haven’t bought him to be our first line striker and that he will have the opportunity to develop. He scored a decent number of goals in a very poor Burnley side and that can’t be ignored.

Origi, like Ings is a prospect and no more than that. There is talk that during pre-season he hasn’t looked ready for the highest level, but that’s ok, time will tell and we have the luxury of being able to give him time. Again I am just pleased that we have brought the likes of Benteke in and we’re not pinning all our hopes on a young, unproven kid.

Perhaps what is most exciting is that it almost feels as if we’ve forgotten all about Sturridge, imagine if he manages to get fit and back to his best for the majority of the season? It’ll feel like another signing.

There should also be a mention in dispatches for Joe Gomez, the youngster has impressed so much during pre-season that Rodgers how now ruled out a loan move for him, which looked inevitable when he first signed. He has looked comfortable at left back, ironically probably his least favoured position across the back four. Again we shouldn’t lump too much hope on the kid, but it’s encouraging to have a young defender who looks so comfortable and confident at the club already.

There isn’t much to say about Bogdan, except that he is probably just about an upgrade on Brad Jones.

There is talk that we are still looking for a left back to challenge Moreno and a few other rumours float around, but it very much feels as if our business is pretty much complete and I am very pleased with it.

This year, like every year Liverpool, you’ve got me dreaming. And why not - after all isn’t hope what it’s all about? 

The Uncertainty - RAOTL End of Season Article

I am writing after Liverpool have just drawn 0 – 0 at West Brom, remaining in 5^th place with 5 games left of the 2014 – 15 Premier League Campaign. I’ve yet to see any of the game, but by all accounts we could easily have come out of it with 3 points or equally with none. It is a result which isn’t going to affect much of what I’m about to say.

You’ll be reading this towards the end of the season in RAOTL’s end of season special, and who knows what sort of position Liverpool will be in by then. And that is what I am not enjoying about supporting Liverpool at the moment, the uncertainty.

At the end of last season there was uncertainty… but it was an exhilarating uncertainty. Ok there was huge disappointment that we hadn’t quite made it to our first league title in over 20 years, but there was also a huge sense of excitement about the next season. What’s next? How good can this team and this manager be? 

This article was published in the end of season edition of Liverpool Fanzine Red All Over The Land - to read it in full, pick up a copy at the Crystal Palace game or subscribe.

Remembering the 96 and the ongoing fight for Justice

I've taken my time to put some thoughts down about what is an extremely emotive and difficult time for the families and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster.

I think it can be easy to appear trite when registering your recognition or remembrance of the Hillsborough disaster and the lengthy and horrifically tough fight for justice that continues for the families. I don't want to doubt the sincerity of anyone who recognises the disaster (and our social media accounts posted tribute posts on the 15th of April to recognise the day so you could accuse me of hypocrisy) but it does feel that somehow a hashtag or throwaway post of JFT96 almost trivialises the sheer enormity of injustice that we are dealing with. The reports of people attending the memorial service to take photos and chant the name of players makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable, angry and sad.

I'm an unashamed out of towner, born with no connection to Liverpool and too young to remember the disaster itself, only to decide upon Liverpool FC as my club of choice as a youngster. There was no reason other than a naive attraction towards certain players and a club that seemed different.

So my first awareness of the Hillsborough disaster was from the internet and the early days of Liverpool message boards and chat rooms. At school I read "Hillsborough - The Truth" by Phil Scraton and became immediately immersed in the horrendous injustice and horror of what happened to Liverpool fans and their families not just that day but for years after. An injustice which still remains.

Only over the last couple of years has the incredible injustice begun to be uncovered and a slow realisation is creeping across the wider country. Unfortunately I worry that irreparable damage has been done by the horrific and undeniable smear campaign of blame against the people of Liverpool by the establishment, Thatcher's government, a right wing press and the police.

Having lived in Liverpool for 10 years after University I am now back down south and have to endure the lazy stereotyping of Liverpool on a weekly basis. My colleagues at work or people I come across are perfectly nice and well meaning but I tire of baseless and lazy comments around Liverpool as a place and specifically the Hillsborough disaster. Comments along the lines of "why are people still banging on about it" and "yeah maybe the police messed up, but I bet the fans weren't angels" shows just how deeply the lies and smears have penetrated our modern society.

I will use the word again - injustice. The scale of which is almost incomprehensible. A government in power, supposedly there to represent democracy and us; a police force supposedly there to protect us; a supposedly free and ethical media all conspired to lie and heap misery and pain on families who had suffered horrifically. They conspired to categorically discredit a whole region and turn the rest of the country against them.

I don't want to preach to anyone, but whether you are connected to Liverpool or not, if that injustice doesn’t anger you and make your blood boil then you are a vacuous and cold being that I don't want to know.

The fight for justice isn't over and it must continue alongside a respectful and compassionate understanding of what the families and survivors have been through. They need our support, they need our help, but more than anything they deserve our respect.

- 

Donate to the Hillsborough Justice Campaign

Just Enjoy It

It's a bright and sunny Thursday morning. Last night Liverpool booked their place at Wembley for an FA Cup semi final after beating Blackburn 1-0 in the replay. It was a solid, professional performance.

After back to back defeats to Man Utd and Arsenal, leaving our Top 4 hopes hanging by a thread,  you could have been forgiven for thinking over the last week that we were facing relegation.

I don't know if it is a modern day malaise or it has always been like this, but you do feel that knee jerk over reaction, shameful criticism, abuse and fickleness from a significant set of so called supporters, whether that be Liverpool ones or any other club is a symptom of the modern world and modern game.

Twitter gives any old moron a voice, hundreds of soulless and trite blogs littered with gambling adverts and affiliate links vie for clicks and views with regurgitated and sensationalist clap trap.

Sky Sports News trundles along 24/7 peddling rumours and gossip leaked by unscrupulous agents and "sources" about training ground disputes or crisis meetings.

It's all rather depressing.

It's worth remembering what we're in this for. We're in it because for whatever reason we love football and we love OUR club.

Aside from perhaps my criticism of Lovren (who played really well by the way) I've always struggled with the idea of venomously criticising and slating the club, manager or players that are meant to be our own. I have never booed a Liverpool side, and I never will. Obviously you get frustrated, and there have been dark days where you could legitimately see that the club was in the wrong hands. Hicks, Gillet. I'm looking at you. You cunts. Hodgson I'm looking at you. Paul Konchesky,  I'm looking at you.

But we are a far cry from those days at the moment. We have owners who albeit are clearly money men (who isn't in football these days?) are money men with some values and a long term plan. I don't believe in the rampant commercialism going on at the club, but they are also making good decisions. Like the redevelopment of Anfield.

We have a manager who lives and breathes football, who relishes and understands the magnitude of being Liverpool manager and also happens to be one of the best young managers in the world.

We have an exciting, young and talented crop of players who genuinely seem to love playing for Liverpool and have a real togetherness. You only need to watch the celebration after the Blackburn goal to see that. They are, in the words of Neil Atkinson from TAW "a great bunch of lads."

I have listened to a lot of talk on The Anfield Wrap and read a lot of articles in fanzines recently bemoaning modern football. I am one who bemoans it more than most. But there have also been voices, commonly of lads from TAW who have lept to the defence of the some of the "tourists" and people who are supposedly the problem and looked at the rest of us and gone "yeah we know lads, it's not quite the game as we'd like it, but stop moaning and just enjoy it eh?"

If some of us, myself very much included put as much effort into bemoaning modern football as we did to trying to change it and just enjoying it along the way, we'd all be in a better place.

That goes for you; moronic twitterati. What do you want from all this? To be sat in your armchair as Liverpool win the league year after year and your accas keep rolling in? I bet you'd still find something to moan about. Get angry that we weren't as good as Real Madrid. Why don't you just go and support Chelsea?

Life isn't perfect. That's why it's enjoyable.

Tell you what, put your iPhone down.  Get off TheSportsBible. Get off Lucas' back and go the game. Get a couple of lads together. Even if you're not sat together.... make sure you meet an hour before for a pint. Have a laugh. Talk to human beings. Don't go in the fucking "fun zone." Go in The Flat Iron.

Make a banner. Make a flag. Get a bit pissed before the game and have a bit of a sing. Honestly, it's a laugh. Try it.

And if we lose, yeh moan and swear to your mates. Over a pint. Even post some semi pissed vacuous tweet if you must. But understand that Rodgers or Kolo or Gerrard haven't done it to piss you off deliberately. They're fuming too, you know. And you hurling abuse at them isn't going to help anyone.

I tell you what, supporting Liverpool is more of a laugh than supporting some sides. But do you know what? Lads supporting Luton... or Leyton Orient or Leeds probably have more of a laugh than we do. Because they let themselves enjoy it.

I am of the era that I can't remember the last time we won the league. Fowler is my hero. But I have seen us win a frigging European Cup. FA Cups. The UEFA Cup. Ask my mate who supports Swindon what he has seen them win? Then ask him how much he has enjoyed watching them this season. They play some magic football you know. No, of course you don't.

So yeh.. we beat Blackburn. Felt good didn't it? We're going to Wembley. That's alright isn't it?

Let's enjoy it.

Swansea 0 - Liverpool 1 - Reaction

If there was ever a game that epitomised the cliché "play badly and win" it was this one. Winning ugly.... grinding out results... the sign of a good team. The clichés just keep coming after this result. But win ugly we did and a good side we are.

Perhaps ugly is perhaps a little harsh. Functional would be more accurate. You have to feel sorry for Swansea, they were much the better side in the first half and Mignolet had to make a couple of decent saves. But on the other hand, in a way that it becoming increasingly heartening, we still looked relatively comfortable in defence. You could look at the first half an hour as a decent side simply handling a good spell from a good side, at home.

We improved markedly in the 2nd half and Swansea began to wane. Worrying we still didn't create a great deal and it was a huge amount of fortune that brought about our goal. But here come the clichés again.... you make your own luck. Or perhaps more accurately, Brendan Rodgers makes our own luck. It was a shrewd tactical move from him to bring Gerrard on and lie him deep where he could both shield the back four, pull the strings and allow Henderson and Allen to push a bit further forward. Had that happened, it's not as likely that Henderson would have made the run that he did for the goal.

You also have to feel that had we not got that luck we would have created something to get the goal before the end. Sterling and Sturridge improved as every minute of the 2nd half passed. It was a shame that Sturridge's clever little effort at the end bounced back off the post.

I'm not going to go through and rate each player individually. On the whole I think everyone ranged from a 4 to a 7... maybe a 7.5 with mentions in dispatches for Mignolet, Skrtel, Sakho and Allen at the top end of that scale. Lallana and Can very much at the other end.

Gerrard's contribution is worthy of mention - you'd expect nothing less from a player of his experience and quality.

It sets up this Sunday's game with Utd perfectly. There is no doubt that it is a behemoth of a game... but strangely enough a point probably wouldn't be a bad result. Utd have an incredibly hard run in compared to us.

But we can't go into it looking for anything other than a convincing win and I'd like to think everyone has been saving their 8s and 9s for this one...

Tweet @AnfieldShrine

Liverpool 2 - Man City 1 - Reaction

After crashing out of the Europa League in midweek.... or indeed late midweek (if that is a thing) a lot of pre-match talk was around the idiocy of having to kick off against City at noon on Sunday. Now no longer living in Liverpool, it also meant a 5am alarm clock for me in order to ensure we made kick off comfortably.

Arriving in a windy but beautifully sunny Liverpool I was struck by just how much I miss the place. Putting that slight melancholy aside it was up to the ground and into Home Baked Anfield for what is becoming an obligatory pre match coffee. I can't enthuse enough about Home Baked Anfield, it represents everything I love about Liverpool... an industrious and creative social enterprise doing genuinely brilliant work for the community without any insincere, patronising millionaires talking about a "big society" in sight. I also took the opportunity to buy copies of We Are Liverpool and RAOTL fanzines which are stocked in there. As you will have probably seen from previous posts, independent print fanzines are struggling to survive in the environment of modern football and they too should be supported. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of 'fans' sporting a half 'n' half scarf outnumbered those buying a fanzine and that is a truly depressing thought.

The malaise of modern football is a topic that troubles me constantly, and one that seemingly does so for a lot of other football fans. Short of turning our backs on going to the match completely, I don't know what the answer is and it is a complex debate. I'll be penning some thoughts on modern football exclusively in issue 212 of RAOTL which is out some time late March... so pick up a copy, but for now I put those frustrations behind me and looked to enjoy the game.

Usually in the kop, me and my old man were position in the slightly unorthodox spec of block 128 of the Anny Road (which is in fact on the Centenary Stand side). It's not a horrific spec in itself, but it is virtually impossible to see the corner under the scoreboard. Anyway... by all accounts lots of fans had 'lost their shit' as the kids say about Rodgers team selection and a lack of a "recognised" striker in the starting 11. I admit I was surprised not to see Sturridge starting, but are we all not agreed that Sterling has now become a striker...if not a recognised one? Confusing. Anyway, Rodgers must feel that Sturridge is still finding his feet after the lengthy lay off. Whatever the reason, no one was thinking about it 10 minutes in when Henderson produced an absolute cracking strike to put us 1 up. The opening sparring had been pretty even and both sides looked like they would threaten, but the fact that we have players starting to produce goals like that for us is extremely encouraging. The loss of Gerrard at the end of the season is starting to look a little less concerning as Henderson seems to grow into his leadership role with every game.

Although I felt Liverpool were well worthy of our lead it wasn't a huge surprise to see City equalise just before the half an hour mark. Just like the same game last season, we were going to do very well to get away with City not scoring as despite what anyone says about them they are a very, very good side. The goal was a good move and completely opened up our otherwise pretty solid defence and so it looked as if we were heading for a really tight 50 - 60 minutes.

I had said before the game that I would happily have taken a point out of this game, and this thought crossed my mind again after they equalised. I don't think it was an overly negative thought, considering how poor we were before Christmas in our push for 4th spot I really felt like a point today might prove pretty good value.

Clearly Liverpool had different ideas to me, and am I glad about that. In the second half despite City having plenty of intent, we actually defended pretty resolutely and limited them to just one short on target. On 75 minutes the "little magician" that is Coutinho produced his 2nd "worldie" in as many weeks. We all knew he needed to add goals to his game, and in truly Brazilian fashion, he's decided to add not just goals, but incredible goals. It wasn't just his strike that was so pleasing though, his all round game today was an absolute pleasure to watch, We are blessed to have him at the club... and let's just hope like so many of our youngsters, the rest of the football fraternity and the Spanish giants in particular continue to "underrate" him completely.

It was always going to be a nervy and tense last ten minutes but these days I am a lot more confident about our ability to hold on to leads. A couple of substitutions and stoppages took the sting out of the game and it's something which I think we are becoming increasingly good at... what the modern day football people would call "game management." Or I suppose more traditionally what we would call "seeing a game out." So saw the game out we did and on reflection as we darted down the Walton Breck Road it was 3 points that, on balance, I think we very much deserved.

The blueshite failed to us any sort us favour in the immediate aftermath... but no change there then. We're not a side to rely on others though and on we march after our blip in Europe. Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool... are we on our way to glory?