Who are our Enemies?

 

Who are our Enemies?

This week’s blog is unlike any others I have done previously, this will mainly focus on our top 4 opposition and how they are performing. I know I said my next blog will be on the Manchester City match but I have decided to be a bit controversial and talk about others instead of focusing on Liverpool. The first team that I am going to be talking about is Arsenal also known as Sanchez FC. I know that many gooners will say that they have got the most different goal scorers in the Premier league but quite frankly they are absolutely pants without Sanchez. Everyone has said that Arsenal play good football but having watched them a many a time they are just so boring. Mesut Ozil lacks the creativity he had at Real Madrid and the only player whom I think is good is Sanchez. I know this is an unrelated topic but all Arsenal fans think that because they have an FA cup they are immediately the best club in the world. Their fans are so rubbish as they always boo when they play badly. Despite Arsenal being 3^rd in the league they are just crap with no sense of style or swagger when they play. Their history is just so average and since we are out of the Champion league they think they are so good. That is why I got so happy when they lost to Monaco. Finally if there was one word to sum up Arsenals season so far has to be lucky. Their defence is shambles as they have the slowest defender in the world and at the moment they do not deserve to be where they are!

The next team that I will be discussing about is Manchester United also known as the long ball team. Louis Van Gaal is great manager but he has been so rubbish for United so far, he can talk the talk but he can’t walk the walk. Van Gaal has splashed the cash but has ruined players such as Di Maria and Falcao! He is so thick he could be bulletproof. United are a great team but at the moment they are the biggest laughing stock I have seen so far. I know the Van Gaal has come up with this idea that they don’t play long balls, but they do they clearly do. They try to play youngsters but quite frankly they are just so bad. Considering that Van Gaal has spent £150 million there has not been any difference from the United last season than the United this season. After 21 games they both had 37 points but Van Gaal has spent £150 million.  In conclusion United’s team is old and their youngsters are bad so they will still be rubbish for a few more years.

Thirdly, I will be talking about Tottenham also know as Kane FC. Spurs are one of the luckiest teams that I have seen in the idea that they are essentially a one man team. We have seen that last season they were shambles; pants to say the least and it is just annoying that they have good player who is scoring a lot of goals. Harry Kane is an exceptional talent who has scored 24 goals this season but just like Gareth Bale he is going to leave for a huge sum of money. Tottenham are just an average team with a decent history but always have a habit of having a great player. Finally, I think that we deserve to be above them in the league but they are still in contention for a Champions League spot. They only have one or two good players, the only thing that I could say is a positive is that their team very young.

Finally I will be talking about Southampton. Southampton is the only team that I enjoy to watch as they play nice attacking football but are also solid defensively. Despite doing so well so far they have started to lose a few games however they are still in contention for a top 4 finish. The only concern I have for Southampton is that they have a fairly old team considering that most of their youngsters have gone. To sum it all up, I love the way Southampton play and they would be unlucky if they do not qualify for the Champions league place but just like one of Newcastle’s seasons I think they have had a lot of luck and next season they will finish around 7^th or 8^th position nevertheless Ronald Koeman has done a startling job despite everybody thinking they would be relegated. That is all I have time for this week and I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition. See you next week where I will be talking about the upcoming match against Manchester City.

The Reds March On

The Reds March On

 

After a terrific display against an in-form Tottenham side there is a definite sense of hope among many Liverpool fans.  Despite being 5^th in the league we are only 1 point off a champion’s league place and with increased momentum we definitely have a chance to finish in the top four.  Beating Tottenham will definitely boost our confidence especially Mario Balotelli’s after that dramatic winner he scored! Also after beating Southampton there is big chance we will make it.

On Tuesday night we encountered an in-form Tottenham side that had the likes of Harry Kane who just could not stop scoring! With 15 minutes played Lazar Markovic breached the deadlock with a great solo effort but it really should have been saved by Hugo Lloris. But, our Achilles heel this season, once again let us down with Harry Kane equalizing in the 23^rd minute at that moment in time I genuinely thought that Tottenham were going to core again and win the match. With half-time looming Daniel Sturridge, on his first start since injury, almost scored an amazing goal with an attempted back-heel after some great work from Jordan Ibe.  The second half began with a bang as Daniel Sturridge earned Liverpool a penalty. Looking at the replays it was a clear penalty and it was absolutely ridiculous that Danny Rose thought it was not!  But then again we conceded right after and it was back at 2-2.  One of our main problems this season, apart from our defence, is our inability to score goals and this was highlighted when we only had 60% of our shots on target during the match.  Eventually the inevitable happened and Mario came on. I was dreading this moment.  But in the 83^rd minute he somehow managed to put the ball in the net! Though it was his goal most of the credit should go to Adam Lallana after his brilliant pass across the goal. The game finished and we had won, we can take many positives from this win and I believe that we will make the champion’s league position by the end of the season.

Despite all the praise mainly going towards the attackers, the person who I thought was the best player on the pitch was Emre Can. He had an absolute peach of a game as he lead from the back. At the age of 21 he certainly has a great football brain and he is one of the upcoming superstars from the premier league.  I was also extremely impressed in how he just ran forward from the defence and showed his true strength. Many Liverpool fans will compare him to the next Yaya Toure! Another young and upcoming player is Jordan Ibe whom has showed true premiership class.  The way he runs is truly fearless especially when he takes on experienced defenders baffles me, I certainly think he has the potential to become a superstar and show off some true British talent.

After the Tottenham match we had a hectic week ahead of us with matches against Crystal Palace and Besiktas. First of all we had to play our FA cup tie against Crystal Palace. Being a Liverpool fan I would know that any match is nervous but particularly this match considering the last few result against the opposition. After Palace scored early on I was definitely worried, but the thing that annoyed me most was the sloppiness of the defending with a poor clearance from Martin Skrtel. As the second half began Daniel Sturridge quickly scored with a brilliant volley after a superb pass from Jordan Henderson.  Then Adam Lallana quickly put Liverpool in front with an instinctive finish. The game ended 2-1 to Liverpool and this gave us a major boost in all the matches that came as we have a difficult history against Palace.  Our next game was against Turkish leaders, Besiktas.  After a dull and goalless 84 minutes the game came to life when Liverpool where awarded a penalty after brilliant work from young Jordan Ibe. But the controversy came when Balotelli took the penalty instead of designated penalty taker, Jordan Henderson. And Mario being Mario decided to take the penalty which therefore caused the question in whether Mario is going back to his old ways. Despite this he scored and Liverpool had won the first tie 1-0. But the toughest of the lot has to be Sundays encounter against Southampton at St Mary’s. The game started of brightly with Coutinho scoring one of the goals of the season with his superb effort which went into the top corner. But Southampton was relentless with their pressure as they just kept going forward but our defensive improvements showed as we held on. After surviving the half at 1-0 I was very scared as Southampton were paying extremely well. With the wind and rain effecting play there was bound to be a mistake.... and their was when Matt Targett slipped allowing Raheem Sterling to finish. The game ended and Liverpool showed their drastic improvements as they kept their 5^th successive clean sheet in the Premier League. With a 2-0 away win against our fierce competitors I definitely think we have a chance in beating other teams to get that 4th position or maybe even 3^rd position.

Back with a Bang

Back with a Bang

After a promising display against an in-form Chelsea there were many positives to take away from that performance. Despite pressing and playing terrific football we were undone because of a sloppy mistake which eventually cost us the cup-tie. There were a few decisions that did not go our way but that is football, arguably the biggest call for me was Diego Costa’s malicious stamp on Emre Can. How the fourth official missed that call was beyond my belief, but justice was served when he received his three match ban. No matter what anyone says there was clear intent to hurt a player; it is just surprising that he did not receive a longer ban and I am pretty sure if that was Suarez it would have been a 10 match ban. As great a player Diego Costa is he just sails too close to the wind which plots against his own downfall! Throughout both cup-ties we were clearly the better side but our lack of finishing shined right through with Coutinho and Sterling missing chances. Despite all the criticism Mignolet has faced he truly played well on Wednesday, however Courtois showed his class as he saved more than 4 shots on target. We can still hold our heads up high despite the defeat, our Champions league hopes remain intact after the fantastic displays against Chelsea!

Last Saturday we encountered a West Ham side that are pushing for the top 4 just like us, this was going to be a very tough fixture! In my opinion I thought that we have been playing very well in the last few weeks but this was going to be a very hard fixture especially as they beat us 3-1 in the reverse match. As the first half was goalless I believe that Brendan enforced some attacking tactics, this helped us as Coutinho’s brilliant pass found Sterling who scored. Since Sterling has been put up front I believe that his finishing has improved significantly!  But then the moment in what all Liverpool fans were hoping for… Daniel Sturridge’s return! In the 70^th minute he came on to replace Lazar Markovic; the game was still at 1-0 but after being on for only 12 minutes he managed to score after a brilliant first touch and exquisite finish. The game finished at 2-0 and as Sam Allardyce came for his interview he said the craziest thing that I have heard “We lost because of injuries”. That is just simply absurd; he could have said we played well which we did! After a hectic week we then faced a Bolton side who have improved under Neil Lennon. As the game started I knew that we were going too pushed but boy this was a close shave. After a dull first half, we conceded after the break through a penalty which was clearly a blatant dive! With only 5 minutes left I believed that we were out of the FA cup and Stevie G’s dream was over. But a superb pass from Emre Can unlocked the door, which found Sterling and finished brilliantly. After hitting the post more than 3 times, Coutinho scored the winner with a brilliant finish from outside the box. The matches finished and we were through but the problem is we have to go to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in which they beat us 3-1 in the last match we played against them!

The Liverpool academy has produce some wonderful players over the years but there is one player whom I am extremely excited about.  Jordan Ibe has just been recalled from his loan move at Derby County because of his promising displays and I am certain that he is going to start most matches. There are also some other players who are out on loan such as Joao Texiera who is at Brighton and has since been a vital part of their squad.

On Saturday we faced Everton in the 224^th Merseyside derby, it was going to be intense. As the game started we were under immense pressure we just could not keep the ball but then a brilliant moment by Jordan Ibe almost unlocked the door as he smashed the post! After a goalless first half, Brendan proposed some attacking tactics which almost helped as Coutinho just could not pick up the right pass from outside the box.  The introduction of Ross Barkley made a big difference as he supplied a sublime pass to Seamus Coleman who just could not finish with their only shot on target. Unfortunately, Gerrard’s last derby ended in a draw but despite this I believe we played a lot better than Everton.

Finally, we are still pushing for that 4^th place but in my opinion we have just left it a little too late but if we beat Tottenham anything is possible!