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In the summer of 2017 we decided on the four founding members of the TLW Hall of Fame and then added four more inductees as the ‘Class of 2017’. Another four went in a year later and every summer four more legends will be inducted. However, we need your help to do it. HOW IT WORKS The voting panel consists of representatives from TLW, the media, the former players association and also a popular fan vote, which is where YOU come in, by voting below. Each year there will be a group of ten nominees, from which four will be voted in. The six who don’t get in will remain on the ballot for the following year and beyond, until they are eventually selected. Those voted in will be replaced by four new names for the following year. In 2017 Ian Rush, John Barnes, Billy Liddell and Ian Callaghan were voted in to join the four founding members; Bill Shankly Bob Paisley, Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard. Last year saw Emlyn Hughes, Roger Hunt, Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness selected. There will be a separate category for managers & coaches (with one inductee every four years), but for now we’re just concentrating on the players. The six remaining candidates who did not get in last year will now be joined by four new nominees this year. Those four are Terry McDermott, Steve Nicol, Ian St John and Phil Thompson. As explained in previous years, it was not just a case of picking the ten greatest players, which in itself would also have been incredibly difficult. Other factors come into it, although only great players will be considered. For example, few would claim that Phil Neal was one of Liverpool’s ten most talented players of all time, but nobody can match his medal haul or achievements. We also felt that it was important to have a mix of players from across several eras rather than just selecting the greats of the 70s and 80s for example. None of us saw Elisha Scott play but excluding him on that basis wouldn't be right. His career record speaks for itself. Some missed out on the initial ten as a result of the decision to spread it across all eras, but over the coming years they’ll all be added to the mix, usually when someone from their generation has just been voted in (Roger Hunt went in last year so has been replaced by Ian St John in this year's list). We would really appreciate your support and participation, both in terms of voting and spreading the word by telling your friends and sharing on social media. Hopefully this can pick up momentum and grow each year. So without further ado, here are this year's nominees... JAMIE CARRAGHER Second on the appearance list behind Callaghan, Bootle's finest represented the Reds 737 times over a 16 year first team career, winning everything except the league title. Brave, loyal, committed and talented, Carragher's finest hour was his courageous display in Istanbul when he fought through severe cramp in both legs to help keep AC Milan at bay and secure number five. ROBBIE FOWLER The most natural goalscorer to pull on the famous red shirt. Toxteth born Fowler burst onto the scene as an 18 year old and for the next few seasons took English football by storm, becoming the quickest Liverpool striker to reach 100 goals when he achieved the milestone in only his 165th game. A succession of injuries prevented him from sustaining that blistering form, but in two spells with the club Fowler amassed 183 goals and is one of the most loved players in club history. IAN ST JOHN The man known affectionately as 'the Saint' is one of the most important signings Liverpool ever made. Bill Shankly would later describe the arrival of St John and fellow Scot Ron Yeats as 'the turning point' in the club's history. The Reds were languishing in the second division when St John arrived, but promotion was secured soon after and St John's prolific partnership with Roger Hunt fired the Reds to the league title two years later, and St John was on the scoresheet when the club won the FA Cup for the first time in it's history in 1965. KEVIN KEEGAN When Bill Shankly paid fourth division Scunthorpe £33,000 for an unknown 20 year old in 1971, no-one could have foreseen that within a few years Keegan would be one of the biggest stars in world football. Described by some as Liverpool's answer to George Best, Keegan became the club's first superstar and helped inspire the Reds to their first European Cup win in 1977 before departing for Hamburg, where he was twice named European Footballer of the Year. PHIL NEAL Phil Neal was a Liverpool player for 11 years, making 650 appearances and chipping in with 59 goals, many of them vitally important penalty kicks. A solid, dependable right back who rarely missed a game and even played with broken bones, Neal is the most decorated player in club history, having won eight league titles, four European Cups, one FA Cup, one UEFA Cup and four League Cups. PHIL THOMPSON A boyhood Kopite who lived the dream, 'Thommo' spent 13 years as a player and many more on the coaching staff and is an undoubted Anfield legend. Handed his debut by Bill Shankly as an 18 year old, Thompson went on to make 340 appearances for the club over the next decade and more, forming almost impregnable defensive pairings with Emlyn Hughes and then Alan Hansen. Thompson skippered the Reds to European Cup success in 1981, becoming one of only five Liverpool captains to lift the trophy. STEVE NICOL Regarded by many fans as the club's best ever full back, Nicol enjoyed a stellar 13 year career at Anfield where he excelled in a variety of positions. He took over from the ageing Phil Neal at right back during the 1985/86 season and helped the Reds win the league and FA Cup double, but it was on the opposite flank where he enjoyed his best form, combining with John Barnes to wreak havoc during the 1987/88 season when he was named Player of the Year by the football writers. TERRY McDERMOTT The scorer of one of the most iconic goals in club history when he headed in at the Anfield Road end in a 7-0 win over Spurs in 1987. Terry Mac was a local lad who had to make his name elsewhere before getting his chance to shine with the Reds. He started at Bury and moved to Newcastle, where he was part of the side that lost to Liverpool in the 1974 FA Cup final. A few months later he was signed by Bob Paisley. He won five league titles, three European Cups and a host of other trophies, as well as being named PFA and Football Writers Player of the Year in 1979/80. ELISHA SCOTT The Ulsterman joined Liverpool in 1912 and left in 1934, meaning he was between the sticks for an incredible 22 years. In that time he won two league titles but, more importantly, he captured the hearts of those on the Kop. Scott was idolised by the fans, so much so that when the club attempted to sell him (to Everton!) it was the reaction of the supporters that forced them into changing their mind. Legendary Everton striker Dixie Dean described him as the best keeper in the world, and a fan poll in 1939 saw him voted Liverpool's greatest ever player. TOMMY SMITH The Anfield Iron. The man who according to Shanks "was not born, he was quarried". Smith was the hardest man in an era of hard men but he was also a terrific footballer who excelled in a number of positions. He made his debut in 1963 and his final appearance came 15 years later. In that time he won everything there was to win, with his finest hour coming in Rome in 1977 when he found the net with a thumping header in the European Cup Final. Tommy played 638 times for the club and paid a heavy price for that in later life with numerous ailments including severe arthritis and dementia. He passed away in April of this year, aged 74. Loading…

Saturday Jul 20: Robbo discusses what happened with the spider bite that caused him to come back with a big bandage on his hand. He got bitten on holiday and it ballooned up. Stuff like that terrifies me as I’ve seen so many of those horror stories when a bite turns into a big lump, and then out of the blue a load of fucking baby spiders burst out and start running around. If that happened to me I might have to end it all, simply because I couldn’t cope with the post traumatic stress of it all. I’d be having nightmares for the rest of my life. I’m not that bad with spiders. I never kill them and most types I find in the house I’ll just pick them up with my bare hands and put them outside. So I’m not a massive shithouse like I am with wasps, for example. I don’t like those big common house spiders though. They give me the fucking hereby jeebies. I’ll pick them up, but only with a bit of tissue. Anyway, I’ve gotten sidetracked here. Back to Robbo. He reckons some of the lads have been making spiderman gags and calling him Peter Parker. By ‘some of the lads’ I assume he means Milner, as it’s defo gonna be him isn’t it? Here’s the thing though, imagine this was a Peter Parker situation and Robbo got these powers that made him a super hero. How would we even be able to tell the difference? Speaking of left backs, we’re meant to be after one from Augsburg. I’m all in on that, as the last player we got from Augsburg was arl Ragnar, and he was boss. Actually it may have been Manninger, I can’t remember. Anyway, this lad is called Phillip Max and he’s a former Bayern and Schalke player. He’s 25, so not sure how reliable this story is. I mean, it’s basically like a back up goalie situation. Any left back who comes here knows he ain’t gonna play because Robbo is the best in the business. The other team that want him are Barca though, so it’s a similar situation there as you’d have to assume he’s not getting much game time ahead of Alba. They had Digne there and he couldn’t get a game. Look at him now, he’s thriving at the Pit and he’s their best player. It’s not going to be easy signing a specialist left back, so it’s either go with Milner and the kids or bring in someone who can play more than one spot. Sessegnon would have been someone who might fit that bill but we’ve shown zero interest in him since we tried to buy him two years ago. Weird one that. He’s close to joining Spurs apparently, and such is the confidence I’ve now got in our transfers, that immediately makes me think he can’t be as good as everyone thought he was going to be. It’s a great place to be, considering it wasn’t that long ago I was putting a curse on them all and their children after the Deli All debacle. Sunday Jul 21: So we had a ‘friendly’ with Sevilla tonight. Who’s fucking bright idea was it to play these cunts? Actually it was Jurgen’s. He ought to know better than that. These are dirty bastards. Horrible, cheating, diving, dirty, snide bastards. They were like that in the Europa Final. They were like that in both Champions League group games, and they were even like that when we played them in the kids version of the Champions League. That was one of the occasions when Brewster was racially abused, and both games against them were proper bad tempered, nasty affairs. They’re a fucking horrible club, and tonight proved it behind all doubt. It wasn’t just the horror ‘tackle’ on poor Larouci. Even before that they were kicking us off the park. Their centre half spent the entire first half trying to Funes Mori big Divock. They were surrounding the ref at every opportunity and celebrated their goals like this was a proper match. Everyone is kicking off about the lad who booted Larouci, but he’s not the problem here. He’s a symptom of it. He’s basically just the spot, while Sevilla themselves are the measles. That assault on Larouci was a result of how their whole team (and presumably coach) approached the game. He doesn’t do that if they aren’t all completely fucking hyped up and looking for a war. The most telling aspect of the whole thing was after the assault, with Larouci on the floor in agony, their players didn't check on him to see if he was alright, they surrounded the fucking ref to complain about a decision he hadn't given seconds before. One of the cunts even yelled in Yasser's face as he lay on the ground. The challenge was scandalous though, and although he at least had the good grace to issue what was actually a pretty decent apology as these things go, it doesn’t make up for what happened. Don’t fucking play these twats in a friendly ever again, Jurgen. Meanwhile, Zidane says of Bale “we hope he leaves soon. If tomorrow it’d be better”. Disrespectful bald fuck. I’ve got no love for Gareth Bale but I do respect him, because how can you not? Great player who has done remarkable things for Madrid that would be enough to make him a legend literally anywhere else. Yet they’re running him out of town and Zidane is saying shite like that? Hair envy is a terrible thing. Also today, a new six year contract for De Gea that will earn him £112m in wages. See, he boxed himself in with the last deal he signed, because in the meantime all of the big clubs that could have afforded him have all filled their keeper position and he was literally left with nowhere to go, so he’s just taken the dough and stayed at United. I reckon he’s lost his motivation now, which is why he was shite last year. Monday Jul 22: Oh that Ljinders / Klopp video on LFCTV. Fucking hell, how good was that? One of the best bits of content they’ve ever put out, and there’s been lots of good stuff lately. This was just great. I think my favourite bit was them laughing like schoolboys at how we started the Barca game, “chasing them everywhere”. The whole thing was boss though, with Klopp talking about Alisson’s boozing another highlight. Jurgen likes a bevvy, but the admiration he had for Alisson was hilarious “what a guy! He was unstoppable”. No word yet on Larouci, who’s having a scan today. It didn’t look good for him last night though as his knee looked like it gave out on him when he tried to stand up. Speaking of fucked up knees, Nabil Fekir signs for Betis. Jesus, that poor lad’s knee must be hanging on by a thread if that’s the best he can do. Is that even a step up from Lyon? I don’t think it is. He’s gonna be playing with Joaquin for fucks sake. Tuesday Jul 23: Sam Allardyce appears on the Alan Brazil sports breakfast and says Harry Maguire is as good as Van Dijk and that moving to United will allow him to show it. Jesus Christ, where to even start with that? Fair play to Allardyce, it takes some doing to appear on Alan Brazil’s show and not be the one who sounds most intelligent. Here's an interesting one. Sakho is suing the drug testers for £13m. Don’t know how they arrive at that particular figure but that drug test was fairly fucking catastrophic for him. He missed a Europa League Final, he missed a World Cup in his home country and it may have contributed to Klopp’s decision to jib him off (although I think his card was already marked on that). Can’t believe I ever thought he was good though. Fucking shame on me. One the worst player misjudgements I’ve ever been guilty of that one. I mean yeah, we all get it wrong from time to time, but it's usually where we think someone is going to be good and he turns out shit, or the other way around. It's unusual to have the wool completely pulled over our eyes when a player is here, only for it to become clear that he's actually shite when he leaves. Those who rated Sakho (myself included, although I wasn't one of the really hard core Mama acolytes) got duped big time. Wednesday Jul 24: Larouci will be out for a few weeks with bad bruising on his shin. Lucky escape really, but the lad who did it shouldn’t be allowed to play until he’s fit again. We had another game tonight. We drew 2-2 with Sporting. Divock scored again and Gini got one. I haven’t bothered watching any of this though, I’m really struggling to be arsed about this pre-season. It’s a real chore bringing myself to watch the games. No new signings and half the squad still not here. The sooner the real stuff starts the better. Meanwhile, Klopp says there’ll be no move for Coutinho. "In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still - 100%," Klopp said. "It's not about that. I like Phil, I think he's a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it's not our year for that. "It's just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better -- us included -- but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona. Or maybe he found it there. We have contact, but not that close contact that I know exactly how he is doing, but the rest is only newspaper talk and stuff like that." "If everything was true what newspapers write about me -- wow! If it's similar to what they write about me, I would say he's completely happy at Barcelona and wants to sign a new six-year contract or whatever." Here's how I reacted to those quotes.... Dumb And Dumber Lloyd GIF from Dumbanddumber GIFs Seriously, I’m not having it. If he wanted him, this is EXACTLY how he’d play it. One way of interpreting that is to say he has ruled out signing him. Another way, is that this is just part of the dance. Think about it. “It would cost millions and millions”. “This is not the summer for us to be doing that”. So, the message is, we can’t pay what Barca would want for him this year. But maybe next year we could, so perhaps a loan this year… The other message is that he’s probably happy to stay at Barca anyway. The one thing they don’t want, and can’t really afford to do. So yeah, none of that makes me think there’s less chance of us signing him. If anything, it’s given me more reason to suspect that games are afoot. I still think the odds are against it, but I’m not ruling it out. Thursday Jul 25: Clyne is probably done for the season after rupturing his ACL the other night. Terrible for him as he would probably have gotten a decent move in the next week or so. I expected him to go back to Palace to replace Wan Bissaka. He’s from that neck of the woods so it would have been good for him. Now he’s going to be in the treatment room for the next six months. Doesn’t really affect us either way. Ok, we’re missing out on the £12m fee he’d probably fetch, and we’re having to pay his wages for another year, but it’s not like we’re planning on buying anybody anyway so who cares about transfer funds? Harry Wilson might be off though, if either Villa or Newcastle come up with the £20m asking price. Reports suggest he’s either off permanently or he’ll stay, as another loan won’t be sanctioned. Not sure that’s wise, as if he stays he’ll be lucky to play five games as he’s in direct competition with Shaqiri for a place on the bench, so it’s not really fair to the lad. That being said, fuck Villa and Newcastle. Going to either of those won’t do him any good as they’ll both be fighting relegation. Meanwhile, the plans for Everton’s new ground are revealed. File this under ‘not gonna happen’. At no point have I ever thought for a second they were getting a new ground and this changes nothing. I’m sure it’s just a co-incidence that they announced this on the day the news broke that they were selling Gana Guaye to PSG and Lookman to Leipzig. Classic deflection tactics that. Friday Jul 26: Big Virg is on the cover of the new FIFA game. Nice. Not many centre backs will get that honour but to be honest he should probably be on the front cover of every game, footy related or not. Big cool handsome bastard. Thing is though, playing for the Reds gives you a decent shot at making the FIFA cover because we’ve got so many fans around the world. Hendo was on the cover recently wasn’t he? I’d imagine Mo would be on the cover when they market it in the middle east, and maybe Bobby in South America. People are just really impressionable about shit like that. It does nothing for me, I’m not influenced by that type of thing at all. Unless they put Robbo on there, then all bets are off. Interesting events over in Madrid, where Real fans are already calling for Zidane’s bald head after they conceded seven against Atletico in a friendly. I say friendly, but it’s a Madrid derby and Diego Costa was on the field so there was always going to be needle. I love Diego Costa, the mad, shithousing, panto villain. Him and Suarez are just in a league of their own. Ramos too, but he’s more of a thug. Suarez and Costa are hilarious. Staying with Madrid, or in this case not, Bale now looks like he’s going to China. Ordinarily I’d frown upon this kind of thing. Millionaire footballers chasing more money while sacrificing the prime years of their careers to go and play in a pub league doesn’t sit well with me, but this has me more conflicted. A million quid a week is hard to turn down no matter how well off you are. If it’s a choice of 300k a week to play for Bayern, or £1m a week in China, I dunno, I think I’m going to China. If it’s £400k a week at United or £1m in China, I’m defo going to China. Wherever he goes he’s going to see it as a step down as he’s reached what most footballers see as the pinnacle. So the if he’s having to ‘settle’ for another club, it depends on what his options are. As I said, if one of the only options is United then fuck that. Why would you go there when you can see what their immediate future holds? Bayern would be a good move, but I suspect his options are probably quite limited. And a million quid a week?!?!?! Fucking hell. Bale obviously has more money than he’ll ever need anyway, he’s earned millions at Spurs and Madrid, but this contract is next level. He could play three years in China and then quite literally buy his own club over here. He’d have the money to go and buy him home town club Cardiff if he wanted to. He might not want to, but the point is that although footballers are millionaires, very few are in the same bracket as owners when it comes to personal wealth. Three years playing in China and Bale could be. If this does happen though it’s a little alarming. I mean, what if one of the rival clubs decides they want to pay someone a million a week? What if someone came in and offered that to Sadio, Mo or Big Virg? I’m assuming FFP doesn’t apply over there? If that’s the case, can we send Man City to play over there and leave the rest of us to just play by the rules? Speaking of City, Raheem Sterling says he was really happy for us when we won the Champions League. He also said that for City winning the Premier League is more important as it’s “their bread and butter”. A career in politics awaits when he’s done, because that’s some Boris Johnson style lying through the teeth right there. I wouldn’t have thought any less of him if he’d said “I didn’t want them to win it because they’re our rivals and I really want to win it myself”. As for the league meaning more than the European Cup, tell that to your manager and owners. ...and that was the week that was

Liverpool's search for a reserve goalkeeper has taken them to Burnley as they eye a deal for Tom Heaton according to reports.The former Man United junior has been a stalwart for the Clarets playing close to 200 games since joining them from Bristol City in 2013.The 33 year-old has also represented England from U/16s through to senior level where he has won three caps.Heaton missed much of the 2017/8 season with a shoulder injury and then last season was replaced by new signing Joe Hart for the first half of the campaign.The clamour was high among the fanbase for the popular custodian to take back the No 1 shirt after Burnley's horror home display against Everton on Boxing Day which saw them three points from safety at the midway point of the season.Heaton was soon reinstalled and his astute performances help guide Burnley out of troubled waters. The Mirror reports that the veteran gloveman is entering the last year of his current deal, and Liverpool are looking to add his vast experience to the keeping ranks.The Reds have mainly relied on Simon Mignolet during the pre-season with Alisson on international duty with Brazil for Copa America.While veteran Andy Lonergan was drafted in for the tour of America.Southampton's Alex McCarthy was linked with a move to the club a few weeks ago, but nothing has developed on that front. There have been differing reports whether Mignolet who is highly regarded within the club for his top class attitude, will remain for the current season.Jurgen Klopp has often spoken about his wish for the Belgian to stay on, while Mignolet's agent said that he needs to start looking for first team opportunities.So, it seems like this is another case of watch this space as we edge towards the transfer deadline.

In Football there are many sliding door moments and Divock Origi is a true illustration of that.The striker could easily be a current member of the Wolves squad, who were very keen on his services on a couple of occasions.And who could have blamed the Belgian international if he had decided to join the ambitious newly promoted side, especially as he was well aware that regular minutes would be at a premium if he stayed at the Reds.Despite having to bide his time early in the last campaign , (not even making the bench until early November), Origi did not have any regrets in his decision to stay at the Reds.The Liverpool Echo reported Origi as saying:" It was a gut feeling. For me, I just sat down and I felt like I wanted to stay and help this team.“I felt good, I just had to keep performing in training and I knew my chance would come."I felt like we could do something special and just had to block everything out on the outside and focus on the right things. Reflecting on his 12 month journey from a peripheral figure to a player who could produce on the biggest of stages, Origi says his career has changed forever.“It is a lot to happen in a year,” “And that’s the beauty of football. "You can see that I am back focusing on performing again. It’s good to come here (to the U.S) and connect with the supporters again."Has Madrid changed the direction of my career? Yes definitely, it was a great experience. Winning the Champions League is a boy’s dream so it changes a lot in a player’s career."However, Origi knows all too well about the ups downs of football.In Jurgen Klopp's first season he was given a great deal of responsibility in a number of big games and the young striker certainly was not afraid of the moment leading the line superbly and it appeared for all intents and purposes that a star was born.However a serious ankle injury against Everton cruelly put paid to his campaign and in the managers mind, led to a crisis of confidence which he feels Origi has only recently overcome. Origi was not keen to compare both situations and only wants to focus on the present moment of time."I wouldn’t compare those moments. "I am not someone to make declarations that I am better than then or not. "I feel positive, I feel good on the pitch and I am just trying to show it every time."Then (in 2015/6) I was in very good form, I finished last season very well and again in training I feel well. It is on me to show it on the pitch."Whatever is next for the 24 year-old who recently signed a long term contract to stay at the club, he has got a terrific outlook on things and is ready for whatever may eventuate."It might be a good season, it might be more difficult. These are things you have to deal with but I am ready for whatever, I have confidence in this team and myself.”

Jurgen Klopp has ruled out making any approaches for Gareth Bale and a emotional return for Philippe Coutinho.There has been a growing school of thought that the Reds need someone with that extra bit of dynamism coming from midfield.It's not that the middle three did not do their role last season in fact far from it, their workrate was unparalleled, continuously outworking their opponents.But with the absence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in particular, a creative touch was occasionally lacking, leading to the front three carrying much of the scoring load. While Klopp may have heard the outside noise, he has stayed true to his beliefs that his current squad have what it takes to take that extra step in the title race.Firstly, Sky Sports reported Klopp speaking about the current Real Madrid man."These fantastic football players have some strange ideas. "I respect them all so much, but they probably only say these things because somebody asked them."Bale is a Real Madrid player and if he leaves it will be outstandingly expensive and big wages."He is an outstanding player, I like him a lot but it is not about him. You have to create a team. A team is not a collection of the best individual players, they have to work together."Liverpool is a long-term project. The team is really good. Will there be difficult situations? Probably. "There would be if we bring in a new player, or two or three. "I didn't say we won't do anything, it is going to be a big window for sure but people don't think about the people who are already in."Sometimes you have to calm the situation down, pay your bills, have a normal life and live in the house before you build a new one."While the Bale rumour came from the clouds and never seemed likely, there was a growing hope that the club may look at bringing Coutinho 'home' after he has had what can only be described as a extremely tough 18 months at Barcelona. However ESPN reports that Klopp putting a big red line through that possibility."In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still -- 100%," "It's not about that. I like Phil, I think he's a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it's not our year for that."It's just not possible. "As I said, having him would make each team better -- us included -- but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona."Or maybe he found it there. We have contact, but not that close contact that I know exactly how he is doing, but the rest is only newspaper talk and stuff like that."If everything was true what newspapers write about me -- wow! "If it's similar to what they write about me, I would say he's completely happy at Barcelona and wants to sign a new six-year contract or whatever."Say what you like about what has transpired this summer, but Klopp has not deviated one inch from his overall view of the current squad and what he feels he may require or in this case doesn't need.

Jurgen Klopp has spoken about Liverpool's exceptionally quiet transfer dealings to date saying the club is still looking for additions to the squad as we edge ever closer to the new season. However, he has also stated that if no further players come in, it will mean that there is no-one available to improve what he currently has at his disposal.Young Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg is the only Liverpool signing to date in the summer window, while Fulham youngster Harvey Elliott is expected to join him in the near future.But apart from those youthful prospects, there has been precious little activity even in terms of speculation of new additions joining the club.Some managers are well known to openly show their frustration when they have missed out on targets, or not been given the green light to sign who they want.However, Klopp is someone who seemingly seems very content with who he has available going into the new campaign.The Mirror (via the Echo) reported the manager as saying:"We are still looking, but it will not be the (biggest) transfer window of all time." It will just be a transfer window."It's about using this team. In the transfer window, you have to build a team that you think you want to go into the season with. "But I have that team already.“If we can bring somebody else in that makes it even better, we will see. But if not, this team is already there. "And again we will have to find solutions at different moments.”While this patient and measured strategy may frustrate some within the fanbase, Klopp said there is a clear method behind it and he is certainly not after what you would deem as a 'quick fix.' "Transfer strategy has to be long-term."Short term covers the problem, but doesn't solve it. "If someone gets an injury, and you buy someone to fill the position and three weeks later the injured player is back, then you have double quality in the same position."Having too much quality doesn't help with the development of players. "It's good for everybody on the outside, because they can say 'well if he can't play, then he can play or he could play'.“If you're working together all week and then three of the players (of the same quality in the same position) can't play, they won't get any better. "It's not just about them staying confident in that kind of situation."You have to create a situation where you NEED the player, you need the boys. That's what we try. "We have 100% always long-term plans. That's what is really good about this football club.”When Klopp puts it in those terms, he makes an excellent point.You need to strike a balance between developing your own, and looking at the market for what you may need like he has done with the signings of Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho, and Alisson in more recent times.Klopp has continually spoken during the off-season that there have been 'new additions' to the squad in the shape of fit-again squad members Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Rhian Brewster and Adam Lallana.And if our Champions League manager is content with how things currently look, then who are we to argue with that?

Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the injury sustained to Yasser Larouci in the pre-season encounter against Sevilla on Sunday night at Fenway Park in Boston.The 18 year-old left-back who has impressed many with his play in the pre-season was hacked down by Joris Gnagnon in the 80th minute of the encounter, which saw the Algerian youngster carried off on a stretcher and Gnagnon rightly given a straight red card.After the game, the always straight-talking James Milner did not miss his target when he spoke to LFCTV."Was it too much? I thought so yes, it was a disgraceful tackle. "We know it's only a friendly, but I mean, you don't see many red cards in friendlies, do you?"It is a tough one for the referee because you don't want to use red cards in a lot in friendlies and it is a a rare thing to see.“You don't normally see too many tackles [like Gnagnon's] but it is a disgrace really."For his part, the Frenchman issued a groveling apology after the game on social media.“I want to publicly apologise to Liverpool, the player’s family and fans."It was an odious act on my part that had no place on the football pitch. All my prayers are with the player and his family.”On happier news, the manager reported that Larouci may have escaped serious injury. ESPN reported Klopp as saying:"It looks like he was lucky but, of course, how it always is with these things we have to wait a little bit."He [Gnagnon] hit him full throttle and, in that moment, [if it was] a little bit different position where he hit him, then it's done."I don't know 100 percent. It looks like he was lucky, but I only spoke quickly to the [doctor] and that's what he said, but but we have to see."Yasser couldn't keep on playing, so that's the first not-so-good sign, but in the dressing room it was OK.Klopp gave a update on one of his other youngsters who suffered a injury in this bruising encounter."Harry Wilson got a knock on his jaw and a finger in his eye, so not too cool. He should be OK as well but couldn't carry on as well. "That's the situation."

James Milner says that he is in the dark regarding the possibility of extending his career at the Reds.The popular veteran is entering the final 12 months of his current contract and despite some early progress, the 33 year-old said there has been no update for some time.The Liverpool Echo reported the midfielder as saying:“As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time."We haven’t heard anything since, so that’s where we are at."Jurgen Klopp spoke of his complete admiration of Milner a couple of days ago saying that he is a manager's dream because he gives his all every time he takes to the pitch and cares so much to the overall cause.The manager said having Milner around is non-negotiable as far as he is concerned.“Character, talent, all that stuff is on the highest level. It’s strange, only in sports do we speak about a 33-year-old person as if he was old."Milly, especially, with all the things he has, there are still a few good years to come. "And for a guy like him, there is always a door open in our club."As long as I am here, there will always be a place for a guy like him.”Milner who joined the Reds in the summer of 2015 was thankful for those kind words by his manager."It’s obviously nice. All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can."But in terms of where I am with my contract, that’s what has happened up until now and I haven’t heard anything from the club.”Milner was an ever present for Klopp last season making 45 appearances in all competitions taking his career tally in the top flight to 516, which is the most of any current player.There is a common school of thought that once you approach the mid 30s it is time for a footballer to look at other options, however the fitness fanatic doesn't fit the bill of someone appraching the end of his career just yet.To the contrary, Milner feels he has a fair bit left in the tank."Yeah, I’d like to think so.."Everyone pipes on about my age and stuff I understand you are going to get that."There are three things to it: availability, fitness and performance level. Hopefully I am delivering all three.“I am just going to keep concentrating on my football, keep contributing to Liverpool and be the best player I can be for as long as possible.”

Jurgen Klopp is continuing his search for a back-up to Andy Robertson according to reports.Philipp Max is an 25 year-old left back who came through the Bayern Munich and Schalke academies before graduating to their senior team.He then moved to Karlsruher and eventually to Augsburg where he has made over 100 appearances.Max also represented his country in the 2016 Rio Olympics where Germany claimed a silver medal. Max is viewed as an attacking left-back much in the same vein as Robertson and in the 2017/8 season he registered 12 assists which was the second highest tally in the Bundesliga behind Thomas Muller.Last season while not nearly as prevalent in that category, he did score four goals which included a double against Stuttgart at the end of April.What makes Robertson such a great player is while he has an attacking nature he very rarely gets caught out of position. Likewise, Max is someone who keeps his discipline and does not dive into tackles.The defender is the son of striker Martin Max who twice topped the Bundesliga scoring charts with 1860 Munich in 1999/2000 and again in the 2000/01 season.The Express reports that Klopp is interested in the highly rated defender who will cost in vicinity of £18million.However, there is competition for his services with the report also saying Barcelona are keen to wrap up the deal in the near future.There has been a recent view that Klopp may keep the faith with options within his squad to fill the left-back position including James Milner and youngsters Adam Lewis and Yasser Larouci.However this report is a sign that Klopp is keeping all options on the table.

If you need any recommendation over how much of an asset Rhian Brewster can be in the season ahead, then look no further than Jadon Sancho.The England international tasted U/17 World Cup success with Brewster in 2017 and the pair were on the same pitch again in Friday night, albeit on different sides in Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 pre-season win against Liverpool in Indiana.Sancho played the first half of the encounter, and was able to observe the outcome of Brewster's penalty from the substitute bench in the 74th minute.The 19 year-old had no doubt what the end result would be. ESPN reported Sancho as saying:"I knew it was going in as soon as he put the ball in his hands."Why? England! I've seen him do it all the time, top corner. I just knew what was coming."He spends time after training, practising and practising his technique. I always used to see him out on the pitches. Penalties, free kicks, he took them all." The spot-kick was Brewster's fourth of the pre-season, and Sancho who himself has gone from a exciting prospect to an out and out star in his own right, believes Brewster has the qualities to go far in the game."I definitely think so."I know how good he is. He causes defenders nightmares."He is so focused and will keep working hard. I feel like he can do it. I have played with him."I feel like he is at the right club, he is developing and he is still so young. Just give him the time and patience and you will see."That is a pretty fair recommendation if ever there was one.Certainly there are exciting times ahead as we see will the evolution of this young striker emerge before our very eyes in the next few years.

Saturday Jul 13: Can’t believe I forgot to mention this yesterday, but Crouchy announced his retirement. I love him. He’s top ten in my all time favourite Reds list. He’s one of the most under-rated players we’ve had, and also one of England’s most under-appreciated. He was technically brilliant. Great feet, great balance and a superb finisher. His height was an advantage in some ways as it helped him score a shitload of headers, but it held him back in others because if he was a foot shorter and had blistering pace he’d probably have been an even better player than he was because of the ability I mentioned. In addition to all that though, he’s just a fucking great lad and one of the easiest players to root for. The kind of lad you’d love to be mates with. Enjoy your retirement Crouchy lad. Crouchamania will always run wild in my household. Meanwhile, Lucas Moura seems to be a little unclear about what constitutes a dribble, as he cast doubt on the claim that nobody had dribbled past Big Virg last season. “They say he hasn’t been dribbled past since… whatever. If the guy is past him, it’s already a dribble. I don’t know, but the guys must have gone past him now. I know I scored a goal against Liverpool, we lost, but I scored against Liverpool and he was left behind. But he’s great. He is.” Ok lad, let me explain this in simple terms for you. There are two types of dribble. For an example of the first, look at the liquid rolling down the chin of the man who kept you out of the starting line up in the final. That's not relevant to this conversation though, we're talking about the other type of dribble. The definition of it is this: "(in soccer, hockey, and basketball) an act of taking the ball forward with repeated slight touches or bounces." It is not running in behind someone onto a pass, which was what you referred to, presumably as it seems to be the only thing you are actually capable of. Hope this helps. You're right about Virg being great though. Sunday Jul 14: Bradford 1 L 3. Nice to see such a good turnout for Ste Darby. It’s just heartbreaking what’s happening to him and I don’t even know what to say. It’s just awful and my heart goes out to him as well as to his family and friends. Hopefully a lot of money was raised today and will help towards the research that may eventually find a cure. As for the game itself, performance wise it wasn’t as good as the other night at Tranmere. There were some decent performances and another goal for Brewster, who seems razor sharp when anything is loose in the box. The first half team did much better than the second, but that’s not really important at this point as it’s just as likely to go the other way in the next game. I thought Larouci did quite well again and Kent is looking bright so far. Some interesting comments from Klopp afterwards as he more or less said that Mignolet is staying. He didn’t say that the Mig was happy about it but it does seem like they’ve come to an understanding. By that I mean, Klopp has said “yeah, we need you so you’re not being sold”. Kloppo caused a bit of a stir with what he said about Lallana too. He’s been used as a number six in the first two games, largely through necessity as Hendo and Gini haven’t been available. He seems to have enjoyed himself as he’s had loads of time on the ball to Cruyff turn his little heart out, but the thought of him playing that role in a high tempo, high stakes game does nothing for me. This isn’t a ‘new role’ for him in the way we’ve seen other players like Hendo, Milner and Trent switch positions. It is a smart thing to put him in a role where he isn’t having to exert himself too much until he’s got his full fitness back though. Lallana’s problem is he’s such a willing worker that he presses and plays harder than his body will allow. Still, Klopp was surely having a laugh at our expense with this…. “Adam is the kind of player who can play that and he enjoys this 'Jorginho' role – I hope Maurizio Sarri doesn't see the games or he will make an offer”. The reaction those quotes got on twitter though was fucking brutal. Lallana seems to have replaced Hendo as the “LFC Family” whipping boy now though. Most of the replies to Klopp’s quote just made me sad. If Klopp wants to keep Lallana this season then why the fuck do you care? All this “SELL HIM!!!!” and people getting riled up about it, I don’t get it. We all have opinions on who we should sell and keep but how can people feel so strongly about it that they’ll be kicking off on social media demanding Klopp get rid? It’s fucking mental. So what if he’s on 100k a week. That’s the club’s problem, not yours. You aren’t paying his wages. This isn’t 1980. If Klopp thinks he needs Lallana in the squad this season then sound, it’s his decision and he knows far more about what he needs than any of us do. I think what bothers me the most though is I just don’t like seeing hostility towards players who have been nothing but good pros and have carried themselves well as Liverpool players. Monday Jul 15: Kia Joorabchian (Coutinho’s agent) had some interesting things to say about his client’s situation with Barca. He reckons Barca’s sporting director told him that Coutinho was going nowhere, but then another Barca exec has been offering him to PSG in part ex for Neymar. Who’s have thought that Barca would act in such a sneaky, underhanded manner? Poor Kia, poor Phil. The most interesting thing he had to say involved the Reds though. “"I think Liverpool lies very, very deeply in his heart," he said. "He was a big fan of them throughout the campaign [last season]. He was wishing for them to win the title and he has a very strong affinity there so I think it will be very difficult for him to go to a direct competitor of Liverpool from a personal standpoint." I tell you how this looks to me. Phil wants to come back. This has been obvious for a while and is nothing new. However, for it to happen he’s going to have to force Barca to do a cut price deal with us (maybe even a loan) because other clubs will pay more than we are willing to. This looks like part of the plan. He’s already reportedly told Barca he won’t go to PSG, and now his agent is saying that Chelsea and United can forget it too. So who does that leave? Not Juve, they’ll be waiting in the wings until his contract runs out in four years. Bayern maybe? You know by now how I feel about this. If Coutinho came back I’d be fucking buzzing. I’d say it’s obvious he’s desperate to make it happen but what we don’t know is whether Klopp is even interested. My suspicion is he would be but only on our terms. Meanwhile, AC Milan seem to have dropped their interest in Lovren now and have turned to Newcastle’s Fabian Schar instead. Good. Said it before, but Lovren is important, both as part of the centre back rotation and also for his role in the dressing room. Fabinho recently described Salah as “reserved but talkative. He’s the happiest guy in the world when around Lovren.” Not reason enough on it’s own to keep him, but it’s something that should be taken into consideration. We’ve got something great going on at the moment and we should keep everyone together for another season at least. One possible outgoing though is Taiwo Ayoniwi. One of the Moscow clubs want him and we’re asking for £15m. We’ll probably get it too, as footy is fucking mental now. Eddie Howe might even gazump them with a bit of luck.. Tuesday Jul 16: Kieran Trippier is signing for Atletico. On a list of things I expected to see this summer, that’s got to be right near the bottom. It’s the kind of deal that happens on Footy Manager and you go “behave, as if that would happen”. Fair play to Trippier for wanting to give it a go abroad though. Not many English lads do that. Probably smart too, as if he’s playing every week in the same league as Trent then he’s got no chance of holding onto his England spot. Now he might have bought himself a little more time. He’s nothing special but it’s a gradual decline at Spurs, who went from Kyle Walker to Trippier and now it looks like being Serge Aurier, who is fucking shite. Danny Rose might be leaving too. The gap between the top two and the rest might get even bigger this year, as none of them look like being any kind of a threat. Meanwhile, the Firmino's hosted a party and Coutinho and his wife showed up. Videos later emerged of Bobby and Phil absolutely fucking hammered and having a whale of a time. I just can't imagine a situation where they aren't plotting a way of him getting back here. That doesn't mean it will happen, but you know they must be talking about it as the families are so close and there's a vacancy in the Latino click now that Moreno has gone. Wednesday Jul 17: Look at the state off Mesut Ozil. He looks like the Shelbyville Megan Rapinoe. At first I thought he’d faceapped himself like every other fucker seems to be doing this week. What’s that all about by the way? That’s been around for years, I was using it two summers ago to make jokes about Markovic and Sakho, but for some reason the entire world seems to have gone mad for it this week. Anyway, Ozil, what a dick. Maybe he’s done this to make himself less invisible in the 90% of games where you never fucking see him? Steve Bruce is officially Newcastle’s new manager. This is just gold. They haven’t been able to agree a compensation package with Sheff Wed so they might get in trouble for that. Seems like a lot of bother to go to for Steve fucking Bruce. I mean, he’s alright, he knows what he’s doing and there are far worse options out there, but to go from Rafa to him has to make Newcastle favourites to finish bottom. Especially as Rafa is taking Rondon to China with him. My Mackem brother in law is like a pig in shit with all these. He hates Bruce, who he dubbed “parsnip nose nans hair”. He messaged me today saying the Geordies organised a protest outside their local Sports Direct. The evening news reported it, and he said there were SIX fans outside. He counted them, and it wasn’t hard. SIX!!! You know, fair play to those six, and fucking shame on all the other losers who cry about Ashley but do absolutely fucking nothing about it. He knows he can do what he likes because they’ll just keep showing up no matter what, because they pride themselves on being the “loyalest supporters the world has ever had”. They’re also the stupidest. I know some of you are feeling sorry for them, but let’s see if you feel the same when they come to Anfield and start with the tedious “Sign on” chants. Thursday Jul 18: Interviewed Carra today for the summer issue of the fanzine. I went to meet him at the gym he goes to, and honestly, it was the scousest place on earth. The Rotunda in Kirkdale, where all the top scouse boxers have trained down the years. It’s just the perfect environment for Carra, he’s not treated differently to anyone else there, he’s just one of the lads. Anyway, I was waiting for him in the car park, and what followed was like a scene from the Sopranos, only scouse. He was with a few mates, and he comes over to my car and opens the door and goes “heeeeyyyy ‘ere he is, Milan Baros. Look at his hair, lads, it’s Baros!” One mate goes “fucking hell, that is a nice head of hair” and another one goes “nah he’s not Baros, he’s more like that other fella… the scouse comedian… whatshisname?” and then the third one chimes in “yeah it’s John Bishop!”. Dunno where he’s getting the Baros thing from, I haven’t sported that look for about 15 years. Bit disappointed to be honest, I much preferred it when Carra thought I looked like Gigi Buffon. Now that’s a fucking compliment right there. Anyway, the interview was fucking class, loads of great insight in there, especially about Trent and Hendo. You can read it in the summer issue of the fanzine anyway. Also today, there’s a lot of hoo har about this Sturridge thing. Can’t say I’m the slightest bothered about that little exchange between him and his agent about him not playing against Man City because it looked like a move to Inter was on the cards. He wasn’t going to start, it’s not like we were counting on him as he was only going to be on the bench. From his point of view, why would he risk picking up an injury and scupper a potential move? I get the argument that we pay his wages, but he was never a Klopp player and if Inter had offered us decent money we’d have happily fucked him off. So none of this makes me think any less of him, and the ban he’s been given for breaching betting rules is a fucking farce. Said it before, and I’ll say it again, but bookies are happy enough to take bets on literally anything, so why the fuck should a player not tell any of his mates if he might be moving clubs? Some boss quotes from Robbo today. “That’s what we’ve got to use as motivation now – the winning feeling we had. Last season was completely different, we used the disappointment and heartbreak of losing as motivation to not be in that position again. That’s probably why we had so many last-minute winners, big comebacks and things like that. “This season we need to use that feeling of being on that bus and lifting that trophy to drive us forward. We want more of that feeling. That’ll be in all our minds for the season ahead.” Fucking love him. By the time he finishes he might end up being my favourite player ever. Friday Jul 19: The first game of the US tour ends in a 3-2 defeat to Dortmund. I didn’t watch it live, which is unlike me. I stayed up to watch these games last year but I have zero interest in them at all right now. I just want the proper stuff to start. I might be a bit more into it if there were any new signings to watch, but the only real interest in watching these games is seeing how Brewster is progressing. He scored tonight, with a confidently taken penalty. Harry Wilson got the other one, which is nice for him. Sadio is finally on his holidays now after Senegal lost in the final of AFCON. A real shame for him, it would have meant the world to him to win that and to be able to come back and compare notes with the Brazilian lads. Hopefully he’ll come back refreshed after a short break and he can put that behind him and fire us to the title. Twitter was awash today with people buzzing off Zlatan’s latest self praise. He’s a dick and one of the most over-rated players of all time. That being said, the stuff he’s been coming out with this week has been funny as fuck. The US media have been trying to create a debate about who is the best in the MLS and they’ve been comparing him with Carlos Vela, and Zlatan seems proper put out by it. Not only has he ripped Vela (“don’t compare a Ferrari with a Fiat”), he’s completely savaged the MLS itself and the lack of quality over there. “He’s 29 and he’s playing in MLS. Where was I playing when I was 29?” I’ve seen people suggest this is all an act and he’s not really like that. This isn’t the WWE folks, he’s not playing some character, this is who he is. He's 37 and he's been like this since day one. It's no act. To be fair, I’m almost warming to him as he gets older. I think my opinion of him began to change when he laid into Guardiola. Any enemy of that slap head can’t be that bad. Except Samuel Eto’o, he can fuck off. Finally today, I saw Peter Moore got involved in something on twitter about the kit. Someone was selling knock off kits and he got on his high horse about “intellectual property” and how this kind of thing is “taking money out of the club’s transfer budget”. Do fuck off. How out of touch can you possibly be? Rich people generally have absolutely no idea about the real life struggles of your average family. The real issue here is not that some Del Boy character is making money off jarg kits (to be clear, I'm not defending him and if he was thrown in jail I wouldn't be arsed), it’s that kit manufacturers are charging over £100 for a kit and they’re bringing out three kits a season. The kit manufacturers pay up front for the rights to make those kits so the clubs get the money regardless of whether some nomark in China is selling knock offs, so no-one is taking out of the transfer kitty. Not that it would matter anyway as Jurgen doesn’t seem to be arsed about buying anyone this summer anyway. I haven’t bought any knock off kits because I stopped wearing the shirts about twenty years ago. Adrianna has the new home shirt but only because my mum bought it for her. No way am I forking out £60 for a shirt, but I’m lucky in that she’d never ask me to anyway as she knows it’s a rip off. Some parents will have two or three kids who all want the kits though. The cost of it is obscene. Of course you can tell them no, but what parent likes denying their kids things that many of their mates have? So if people are buying knock off shirts for a fraction of the cost, good luck to them. Liverpool are still getting their money regardless, and let's be honest here, who gives a fuck if New Balance, Nike, Adidas or whoever are getting stiffed out of a few quid? You know what, I've actually talked myself into buying some jarg kits now. Anyone got a link? .....and that was the week that was