Search the Community

In recent years, games against Arsenal have usually seen their approach totally overpowered by our set-up and intensity. That’s not to say they’ve not had their moments during games, especially at the Emirates, as they have had spells where they’ve put us under the cosh and we’ve ridden our luck a little bit. Much of the difference has come from them having a combination of talented but flaky players, plus talented players prone to brain farts. This season so far has seen Arsenal fly out of the traps in the Premier League, and actually look like one of the top 2 teams. The flaky ones have shown more consistency and resilience, and the prone-to-brain-farts ones have largely cut out the brain farts. Arsenal have pretty much shorn their squad of the high-earning layabouts and put in their place players that are hungry to improve. Our issues have been well-documented, with the team looking as inconsistent as in Jurgen’s early days. Key players out of form and a decimated midfield has meant that Jurgen’s usually approach has seen the team be to open and susceptible to the counter. The game against Rangers saw us tweak things and, standard of opposition aside, we looked better for it. That needs to continue here, so what is needed in order to do so? Heart. Organisation. Offensive strength. Freedom of expression. I don’t ask for much. Two seasons ago, we’d gone through a spell of poor results and a lack of options in a key part of the pitch. That lack of options had hampered the effectiveness of other parts of the team, and the result was us having to scratch and claw to hang on to what was then a remote chance of making the top 4. We changed tack, put in round pegs in round holes (even if those pegs lacked the quality of those they’d come in for) and gradually found our groove. We still weren’t brilliant but we were no longer looking so impotent or disorganised. April 2021 saw us travel to the Emirates, and Diogo was the key to the 3-0 result we came away with. He was brought on with the score still at 0-0, and only moments later bulleted a header into the net from a peach of a cross from Trent down the right. Mo raced onto a Hendo pass, rode the clumsy challenge of Arsenal’s Gabriel (who’d made a right mess of dealing with the situation even though he had a head start on the Egyptian) and casually passed the passed the ball right-footed into the net through the legs of Bernd Leno. Diogo grabbed his second of the night when we won the ball back in the Arsenal half. Mo found space on the right edge of the area and played a pass into Sadio in the middle. Sadio let the ball roll across him with the intent of turning his marker and shooting at goal. The ball got away from him but Diogo was on hand to race in and fire the loose ball into the net. Bobby hadn’t scored in this one but was excellent with his link-up play throughout, and Curtis had looked lively starting alongside the captain and Milly. We looked like a side that should be at least challenging for the league. 3rd April 2021 saw Godzilla vs. Kong atop the box office. Plenty of CGI, plenty of spectacle, and absolutely no interest from me. I bet those people who love watching Youtube clips of centipedes taking on wasps inside a glass tank to the sounds of lions roaring came inside their pants at the thought of two fictional icons going head to head. Bollocks to the logistics of how they end up doing so. 3rd April 2021 saw Egypt stage the Pharaoh’s Golden Parade where the mummified remains of 22 kings and queens of Ancient Egypt were moved from Cairo’s central Tahrir Square to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Fustat, near Old Cairo. The mummies were encased in nitrogen-filled cases and transported in funeral vehicles designed to look like the old boats that criss-crossed the Nile. A pretty spectacular way to celebrate the country’s rich history, even though the public were not allowed to line the parade route. The Arsenal game is a chance for the team to start picking up points in the league and close the gap on the leaders. While it’s still early days, we are also sitting on half as many points as they have, so we need to get our skates on. Jurgen’s probably got more to ponder with whom to start up front. Darwin needs rhythm and goals because his time here has been very stop-start. Bobby is looking more potent in front of goal than we’ve seen since around 2019, and both he and Diogo have a habit of doing well against Arsenal. Then again, so does Mo, and he will have been pleased to be back amongst the goals even if it was from the penalty spot in midweek. Lucho has looked our most dynamic forward this season. It’s midfield and at full back where Jurgen needs to decide whether to stay with the midweek 4-2-3-1 that saw Trent play more as an orthodox right back. Whatever the formation and set-up, not conceding the first goal and not being easy to pass through has to be a priority. I keep saying it, but we have the tools to get the job done. It’s all about the right attitude, focus and application to actually go ahead and do it. We know we can. Let’s show we can.

Prior to the commencement of a new season, we all search for clues as to "what we can expect. In essence, we're looking for things on which we can pin our hopes, writes Liverpoolfc.com columnist Paul Tomkins. If your team has just had a good season, it's almost impossible not to see a continued upward trajectory. You feel you're on a roll. And if you've fallen below expectations, you're looking for things that signal you can get back on track. Right now, I'm trying not to align all my expectations with the Anfield performance against FC Gomel, but it was precisely the kind of fast, incisive, pass-and-move football Brendan Rodgers' promised. While the opposition was modest, they were at least match-fit; and it has to be noted that home games against inferior opposition can sometimes result in the flattest performances, especially if there's a first-leg away win already in the bag. The pressure was off, of course, but it was encouraging to see such an effervescent display. Bayer Leverkusen - managed by the modern legend that is Sami Hyypia - are obviously a far better side than Gomel, but after less than 72 hours, and as a mere friendly, Liverpool were never going to be as sparkling. Even so, a Liverpool team only at 70 per cent full-strength cruised into a 2-0 half-time lead, before the mass of substitutions, which resulted in a 3-1 win on the afternoon. Some very good players have left this summer, mostly due to age, personal circumstances and contract situations. Liverpool have retained plenty of experience - Gerrard, Carragher and Reina in particular - but it looks like being a younger squad, as some evolution takes place. Only Arsenal had a younger average age for their starting XIs than Swansea last season (although Liverpool's was fairly young already), so clearly Rodgers likes to use youngsters. At the same time, you can't eschew all experience in the process. Liverpool's players aged 23 or younger with Premier League experience include new boys Borini and Allen, plus Henderson, Coates, Carroll, Kelly, Spearing, Sterling, Shelvey, Robinson, Flanagan and Wilson. And of course, two of the star men, Suarez and Lucas, are only 25. But even without making signings, new players naturally emerge from the edge of the squad. Coates has immense potential, but as I frequently note, young centre-backs tend to be punished for their mistakes (due to their proximity to goal leaving no leeway), and Coates isn't the pacy type who can easily atone for his own errors. Indeed, the young Uruguayan is in the Sami Hyypia mould: very tall and intelligent, with good technique, but not the quickest. At Coates' age, Hyypia had been rejected by Newcastle and Oldham. At 21 he was still in Finland, and he didn't move to a big club until reaching Liverpool at 26. Hyypia spent four seasons in Holland, at Willem II, but Liverpool got him very cheaply, without any serious competition. By contrast, Coates - a Copa América winner at just 20 - is miles ahead at the same stage of his career. Of course that doesn't mean he'll go on to emulate the great Finn; but it helps puts Coates' progress into context. Jonjo Shelvey, signed in May 2010, has started to look the part over the past few months. His tackling can still be too aggressive for the modern game, but he plays like someone beyond his 20 years. Raheem Sterling, signed around the same time, and who began making late substitute appearances towards the end of last season, really announced himself as a first-team player against Bayer Leverkusen. A televised prestige friendly, and within three minutes he'd scored a quite brilliant goal. It is already a trademark type of goal: similar to a couple of the five he scored in one youth team game. He will frequently look to cut inside when stationed on the left, and once in the area, the curler into the far corner becomes the most obvious finish. But the way he used strength as well as pace to get in front of the full-back, the weighting of his touch taking him clear of the covering defender, and the inch-perfect execution of the shot, showed that even if teams know what he wants to do, it can be hard to stop. (Teams know that Lionel Messi will try and shoot left-footed if he can, but they can't stop it.) But of course, Sterling is still very raw and has a lot to learn, and indeed, faded away after that amazing start. That said, his left-foot cross in the second half was the kind of thing I like to see, along with the times he tried to beat his man on the outside. Even though he (narrowly) failed to find Carroll's head, and lost the ball when dribbling, it's important to keep defenders guessing. And of course, Lucas is fit again. Several external observers seem to note that he was only appreciated by Liverpool fans once he was seriously injured last autumn; but he had been voted the player of the season in 2010-11. He is, however, the epitome of the young, new recruit who struggles to adapt to a new club, country and system, but improves steadily for a while, and then dramatically. It can also be about stepping out of the shadow of world-class players, with his best only coming once Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso had moved on. It can't be easy when you are still learning the game and are expected to step in as cover for such players, against whom you will inevitably be judged. And hopefully Steven Gerrard, who missed so much football in the previous couple of seasons, can return to his devastating best. I'm pleased to see that Rodgers has returned him to a more advanced role, which is where I feel he can best influence games. As he gets older, he needs to rely on picking up clever positions to create and score goals, rather than being expected to go box-to-box, and tearing into tackles. He still has good stamina and a turn of pace, but he remains one of the best players around when it comes to making an decisive impact in the final third. Joe Allen and Fabio Borini will both add new dimensions. Borini can offer Kuyt's goals and work-rate but with added pace, although he lacks the experience (but then a 21-year-old can represent the future in a way that a 32-year-old can't). The Italian is particularly good at hitting his shots on target, and that's an improvement the Reds need to make on 2011-12. And Allen is the kind of tempo-dictating player Liverpool haven't had since Alonso's departure (although Lucas is showing increasing capability at relentlessly retaining possession). Will Stewart Downing perform better in a new role, as a left-footed right-sided attacker? He'll perhaps be under less scrutiny a year on from his transfer. That said, he started last season very impressively, but a failure to score or gain a league assist (despite creating several gilt-edged chances) seemed to dent his confidence; this season he already has a goal, so he's under less pressure already. Andy Carroll showed against Leverkusen that he's lean and fit, and the cleverness of his turn when working space for his goal showed that he's no mere target-man. When he's confident his touch is good, and while Rodgers may favour exceptionally mobile strikers - and at times, with them dropping deep and wide to create space for midfielders, no strikers - I don't think you can say that the big No.9 cannot play fast-moving football kept on the deck. He has also shown a good work ethic. The worry can be that defenders use him as a panic ball, and the fact that, as he's not a sprinter, he can't run in behind defences. The price tag has also never helped him, but he showed towards the end of last season that he was coming to terms with expectations. Finally, Jordan Henderson seems to be underrated by a lot of people. His movement and first-time passing is very good, and though he didn't look too comfortable out on the right last season, that time spent in the team will have helped him progress as a player, just as Lucas had to endure some stick at the same age. It's all a learning process. Sometimes when a manager changes things his team can struggle for cohesiveness and a shared wavelength. But equally, when things go well very quickly, it can have a surprise quality that diminishes with time. In football, the constant evolution of any side's play is countered by opposition knowledge. You can't stand still. While some early season impacts may prove to be mere temporary highs, a passing style of football often relies on increased understanding, which comes with games and training sessions. All in all, Liverpool look in pretty good shape for the season ahead, and if everything clicks, top four shouldn't be impossible. For me, top six, but racking up close to 70 points, should be a realistic aim; but overall, a sense of improvement - be it gradual or instant - and of heading in the right direction, has to be the main objective." Tomkins: Cautious 12-13 optimism - Liverpool FC good piece imo, particularly the bits about Coates and Henderson showing a balanced view on their situations, obviously added a bit of spin to make it all sound rosey with it being an official website piece but well worth a read