For the first couple of seasons at Liverpool, Fernando Torres was the most complete striker I’d ever seen at the club; Ian Rush’s pace and finishing prowess, but with the ability to also beat defenders with skill and hit a wider variety of strikes. He seemed humble, hard-working and devoted to the club. He was [...]
DATE: 2/2/2011 VENUE: Anfield KICK OFF: 8PM COMPETITION: Preview: It’s been one hell of a season to be a supporter of Liverpool Football Club. The good news of a top class signing in the form of Luis Suárez joining the club had been overshadowed by Fernando Torres handing in a written transfer request before subsequently [...]
So, one of the world’s best strikers signs, on the day that we’re told one of the world’s best strikers is supposedly intent on leaving. Nothing is ever simple as a Liverpool fan these days, is it? But while Suárez has signed, Torres has yet to go anywhere. In theory, they look like a perfectly [...]
I recently gave an in-depth interview on a range of football-related subjects to the excellent Back Page Football website, but before it appears on there, I will share it with subscribers to The Tomkins Times.
By Kais. King Kenny’s second consecutive win – and his first at Anfield during this new reign – saw Liverpool move up the table into 7th place, albeit under somewhat fortuitous circumstances, particularly with respect to the goal. Tactical Line-ups • For the Reds, Liverpool continued with the protean 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 that King Kenny prefers, with [...]
The following quote was recently sent my way: “It was very hard to do it, it really was, because Roy was such a very, very nice man and full of integrity. But it wasn’t really happening, we weren’t progressing and the crowd was getting restless. They were. But mostly I didn’t feel the tradition was [...]
Six months ago Liverpool were owned by Gillett and Hicks, run by Christian Purslow and managed by Roy Hodgson who, being English and a fan of 4-4-2 (plus big centre-forwards, and not a proponent of zonal marking), was much loved by Andy Gray. How times change. Hodgson was proud of his 1970s tactics (and openly [...]
How To Subscribe Until recently, you needed to hold a Paypal account to become a subscriber. While you don’t need an account to make standard Paypal purchases, we didn’t realise that for subscription services it is a prerequisite. But now, with the ‘annual gift’ option, you can click on the link for non-Paypal customers, as [...]
By Andrew Beasley (a.k.a Beezdog) ‘Lies, damned lies and statistics’ is a phrase often used to try and undermine research, by effectively saying that you can prove anything with numbers. But can you use numbers to go so far as proving Christian Poulsen has done remotely well at Liverpool? Poulsen is a fairly rare beast: [...]
There’s only one thing at Liverpool that, on the evidence so far, Roy Hodgson indubitably got right: the purchase of Raul Meireles. Whether or not it was led by (now ex-) chief scout and fellow Iberian, Eduardo Macia, is somewhat moot: the transfer has Hodgson’s name on it, in the same way that managers get the [...]
It took Kenny Dalglish just two away games to do what Roy Hodgson failed to achieve in 10: win convincingly away from home in the Premier League. Indeed, as is well known, the Reds only managed a single away victory under Hodgson in the league, and that was via a barely-deserved late winner at Bolton. [...]
Date: 26th Dec 2010 Venue: Anfield Competition: Preview: When this post was originally written by Gary, Roy Hodgson was about to face his former club with both teams struggling for form. Since then, quite a lot has happened.
By Andrew Beasley (a.k.a. beezdog) Following the first two league games of the second Dalglish managerial era, something worrying occurred to me: in both games we had taken the lead, only to subsequently conceded twice and go behind. Don’t panic, this is not a rabid, foaming mouthed ‘DALGLISH OUT’ rant; rather a look at how [...]
Zach Slaton, the author of A Beautiful Numbers Game blog and an Arsenal fan (by trade a mechanical engineer and Six Sigma Black Belt), takes a look at the data from Pay As You Play and calculates how much investment is needed by Liverpool to return to the Champions League.
By Daniel Geey and Hal Cohen Introduction (in 140 characters) Footballers: beware of fines, bans, hackers and privacy settings. Clubs: get your guidelines and damage control policies in place #beforeyougetintorealtrouble Footballers are always going to be in the headlines. Late night drinking, kiss-and-tell stories and mega transfers create big news stories. We even have Kenny [...]
Date: 22nd Jan 2011 Venue: Molineux Kick Off: 12.45pm Competition: Preview: Could this be the first of the relegation ‘six-pointers’ that Liverpool have in store? Liverpool are four points above the relegation zone and five points separate us from 19th placed Wolves – defeat to the Wanderers will leave us just two points clear of [...]
It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame – Oscar Wilde. Updated from an article in issue 5 of Well Red, the magazine’s editor, Gareth, Roberts looks at the one constant in all of Liverpool’s recent struggles. This post is for Subscribers only. Click on the logo above for more details [...]
A fortnight left in the transfer window, and some edgy Reds have been showing concern at a lack of activity. But this is an awkward time to do deals, and my perception is that moves occur closer to deadline day, as the haggling draws to a close with a compromise. There’s no need to panic [...]
By Chris Rowland. Before Kenny’s return was announced, I like many had been unsure whether it would be the right move, whether it would be regressive, whether he was in touch with the football world of now. But the announcement brought an instinctive surge of elation and a lightened up sense of having my connection [...]
I’ve always attempted to see the bigger picture with Liverpool FC, and never liked short-term thinking. However, before we could focus on Fenway Sports Group’s long-term vision, we had a massive obstacle obscuring our view. If we were setting off on a long journey with our new American owners – accepting that it would take [...]
Date: 16th Jan 2011 Venue: Anfield Kick Off: 14.05pm Competition: Match Preview: The 184th league meeting between Liverpool and Everton promises to be a memorable one for many reasons, not least for the homecoming of Kenny Dalglish some 20 years after he left Liverpool. The stakes have surely been raised even higher following the 2-1 [...]
Although both games have been lost, Liverpool have at least tried to pass, move and press higher up the pitch under Kenny Dalglish. The appointment of Steve Clarke will hopefully prove a shrewd one, and there’s no need to panic after what was always going to be a very difficult start. If people thought writing [...]
Simon Clancy, producer for BBC Radio 5, takes a look at the bond between Liverpool FC and its supporters, and how the relationship between fans and manager broke down to such alarming levels under Roy Hodgson. Did we let ourselves down, or simply protect our heritage? Is it likely to be repeated? – or are we all united once again?
Following on from his comparisons between last season and this, Andrew Beasley looks at the final 20 league games of Rafa Benítez and Roy Hodgson. A lot was made of the fact that Liverpool weren’t very good in 2010 before the change took place, so this piece examines that belief. As we all know, Rafael [...]
Date: 12th Jan 2010 Venue: Bloomfield Road Kick Off: 8pm Competition: Preview: A new era has begun at Anfield with the return of Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager. It’s a testament to King Kenny’s reputation and legendary status amongst Liverpool supporters (and amongst many of his peers, even if some won’t admit it publicly) that [...]
