Lately there have ben some rumblings of discontent coming from Liverpool's perrenial substitutes like Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel. Both are unhappy at the lack of playing time and you wouldn't want it to be any other way. Indeed, the percieved benefit of having a strong squad is precisely that it keeps players sharp and determined to fight for their place. Click to continue reading...

There is something of a debate going on at the moment about the merits, or lack thereof, of Liverpool's academy.
Ten years ago, when the academy was set up, it was impossible to imagine it as being anything other than a success.
How could it be otherwise for the club that had seen the emergence of a raft of world class playes in the form of Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard? Click to continue reading...

When I first started writing this blog it was precisely for days like this: a form of therapy when the frustration of a bad result just wouldn't go away.

And it was a bad result, albeit not a bad performance. Indeed most of the side played well yet there was no rhythm. Everything was too disjointed particularly in the final third which strengthens my personal belief that this particular system that worked so well towards the tail end of last season doesn't fit well when the team is shorn of Fernando Torres. Click to continue reading...

Book Review: You'll Win Nothing With Kids by Jim White

As soon as I turned over the first page of this book, not only was I informed that the author was a Manchester United fan but also that he counted a book called 'Are you watching Liiverpool' among his earlier works. Not the best of starts, you'll agree. Click to continue reading...

I've always been eager to know what's happening in every corner of the world of football. As a kid that meant religiously buying World Soccer each month where the knowledge of writers like Brian Glanville and Gavin Hamilton used to fascinate me.

The internet eventually became the main source of information and it was much more timely: you got to know what was happening by the end of the weekend rather than the following month. Click to continue reading...

His was a low-profile entrance. Indeed, if any emotion was expressed when Mauricio Pellegrino joined Liverpool's coaching staff last July, it was skepticism: how could the player who had done so badly during his brief stay in 2005 add anything in a coaching role?

Four months later and there still isn't a suitable answer to that query. Click to continue reading...

Good Game Bad Game [vs Tottenham Hotspur]
There were too many mediocre players out there on this occasion for me to even to attempt to split them between those who played well and those who didn't. This team played as if they didn't know each other – which, from a playing perspective, is true – and as a result every aspect of Liverpool's game failed to click. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday I reviewed Paul Tomkins' latest book Dynasty which, in case you missed it, I wholeheartedly recommend. Here's a brief-ish chat that I had with Paul about this book and Liverpool's current situation.

How did the idea of the book come about?
I was getting sick of the notion that everything in the club's history was perfect, and Benítez could do no right in some people's eyes. Click to continue reading...

Book Review: Dynasty by Paul Tomkins

People who read Paul Tomkins' regular columns fall into two categories: those who appreciate his insightful musings and those who do so to complain about his ultra-positive tinge. That over the past few years he has been writing largely for the official website has strengthened the latter's view that he is simply a mouthpiece of the club. Click to continue reading...

Paul Anderson has had a pretty miserable season so far, with injury greatly forcing him to sit out the first three months. Worse than that, he's seen the club he opted to join on loan - Nottingham Forest - slump to the bottom of the table whereas the one that he could have joined - Swansea - have been pushing for promotion. Click to continue reading...

It has been a pretty bleak season so far for Liverpool's reserves. Four defeats in a row have been quite hard to take for the side that only lost once last season. Players who this time last year were being pushed as potential first team material – Stephen Darby, Miguel San Jose, Damien Plessis, Jay Spearing and even Daniel Pacheco – have been under-performing no matter what Gary Ablett tries to do. Click to continue reading...

It says a lot that the reaction among Liverpool players to the visit of Diego Maradona briefly overshadowed the news that Rafael Benitez's contract talks are finally under way.

Yet not everyone seems to have welcomed the way the new Argentina manager was treated.

Click to continue reading...

The appearance of David N'Gog last Tuesday as a second half substitute was a surprising one, yet it says much about the quality of Liverpool's squad.

In explaining the substitution, Rafael Benitez said that he wanted to change things up front, to put on a striker who could perhaps add something different. Click to continue reading...

For so long it was a case of deja vu. As with last Saturday, Liverpool pressed hard, came close to scoring on a number of occasions but failed to do so. To be fair to them, Atletico were a lot classier than Spurs and you have to wonder what Simao could have achieved had the transfer to Liverpool gone through a couple of years back. Click to continue reading...

Last week, Liverpool were linked with a move for Brazilian striker Keirrison and, although the link seems a bit spurious, I thought that the name sounded familiar.

So I looked around a bit and, true enough, found that last month I had linked to a post on the Pitaco do Gringa's blog about the most promising Brazilian players around. Click to continue reading...