Now before I start, I just ordered a couple of shirts for me and Wen for the upcoming season! So it's gonna be a good one!
Pre Season:
The ball is gonna roll actually pretty soon. About a month after writing, we're already starting to play to build up our fitness. But before we do that, I really feel that we need to get a few transfers done. Because not counting some of the other cups, like FA cup, carabao cup, UEFA Champions League, we've got a minimum of 48 games, including at least 30 of pre-season and season till the end of 2019. So games will come very thick and fast which is why we need a lot more players than the current lineup we have. But with that said here's our run:
JULY:
11 - Friendly - vs Tranmere
14 - Friendly - vs Bradford
20 - Friendly - vs Borussia Dortmund
21 - Friendly - vs Sevilla
25 - Friendly - vs Sporting Lisbon
28 - Friendly - vs Napoli
29 - Friendly - vs Lyon
Quite a lot of big teams especially from 20th onwards for the ICC. And we know the caliber that Dortmund, Sevilla, Lisbon, Napoli and Lyon are capable of. But it'll give a good warm up.
AUGUST:
04 - Com Shield - vs Man City
06 - Friendly - vs Schalke 04
09 - BPL - (H) vs Norwich
14 - UEFA Super Cup - vs Chelsea
17 - BPL - (A) vs Southampton
24 - BPL - (H) vs Arsenal
31 - BPL - (A) vs Burnley
More big stuff, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Schalke. This is pretty crazy.
SEPTEMBER:
14 - BPL (H) vs Newcastle
21 - BPL (A) vs Chelsea
28 - BPL (A) vs Sheffield United
There's bound to be more matches in September, given that we haven't taken the other cup matches into account yet. So stay tuned for this space.
OCTOBER:
05 - BPL (H) vs Leicester
19 - BPL (A) vs Man U
26 - BPL (H) vs Tottenham
All big games, that's why I said we need players and fast.
NOVEMBER:
02 - BPL (A) vs Aston Villa
09 - BPL (H) vs Manchester City
23 - BPL (A) vs Crystal Palace
30 - BPL (H) vs Brighton and Howe
A match to keep an eye is the home match vs Manchester City. We'll need to win this one especially to get a much firmer foothold in our race for the title.
DECEMBER:
04 - BPL (H) vs Everton
07 - BPL (A) vs Bournemouth
14 - BPL (H) vs Watford
21 - BPL (A) vs West Ham United
26 - BPL (A) vs Leicester City
28 - BPL (H) vs Wolves
For now keep an eye on this space! We'll update this list as time goes on and a seperate one will be done for the 2020 season!
Friday, June 14, 2019
UEFA Champions League 18/19 Final: Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham, Finally a Trophy!
The Good:
The fact we could hold the 1-0 lead for near entire duration of the game with Tottenham really cranking the heat in the latter stage of the 2nd half, was testament of the steady defensive backline and Alisson also helping us to stay in the hunt. And once again Origi the supersub giant killer, stepped up and effectively killed the tie with Tottenham unable to break and score for 87 minutes and there was not enough time for them to score 2 goals and bring the game to extra time and penalties.
That said though, you can say that it also came to the squad line up on the Spurs end. When I saw Harry Kane in the line-up, I was kinda expecting him not to perform too well. He's only just recovered from his 2 month injury and he was tossed straight back into the lineup. He was absolutely nowhere till Lucas Moura came in which was too late. If Lucas had started earlier, building on the momentum he just had with his Hat Trick the last round, things would have been drastically different.
The Bad:
Well, not that it was a big deal. Liverpool didn't really produce the clinical style of play this time round, with Firmino being sometimes anonymous and not really converting any chances. Maybe because of being away from football for 3 weeks kinda lost momentum which could very well be the case. We were basically playing park the bus football for the whole duration after scoring early, with Tottenham beating in possession and time on the ball. But you know what? Possession didn't win for Tottenham and for most Reds Fans, who's gonna complain. 2-0 is still a fair scoreline for a top 6 club, despite feeling that we should have kicked into gear alot earlier and faster.
RATINGS:
Alisson Becker: 10
Alisson put the money where his mouth is and maintain yet another clean sheet. Even when Alisson was faced with a flurry of White Attacks from the 70+ minutes onward, he stood his ground and held off everything that was being thrown in the defensive backline.
Trent Alexander Arnold: 8
Virgil Van Dijk: 8
Typical Mr Van Dijk was able to hold his backline. Contributed to the numbers for the 2nd goal via set piece. We don't need to say more there.
Joel Matip: 9
Contribution: 1 Assist
Held the ground well with Virgil in his usual fashion. Even was sharp enough to contribute to the late game goal and notched the assist to Mr Late Game Origi. It was a long time coming for Joel to notch his very first assist.
Fabinho: 9
Provided the all-important 1st line in front of the back four. He was well worth the wait after having a slow start in the season.
Jordan Henderson: 9
Gini Wijanldum 9
Andy Robertson: 8
Firmino: 6
Didn't play too well but he was only back from injury and not really that match fit. But at least in a better state than Kane. Subbed for Origi
Sadio Mane: 8
Won the penalty when his cross was blocked with an obvious blatant handball and was a constant menace. Could have converted his chances a lot more.
Mohamed Salah: 8
Again, Salah may not have his best game. But still, calm as you like with the penalty and he made no mistake. That super early goal was perhaps what it needed for him to redeem himself and wipe that memory of last year off him and started the ball rolling. He was feeling real chuffed and buzzing that he played the full 90 and rightly so. Ended the season with a respectable tally of 27 goals in all seasons and I'm happy for him.
Substitutes
Divock Origi: 10
Contribution: 1 Goal
He didn't play much, he didn't touch or see the ball much. But that doesn't matter as 1 crucial and clinical shot was all he needed and took to kill the game off completely. Nuff' said. These tiny spells from Origi had unexpectedly yet absolutely brilliant impact especially in late game and I don't know why. Please don't sell him! He brought us here after scoring the first and last goal against Barcelona and then was clinical again.
Milner: 8
Typical Industrial self and adjusted the tempo of the side once he's introduced. He sent in the corner which led to Matip's and Origi's involvement in the 2nd winning goal.
Gomez: -NA-
The fact we could hold the 1-0 lead for near entire duration of the game with Tottenham really cranking the heat in the latter stage of the 2nd half, was testament of the steady defensive backline and Alisson also helping us to stay in the hunt. And once again Origi the supersub giant killer, stepped up and effectively killed the tie with Tottenham unable to break and score for 87 minutes and there was not enough time for them to score 2 goals and bring the game to extra time and penalties.
That said though, you can say that it also came to the squad line up on the Spurs end. When I saw Harry Kane in the line-up, I was kinda expecting him not to perform too well. He's only just recovered from his 2 month injury and he was tossed straight back into the lineup. He was absolutely nowhere till Lucas Moura came in which was too late. If Lucas had started earlier, building on the momentum he just had with his Hat Trick the last round, things would have been drastically different.
The Bad:
Well, not that it was a big deal. Liverpool didn't really produce the clinical style of play this time round, with Firmino being sometimes anonymous and not really converting any chances. Maybe because of being away from football for 3 weeks kinda lost momentum which could very well be the case. We were basically playing park the bus football for the whole duration after scoring early, with Tottenham beating in possession and time on the ball. But you know what? Possession didn't win for Tottenham and for most Reds Fans, who's gonna complain. 2-0 is still a fair scoreline for a top 6 club, despite feeling that we should have kicked into gear alot earlier and faster.
RATINGS:
Alisson Becker: 10
Alisson put the money where his mouth is and maintain yet another clean sheet. Even when Alisson was faced with a flurry of White Attacks from the 70+ minutes onward, he stood his ground and held off everything that was being thrown in the defensive backline.
Trent Alexander Arnold: 8
Virgil Van Dijk: 8
Typical Mr Van Dijk was able to hold his backline. Contributed to the numbers for the 2nd goal via set piece. We don't need to say more there.
Joel Matip: 9
Contribution: 1 Assist
Held the ground well with Virgil in his usual fashion. Even was sharp enough to contribute to the late game goal and notched the assist to Mr Late Game Origi. It was a long time coming for Joel to notch his very first assist.
Fabinho: 9
Provided the all-important 1st line in front of the back four. He was well worth the wait after having a slow start in the season.
Jordan Henderson: 9
Gini Wijanldum 9
Andy Robertson: 8
Firmino: 6
Didn't play too well but he was only back from injury and not really that match fit. But at least in a better state than Kane. Subbed for Origi
Sadio Mane: 8
Won the penalty when his cross was blocked with an obvious blatant handball and was a constant menace. Could have converted his chances a lot more.
Mohamed Salah: 8
Again, Salah may not have his best game. But still, calm as you like with the penalty and he made no mistake. That super early goal was perhaps what it needed for him to redeem himself and wipe that memory of last year off him and started the ball rolling. He was feeling real chuffed and buzzing that he played the full 90 and rightly so. Ended the season with a respectable tally of 27 goals in all seasons and I'm happy for him.
Substitutes
Divock Origi: 10
Contribution: 1 Goal
He didn't play much, he didn't touch or see the ball much. But that doesn't matter as 1 crucial and clinical shot was all he needed and took to kill the game off completely. Nuff' said. These tiny spells from Origi had unexpectedly yet absolutely brilliant impact especially in late game and I don't know why. Please don't sell him! He brought us here after scoring the first and last goal against Barcelona and then was clinical again.
Milner: 8
Typical Industrial self and adjusted the tempo of the side once he's introduced. He sent in the corner which led to Matip's and Origi's involvement in the 2nd winning goal.
Gomez: -NA-
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
BPL 2019 / 2020 SUMMER TRANSFER: Who should Liverpool Get?
Well the season has drawn finally to a close and the time of the year of transfers is here again! Now the big ace of cards right now is that we have Champions League football for the next season and having won that this week should draw some further attraction in.
This morning we have news that Alberto Moreno and Daniel Sturridge have left on a free. Now to stay competitve we definitely need to supplement and make up for the losses.
Honestly, there's pretty much nothing that we actually need and even some of our budget players have been absolutely beyond huge like Matip, Robertson and Trent. But some big names are definitely on the cards to push Man City again this time. And I have named 2 big names.
Defender: Matthij De Ligt
This is a super obvious choice. As much as Matip was on top form this season and I absolutely like the guy, De Ligt is absolutely a top class teenage tank. And since the World cup Runner up has played and will continue to play with Van Dijk at the back internationally and also fellow flying Dutchman Gini Wijnaldum, this choice will definitely be a no brainer. The synergy is already there. And at 19 he will have a lot of years ahead of him.
Forward / Striker: Timo Werner
In the long run, we will need a powerful forward. At 23, Timo will be a great choice should our front 3 not click at times and one of our Fab 3 is injured. And Firmino can shift back to his natural Number 10 role rather than sticking as a False 9.
Striker Pierre Aubameyang:
This may be a surprise to you. Rumors say that he may join China and also his profile pic had been removed on Instagram. If Aubameyang is intending to leave, then I rather FSG snag him. It also makes sense since Klopp knows the guy well. He demonstrated in the gunners his class and there is no doubt about it.
Promotions from reserve:
I guess now would also be a good time to start playing our Youth Keepers, Kelleher and perhaps sell Mignolet or Karius or even both. Another 3rd Choice keeper would be good.
Other positions to consider:
A left back to replace Moreno and Supplement Milner would be a good choice in the long run. Because as far as I know, Milner would only have a few years left till he retires. Milner is a more than good enough backup already for Robertson, as shown in the Barcelona match at Home and I love his monster endurance. But let's have one more on the safe side.
I'll update more names here. But that's what I would love to add.
This morning we have news that Alberto Moreno and Daniel Sturridge have left on a free. Now to stay competitve we definitely need to supplement and make up for the losses.
Honestly, there's pretty much nothing that we actually need and even some of our budget players have been absolutely beyond huge like Matip, Robertson and Trent. But some big names are definitely on the cards to push Man City again this time. And I have named 2 big names.
Defender: Matthij De Ligt
This is a super obvious choice. As much as Matip was on top form this season and I absolutely like the guy, De Ligt is absolutely a top class teenage tank. And since the World cup Runner up has played and will continue to play with Van Dijk at the back internationally and also fellow flying Dutchman Gini Wijnaldum, this choice will definitely be a no brainer. The synergy is already there. And at 19 he will have a lot of years ahead of him.
Forward / Striker: Timo Werner
In the long run, we will need a powerful forward. At 23, Timo will be a great choice should our front 3 not click at times and one of our Fab 3 is injured. And Firmino can shift back to his natural Number 10 role rather than sticking as a False 9.
Striker Pierre Aubameyang:
This may be a surprise to you. Rumors say that he may join China and also his profile pic had been removed on Instagram. If Aubameyang is intending to leave, then I rather FSG snag him. It also makes sense since Klopp knows the guy well. He demonstrated in the gunners his class and there is no doubt about it.
Promotions from reserve:
I guess now would also be a good time to start playing our Youth Keepers, Kelleher and perhaps sell Mignolet or Karius or even both. Another 3rd Choice keeper would be good.
Other positions to consider:
A left back to replace Moreno and Supplement Milner would be a good choice in the long run. Because as far as I know, Milner would only have a few years left till he retires. Milner is a more than good enough backup already for Robertson, as shown in the Barcelona match at Home and I love his monster endurance. But let's have one more on the safe side.
I'll update more names here. But that's what I would love to add.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)