What to expect from the Premier league runners-up in the season 2014/15 when Brendan Rodgers’ side have to cope without Luis Suarez and they are returning to Champions league.   We are Looking ahead to another exhilarating season of football from the Reds.

liverpool flag

Transfer Recap

Liverpool F.C. saw one of the busiest transfer windows in their history this summer with no less than 11 new players* joining the club while 13 players went in the opposite direction. In all, the club spent more than 100 million pounds on new signings although they did manage to offset these expenses significantly as they received 80 million pounds for the sales of Luis Suarez, Pepe Reina and Martin Kelly.

The table below lists all of Liverpool’s signings of this transfer window, as reported on anfieldfamily.com.

Player Signed from           Fee
Rickie Lambert Southampton 4 million pounds
Emre Can Bayer Leverkusen 10 million pounds
Lazar Markovic Benfica 20 million pounds
Adam Lallana Southampton 25 million pounds
Divock Origi LOSC Lille 10 million pounds
Dejan Lovren Southampton 20 million pounds
Javier Manquillo Atletico Madrid Two year loan
Alberto Moreno Sevilla 14 million pounds
Kevin Stewart Tottenham Hotspur  Undisclosed
Lawrence Vigoroux Tottenham Hotspur Undisclosed

 

The table below lists all the players the Reds have let go in this window.

Player Signed by Fee
Luis Suarez Barcelona 75 million pounds
Pepe Reina Bayern Munich 2 million pounds
Martin Kelly Crystal Palace 2 million pounds
Divock Origi Lille One year loan
Iago Aspas Sevilla One year loan
Joao Carlos Texeira Brighton  One year loan
Andre Wisdom West Bromwich Albion One year loan
Luis Alberto Malaga One year loan
Tiago Illori Bordeaux One year loan
Brad Smith Swindon Town One year loan
Jakub Sokolik Yeovil Town Free
Michael Ngoo Kilmarnock Free
Craig Roddan Released Released

 

With Suarez gone, who’s going to lead the Reds?

For the last couple of seasons, there was one player who the whole Liverpool team would turn to whenever they were unable to unlock the opposition defence. There is, no use brooding over these matters anymore as the man I’m talking about is now a Barcelona player, but the question that we must look to answer now is this. Who can Liverpool turn to for that moment of magic that will turn the game in our favour? Who will be the Reds main man?

The answer in my eyes could be one of three players, Phillipe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge. In these three, Liverpool have some of the most exciting prospects of world football and we can be sure that one of them if not all three will step up to the plate and take the responsibility of being the match winner in his own hands. Sturridge, the oldest of the triumvirate looks more likely to be that man not only because he is older and more experienced, but simply because the numbers tell us so.

The England man has scored the most goals in his first 50 appearances for the Reds and he leads the likes of Michael Owen, Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and Luis Suarez in that race. Coutinho and Sterling on the other hand may not have been able to rack up the figures in the same way as our number 15, but their performances towards the end of last season and throughout pre-season shows us a brief glimpse of the future.

The duo were magnificent in the Reds pre-season fixtures and Coutinho’s display against Borussia Dortmund was simply stunning, just like the great game Sterling had against Southampton in our opening game of the season. A lot is expected from this Liverpool side this season and if the Reds are to repeat last season’s heroics, Daniel Sturridge, Phillippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling will need to be on the top of their game.

Four strategies the Reds could use to win the League this season

  1. Crosses- This feature was totally absent from our play last season but this time around, the Reds will resort to crossing into the box if their pass and move style fails to unlock the way to goal. Rickie Lambert has been brought in for that particular reason and it was not surprising to see him used as a Plan B in the dying stages of the Southampton game. In fact, it was his addition that initiated a series of crosses being launched into the box, the result of which was the Reds winner.
  2. Set pieces- Set pieces were a big part of Liverpool’s game plan last year and their potency from dead ball situations was highlighted after they managed to score the most goals from dead ball situations last season. Martin Skrtel was the main target man from set-pieces as the Slovakian showed his aerial prowess as he scored seven goals last season, the highest for any defender in the Premier League. This time round, Liverpool will also have the likes of Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert in their ranks and set pieces will once again be one of the most productive features of their game.
  3. Counter attacks- Liverpool’s 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal last season is the game that first comes to mind whenever I’m asked about Liverpool and counter attacks. Three of the Reds five goals that day were scored on the break and this time around Liverpool will look to exploit this option even further. The additions of pacy and skilful attackers such as Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic in addition to the likes of Coutinho, Sterling and Sturridge makes for one scary prospect and defenders across Europe will not be looking forward to the prospect of these speedy front men running at them in full flight.
  4. Strength in depth- Although this is not a strategy that Liverpool can follow, it could be one of the biggest weapons in our arsenal. Last season we managed to take the title to the last day of the season with an extremely thin squad but this time however, we have the personnel to field two 11 a side teams with an almost even spread of quality in both the cases.

 


With Suarez gone, who’s going to lead the Reds?

For the last couple of seasons, there was one player who the whole Liverpool team would turn to whenever they were unable to unlock the opposition defence. There is, no use brooding over these matters anymore as the man I’m talking about is now a Barcelona player, but the question that we must look to answer now is this. Who can Liverpool turn to for that moment of magic that will turn the game in our favour? Who will be the Reds main man?

The answer in my eyes could be one of three players, Phillipe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge. In these three, Liverpool have some of the most exciting prospects of world football and we can be sure that one of them if not all three will step up to the plate and take the responsibility of being the match winner in his own hands. Sturridge, the oldest of the triumvirate looks more likely to be that man not only because he is older and more experienced, but simply because the numbers tell us so.

The England man has scored the most goals in his first 50 appearances for the Reds and he leads the likes of Michael Owen, Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and Luis Suarez in that race. Coutinho and Sterling on the other hand may not have been able to rack up the figures in the same way as our number 15, but their performances towards the end of last season and throughout pre-season shows us a brief glimpse of the future.

The duo were magnificent in the Reds pre-season fixtures and Coutinho’s display against Borussia Dortmund was simply stunning, just like the great game Sterling had against Southampton in our opening game of the season. A lot is expected from this Liverpool side this season and if the Reds are to repeat last season’s heroics, Daniel Sturridge, Phillippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling will need to be on the top of their game.

Four strategies the Reds could use to win the League this season

  1. Crosses- This feature was totally absent from our play last season but this time around, the Reds will resort to crossing into the box if their pass and move style fails to unlock the way to goal. Rickie Lambert has been brought in for that particular reason and it was not surprising to see him used as a Plan B in the dying stages of the Southampton game. In fact, it was his addition that initiated a series of crosses being launched into the box, the result of which was the Reds winner.
  2. Set pieces- Set pieces were a big part of Liverpool’s game plan last year and their potency from dead ball situations was highlighted after they managed to score the most goals from dead ball situations last season. Martin Skrtel was the main target man from set-pieces as the Slovakian showed his aerial prowess as he scored seven goals last season, the highest for any defender in the Premier League. This time round, Liverpool will also have the likes of Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert in their ranks and set pieces will once again be one of the most productive features of their game.
  3. Counter attacks- Liverpool’s 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal last season is the game that first comes to mind whenever I’m asked about Liverpool and counter attacks. Three of the Reds five goals that day were scored on the break and this time around Liverpool will look to exploit this option even further. The additions of pacy and skilful attackers such as Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic in addition to the likes of Coutinho, Sterling and Sturridge makes for one scary prospect and defenders across Europe will not be looking forward to the prospect of these speedy front men running at them in full flight.
  4. Strength in depth- Although this is not a strategy that Liverpool can follow, it could be one of the biggest weapons in our arsenal. Last season we managed to take the title to the last day of the season with an extremely thin squad but this time however, we have the personnel to field two 11 a side teams with an almost even spread of quality in both the cases.

liverpool team season 2014-15

Liverpool A v Liverpool B

Strength in depth was probably the most important thing we needed this season as we look to embark on our first European adventure in five years, and with 11 new signings* already confirmed and one imminent arrival (at the time this article was written) we can proudly say that for the first time in an age, Liverpool actually have not just a great starting line-up, but also a great squad.

Busiest transfer window in at least a decade

This summer was Liverpool’s busiest ever in the last 10 years. All in all, the Reds have already signed a total of 11* players this season. The table below shows the number of players that were brought into the club every season for the last ten seasons. Bear in mind that the figures include signings made in the summer as well as the winter transfer window.

 

Season  Players signed
2014/2015(Current season)                        11(as on 23.8.2014)
2013/2014 8
2012/2013 7
2011/2012 9
2010/2011 10
2009/2010 4
2008/2009 7
2007/2008 11
2006/2007 13
2005/2006 14
2004/2005 8

 

Note: The figures show the number of players that were signed in one season, thus it includes signings made in the summer as well as the winter transfer window

In the 2005/2006 season the Reds signed a total of 14 players out of which three players (Jan Kromkamp, Daniel Agger and Robbie Fowler) were signed in the January of 2006. As you can see, Liverpool have already signed more players in this summer transfer window than they signed in both the windows combined in 7 out of the last 10 seasons. In fact, they look all set to smash their record for number of players signed in a season in the last decade as they are only three players short of the record with another transfer window left to go.

Eight things you didn’t know about Liverpool FC

  1. Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates’ father, Peter Coates is a Scotsman.
  2. Dejan Lovren and his family fled their home town in 1992 as the Bosnian war broke out and one year later their home town was bombed resulting in the death of 15 people.
  3. Liverpool have started work redeveloping the Anfield Main Stand and nearby area this year after they reached an agreement with the last home owners who were blocking the expansion project.
  4. “One night in Istanbul”, a film that follows the adventures of a group of Liverpool fans on their way to see the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final will be releasing on the 10th of September this year.
  5. Movie stars Daniel Craig and Mike Myers, two of our most celebrated fans were in attendance for Liverpool’s pre-season friendly against Manchester City at the Yankee Stadium in New York.liverpool fc

Daniel Craig (top row third left) and Mike Myers (bottom row third left) enjoys Liverpool v Manchester City at the Yankee Stadium

  1. This photograph shows a part of the set of Brad Pitt’s film “By The Sea” which will be directed by his spouse Angelina Jolie. Pitt is a self proclaimed Liverpool fan.

liverpool flag

A Liverpool flag is raised above the building which is going to be part of the set for an upcoming Brad Pitt film

liverpool flag 2

 A close up of the Liverpool flag (MaltaToday)

 

  1. Former Liverpool stars Luis Garcia and Josemi are all set to represent Atletico de Kolkata later this year in the debut edition of the Indian Super League.
  2. Sir Matt Busby, one the greatest managers in the world of football is famous for taking the United team to great heights in the 50’s and 60’s, but believe it or not, the Scot had a five year stint at Liverpool as a player during which he made more than 100 appearances for the Reds

 

*The signing of Mario Balotelli from A.C. Milan was not completed when this article was written

 

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