Anfield Banter

Is the league still winnable? Can we surpass CIty? A look at the remaining schedules.

2018-12-06T01:13:00.000-05:00

It has officially become a two horse race. Sure, Spurs, Chelsea, and even the Gunners could go on a run, but in the end, it will take a significant collapse by City and LFC to allow those clubs back in the hunt for the PL title. Probably not going to happen. City is on pace to bank 104 points, while LFC is on track for 99, neither will probably end up with those totals, but it is most likely safe to say they will end up one and two. The greatest factor is, barring injuries, the remaining schedule.

I cannot stand when people try to claim that strength of schedule is not a factor in the PL. Yes, every team plays one another twice, once at home and once on the road, but when these matches are played is very important as well. It is better to play tougher opponents earlier in the schedule or after rest periods, especially away. Almost any opponent on the road is going to be tough as it is.

So far this season, City has played seven out of fifteen matches on the road. Liverpool have only played eight, but it is still one more match that they are more likely to get 3 points. City has played Arsenal, Tottenham, and LFC away, earning an impressive 7 points, with the only non-win being at Anfield. They were lucky to play the Gunners on the opening round, now I doubt they would have gotten away with a similar 2-0 result since Arsenal has improved significantly. That is also a factor, some clubs get better as the season progressives and Arsenal, Everton, Brighton, Newcastle, and West Ham have all showed improvement since the beginning. This also means that City have yet to play at Chelsea and United, which I'm hoping the latter is actually a contest. I don't think I have ever cheered United on, it will be painful, but I have to do so if I hope for the league title. Liverpool have played at Spurs, Chelsea, and at Gunners, earning 5 points. They had the misfortune of playing an improved Gunners side in week 11 and honestly, they were lucky to come away with a point.

Neither LFC nor City have played any significant opponents at home other than themselves at Anfield, so those fixtures are probably must wins for the Reds if they have any aspirations to win the league. City have yet to host Liverpool, which has to be considered the most important fixture left. A win would be monumental, but a draw is probably the best to hope for. They play on January 3rd.

If we look at remaining fixtures, who has the tougher schedule? The hardest fixtures left for Liverpool are home to United (12/16), at City (1/3), at United (2/23), at Everton (2/3), home to Spurs (4/6), and home to Chelsea (4/13). City has at Chelsea (12/8), home to LFC (1/3), home to Arsenal (2/2), home to Chelsea (2/9), at Everton (2/23), at United (3/16), and home to Spurs (4/20). That leaves Liverpool with one less 'hardest' fixture and a potential six point swing, though that is optimistic.

Between the two sides, City really only have the only bad result with a draw at Wolves, so lets look at the potential 'upsets'. Liverpool very well could lose or concede points at Bournemouth in two days (they are sixth in the league after all), at West Ham (2/2),at Wolves (12/21), and at Newcastle (5/4). I highly doubt points will be lost at Newcastle, but karma (Rafa) may come into play. City have home to Everton (12/15), at Newcastle (1/29), and at Bournemouth (3/2). Liverpool have it a little rougher with these mid-table/trending fixtures, but we are really only talking maybe a two-point margin.

Finally, the other onerous factor is schedule congestion with regards to opponent strength. City has to play at Chelsea, Leicester, and Southampton, and home to Everton, CP, Liverpool in a 35 day period between 1/8 and 2/3. They play their toughest matches first (at Chelsea) and last (home to Liverpool), with only one 'challenging' in between (at Everton). Meanwhile, LFC have to play away to Bournemouth, Wolverhampton, and City, and at home to United, Newcastle, and Arsenal. Liverpool clearly have a tougher schedule during this period.

There is also Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup fixtures to consider, but based on just the PL schedule, Liverpool have a slight advantage though it will take a at least one significant upset on City's part and a perfect LFC run to win the league. I don't want to say anything is impossible though.

Coutinho 2.0?

2015-08-04T22:00:00.001-04:00

Forgot we had this diamond in the rough.

Rodgers has no choice, but it should cost him his job

2014-11-02T21:03:00.000-05:00

Brendan Rodgers is not a bad manager, but he's young and still has to learn from his mistakes. Unfortunately, Liverpool may not be the club for him to do so. We are a 'second tier' club right now and if you think any different, you have no idea how good City, Chelsea, Barcelona, Madrid, and Munich are. Can we get back to that level? I'm not so sure, I don't know if we have the money to do so.

Rodgers realized what the biggest problem was early on and it's the most important issue that all clubs must deal with first if they plan on being contenders. It's a set-back and a huge hill to overcome, but must be answered first before anything else. We had to get better on defence and we did. You cannot blame little mistakes as bad defence, but those things will fix themselves as the whole is acknowledged.

Rodgers isn't an idiot, he understands the game. He realizes we need to score to win, but he also realizes that we need to prevent our opposition from scoring first and foremost. We are coming around to this and have played much better defence the last few matches, but it may be too little too late. He should have done this from day one of training and not five or six matches into the season.

He has bought poorly. He has failed to make sure defence is first priority. He has failed to inspire his side. He starts Joe Allen. We are not good enough to finish in the top four, we will be out of the Champions League in due time, and I don't give two farts in the wind about the FA Cup and the League Cup. This is not my Liverpool and he's had his chance. Time to move on. I heard Michael Laudrup is available, he can't be much worse.

Newcastle 1, Liverpool 0: Rodgers should be on thin ice

2014-11-01T21:49:00.001-04:00

It's getting old. We are not good enough to challenge for even a Champions league spot and that's becoming more apparent by the match. Bad buy after bad buy has made a mockery of what we had last year and it has nothing to do with what we lost, but more with what Rodgers has failed to bring in.

For all those Suarez apologists, take note of Barcelona's record since he's been eligible. They have lost both matches if you don't understand what I'm getting at. Also take note of what I've said, posted, and proven, that Suarez contributed just one measly meaningful assist last season and not a single goal he scored ended up being significant. Don't believe me? Prove me wrong, I researched that to the death and know it's the truth.

We should have bought the players that Southampton bought instead of the ones we bought from them. I've stated that before though. Lallana and Lambert are Championship level players and they've proven it over and over again this season. We should have bought Tadic, Pelle, and Mane, but no, instead we bought a disco dancer and an old man. Great job, Rodgers, also, way to go on Balotelli, who's nothing more than a lazy, self-serving loser who will never understand how to be greater than himself.

Today's loss just further exemplified why Liverpool will never return to days of old. Say goodbye to Sterling because he's gone after this season. Why would he stick around and be criticized for being a 19-year-old who can't carry a club? He sees how fans ridicule Markovic and the Serbian is only a year older. It's not his fault we wasted millions on Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert instead of inventive, pace-endowed players. I would leave too and would try to get Coutinho to follow.

Our Premier League season is over, might as well accept that. It will be a miracle if we finish in the top five and with Champions League looking bleak as well, we might as well hope in pray for the League or FA Cup. Love those 'accepting we're second-rate' celebrations.

As for the match today, well, we were horrid. Very few positives came from it. Even Gerrard had an off-day and I have a hard time saying anyone played 'well'. The only positive that I can draw from it was that they needed an error and a little luck to get the goal and win, but that's becoming commonplace lately. We can play great defence for 89 minutes and 59 seconds, but that one second does us in.

I've said it once and I'll scream it from the rafters, we are a mid-table side as long as Joe Allen is a major contributor. That pretty much says it all.

Liverpool 2, Swansea 1: Seven things learnt

2014-10-29T10:54:00.001-04:00

Finally a decent win and a comeback none the less, let's just hope this leads to greater things. The following points no way reflect a sane person.

1. Coutinho doesn't last.
The Brazilian's quality on attack diminished significantly after 20 minutes in the first half and after about ten in the second. It may be conditioning or just the pressure of him having to be the creative force, but he went from brilliant to utter rubbish after those times. Not sure if there is a fix to this, I guess having Sterling on the pitch will allow him some 'down time' off the ball, but he may just be best as a super-sub.

2. Our defence is getting better...
...and it's really about keeping possession, which all great sides do best. It took Swansea 28 minutes to mount an attack into Liverpool's third. After that, it became more frequent, but we kept possession well and didn't make many silly turnovers until then. Also, their goal was more luck then anything. It was a great finish, but a deflection and a missed-kick were what found the ball to Enmes.

3. Rickie Lambert is a meaningless late match sub at best.
The 32-year-old just doesn't have the physical ability nor instinct to be on the same pitch as some of his teammates and it showed at a near embarassing level in this match. Coutinho, in particular, was clearly frustrated that Lambert failed to see what the Brazilian was trying to do and stood like a statue during a bomb raid nearly every time the midfielder was trying to feed him. Even if and/or when we get Sturridge back, we need another striker come January.

4. Markovich was a major catalyst on attack.
I know most fans have no love for the 20-year-old Serbian, but he did things in the match, particularly off the ball, that did wonders on attack. Mainly, he created space, specifically for Coutinho. He was disciplined and stayed to the left when it was clear he was not comfortable there. He also made runs to open space, something Lambert and Lallana could learn from him. By the way, to all those who worship the disco dancing Lallana, he was absolute rubbish. At one point, with no one on the left and Coutinho bringing up the ball into Swansea's half, the over-rated midfielder went to his right where everyone else was. What an idiot.

5. We could do without Hendo's showboating.
Seriously, half the time it was pointless, a quarter of the time it cost possession, and the other quarter of the time a simple, straight forward pass would do. We get it, you can pass the ball with all parts of your feet, congratulations, now do something worthwhile.

6. Borini can play second striker.
I was actually impressed with the Italian's ability to keep possession and make intelligent passes deep in Swansea's territory, surrrounded by defenders. He basically made his name as a poacher at Swansea, Roma, and Sunderland, but it seems like he has more to his game than first thought. He also benefited from a statuesque Lambert and a disciplined, space-hopping Markovic giving him room to work.

7. The goal is inside Anfield, on the pitch.
This something our players need to learn as well. Seems like they didn't figure that out until four minutes to go in the match. How many times did our players sky the ball into the stands beforehand?

Liverpool 0, Hull City 0: Five things learnt

2014-10-25T18:01:00.000-04:00

1. Joe Allen isn't championship material.
Well, he would be great in the Championship, but Liverpool will never win anything starting him. He's good for a mid-table club, but if we are going to be serious contenders, we need players who can take us to that level. I like Joe Allen and think he's about as good as he can be, but it still isn't good enough. Seriously, would he be anything but a reserve at Chelsea or Man City?

2. We can play defense.
Hull is not a top five side, but they are far from the relegation discussion. They are capable of scoring goals, but today, even with Ben Harfa starting they were hardly a threat. I just hope this positive, one of the few we can take from the match, is a trend for the future. Still, I think Skrtel and Lovren went too far forward at times and that will hurt us against better clubs.

3. Balotelli is useless as the lone striker/forward.
The game tilted completely in Liverpool's favor once Lambert came on. Prior to that, Sterling and Balo tried to team up, but it just wasn't working as Sterling wants to stay on the flanks and it appears to confuse the Italian. Lambert may be the perfect companion for Balo as his passing ability gives Super Mario chance after chance. The problem is the 32-year-old lacks the ability to be effective more than 30 minutes on the pitch so using him as a 60 minute sub is our best bet, unfortunately that means an hour of watching Balotelli play defence.

4. Coutinho is a highly effective second half sub.
He was gangbusters when he came on today and was the major catalyst in giving us a chance to win. If only Balotelli would have converted that last second goal...

5. Manquillo is better than Glen Johnson.
If you didn't know that by now, then give it up. Johnson turns over the ball consistently and can't play defence while Manquillo is a positive force on both sides of the ball. At least when the Spaniard makes mistakes we can cough it up to youth, Glen Johnson is just rubbish. Sell him in the transfer window, Rodgers... if anyone will take him.

Liverpool 0, Real Madrid 3: A reality check

2014-10-22T19:22:00.002-04:00

The first match I get to watch live in nearly two weeks and it does nothing for my confidence in this side. In fact it confirms any doubts that we are a second rate European side. It's not that Real Madrid dominated, because they didn't, but they clearly have the next level of talent that we lack. We had no answer for Rodriquez, Roos, and of course, Ronaldo, as they easily moved the ball downfield, creating opportunity after opportunity.

There was nothing to be done about the first goal and if Rodriguez and Ronaldo continue to develop that kind of on-field telepathy, the Champions League is their oyster. The second goal was clearly a fluke as Benzema will try to claim he meant to bloop it in the net like that, but his overall and past performances are clear indications he benefits greatly from having world class teammates. The overrated Frenchman did little else, but make bad decisions on the ball and was gifted the third goal as our defence showed it's true 'lack of communication' colors once again.

It's not that Stevie-G and company put in a bad performance, but they were clearly over-whelmed by a much more talented side. Some of the usual problems we've had this season on attack were even more exposed by the quicker Madridistas. When we weren't being painfully predictable on the ball, making errant passing, not creating space nor finding it, they were taking the ball from us with ease. It became almost a comical affair towards the end, as if we were a school boy side given a once-in-a-million shot at one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Unfortunately this wasn't a movie and in reality, the school boy side loses no matter how valiant they fight.

I don't really have time to get into individual player performances, but I will say that Coutinho and Gerrard were the best of the bunch. The Brazilian and our captain played their hardest, but weren't going to take down the Spanish giants by themselves. The worst were Balotelli and Glen Johnson, who appeared to return to his turnover prone ways. The Italian just has no heart, no determination, is easily deterred, and lacks chemistry with his teammates. Seems like a matter of time before rumours of his transfer in January take fruition, especially if we can line-up a replacement or possibly two.

I was not able to watch the full matches against West Brom nor QPR, but from highlights and statistics, they weren't impressive wins. Since neither side is top ten material, it should be alarming. I'm not one of those 'hey, three points is three points people', especially against clubs we should dominate if we have dreams of returning to Champions League next season. Our side isn't in trouble, but we can forget about winning anything, we just aren't good enough.

Basel FC 1, Liverpool 0: 'We didn't get going quickly'? Rubbish.

2014-10-01T21:46:00.000-04:00

I have plenty to say about today's match and will wait to be more objective, but for Rodgers to come out and say 'We didn't get going quickly' is complete ox arse. At least Gerrard admitted, 'We were not good enough tonight.' Damn right you weren't. In fact there was no 'we' to begin with, our boys had as much cohesiveness as a half-drunk Sunday side in the park who had never played together before and quite frankly, it was embarrassing.

We were tired, quite obviously. Yes, our squad has been decimated with injuries, but that doesn't excuse the dreadful passing display. I honestly think Sterling should have been given the day off and Suso given his spot. A win would have been nice, but a draw more ideal. We got neither though.

I can say their goal was 'luck', but unlike Everton last Saturday, Basel created many more legitimate chances. They deserved that goal and it's hard to argue against it. We deserved to score as well, but didn't. Sterling wasted many a chance and the rest of the side didn't do much better.

We were dispossessed entirely too easily and it was mainly because of our indecisiveness on the ball. We were predictable and clearly lacked the intuitiveness needed to anticipate fellow players' moves. I don't want to blame one player in particular for our 'self-stifling' attack, but I will say this, Loic Remy, bad heart and all, or Samuel Eto'o, wheelchair and all, would have been better acquisitions.

This was a rare occasion. Maybe it was because of the foreign atmosphere, but Hendo and Sterling did not play well. Despite travel time in the England squad, they appeared quite uncomfortable in the unfamiliar confines of Saint Jakob-Park. They are the heart of the side now with Gerrard playing third fiddle. Had Sir Gerrard crumbled, we would have been in huge trouble.

On the other end of the spectrum, Coutinho was fantastic, at least in the first half. Some of the passes he made were spot on, especially to his diminutive English counterpart. In fact, he might be the poster child to being a more efficient side and player as Sterling clearly needs some time off. Hendo's performance was surprising though, since he's yet to show any affects from fatigue.

I'm getting really tired of the Markovic criticism though. Once again, he's 20-years-old, and showed much improvement today. Sure he made a few mindless passes, mostly due to misinterpreting his clubmates' moves, but he was much better on the ball. He's going to be a great buy, but needs time, much like Sterling and Coutinho did.

I don't know how much I want to write about Balotelli. Until he and the club realize he is not the player they are trying to utilize him as, it's a waste of every one's time. He will not beat one yet two defenders on the dribble, he will not make many brilliant passes, and he will not get as many calls as he should. I don't necessarily believe he needs a 'partner' striker, but he does need solid service and with Sterling, Coutinho, Gerrard, Can, and Henderson, that should be the issue. The issue relies in his positioning and communicating between he and his potential assisters.

In the end, I think I agree with our Captain, we aren't good enough. Fortunately for us, I think we have the ability to get much better, so I don't think bringing in another player is necessary. We look like a bunch of individuals out there masquerading as a team. That has to stop, we have to gel, or we are looking at a long and down-winding road.

Five Things Learnt: Lallana is a sorcerer, not a magician

2014-09-27T15:55:00.000-04:00

1. Lallana has apparently put a spell on most LFC fans. I have never been more shocked and ashamed by my fellow Reds supporters than today. Adam Lallana voted as Man of the Match? Why? Someone please give me a rational, logical explanation with examples and statistics. Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling, Lovren, Moreno, Manquillo, and Skrtel were all more deserving. Markovic is six years his senior and has never played 'English' football, though he wasn't much worse than the Prince of St. Albans. Seriously, is it the Anglo-Saxon halo that is blinding you?

2. Balotelli is a match away from being rubbished. Or at least he should be. Super Mario was all but and it's becoming more apparent with each match that he either doesn't want/understand/care to play our style of football. He stands around doing nothing, thinks he'll be able to perform magic once he gets the ball, and then looks like a donkey when he does. I think he forgot how much faster and more physical the EPL is compared to Serie A. He'll be longing to return to Italy soon enough.

3. Henderson's passing is becoming unparalleled. Some of his passes in the first half I have only seen the likes of from one Steven George Gerrard. Brilliant stuff. I am not a huge Hendo fan, but if he continues to move the ball around like he did today, it's only a matter of time. Not to mention he has all-round skills with an engine that never quits. The only issue I have with him is that he gets too excited and still let's his age show by turning the ball over, taking a bad shot, making a bad tackle, etc.

4, We can play defence. We held Everton to just a goal and it was a lucky one at that. Coming in the Blues had scored at least two goals in every previous EPL match. Lovren and Skrtel appeared to get along and neither went forward too often, but even when they did, they would dump the ball then get back. Everton actually had more possession and a free-flowing ball moment until they got close to the 18-yard area, then they got shut down.

5. Gerrard still has it. Though I'd still give Man of the Match to Hendo for his all-round performance, Stevie-G silenced his critics with an outstanding show. The free kick was just the icing on the cake as his passing was world class, not to mention he added three successful tackles and three clearances to his tally. He's far from done.

Liverpool 1, Everton 1: The Toffees have won the league!

2014-09-27T11:38:00.000-04:00

Liverpool took a step in the right direction today, whether it was baby steps or a Neil Armstrong leap, we'll have to wait and see, but at least some of our issues of late look to have been addressed. First, we played much better defense. We shut down Everton nearly every opportunity that arose, especially when they tried to infiltrate the box. It was more or less written in stone that the Blues would have to score from outside the area and of course, they did. It doesn't take away from a valiant effort of defending, holding Everton to a single luck goal is an admirable achievement considering they've scored at least two goals in every other Prem match they've played.

It is also quite evident Rodgers gave his boys full permission to fire away though he should have taken that privilege from Balotelli after the half. We took 24 shots, 10 from Balotelli alone, though only 8 were on-target. A different story than Middlesbrough on Tuesday when we only took 11 shots in regulation. Being a constant threat from anywhere around the goal opened lanes, allowing us easier access for runs and passes into the box.

As for individual performances, Jordan Henderson made some world class passes in the first half reminiscent of his captain. He also created four chances, had five tackles, three interceptions, and completed 91% of his passes. Sterling was outstanding as well, creating six chances and successful on five take-ons. Gerrard put on a clinic in passing, completing 91%, going 3 for 4 on crosses and 7 for 8 on long balls, not to mention that class free kick goal. Moreno, Lovren, Skrtel, Manquillo, and Coutinho all played well as well.

The not-so-good starts with Lallana. How can anyone call that a great performance? He did little else other than dribble the ball and tackle out-of-bounds, take the Anglo-Saxon halo off his head and he'd been booed off the pitch for being a 26-year-old Championship quality player. He is paid to create goals and he had nothing to do with it today. Markovic was woeful as well, but first, he's 20-years-old, this is his first season playing Engliish football, and go back and look at the service he got, very few players in the world could have done anything with some of those passes. I'm also not so sure he's comfortable in his role in the side, he's a winger, where he played a lot of the match, but it looked like Rodgers wanted him to play a more central, 'hole' position, which he looked uncomfortable and out-of-place when he did.

Finally, we get to Mr. Balotelli. What a crock match from him. When Sturridge comes back, we won't see a better Balotelli, we probably will hardly see him at all. At least not for a while. Benching him, making him a super sub and forcing him to play his way back into the side is probably best for all. Make him learn his role the hard way. A couple of those things he needs to learn is making runs and creating space. When he's being marked, he seems to always just stand in the middle of the box, instead of moving about to allow other players to make runs or shoot. Also, he needs to work on his timing, Markovic made the only decent run all day. We could do with less of the antics as well.

This match reminded me of a few years ago when we would dominate matches, but were unable to score much and our opponents would get a wonder goal to win or draw. The Champions league Marseille match when Valbuena scored that amazing curlier from outside of the box for the win comes to mind. There were definite improvements all-round today and we are on the right track, but we can't let a luck goal knock us off our rail and distract us from our objectives. We go to Basel on Wednesday and if he's not back by then, Sturridge should be ready for West Brom next Saturday.

Match Week VI Fantasy Picks: Is Gerrard the darkest of dark horse picks?

2014-09-27T00:08:00.000-04:00

Plenty of players to choose from with weak opponents on the road this week. Chelsea is by far the best of them though. Fabregas and Hazard will tear Aston Villa to shreds with Costa probably reaping most of the rewards. United host West Ham and Southampton get a visit from QPR, so players from those sides should bring in the points. Liverpool will score goals, yes plural, but whether or not they will be able to top Everton from doing so is a crap shoot. There are a lot of 'tweeners, teams that have a good chance of scoring goals and accruing fantasy points, but there's risk involved. Sunderland, West Brom, and Stoke fit that bill.

Keeper

Courtois

De Gea

Forster

Dark horse: Tim Howard (he'll make a lot of saves, whether that offsets goals allowed is the risk)

Dead horse: Asmir Begovic (best keeper with best defense... deja vu)

Long term: Forster, Schmeichel, Begovic

Defenders

Clyne

Ivanovic

Rojo

Shawcross

Dark horses: Lovren, Van Aanholt, Fonte, Rafael

Dead horses: Lescott, Pieters, Chambers, Terry

Long Term: Bertrand, De Laet, Moreno, Rojo

Midfielders

Schniederlin

Hazard

Di Maria

Sterling

Fabregas

Dark Horses: Gerrard, Matic, Barry, Dorrans

Dead Horses: Larrson, Tadic, Moses, Blind

Long Term: Schniederlin, Cambiasso, Di Maria, Sterling

Forwards

Costa

Pelle

Rooney

Falcao

Berahino

Dark Horse: Van Persie, Crouch, Diouf

Dead Horse: Balotelli, Lukaku

Long Term: Rooney, Falcao, Pelle, Vardy

Liverpool vs Everton: Our envious older brother is coming for a visit

2014-09-26T14:26:00.000-04:00

Oh Everton, we are so sorry. It's not our fault that we were blessed with greater talent and conviction. You cannot blame us for being superior at football. Just accept that you've been surpassed by your younger sibling and... come on... don't be like that... Mum's gonna be disappointed.

Liverpool are 10-10-2 versus Everton at Anfield since the conception of the Premier League. The Toffees have not won this fixture in exactly 15 years come match day. Recently a pattern has developed, since 2006 Liverpool has won one year and drawn the next, which means we are due a draw tomorrow. I honestly think that's the worst that could happen.

The last time the Blues made the five minute trip down the road, they got hammered 4-0. That match occurred in January of this year and coming in, Everton was sitting just one point on the table behind LFC. Though it isn't indicative of the final score, our cross-town rivals were arguably better than us that day, but were just unable to score. The story of our current season so far.

I don't think this is the match that Rodgers can use to right the ship since Everton play a similar style of football. A win would definitely be a push in the right direction, but the real test will be Stoke in 8 days. We will need to toughen up for the Potters are begin to accept a long season of suffering.

As for the Blues, I hope Rodgers will use this match to get Moreno more involved and just see what works best for us in general. One thing he'll have to keep heavy tabs on is our centre backs moving forward and communication on defence in general. Mignolet and whoever starts at CB need to talk to one another early and often, I am so tired of the defensive errors that come from their inability to convey intentions.

We should win this match, we are the better side. As woeful as we are on defence, Everton is worse. Even without Sturridge, we will score, and we have the ability to hold them, whether we will or not is any body's guess.

Listen big brother, sorry I broke all your records... Can we just go down to the pub for a pint? Brother?

Lovren back in top ten overall, but is Per Mertesacker the most underrated footballer in England?

2014-09-25T18:07:00.000-04:00

Players must have played at least 300 minutes to qualify. Efficiency ratings are how likely a positive outcome will occur while that player is either in possession (attacking) or reacting to opposition possession (defensive).

He's baaaaaaaaaaccckkkk. Yaya Toure retakes the top spot on attack, but only really because Nasri came up 24 minutes short. Gerrard is Liverpool's highest rated player at 19th.

Attacking efficiency ranking

Y. Toure	0.829
C. Fàbregas	0.814
P. Mertesacker	0.806
M. Schneiderlin	0.792
E. Capoue	0.786
Juan Mata	0.783
F. Coloccini	0.783
S. Distin	0.774
M. Özil	0.770
G. Barry	0.768

Per Mertesacker has sky-rocketed to the top of the defence rankings following a few solid performances. Lovren is 7th and rising.

Defensive efficiency ranking

P. Mertesacker	0.948
Curtis Davies	0.934
P. Jagielka	0.921
R. Ferdinand	0.920
S. Dann	0.916
S. Distin	0.914
D. Lovren	0.914
M. Demichelis	0.914
John Terry	0.912
F. Coloccini	0.904

Sir Per goes top as Lovren breaks into the top ten overall.

Overall efficiency ranking

P. Mertesacker	0.877
S. Distin	0.844
F. Coloccini	0.843
Y. Toure	0.833
J. O'Shea	0.832
E. Capoue	0.830
M. Schneiderlin	0.830
P. Jagielka	0.828
T. Blackett	0.817
D. Lovren	0.806

Super super Senderos is no longer in the top ten of players most valuable to their club efficiency-wise, but he has so much 'character'. John O'Shea continues to be a head and shoulders above his Sunderland teammates.

Most valuable to their club efficiency-wise

J. O'Shea	0.197
D. Hammond	0.194
S. N'Zonzi	0.194
R. Ferdinand	0.180
F. Coloccini	0.178
David Jones	0.174
Andy King	0.172
Dean Marney	0.163
P. Mertesacker	0.159
M. Schneiderlin	0.153

Leaders, notes, and squibs:

- Chucky 'Disco Biscuits' Fabregas leads the league in both assists (6) and chances created (18)

- Aaron Ramsey is top with 558 touches, the second most is Capoue with 501

- Eden Hazard has 31 successful dribbles, more than twice as many as any other player, Lamela is second with 14, while Raheem Sterling is 3rd with 13

- Mile Jedinak leads the league with 30 tackles, while the irrepressible Morgan Schniederlin is second with 23

- Curtis Davies leads all players with 62 clearances

Prince is suing Sterling over his hair plus five things learnt from the Boro penaltipalooza

2014-09-24T18:04:00.001-04:00

1. Where was Enrique before the 109th minute? Didn't he start? It was almost if Rodgers held him back to protect the undisciplined Sakho. Maybe he was afraid Old Man Kolo would get infected with catchus outofpositionus, the virus that deludes our centre backs to go forward at the worst of times, the Ivorian may try to roll his wheelchair into the opponent's box. It was not only the inclusion of Suso and the realized ability of our players that they are capable of shooting the thing called a ball, but once Enrique started getting involved, the Boro defence really started to open up.

2. Rickie Lambert needs to go 'Syd Barret' on us all. Seriously, he should show up at the next match with all his shaved off: beard, scalp, eyebrows, legs, chest, the whole kitten kaboodle. Then he should act like a man possessed, cussing himself and using crazy antics to baffle the opposition defense. In the very least it'll make him faster, right? Eh.

3. Adam Lallana is a fantastic Championship player. He reminds me a lot of a young Adam Johnson, dancing around the pitch, making moves and breaking ankles reminiscent of Allen Iverson back in the day. Of course, he is only a year younger than Johnson and though he did show some flash on the dribble, he did little else. Twenty six million pounds! Don't think about it, I can see Del Boy's eyes popping out of his head before he almost dies of laughter.

4. What happened to the side that played Tottenham? The first thought is that we had Sturridge, but was he really that much of a factor? He didn't really do much, he had one key pass, that's it. Was starting he and Balotelli the secret? Maybe, but doubtful. One thing that is apparent is Moreno was more involved on attack versus Spurs than he was at Villa and West Ham. The left back held the ball 10.9% of the time at White Hart Lane compared to 6.4% versus the Villans and 6.1% at Boleyn Ground. Maybe the left back position is the biggest catalyst when it comes to Rodgers' tactics, let's why not find out. Another factor was time spent on the ball, we whizzed that thing around the pitch like it was wasp nest in Sir Alec Ferguson's head. Whatever we did pre-match to make us look that fresh and quick, Rodgers needs to repeat every match.

5. Raheem Sterling needs to work on his killer instinct. Is it just me or is Sterling's hair getting more and more Prince like with each match? Let's have a comparison:

It's getting there, lad, but if he comes out full Purple Rain one match, I may lose the plot. Anyhow, he has to learn to be selfish and shoot the ball more, it's the only way he'll ever get any better. Plus, he just seems such a nice kid, he really needs to find his inner demon and unleash it on the ball at the proper time, his penalty yesterday and some of his better recent opportunities for a goal have fallen flat.

Liverpool 2, Middlesbrough 2: Weed the garden, Rodgers

2014-09-23T22:27:00.001-04:00

Honestly, I don't know where to begin with this one. I fought sleep and death from boredom throughout the match that could have been a 'how not to play football' instruction video and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I felt like I was having a flashback from a childhood zoo trip where I had to search aimlessly at an exhibit for 15 minutes hopelessly hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare giant elephant shrew.

Liverpool played beyond poor and it was frankly embarassing. We needed penalties to defeat a side that had no right to be on the same pitch as we were and once again, the same issues we have been dealing with recently, surfaced again. Unfortunately, we can now add another as well, 'movement off the ball'. The endless vertical back-and-forth passing and everyone standing around, waiting their turn to touch the magic football was dreadful. There was only one decent example of movement off the ball, when Enrique broke forward to start the series of events leading to the second goal.

I'll just come out and say it, Rickie Lambert was a bad buy. He has either lost a step since last season or the whole damn world has sped up a notch. It's not just his pace that is lacking, but his quickness as well. Everytime he gets the ball it's like he's standing in a tar puddle, not to mention the Elephant man's bones could predict where his next pass attempt is going. It's time to wave the white flag, give Lambert a bunk in the Reserves' house, and let him play out his contract there. He can title his autobiography, 'I got to play 136 minutes for Liverpool and my beard is better for it.'

Another player I have a big problem with is Lallana. Man of the match?! Are you kidding me? Was that halo of Anglo-Saxon Britishness glowing so bright above his head that no one noticed all he did was dance around the pitch like Cristiano Travolta and then throw the ball away? If 'Out of Bounds' was a player on our side, he completed three amazing, perfect passes to him. All the rest, save the 'no look' back heel were painfully obvious and lead to nothing.

A look at the statistics further shows Lallana's showmanship. He turned over the ball 17 times, was 3 of 16 on cross attempts, and had no chances created. Outstanding! Markovic was apparently 'terrible' despite the fact his stats are very similar to the 'Chosen One' (14 turnovers, 0 for 1 crosses, also no chances created). The only thing that baffled me about Markovic was his inability to shoot the ball, he was like a deer in highlights every time he got a chance to thump it. Sterling shows this at times as well, maybe Rodgers has put the fear of God in them regarding bad shots and the 19-year-old and the 20-year-old are traumatized. Oh yeah, Sterling gets the excuse of being 19, but Markovic is too old for that, right?

Speaking of youngsters, it was quite clear that Rodgers gave Suso a 'shoot away' speech when he took the pitch and the Spaniard took it to heart, taking 4 shots in 22 minutes. Despite spending less time on the pitch than any other LFC player, he had the most shots and tied Sterling with the team lead with two shots-on-goal. It also seemed to really open up the match. Wonder what would have happened if Lazar and Sterling had done so in the first half.

We're going to improve, right? I mean this match was a step forward? I don't think so. We played Middlesbrough at Anfield for Christ's sake and still had trouble marking players, still had trouble communicating on defence, still couldn't create space, and were still more predictable than Augustus Gloop near a chocolate river. These are issues that have gotten worse in each of the four matches. Rodgers is the gardener and needs to weed it out or else suffer the consequences of sub-par production.

Liverpool may throttle Boro

2014-09-23T14:42:00.003-04:00

From the looks of it, a win by Liverpool is likely though a convincing one is in doubt. A trusted source has told me that there is a lot of money on Middlesbrough to win, which usually means a lot of people will lose money. Whether by wind or wonder, the house usually wins. The North Yorkshire club is also dominating final score and 'will qualify' wagering, meaning if it goes into extra time or pens.

Another reason LFC may win convincingly is the shear amount of firepower in midfield that Rodgers has decided to unleash upon Boro at Anfield today. Sterling and Markovic have the weaponry to tear the Championship sides to threads and leave a few morsels of poaching for Lambert. Oh, Lalllana is playing as well, but seeing his first two mediocre performances against more legitimate sides, a 'fantastic' performance for him would be pretentious and lead one to believe that maybe he belongs in second-tier football.

I'm sort of disappointed, but also surprised at Rodgers' selections. Suso deserves a chance and if he could show a commanding performance against the 5th place Teesside club, it may be a stepping stone for time against more formidable opponents. I think he'll get to see the pitch at some point today though, hopefully more than just a cameo.

The surprise is that Mignolet is starting, but maybe that's our gaffer's way of punishing the Belgian for his recent sub-par performances. Also no Sinclair? I thought for sure he'd he get a spot on the bench, but apparently Welsh defender Jordan Williams gets the call. Could be a tactical move who knows? Well, match starts soon, come on you Reds.

Middlesbrough at Anfield: Will Suso start? Will Ayala score? Or will Jones get the clean sheet against his former club?

2014-09-22T19:55:00.000-04:00

Liverpool has met Middlesbrough six times in League Cup history splitting those meetings 3-0-3. Four of those matches were at Anfield with the home side winning three, the only loss being their first cup meeting in November 1974, a 4th round 1-0 defeat. The last date at Anfield in what was then known as the Carling Cup was November 10th, 2004, with LFC winning 2-0 behind a late match brace from Neil Mellor. They were his first goals in front of the Kop. Liverpool is 42-17-14 all-time versus Middlesbrough on Merseyside, outscoring the River Tees club 157 to 70. The last time the Reds lost at home to Boro was March 6th, 1976, a 1st division affair 38 years ago.

Middlesbrough currently sit 5th on the Championship table with 15 points from 8 matches. They are lead by former Real Madrid and Tottenham defender, Jonathan Woodgate, though he is injured once again and will miss the match tomorrow. Their leading goal scorer so far this season is former Sunderland midfielder, Grant Leadbitter, who has six, while 24-year-old striker, Kike, signed from Real Murcia during the summer transfer window, is second with four.

They also feature former Liverpool centre back, Danny Ayala, who signed from Norwich City last January after completing an emergency loan spell at the Boro. Ayala only played five matches for LFC and after spending loan spells at Hull and Derby, was sold to Norwich in the summer of 2011. Middlesbrough are managed by Spaniard Aitor Karanka, who oddly enough was on three Champions League winning sides at Real Madrid, though never a major contributor. The useless fact of the day is no player on the current Middlesbrough roster has ever scored against Liverpool, hopefully that trend continues.

There's a good chance that Brad Jones will get the start over Mignolet, who clearly needs a rest. We actually signed the Aussie keeper from Middlesbrough in August 2010 for £2.3m. He has never faced his former club and has a 1-1-1 record for Liverpool in League Cup matches, including a 3-1 loss at Anfield in 2012 to Swansea. The starting line-up for that match was Jones, Coates, Carragher, Jack Robinson, Joe Cole, Assaidi, Henderson, Downing, Allen, Shelvey, and Samed Yesil. With Henderson and Allen seemingly unavailable for the match due to injury, Jones is the only player from that side who could be chosen.

As for the potential line-up, I am pretty confident that among available players, Gerrard, Balotelli, Lovren, Moreno, Sterling, and probably Skrtel will be sat. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of those save Gerrard and Lovren on the bench though. I'm hoping Rodgers tinkers, especially with the lunch time match versus Everton on Saturday. Would love to see a line-up of Jones, Enrique, Sakho, Toure, Johnson (Manquillo if not injured), Lucas, Rossiter, Markovic, Suso, Lallana, and Lambert. Maybe Rodgers will go a little bonkers and include some of the teenagers like Sinclair and Ojo, Stewart is a good possibility for the bench as well.

Does this match really matter? Though I'd hate to lose to Boro at home, with how thin our squad is at the moment, another fixture is more trouble than it's worth. If only we could sell the fixture to United since they clearly need more matches. I just want to see an entertaining match with free flowing football and no thuggery.

This is the machine, it does nothing, move along now!

2014-09-21T08:32:00.001-04:00

Public relations is a fascinating game. It is amazing, utterly baffling, the amount of money that has gone into something seemingly so meaningless, but that's it's intention. Desperate moves washed in tubs of cash to remove the smell of desperation. Of course a practice birthed in the genocidal precedence of 'Manifest Destiny', evolved by the incantations of a former painter turned dictator-mongol, and blatantly unveiled by the discounted sermons of a linguistic preacher with a disenfranchised choir is a ghost game shrouded by itself. Seriously, there's a man behind that curtain whether you want to look or not and he's laughing all the way to the proverbial bank.

The newest rubbish campaign to deter the truth is 'blame Gerrard'. He's 'too old', 'past it', 'worn out', 'not good anymore', or 'can't play that position'. They haven't lost their minds, they are just securing their future. 'They' are those who make their living by playing you like a stringless fiddle. 'They' are those that say 'stats don't matter' which is comical considering 'they' use stats for virtually every thing they do. Their actions are pre-calculated to produce the optimal result. Their tactics have been researched and tested a million times for decades on end.

Just stop it. I've yet to read a single article abhorring the violent display of tackling by West Ham. Not a single line from the muppet brigade has been dedicated to Kouyate's potentially career-ending, unjustifiable late thrust at Moreno. Do we need to mention 'studs up'? I guess they'll have to re-write the unwritten rule book on that one.

It was 'grand' football. A 'fantastic' display. Sam Allardyce 'outwitted' Brendan Rodgers. Yeah, don't get me started on that, the only thing Freddie Flintstone head out-did his counterpart on was thuggery and being a company man. It would be an utter revelation had the focus of matches be on what actually occurs on the pitch instead of the concoctions of think tank bunnies.

Liverpool lost because they refused to be brute thugs, it's that simple. Sorry they want to have class. Apologies for wanting to put an attractive product on the field instead of a professional wrestling match. That's where the EPL is heading if they continue to compromise, sport entertainment instead of sport. What do they care though? As long as the mums and the dads buy their children that kit each year.

West Ham 3, Liverpool 1: The big top is burning

2014-09-20T22:32:00.000-04:00

There is a weathered tale about a 19th century Siberian circus that while traveling through Eastern Europe is brutally attacked by the people of an isolated, starving mountain village. The circus performers were so shocked by the merciless gore of the rampage upon them, they stood and did nothing while being torn to shreds. Clowns were sadistically murdered, trapeze artists tortured and mangled, and all the animals, except the elephants, were killed and eaten raw. The elephants apparently got away, but were never seen from again. Though the town in Siberia where the circus originated made inquiries and notified the proper officials in Moscow about their missing family members and citizens, nothing was ever done. It was brushed under the rug because, ultimately, nobody cares about a dead clown.

That's what Liverpool were today, a bunch of dead clowns. Almost from the get-go it was apparent the ref was going to be lenient when it came to physical play. How many times does Liverpool have to lose before they realize the match official is going to call a match a certain way and it's best to play that way instead of our own style. This is how it works, there is no precedent for how a match is called no matter how much verbal feces the EPL aficionados defecate in our ears. Now, had Liverpool started playing like West Ham, tackling viciously, studs up or not, being overtly physical, and then were called for it, then we have an issue, but LFC players didn't wrangle, they fell to the ground in the fetal position and let the Hammers have their way. Sure, Kouyate should have been sent off for his barbaric tackle on Moreno, but he wasn't and that's my point. Break Winston Reid's leg with a stud up sliding tackle and if the ref does anything about it, then we have an argument for fairness. Ultimately the fault would have fallen on the ref and the EPL's inability to produce a consistent, legitimate product.

The biggest issue I have with the match is Craig Pawson referring to his ear-piece for the Balotelli-Adrian incident. Why isn't this happening more often? And why isn't it happening when it should actually matter? The Moreno-Kouyote incident in particular. Again, if the Premier League wants to avoid situations of complicity, shouldn't they do this every time to avoid controversy? Maybe I'm not just the average ignorant, blinded, and drunk Premier League fan.

Now, with that said, Liverpool played atrocious defense. Who in Hades' name was marking Reid on the first goal? From the looks of the replay, nobody, so it is the fault of Skrtel, Lovren, and Manquillo, who were closest to him at the beginning of the free kick. Communication guys, come on, this is getting old. I honestly think Lovren and Skrtel dislike one another for whatever Eastern European rubbish reason, but regardless, you aren't playing for your countries, you're not on the battlefield, and you play for the same team who is paying you and counting on you to perform to the best of your abilities. Suck up your pride and do what is best for the club.

The second goal allowed was more dumb luck than anything. Lovren laid off Sakho because Moreno was there, should the Spaniard have played him tighter? Probably, but it was just one of those perfectly placed goals where not much could have stopped it. It reminded me of the goal by Konchesky in the 2006 FA Cup final. I doubt Mignolet could have been better positioned either, if he was further back, Sakho would have probably tried to slam in closer to the near post. It was a great goal by Sakho, get over it.

Borini is rubbish, he doesn't know when to pass and when to shoot and that was quite evident. When he had the breakaway in the 54th minute with Moreno and Lallana lurking, but took the impossible angle shot, that was ridiculous. Then he took the optimistic shot outside of the box in the 64th minute when he should have held the ball and see what developed since no West Ham players were close enough to dispossess him. Adrian pulled in his leg there, by the way, so any studs up calls on that one are rubbish. Then, finally, when Sterling tries to do a give-and-go in the 74th minute, he should have went for goal. His style of play just doesn't work for us, put him on the reserves squad and let him die a slow play less death.

For once, Balotelli played well, he even got back on defence a couple of times which impressed me, but he has to take advantage of every scoring chance and his weak effort in the 59th minute was unacceptable. He puts that three yards higher and it's a goal. He's a special player, but has yet to play so for us.

I was a bit baffled by the no-call on Lallana right outside of the box in the 61st minute. Why didn't Pawson refer to his ear-piece then? If the Premier League doesn't want to be accused of complicity than don't put others in the situation to do so. That was a clear foul by Song from behind and though I don't think it was penalty worthy, it still should have been called back for a free kick despite play-on due to possession. I personally love Noble's applauding the ref for his non-call at the end of the 'play'.

Ultimately, I think are defence was suspect and Sterling has to realize he is the new 'man'. He has to step up and be the replacement for Sturridge, Unfortunately, he is only 19 and that has to suck for him. He is our best player and probably the most talented player at his age in the world. One goal was not enough and hopefully he'll realize that most fans, especially myself, would rather see him take 5 bad shots than make a useless pass.

Liverpool to lose? Noble to score? Can Gerrard reach 10? What the markets say...

2014-09-20T11:00:00.000-04:00

I was a bit worried when I saw the amount of bets placed on Liverpool to win, but upon further investigation I realized the line movement didn't justify my concern. Still a 5/6 payoff isn't worth a go.

To win:
Liverpool	5/6	64.80%
West Ham	4/1	18.00%
Draw	16/5	17.20%

There are only six players total from both squads who have scored in this fixture. Gerrard has scored 9 times in 21 matches versus the Hammers which equals the amount of all the other players combined. The other five are Mark Noble (2), Glen Johnson (3), Carlton Cole (2), Guy Demel (1) and Mamadou Sakho (1). Only two players have scored for both sides, Gerrard and Demel. Noble at 25/1 as first goalscorer and 8/1 for anytime goalscorer is worth a small wager and if you're feeling particularly lucky, Guy Demel is 50/1 as first and 26/1 anytime.

First goalscorer:
Balotelli	5/1	46.00%
Sterling	15/2	14.00%
Valencia	17/2	12.00%
Noble	25/1	6.00%
Borini	15/2	4.00%
D. Sakho	9/1
Coutinho	8/1
Markovic	8/1
Gerrard	10/1
Cole	10/1
Lovren	25/1
Downing	25/1
Skrtel	25/1
Song	35/1
Moreno	35/1
Manquillo	40/1
G. Johnson	40/1
M. Sakho	40/1
Demel	50/1

Unlike last week, where Liverpool dominated the final score bets, the draw wagers are coming into play today. The 'favorite' West Ham gambles are 2-1 and 1-0, both at 16/1. If you think Liverpool will thump the Hammers at Upton, 4-0 is a hefty 28/1 pay back.

Correct score:
Liverpool	3-1	14/1	14.63%
Draw	0-0	14/1	12.20%
Liverpool	2-1	8/1	10.98%
Draw	1-1	15/2	9.76%
Draw	2-2	15/1	7.32%
Liverpool	1-0	9/1
West Ham	2-1	16/1
West Ham	1-0	16/1
Liverpool	4-0	28/1

As I mentioned above, Noble is a decent bet at anytime goalscorer. The great English hope, 'Pretty Hair' Lallana, is getting a little love here as well with 3.23% of all wagers betting he'll net his first for the 'Pool.

Anytime scorer:
Balotelli	11/8	38.71%
Valencia	11/4	29.03%
Sterling	9/4	16.13%
Borini	9/4	3.23%
Lallana	31/10	3.23%
D. Sakho	10/3
Zarate	3/1
Cole	7/2
Henderson	5/1
Noble	8/1
Gerrard	10/3
G. Johnson	14/1
M. Sakho	14/1
Coutinho	7/2
Kouyoute	11/1
Demel	26/1

The last goalscorer bet is always an interesting one, you've got to think a late match striker sub would be the best wager, thus Lambert and Cole seem like decent shots. The problem with Lambert is the return is only 5/1, while Cole is much better at 9/1. Jordan Henderson at 16/1 seems possible as well.

Last goalscorer:
Lambert	5/1
Cole	9/1
Gerrard	10/1
Henderson	16/1

No one will likely score a hat-trick, but it's always fun for a small wager.

Score hat-trick:
Balotelli	28/1
Sterling	66/1
Gerrard	100/1

Man of the match betting has been interesting to say the least. Moreno, for some reason, seems a popular pick and at 33/1, it's worth a meager go. Song is also getting some action at 20/1, him winning would not surprise me either. Sterling has been garnering the favorite for a few matches and that doesn't change here at 5/1. Mark Noble is the dark horse and at 25/1, it's a nice reward for the risk.

Man of the match:
Moreno	33/1	38.10%
Song	20/1	19.05%
Sterling	5/1	14.29%
Valencia	12/1	14.29%
Lallana	12/1	4.76%
Balotelli	6/1
Gerrard	8/1
Noble	25/1

Other fun bets are an own goal scored (by either side) at 9/1 and the always volatile Balotelli to get a card 11/4. Cheers and happy betting.

Has Rodgers solved the Big Sam 'conundrum'?

2014-09-19T17:17:00.000-04:00

When Sam Allardyce was the boss at Bolton, he actually held his own against Liverpool. In the 13 times his Wanderers met Liverpool, they were 4-3-6. Considering his Newcastle, Blackburn, and West Ham sides are 0-2-7 against us, that's quite impressive. What's even more noteworthy is that he was 3-1-2 at the Reebok.

His only win at Anfield was a classic match in the fourth round of the 2003-04 League Cup in December 2003. Liverpool were the defending holders, winning it in March of the same year, 2-0 over Man United. It was a back and forth battle with Bolton scoring first and Liverpool countering each time. The free kick by Okocha to make it 2-1 and the stunning 20+ yard cracker from Vladimir Smicer to equalize are particularly special. Unfortunately, Salif Diao decided it with a bad foul that awarded Bolton a penalty. Here are the low quality highlights for your 'enjoyment':

In the last ten matches versus Big Sam, Liverpool have won eight. In those eight matches, LFC have won by a combined 23 to 6. Gerrard has scored 9 career goals against West Ham, including braces in three, the most famous being the FA Cup Final in 2006, but he also did the double last year, both being penalties. Were they penalties though?

Their goal was just as questionable as the penalties, if not more so.

Rodgers and Allardyce advocate a similar style of football, but Liverpool, especially recently, have the better talent. LFC also tend to have a rare goal-scorer as Kyrgiakos, Sakho, Joe Cole, Agger, and Jonjo Shelvey have all scored against Big Sam's clubs. With all the excitement following West Ham's 2-2 draw at Hull, their supporters might expect a promising performance at Upton against Liverpool, but a draw in my opinion would be just another sign to accept a mediocre campaign for LFC.

Skrtel or Sakho? Who is better to partner Lovren?

2014-09-19T10:13:00.000-04:00

Despite being far apart on the ethnic field, Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho play an eerily similar style of football on the pitch. The Slovakian and the Senegalese-Frenchman are both efficient passers, each posting around 90% last season and this campaign so far, neither are very committal to tackling, preferring to play a 'stand-offish', marking style of defense, and both like to get forward, though Sakho does this much more to my liking. If I had to give an edge to either concerning attacking and/or defending, I'd say Skrtel is actually better on both sides of the ball despite Sakho being more 'creative'.

That is not the question though, it is whom is better to partner our Croatian juggernaut, Dejan Lovren. To do that, let's take a look at Lovren's style of play. Our Number Six is not as good a passer as his fellow centre backs, but has improved from last season when he played for Southampton. So far he's posted an 88.5% pass completion percentage compared to 82% last year, which is even more impressive when you consider he's averaged 17 more pass attempts per a match this season so far. That probably has more to do with the fact that the Saints averaged nearly 2 more yards per pass and attempted 14 more long balls per match, finishing second in the league with 70 attempts on average. Lovren is also more likely to 'go to ground' and attempt a tackle than Skrtel or Sakho. He has completed 11 successful tackles this season so far while the other two have 3 combined.

One could argue match-ups should play a part, but there are two great examples from this season that make that argument invalid. Skrtel paired Lovren at the Etihad which Liverpool lost 3-1 despite playing well. Unfortunately, City played slightly better even though two of their goals were due to defensive mishap, none the fault of Skrtel though. In fact, I re-watched an extended highlights video of that match and noticed a lot of friction and distrust displayed between Lovren and Skrtel, but ultimately, the first two goals were mostly the fault of Lovren being out of position.

During the build-up of the first goal, Lovren is more concerned with whether Skrtel is marking Dzeko instead of covering 'his' area, the left side of the box.

As the above still shot from the match shows, Lovren was not in the best possible position and was unable to provide proper coverage for Moreno and Gerrard. In a panic, he heads the ball right to a surging Jovetic. Sure, Moreno could have done better to clear, but he shouldn't had to in the first place.

Here is a still shot just before the second goal:

Jovetic has the ball and is about to release both Zabaleta and Nasri with an excellent back heel pass through. Lovren is way out of position to begin with, why he is so far forward is beyond me. Jovetic has his back to the goal, which for him to gain possession and right himself would take more than enough time for Henderson and/or Gerrard to collapse on him, so Lovren had no business being there. Once the break starts, Skrtel had no choice but provide coverage on the left, leaving Johnson to mark Dzeko. Jovetic sneaked in behind, found himself all alone on the right, and the rest, they say, is history. Had Lovren stayed behind Zabaleta, he would have most likely been able to clear the ball or at least disrupt play enough to prevent the goal, plus Skrtel would have been able to stay more central and allow Johnson to pick up Jovetic. One could argue that Lovren was trying to set an offside trap, but if that is so, he's doing a terrible job of communicating it to his fellow defenders.

In the City match, a Skrtel-Lovren pairing was ideal being that Lovren is usually better at maintaining his position than Sakho. Unfortunately he failed to do so. For Villa, a Sakho-Lovren pairing is more ideal because Villa is dreadful and adding another player on attack seemingly can only help. Unfortunately it did not, but once again Lovren was somewhat at fault for the goal. He was beaten by Senderos on the corner, had Manquillo's arm not blocked the attempt, there was a chance of it getting past Lallana and going in. It instead fell to Agbonlahor. I would say Balotelli and Moreno's inability to clear it before it got to Senderos was more of an issue than Lovren's marking.

It would have been nice to have Skrtel for Ludogorets. I can't see him getting caught out of position as much as Sakho and Lovren did. I didn't expect to draw this conclusion, but after looking over the stats and watching match highlights, maybe the best pairing for Lovren is a seat on the bench. The only thing he brings so far is tackling and errors. That may be harsh, but it is clear he has positioning and communication issues, certainly with Skrtel on the latter. Maybe Rodgers should give him a couple of matches off and some time to think about his latest performances. I think he's a great defender and player in general, but it seems like he's trying to do too much and it's hurting the side.

It's Sam Allardyce vs Brendan Rodgers and one has got the better talent

2014-09-18T22:37:00.000-04:00

Liverpool is 9-3-6 at Upton Park in the Prem and have won 4 of the last 5, which is significant considering that prior to their current run, LFC were 20-17-20 all-time at the northwest London grounds. Still at 24-17-21, they have not posted a winning record there, but have at least won more than they've lost. The last loss in February 2011 featured goals from Demba Ba, Scott Parker, and Glen Johnson, while the Hammers were then managed by Avram Grant.

In week 5 matches on the road in the Prem, Liverpool is 1-3-5. Their only win was at Ewood in 2003, a match that featured a brace by Michael Owen and Lucas Neill breaking Jamie Carragher's leg. Blackburn would later be managed by current West Ham manager Sam Allardyce and Neill would shun Liverpool in January 2007 for West Ham in a transfer fiasco, claiming 'footballing reasons' as an excuse.

West Ham are a ridiculously mediocre 6-1-6 at home in week 5 since the conception of the Prem, though that includes a 1-0 win in the Championship against Burnley in 2004-05. In 2009-10 they lost to Liverpool, 3-2, their only week 5 meeting at home versus the Merseyside club, which also featured a brace from Fernando Torres. They also played LFC at Anfield in week 5 of the 1994-95 season, which ended in a 0-0 draw despite Tony Coffee being sent off 9 minutes into the second half.

Now to the absolutely absurd, the previous season 2nd place club is 13-4-5 at the previous season 13th place finisher during week 5. Liverpool is 1-0-1 with a loss at Fulham in 2002-03 and a win at Bolton in 2009-10, both results were 3-2. West Ham has only featured in this match once, a 1994-95 2-0 win at home versus Blackburn.

I posted more about this match-up already. Feel free to draw your own conclusion.

EPL Fantasy Week 5: Slim pickings (Everton, Tottenham, and...)

2014-09-18T18:43:00.000-04:00

Well, last week you could pick names out of a hat and have a good shot of putting together a solid squad, this week there won't be many names to draw. The clubs to go with are Everton or Tottenham, but if you have to pick from other squads, I'd go Arsenal, Swansea, or Hull.

Keeper
Tim Howard or Hugo Llloris. If you want to get adventurous, go with Szczesny, since Aston Villa can only score on set pieces and put backs.

Long term, Mignolet will probably not blunder for at least 3-4 matches now that he goofed on Tuesday. Plus Liverpool do have a rather easy run upon them. Begovic is still the best keeper in the league and Stoke are still the best defence, so their upcoming fixtures seem manageable on paper. If you're really into gambling Forster hasn't been the worst form lately and Southampton should be competitive in the next 5 matches or so.

Defenders
Everton's back four of Baines, Jagielka, Stones, and Coleman, if that's who start, are all candidates, as are Tottenham's Kaboul, Dier, Vertonghen, and Danny Rose. Arsenal and Man U defenders should be decent as well with latter playing a Leicester side that will try to play a very 'controlled' match. In other words a 0-0 draw will be as good as a victory for them. Don't bet on that result though. If I went with my gut, I'd go Chambers, Dier, Rojo, and Jagielka.

Lovren, Shawcross, Moreno, and Alderweireld would be my best bets for the next 4-5 weeks.

Midfielders
Here's where you can get a little risky and not sacrifice points like on defence. Still Mirallas and McGeady from Everton along with Chadli, Lamela, and Eriksen from Tottenham are the most likely/safest picks. Arsenal midfielders are a shot in the dark, only because there are so many to chose from, you don't know who'll play. Last week I was sure Cazorla would make an impact and he never saw the pitch. The obvious is Ramsey, but even Flamini can put in a decent match here and there. The same with Swansea, as you never know who's going to have big day, you're most likely high scorer is Sigurdsson, but Dyer, Shelvey, Sung-Yeung, and Routledge could all go off any given match. Out of all those above, I'd go Mirallas, Chadli, Lamela, and Dyer.

In the long term, Sterling, Schniederlin, Victor Moses, DiMaria and Tadic are the most likely to produce mucho points.

Forward
The most obvious picks here Lukaku and Adebayor, but don't fret over Naismith and Eto'o is a decent roll of the dice. I don't know about Harry Kane though, you got some brass cajones if you pick him up. If you want to go Arsenal, Welbeck is bound to have a decent match at some point, but if you want to play it safe there's always Alexis Sanchez. Other players worth a shot include Jelavic and Abel Hernandez at Hull and Wilfried Bony for Swansea, who is bound to get his starting spot back after Gomis unable to take advantage of his first start.

My long term forwards are Balotelli, Pelle, Diouf, and Flacao.

Flamini still king, Lovren holds on, & Senderos' assaults are invaluable to Villa: EPL player rankings

2014-09-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

Most efficient EPL players on attack:

S. Nasri	0.855
Y. Toure	0.835
Cesc Fàbregas	0.819
M. Flamini	0.818
D. Fletcher	0.813
E. Capoue	0.800
F. Coloccini	0.791
Juan Mata	0.790
T. Blackett	0.786
Schneiderlin	0.782

Players must have player 60 mins per teams total matches played (240 mins).

Gerrard is the highest ranked Liverpool player at 14th. Sakho is 6th in all players who have played 180 or more minutes so far this season.

Most efficient EPL players on defence:

S. Dann	0.926
M. Demichelis	0.914
P. Jagielka	0.911
John Terry	0.910
F. Coloccini	0.907
P. Mertesacker	0.906
Curtis Davies	0.906
J. O'Shea	0.905
M. Flamini	0.904
D. Lovren	0.895

Lt Dann at the top, that's surprising. Lovren hangs on to a top ten spot, barely.

Most efficient EPL players overall:

M. Flamini	0.861
F. Coloccini	0.849
E. Capoue	0.842
T. Blackett	0.839
J. O'Shea	0.839
Y. Toure	0.835
S. Nasri	0.834
D. Fletcher	0.827
Fernando	0.824
M. Schneiderlin	0.820
G. Barry	0.816

Coloccini cuts Flamini's lead in half, but if the centre back ever takes the overall lead, I'll be shocked. Lovren shot up to 19th to become Liverpool's highest rated player and Gerrard went up 8 spots to 25th overall.

Most valuable players to their club per efficiency rating:

J. O'Shea	0.214
S. N'Zonzi	0.198
Ron Vlaar	0.192
F. Coloccini	0.191
J. Olsson	0.187
Andy King	0.186
Dean Marney	0.180
D. Hammond	0.173
P. Senderos	0.169
David Jones	0.160

Senderos' assaulted his way into the top ten for Aston Villa. Lovren is the 35th most valuable player, which is not a bad thing when you look at the clubs of all the listed players above.