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Liverpool Fc is a club built on success, passion and talent. A family that have become used to success, and never want to forget that feeling. So with the club currently in seventh place and 6 points away from a coveted Champions League spot, some serious changes need to be made.

So far Liverpool’s season hasn’t really got going, and a huge part of this is due to bad luck, and also bad decisions. At no point have the team had the option of playing Steven Gerrard, Lucas and Luis Suarez all at the same time. Lucas’s injury was possibly the biggest blow to their campaign this season, and although the return of Gerrard boosts the side massively, it very much is a one man team. The comparison has to be with the inform Tottenham Hotspur. After signing Scott Parker in the summer, their defence has been well protected. Parker’s discipline to stay back and defend has allowed creative star Luka Modric a free role, and the ability to join the attack more without leaving his side exposed. Liverpool would try to replicate this if they had Gerrard and Lucas both fit in the same side, but with one coming into the team as the other leaves, they haven’t had a chance to play to their full potential.

There isn’t much of an argument for Suarez’s absence to be filed under the heading ‘bad luck’, as it isn’t luck that he used racist language. The club can contest the ban length all they want, and the rumours Patrice Evra was racist back and was unpunished, but at the end of the day the Uruguayan made a mistake and has to accept the consequences. This means the club are relying on one of their worst decisions; Andy Carroll. The striker was a last minute buy nearly a full year ago, when Fernando Torres left the club in controversial fashion. After the Spaniard claimed he didn’t want to leave, he left it until deadline day to hand in a transfer request, to move to “a bigger side”. With the club having less than 24 hours to find a replacement, and a bid for Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez rejected, the reds turned to Newcastle’s youngster. To free him from Mike Ashley’s grasp with no time for the Geordies to find a replacement, Liverpool had to pay a huge fee of £35million, well over Carroll’s actual value. Since then the striker has only scored 6 goals in all competitions in over 30 appearances.

Even with Suarez playing the team were still struggling to find the back of the net, and have never had a goals tally so low at this stage before. But with him out of the frame, it’s up to the struggling Carroll, ageing Bellamy, out of form Dutchman Kuyt, and of course captain fantastic Stevie G. With no out and out goalscorer there, the fans are calling for some fresh meat to come and save the side. Dalglish has seven days to find a striker to do the job, but it’s not that easy. The realistic fans would have become conscious that they aren’t going to be saved by Eden Hazard, Ezequiel Lavezzi or Thomas Müller. Instead of a proven, international striker at the top of his league’s scoring table, the Reds are going to have to find someone a little bit different. A striker similar to Demba Ba. A player in his prime, that was relatively unheard of before he came to West Ham last year, and someone who couldn’t stop scoring when he became comfortable at Newcastle. A real discovery.

Although Dalglish has 6 days to find someone like this, he has three important games coming up. The most important of which is on Wednesday. It’s been a long time since the club were involved in a 2 legged affair, the last time also being a semi-final, only for the Europa League. The reds lost that game to tournament winners Atletico Madrid. Wednesday’s encounter is an even tougher match, versus league leaders Manchester City. After taking a 1-0 aggregate lead from the first leg at the Etihad, the Kop are 90 minutes away from watching their side reach their first cup final since the disappointment of the Champions League loss in 2007 in Athens. And considering the club haven’t won a trophy since 2006’s FA cup success, there will be no more talk of “it’s just the carling cup.” As Arsene Wenger knows, a trophy is a trophy. It won’t come easy though, as even City’s reserve squad holds some remarkable talent in their ranks. Liverpool will need the Kop to recreate one of their famous ‘European night atmospheres’.

Then on Saturday the two most successful teams in England play out another battle, this time in the FA cup. Manchester United versus Liverpool has never failed to disappoint, and due to recent events this game will be even hotter and fiercer. Liverpool’s last FA cup campaign ended as soon as it started, losing at Old Trafford in the 3rd round after having captain Steven Gerrard sent off. Revenge would be sweet for the scousers. But the real reason this game has even more relevance is down to that meeting back in October. The game which saw Suarez and Evra clash, and after a nasty exchange of words, saw the Uruguayan banned for 8 matches. It’s fair to say Evra is now even more unpopular at Liverpool, and the reception he will get will not be friendly. The relationship between the clubs is at one of its lowest points ever, meaning the police will have to work extra hard to keep things in order between the fans.

The final big game for King Kenny is on deadline day away to wolves. Although it may not seem such an important match in league positions, it is in fact due to the difference in league positions that makes this game so difficult for the Reds. Dalglish’s men have dropped a huge 21 points against the 13 teams below them in the league, a criminal statistic for a team attempting to gain top 4 status. Disappointing home draws against new boys Swansea and Norwich, and losses away to Fulham and Bolton who are in danger of relegation, have left the club 6 points behind 4th place Chelsea and 19 points below leaders Manchester City. Most fans will tell you that it’s these dropped points that have killed the club this season, and so failing to win at 19th placed Wolves on Tuesday would place further pressure on the players, who have been threatened by Dalglish that they will be sold if they fail to perform consistently.

If the Reds were to be knocked out of both cup competitions and lose further ground on 4th place, even some of the most loyal fans will be calling this season a failure and closing the chapter on the 2011-2012 campaign. Especially if they don’t sign anyone in the transfer window. Most supporters have called for a new striker and new winger, but to convince them to come to Liverpool will be tricky. However, if Liverpool can reach the Carling Cup final, and even knock United out of the cup then it is very much still on for the club. Dalglish will need to rally his troops for a testing couple of months, but with the possibility of a first trip to Wembley in 16 years just 90 minutes away, or 120 if City come out and play, the players shouldn’t need much telling. If you can’t get motivated for these games when can you. 3 big games… 6 big days… a season changing week for Liverpool.

Follow Dan on Twitter @Dannye7

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In 2007 Liverpool FC announced they had captured a young, talented, Brazilian footballer. It had many fans dreaming of the next Ronaldinho, Rivaldo or even Pele. So after completing his transfer to Liverpool from Brazilian club Gremio, Lucas Leiva had a lot of pressure on him. Not only because he came from Brazil, home of some of the most talented footballers ever seen in the world, but he had also cost the club over £5 million, who had managed to beat Italian giants AC Milan and Inter Milan to his signature.

So when Lucas finally made his debut for the club, there was a lot of confusion and head scratching amongst fans. Supporters saw less of the samba footwork that can baffle a defence, and instead saw the Brazilian passing backwards to his defence, and shying away from goal to instead look for a pass. Luckily Lucas was forgiven, as he was young and still adapting to the English game. So by the end of the season surely there would be some change in how Lucas Leiva played. Err no. Instead the Kop was adapting their original ideas of him being the next Zico.

So entering the 2008 season, Liverpool had a world class midfield selection of Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso and captain Steven Gerrard. The perfect opportunity for Lucas to train with some of the best players in the league and improve. But he was still struggling to impress the fans on the pitch, and complaints were made that Lucas was playing instead of internationals Alonso or Mascherano. By 2010 these two charismatic players had been sold, and Lucas had his chance to impress. Collecting valuable game time, the little Brazilian started to show the fans what his actual job was.

Although “the Liverpool way” doesn’t suggest a defensive, holding midfielder, Lucas demonstrated to the fans that by holding himself back on attacks, he was able to help the defence, and allow the club’s most influential player, Steven Gerrard, a more free role. Lucas was voted the Standard Chartered Fans player of the year for the 2010-11 season, and also made the most tackles in the top 4 European leagues in that season.

The Brazilian has now become one of the most popular and important players at the club, being one of the first players on the team sheet along with Pepe Reina and Steven Gerrard (when fit.) This season has seen the continuation of Lucas’s influence on the pitch, making an average of 5.5 tackles a game, and completing 687 passes at an accuracy of 86%. But what the stats can’t show is how he keeps his opposite number out of the game. In recent games against Chelsea and Man City, Lucas had been the man of the match for the Reds. He has restricted the time on the ball Ramires, Lampard, Barry and Silva have had on the ball, and stopped the likes of Drogba and Aguero from getting the ball frequently.

So why was he playing against Chelsea in the League Cup quarter final just 48 hours after playing Manchester City. A lack of silverware at the club over the last 5 years had meant King Kenny is now interested in winning the Carling Cup. Whereas Sir Alex rested many of his key players, Dalglish played Lucas to ensure a semi-final draw. But this was at an almighty cost. A challenge with Juan Mata left the Brazilian on the floor clutching his knee. After suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Lucas won’t be seen again this season.

With captain Steven Gerrard soon to be back from injury, the Lucas role will be heavily placed on the shoulders of Scotsman Charlie Adam. The midfielder was purchased for his passing ability that helped Blackpool do the double over his new club, but will now need to control the middle of the pitch with the same authority and consistency that Lucas did. It may also mean that Gerrard cannot play as forward as he would want, as understandably Adam will be itching to push up the field, leaving the defence more exposed than usual.

But what will it mean for Liverpool? Will they have less control against their opposition? Will the distribution change without Lucas, and will the defence concede more? And what will Kenny do in the January transfer window? He has month to observe his team without Lucas, but will he find a replacement in the new year, or spend that money on another Striker? Only time will tell, but what we do know is the loss of Lucas is a hugely expensive blow for the Reds. Who would have thought we would be saying that 3 years ago?

Twitter @Dannye7

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With the hosts, Argentina, out of the competition last night, Brazil assumed the role of favourites for the title. The Brazilians have performed below their potential ability so far in this tournament, with a single pleasing attacking display in their last group game against Ecuador. They faced Paraguay who drew all three of their group games, including a 2-2 result with a fortunate Brazil side, securing the point in injury time courtesy of Fred.

The first half was a disappointment. Brazil struggled to create many opportunities with only a couple where they could have taken the lead with the best chance of falling to Lucio. After winning a free kick wide on the left, Andre Santos played a delightful ball in to the box, finding the space between the goalkeeper and his back line. Lucio met the ball and poked it at goal but Justo Villar got down to it and turned the ball away.

Villar kept his side in the game with numerous fantastic saves. The first from Ganso, whose volley from the edge of the box after some terrific attacking play by Lucio was turned round the post by Villar. The Paraguayan got right down low to his left to make the save. He then made two saves from Alexandre Pato from point blank range. The first he rushed out to meet Pato’s rifled shot, staying big and closing the angles. The second was not quite as successful as the ball looped up towards the byline. Pato just could not get his head around the ball sufficiently and head it in to the open net. In the final minutes Fred had a header cleared off the line by substitute Edgar Barreto.

Extra time offered little chances for either team to take the lead, with Paraguayan seemingly playing for penalties. However, both Lucas Leiva and Antolin Alcaraz were sent off after some a number of fiery challenges in quick succession led to some swinging arms and a loss of conduct. Brazil lost their cool when it is not going their way yet again, a factor that is becoming somewhat of a trait for the national. You may rememeber the side combusting against the Netherlands at the last World Cup leading to their exit. Hernanes continued this in their friendly loss against a France. The Lazio player performed a kung-fu kick that Nigel de Jong would have been proud off and was sent off.

This loss of cool transferred into a loss of nerve when it came down to the penalty shootout. Elano’s penalty was the first and the worse, the Santos maestro skied his penalty, then placing the blame on the penalty spot. Paraguay also missed their opening penalty but scored the next two, whilst Brazil missed their two including a save by Villar from Thiago Silva. Fred needed to score to keep Brazil in the game. He took a long, stuttering run up before placing the ball wide of the left hand post.

This Brazil squad not only lacked a strong presence in the box, they lacked creativity and placed too much responsibility on young talents Neymar and Ganso. The formation of choice for Mano Menezes, the 4-2-2-2, did not work leading to the isolation of the forward players. Perhaps Menezes should have tinkered with his tactics as they were clearly not working in the early stages of the tournament. A lack of tactical mobility also proved to be the downfall of Argentina and it seems Brazil have suffered a similar fate. They now have no competitive senior fixtures until World Cup 2014, the Olympics in the meantime will not provide enough competitive football. It is likely that Menezes will still be in charge for the tournament.

Paraguay would go on to play the winner of Chile vs Venezuela which was to be played in San Juan shortly after this shock result.The Copa America is now wide open due to the elimination of the two powerhouses of South American football and any team could win it.

Read more from Tom at his excellent blog Purple Patch

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Liverpool could be set to make a £10million move for Lee Cattermole – with the Sunderland player devastated at losing the captaincy to new boy John O’Shea.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce has handed his recent signing from Manchester United the armband, delivering a massive blow to the tenacious Cattermole.

And now the Merseysiders are keeping tabs as Kenny Dalglish continues his policy of signing top English players – and the former Wigan midfielder, 23, could be next.

SOURCE: Daily Mirror

Liverpool have spent over £100m on new arrivals in 2011 and apparently Kenny Dalglish isn’t finished yet, as well as pursuing a new left back, with Aly Cissokho seemingly the favourite to fill that spot, the Scot is now looking to bring in some added steel to his midfield, in the form of no nonsense battler Lee Cattermole, a player who is known for not shirking a challenge.

One wonders exactly where the England hopeful would fit into what already appears to be a crowded midfield, not least as Brazilian Lucas appears to be filling the defensive midfield role. Dalglish must also somehow find room for Raul Meireles, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard so no wonder Alberto Aquilani seems surplus to requirements, regardless of the good form he has shown during the club’s Asian tour.

Cattermole is apparently unhappy about losing the Black Cats captaincy and would presumably jump at the chance to join a Liverpool side that appears to have the spending power to improve their squad to help their attempts at breaking back into the Premier League top four.

The former Middlesbrough and Wigan star like a tackle and is known for his blood and thunder approach to the game that has led to 18 cautions and three red cards over the past two seasons.

Having purchased Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam and Doni this year it is clear that the club’s owners are ready to bankroll Dalglish but one wonders if a move to sign the former England Under 21 international is necessary.

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Liverpool are expected to confirm within 10 days that Kenny Dalglish will be their permanent manager, with his 11 wins in 21 games, which have driven the club up the table, convincing the club’s American owners to put their trust in him ahead of their venture into the transfer market this summer.

Though negotiations between the two sides are not yet complete, Dalglish’s appointment may be confirmed before the last game of the season at Villa Park, where Ashley Young and Stewart Downing are two of the prime summer targets as the side seek to compete at the top of the table again. Liverpool are believed to be in a strong position to secure the £12m Young, whose contract expires next summer.

Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), are keen to avoid a repeat of the problems which beset Liverpool last summer, when the drawn-out departure of Rafael Benitez meant it was 1 July, 28 days before the start of the club’s Europa League campaign, when Roy Hodgson was appointed manager.(Independent)

Liverpool’s Premier League record since the turn of the year is second only to Chelsea and that coupled with the general adoration Kenny Daglish is afforded at Anfield, has seen supporters clamouring to see FSG offer the caretaker boss a permanent deal. Indeed some have wondered why the process has been allowed to drag on for so long and indeed some have even suggested that there were a number of issues the Scot wanted cleared up before he takes the post full time. Some of the claims gleaned from various sources are as follows.

1) Dalglish wants to make sure that he has final say on any transfer purchases and that director of football Damien Comolli is merely a conduit and scout for such deals.

2) The caretaker boss also wants assurances in regard to funds for transfers for next season.

3) The length of contract Dalglish wants is for four years but co-owners John W Henry and Tom Werner initially only offered a two year deal.

4) Dalglish wants any contract to explicitly refer to him as “King Kenny”.

OK, we made the last one up.

In all seriousness it does seem that things are looking a hell of a lot rosier for Liverpool post-Hodgson but the real reason for that is probably not the poor spell the former Fulham boss was at the helm for but more because of the crass ineptitude of former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The new signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll have both made an impact, with the Uruguayan in particular looking the part. The emergence of youngster Jack Robinson, Martin Kelly and John Flanagan bode well for the future and the vast improvement shown by the likes of Lucas, Raul Meireles, Maxi and Dirk Kuyt have shown that perhaps the squad wasn’t as average as it looked under the last season of Benitez’s reign and the first half of this campaign.

Napoli head the queue for Liverpool midfielder Lucas, who has not yet been offered a new Anfield contract.

The Brazilian international is closing in on the last 12 months of his current deal, and there have been no moves from within the club to extend.

That suggests his days on Merseyside are numbered, with the club already preparing their transfer plans for the summer under new director of football Damien Comolli.

The fact that talks have not even opened suggests it is now unlikely to happen, and Serie A side Napoli have taken note.

The Italians are ready to offer around £3million, which could be enough for them to get their man as Liverpool are hoping to get ready-made replacement Charlie Adam from Blackpool for a similar figure, given that he too will only have a year remaining on his contract at the end of the season.

SOURCE: Daily Mirror

Brazilian midfielder Lucas was the butt of much frustration during the early stages of his Liverpool career but the battler has dug in and made himself a pivotal part of the club’s starting eleven and it’s a little strange that the Merseyside club has not tied the former Gremio man to a long term deal and news that sides are interested in his services is not unsurprising.

The 24 year old is now a fixture in the Brazilian national team set-up and has made 35 starts this term and is the basis of a successful midfield partnership with Steven Gerrard and Raul Meireles. This source seems to think that Charlie Adam would be a ready made replacement for Lucas but they really two completely different types of players.

Kenny Dalglish has set his sights on a number of creative players but knows that the club still needs to retain some steel and Lucas has become adept at breaking forward forays made by the opposition and Napoli’s interest is apparently very real and it’s worth noting that the Naples side are experiencing something of a resurgence of late and are just three points from the top of Serie A and in the running for their first domestic title in over twenty years.

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Robert Green (West Ham) – Often the butt of a good bit of ribbing but the West Ham man held firm against Tottenham

Danny Higginbotham (Stoke City) – Put in a terrific all round display, blocking goal bound efforts and cracking in a free-kick

Seamus Coleman (Everton) – As always an attack minded display, capped with a goal

David Luiz (Chelsea) – Another top notch performance from the new signing

Richard Stearman (Wolves) – Tigerish defender helps Wolves to crucial away win at Aston Villa

Matt Jarvis (Wolves) – England call-up helped by another display of wing wizardry

Jermaine Pennant (Stoke City) – Could soon also get an England call-up at this rate

Lucas (Liverpool) – Continues to improve under Kenny Dalglish

Charlie Adam (Blackpool) – Constant threat for Blackpool, Ian Holloway will struggle to keep hold of the Scot in the summer

Luis Suarez (Liverpool) – Full of ideas, full of running and got the goal his workload richly deserved

Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) – Right man in the right place at the right time

Bench

Edwin Van Der Sar (Manchester United)
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic)
Ramires (Chelsea)
Scott Parker (West Ham)
Tom Cleverley (Wigan Athletic)
Nani (Manchester United)
Louis Saha (Everton)

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Liverpool are in a five-way chase for St Etienne’s midfield enforcer Blaise Matuidi.

The 23-year-old has been one of the Reds’ key transfer targets ever since the arrival of Damien Comolli as the director of sporting strategy.

Comolli moved to Anfield from St Etienne, but Liverpool will face stiff competition from Serie A sides Roma, Juventus and Fiorentina, plus Bundesliga club Schalke.

St Etienne’s asking price is thought to be around £8million, but the club insist they have received no concrete offers for the midfielder yet.

SOURCE: talkSPORT

Liverpool have been linked with a move for either Blaise Matuidi or Yann M’Vila for months now, which is somewhat odd given the players that the club has available.

Lucas Leiva has proven to all those who doubted him that he is worthy of being a Liverpool player, and while Christian Poulsen is not likely to be a first team regular at Anfield, he is a useful backup option who seems happy to play a role from the bench when required.

His experience is also proving an asset in the UEFA Europa League.

With both Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish appearing as if they will stick by youngsters and players on the fringes of the first team in Europe, Poulsen is frequently thrown into the action from the start.

He is certainly not the best possible candidate for the role, but he does a job to a reasonable standard.

Buying a winger and left back in the summer would be a far better use of the FSG money.

Matuidi is good – as is M’Vila – but Liverpool’s priorities ought to be elsewhere.

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Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has placed his weight behind the possible signing of Brazilian maestro Ronaldinho – as unlikely as it sounds.

“I am not aware of anything regarding a possible signing of Ronaldinho, but of course I’d be very happy if this were to happen,” Lucas told Brazilian website Globoesporte.

“We became friends in the times we had together in the Olympics and the Brazilian national team. It would be great to play with him at Liverpool. Everyone knows the quality of Ronaldinho and what he can do. Undoubtedly, it would be a great boost for us.”

The former World Player Of The Year enjoyed a fabulous return to form at Ac Milan last season, but since the signing of Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic he has struggled for a place in the Rossoneri starting line-up.

Even so, his lack of regular first team action did not prevent him being nominated for a place in the FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2010 award, and his recent goal against Auxerre in the UEFA Champions League proved that he still possesses wonderful talent.

The Brazilian cut inside from the right flank and with one touch gave himself the tiniest bit of room to curl a shot into the far corner with his weaker left foot.

If Ac Milan coach elects to release him for free in January – as is being reported in Italy – he could be a wonderful signing, even just as an impact player from the bench.

Leaving aside his recent troubles, this is after all a player capable of doing this:

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