Brendan Rodgers Versus The Culture Of English Football

If it's not about the journey but the destination, then winning is about the method.  Contradict that with the idea that the ends justify the means and what you're left with is the proverbial catch 22. Those two ideals form the basis of all tactical methodology. That it is better to fight with honour, courage and valour or to sacrifice everything in order to gain victory.  Some would see a battlefield with all but a handful of their own soldiers down as worth it so long as the battle was won. They're probably ancestral Stoke fans.

Brazil, Ajax, Sacchi's Milan.  Teams that played football as it should be and won trophies in the process.  When Pep Guardiola and Spain took over the world it wasn't unprecedented that a side could remain pure to the fundamentals of the game and still get the job done, but it wasn't quite on the same scale.  The world became obsessed with trying to replicate the model that was forged inside La Masia and perfected at the Nou Camp and when they couldn't, the goal was to undermine it.  In the Champions League, that Chelsea inexplicably managed to edge past Barca became a stick to beat them with despite the fact that if the same scenario were to be played out a hundred times again it probably wouldn't have worked out that way.  

At the other end of the spectrum, residing in a dark place that skillful players have nightmares about, Roy Hodgson was to find himself in the middle of something that had been brewing in England for some time.  He, along with members of the national press and fans up and down the country, declared war on modern tactics in football.  That steadfast refusal to implement anything other than outdated tactics and ideas, added to the notion that Spain were now somehow boring gave every fan a side to take.  It seems almost bizarre that anyone would fight against the idea of possession football coupled with good movement but there are two problems with it.  

First of all it requires a great deal of patience, something that Sky TV generation of football fan has all but run out.  As a source of entertainment, football - sport in general - fails the majority of the time.  A lot of the drama in football comes from a meeting between two teams with a great history or rivalry, there can be no way of knowing when a story will evolve within the game itself.  There are groups of supporters up and down England, as well as grounds all over the country that have no real grasp of that.  Knocking the ball around at the back, keeping it tidy and away from the opposition to them is cause for howls of discontent.  After a few months of getting used to the Spanish way of life, Javier Mascherano told the press that he would get cheered for booting the ball into the stands in England, whereas he would get ridiculed for it in Spain.  That tells you all you need to know of the different culture and mindset between the two nations.  The other problem with trying to play the "right" way is that requires a lot of courage, the kind that rules out most managers.  

The arguement against having principles is that eventually there will come a time when you have to discard them.  Style comes with a risk and on that basis alone, some won't even bother with trying it.  When the risk is losing the money that comes with staying in the top flight, it's all the more impressive that Rodgers remained true to his philosophy at Swansea.  Pragmatically football does cater to those that favour winning at all costs, provided you don't have the means.  A team will have no problems in putting everyone behind the ball and trying to spoil the game - nor should they receive no undue criticism - so long as they don't have the required talent needed to actually play.  At the very top, with the embarrassment of riches that a team vying for trophies should have, then the very least that should be aimed for is an attempt to play football rather than simply stopping others from doing so.  Even the most well meaning of managers will forgo a passing game if it it met with an improvement in results.  Right to the end Pep Guardiola flouted that and won everything there was to win along the way.  

Numbers mean different things to different people.  Whether or not you read a lot into them the game is full of stats, percentages and anything else someone might use to try and gain an advantage over their opponent.  The most common and basic use of these numbers is in regard to formation, the starting point from which both players and fans have an idea as to how things are organised initially.  These days however, they are no more than a reference point beyond that.  For years now teams have employed a modified formation depending on whether or not they are in possession of the ball.  Barcelona's theoretical "team of midfielders" has moved that on to the Nth degree, in that no one player has a single defined role and that the shackles are well and truly off.

In Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool have got themselves a manager at the heart of all this.  Because of what he has experienced and who he is as both coach and manager, Rodgers strives to be at the forefront in regard to tactics and applied the Spanish model to great success at Swansea.  The challenges that he will now face are far greater but the thought process will remain the same.  He has spoken at great length about resting on the ball and the concensus appears to be that Liverpool will have the lion's share of possession in a large majority of games next year.  There will come a time - presumably away from home against the better sides - in which Rodgers' men will have to hold off, even if it is for brief periods during a game.  For a manager and a team that wants to play football, what then?

"If you give a bad player time, he can play. If you give a good player time, he can kill you." - Brendan Rodgers

Not that there was ever much doubt, Liverpool will be playing a pressing game next year.  Not only will defenders be harassed and forced into mistakes but right the way up the pitch that will intensify.  Getting back the ball in an opponents half exposes them to being overloaded, but the opposite scenario has the same outcome.  The counter attack may be seen as a tool of the limited but all top teams have the ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye.  Though it helps to have players of great speed - something that Liverpool do not possess as great deal on the whole - what's more important is speed of thought and vision, something the team has an abundance of.  While the counter may be a valid method of punishing mistakes, that doesn't mean it will not fit in with the rest of Rodgers' philosophy.  Don't expect the ball to be played up the park aimlessly, under any circumstances.

To be presented with the chance to break is not directly the same as being in on goal.  Last year Swansea only managed four shots directly after forcing turnovers from the opposition but would almost certainly have made use of that possession in other ways.  One thing that all football managers have in common is that they have to believe in the way they operate and that's certainly true of Brendan Rodgers.  He is far removed from the atypical English style manager (think Sam Allardyce) that clog up the game, deluding themselves and others into thinking that the game hasn't moved on in the last twenty years.  The ideas and style he will bring to Anfield will not simply be a traced over copy of the Barcelona manual but his own take on the same principles that helped them become arguably the best club side this world has ever seen. 

If it works, the tide in England may finally turn against the old school way of thinking.  Should Rodgers fail, then he will be held up as an example of why teams should keep it simple. No system is perfect, no set of players infallible.  Though the mistakes and inevitability of sport may catch up to Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, at least he is determined to go about it in the right way.  To chance fate by having his footballing ethics intact.  A life without risk isn't living at all, football without taking a chance is a game ruled of the likes of Alex McLeish, Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce.  Nobody wants to live in that world.

Arrested Development: The Pressures Of Youth Football

There's something about getting old. Despite all the benefits of wisdom and experience, the world is a much brighter, simpler place in time gone by. Free from the shackles of fear, the young by their very nature are bold, brash and brave for they do not know what failure and dissapointment feel like. As the years pass by, our hopes and expectations are forever held tempered and tied down by mostly self imposed limitations. For a child, possibilities are endless. No boundaries can be placed on those who have no concept of them.

To say that Liverpool have been spoiled by the names that have graduated their academy would be an understatement.  The list contains two European Cup winning captains (Phil Thompson & Steven Gerrard) as well players like Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler.  There was a time when players would learn as much about their team-mates as themselves and clusters of players would break through into the first team, those days appeared to have gone with the class of 96.  That year saw Liverpool triumph over West Ham in the FA Youth Cup final, secured by a 2-1 victory at Anfield that saw the likes of Carragher and Owen on one side going up against Ferdinand and Lampard on the other (Gerrard would pick up a medal but not play in the final itself).  Generations like that don't come around very often.

Times change, the academy has been completely revamped and the shoots of recovery are starting to bloom a little.  Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly have more than a handful of first team experience now, with the latter having gained his first international cap in May.  With a bumper fixture list handed to Brendan Rodgers - a man with a cut his teeth in his coaching at the youth level - a handful of other players will be needed as the squad is stretched out not just for this coming season but for many to come.  Whether or not those from the academy right now make it into the first team or one or two that are bought in by Rodgers, the road ahead - for both Liverpool and the players - will be full of twists and turns.

The desire and willingness from fans to want youth team success and people breaking into the first team is a natural one.  As fans we can sometimes take a very parental role with regard to watching our football team and watching players grow up is a part of that.  Now more than ever it's become something of a necessity.  Every avenue must be persued in order to follow sucess and developing a good academy set up is a paramount to that.  At the back end of last season, Raheem Sterling was seen as someone who could ignite our league season on the basis that nothing else was working.  That the club had to turn to a seventeen year old - even one as exceptionally gifted as Sterling - does more than suggest how badly things were going.

Later tonight, the UEFA Under 19 Championship final will take place in Estonia between Spain and Greece.  It will be broadcast to a television audience consisting of those desperate to fill the void between friendlies and hardened footballing connoisseurs eager to see if this group of highly talented Spanish players can emulate their senior compatriots.  Liverpool's very own Suso will be hoping to play a vital role and further his claim to catching the eye of Brendan Rodgers before the season starts.  That a competition like this should be shown on television however just goes to show how far the game has gone.  The growth of exposure for these players has risen at an exponential rate over the last ten years. LFC TV and variants thereof mean that we can now watch - and also judge - players who are still at school.  Is that level of attention a good thing?

Trial by error, in terms of the development of a footballer, can be a very heartless process. That there is no other choice than to fail - for that is how we learn - is one thing, to do it in front of a worldwide audience borders on the macabre.  Fickle by nature, the game of football is such that players are only ever one bad performance away from being written off completely.  This adds a very steep learning curve to what is already one of the most competitive markets in the world.  With that kind of pressure at such an early age, it's a wonder any of them actually make it out to the other side.  Talent alone isn't enough to get you there.

Arsène Wenger has never won the league cup, not that you'd ever know it.  Though it has become a relatively relaxed policy over recent years, it had become an annual event that a newly polished batch of youngsters would destroy a perfectly capable lower league side.  Many a hyperbolic headline followed, forever proclaiming that the future belonged to Arsenal.  But it didn't happen like that because Wenger heavily gambled with their future, and lost.  The trend begins early into Wenger's reign but their defeats matter little as they are challenging on all fronts.  A semi final defeat at the hands of Middlesborough in 2004 represents something of a missed opportunity, given that Bolton were the other two semi finalists but that hardly made a dent in the confidence of a side that won the league without losing a game that year.  Two seasons later however and a horrible trend begins.

In the six seasons that followed their last trophy, Arsenal have managed to make two semi finals and appear in two finals - a fantastic record on paper(?).  Law of averages would suggest that they should have won at least on of those, not least the Final of 2011.  Wenger chose - rather boldly in some cases - not to play his first team where possible in any of those six seasons and allow those in the academy to showcase their football in a competitive atmosphere.  Commendable perhaps to an extent, but what they have ended up with as a result of all this however is a generation of players who freeze on the big occasion because they don't know how to win.  It would be callous to suggest that Wenger threw them to the wolves and though some of the players that failed to prove themselves and have moved on from the club the results have clearly left a mark within the psyche of those left.

Mentality plays a huge part in the game of football, far more than is ever given credit for.  The will to win is more than just an intangible cliche, it can be taught.  Players learn how to get over the line by doing just that.  It doesn't matter how, just so long as they get the job done so that in the future there is the knowledge there that they have the ability to suceed.  Had Wenger been a bit more liberal earlier on in his Arsenal career and gone with a blend of both youth and experience, there may be a few more in that dressing room now with the knowhow in the back of their mind, as well as medals around their neck.

It's very easy to look at youth development the wrong way and not even realize it.  Instead of thinking how these players can make Liverpool Football Club better we must first work out a way of making them more accomplished as footballers, which will in turn take care of the rest.  Fortunately for the club, we have someone in charge who not only knows all this very well but is well versed in helping young, gifted players make the step up to first team.  Lucas Leiva was written off at the age of 21 just because he wasn't Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso or Steven Gerrard.  It took Jamie Carragher until the age of twenty seven to become a defender of real quality, until then he was a bit part player whom we may have looked over in different circumstances.  The big worry is that in our haste to try and bring through a player of genuine class that we cast aside a few that could help the club move forward, if only incrementally.  Istanbul would never have happened were it not for an academy graduate; Neil Mellor.  Every little helps.

Purple Hazing

Unique, ever changing and about as hard to pin down as Luis Suarez inside the penalty area, style is an important tool in how we are perceived in the wider world.  It is that individuality that places like school and work can sometimes try to take away from us.  They group people together through no common bonds, other than the fact that they are learning or earning money under the same roof.  Sport is different.  That everybody has the will - even if not the means - to wear whatever they like, the idea that a group of people would choose to dress the same is one that speaks to the tribal nature of football and the idea of belonging to something.  More importantly than this however, is to be seen belonging.  The more something is associated with success, the more people will want to be seen wearing it, hence the growing amount of Manchester City shirts that are popping up in city centres all across the country.

Most of the time fashion is subconscious on both parts, we wear things that we like and look down on those that we don't without ever giving much thought as to why that is.  Colours themselves are inoffensive - even aesthetically pleasing pending on their usage - but associated with something then they become more.  In football they are just that and become the constant that connects past from present.  Billy Liddell, Roger Hunt, Kevin Keegan, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard.  They all wore the red of Liverpool FC.  The identity of a club and what they represent are all epitomised by what they wear as they cross that white line.  For all that's different between two sides of a city, all the diversity and distinctions between Liverpool and Everton, this is what is all comes down to.  Red or blue.

Off the field, it means more than just what will be the fashion for the following season.  Manchester United fans went back to green and gold, the colours of Newton Heath in order to visualize their fight against the Glazers.  Cardiff City now face an even deeper crisis, having had an entire history altered and what once was their traditional blue will now only ever be seen away from Ninian Park. Even closer to home, a kit designed as a protest shirt against Hicks & Gillette was made for those who wanted to show their support without filling the pockets of those hurting their team.  That Liverpool fans are now engaged in a simple debate over whether a shirt looks good or not puts things into perspective.

At the end of last season, Liverpool's kit deal with Adidas was replaced by a company very few had heard of.  Formed in 1992, Warrior had been primarily making lacrosse uniforms until having been acquired by New Balance and moving into Ice Hockey.  The deal itself is a bold statement from the relatively unknown manufacturer, with Liverpool receiving a whopping twenty five million pounds a year through the next six years.  A brand new look to go with the new direction of it's young manager, virtually every aspect of Liverpool Football Club has been freshened up over this post season and with this injection of cash it's hoped that will do the same to the playing staff.

Unlike any other kit reveal - certainly in the last decade - this one had an element of secrecy about it that none had gone before it.  Twitter, those in the know and various forums all around the internet could only speculate as to exactly what would be draped over the shoulders of players to come in the following year.  When the home kit was eventually reviled, there was both a collective sigh of relief in that Warrior hadn't given us an abomination but a sense of satisfaction that it looked very smart.  There was a shadow looming over the horizon however.  It'd take a monumental effort to oust Man United's tablecloth effort as the worst kit in circulation, but that's what appeared to be on the cards.  For as good a job as they had done with the home shirt, everyone began speculating about the third.  With nothing official to go on, other than the colour scheme of purple and orange, rumours spread like wild fire.  Were Liverpool about to be lumbered with one of the worst kits of all time?

The actual need for a third kit - aside from the cynical, potentially more accurate response of more money - is that Liverpool are once again back in Europe.  Short of coming up against AC Milan, there will be very little in the way of an actual clashing of shirts that will require the use of the purple strip and so it is unlikely to be used excessively over the course of the season.  The nature of modern sportswear manufacture and the constant turnover of new product - especially now that Liverpool will now be changing the home kit every season as opposed to every two - mean that it's likely that something else next year will be heralded as an abomination.

On the fourth of July 2012, it was finally revealed to the world.  By then pictures had been circulating the internet of exactly what kind of monstrosity we were supposed to be getting but this was the first time Liverpool players had been seen wearing the shirt.  Rather unsurprisingly, a lot of fuss had been made about nothing.  There will always be people who hate the very concept of Liverpool wearing purple - or nightshade as Warrior so melodramatically put it - and those who would have purchased it along with their home and away kit regardless of how offensive to the eyes it was.  Citing David James as inspiration behind it's colour doesn't exactly inspire greatness, however there have been far more upsetting Liverpool kits in previous years.  Last years dubious blue effort springs immediately to mind which went on to become one of the most successfully sold shirts in years.  Controversy creates cash.

Think back to the 22nd of February 2007.  The day itself may not immeidiately ring any bells but the result certainly will.  Barcelona 1-2 Liverpool.  Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise scored as Liverpool pulled off one of the best results in European football this century.  That night - as I'm sure you're now picturing it - featured a kit many thought very little of but that image has now been forever burned into the memories of LFC fans the world over.  It wouldn't have mattered if those shirts been made of wool and featured a polka dot pattern.  Those kits that endeer themselves to the memory only ever do so because of the results made wearing them.  If Brendan Rodgers and his team have a good season, the next time Liverpool are to wear purple it won't be just to commemorate a couple of old goalkeeper jerseys.

In the end what Liverpool are left with is an home strip that's as close to being universally liked as is possible these days, one which was nowhere near as bad as had been made out and an away kit that if anything has underwhelmed.  Football is a world away from the game that saw Juventus borrow the colours of Notts County and never relinquish them.  Every single aspect of the game is far more commercialized and that's something we have to acknowledge and move with the times, as well as trying to maintain our proud traditions.

Hard to believe but there was a once time when Liverpool took to the field in blue.  After changing to a red shirt, white shorts and red sock combo in 1904, it wasn't until Bill Shankly himself decided to change the kit by going out in an all red kit in 1964.  Though it is a vital part of the history of the club, it is not defined by its colours.   The shade of red which coarses through the veins of every Liverpool fan that is far more vibrant and fantasic than any that could be put onto a strip of material and it will remain that way regardless of what players come and go, what manager is at the helm and what we go onto the field wearing.

Medal Of Honour: Liverpool & The Olympics

Imagine a computer capable of almost anything.  Something with the capacity to store masses of information and data as well as the intelligence solve complex problems at the same time and also an output sound quality far more advanced than any MP3.  Durable, with the added bonus of being able to repair itself.  Able to operate at relative high speeds, with an interchangeable shape that allows for best usage.  On top of all that, the aptitude for learning as well as adapting to any given surroundings and circumstances.  Man is that machine.

Like every cliche, there more than a modicum of truth in the idea that taking part matters more than winning.  Not everyone can be the fastest man on the planet, but that won't stop thousands from trying.  Being the best in the world at anything is such a lofty ambition it cannot simply begin with that kind of supposition alone.  Seeing how far the human body is willing to push itself is not only great drama but endears us to one another for the notion of simply trying.  Triumph may be the ultimate goal but before anyone can test the limits of humankind they must first find out where their own breaking point lies.  Sport captivates us not because of how naturally gifted a person may be but what they will do to make up for in spite of it.  Over the last twenty years heroes have been made based not on their individual talent but their willingness not to give up.  It is that indelible spirit that helps defy humanity.  That Olympic spirit.

As a game rather than merely athletic competition, team sports may be less of a pure contest but they are no less enthralling.  Reliant on so many different people and actions, in no other discipline can so many mistakes still lead to success or so much talent lead to failure.  It's for precisely this reason that football is loved the world over.  Legends can be brought down by the actions of those around them and that a team of otherwise pedestrian players could collectively rise above themselves and achieve the impossible.  Unlike athletics, football also gives someone the chance at redemption.  A momentary lapse in concentration for a runner may cost him everything he's worked his entire life for.  So long as there's still time on the clock, anything is possible.  Even coming from three goals down in a European Cup final.

A quarter of a century after the first ever international match, football was represented at the 1900 Olympic games held in Paris.  To say it was a modest affair would be an understatement.  It was comprised of just three teams - each nation represented by a chosen side - and was eventually won by Upton Park FC (Great Britian). In 1904 there were again three teams, this time representing just two nations.  Slow to start with, both the games themselves and the place of football within them would continue to grow.  Twenty two teams took place in 1924 - which an emerging Uruguay side would eventually win - but football was at crossroads.  Having gone professional in some places over the world, though a gold medal was seen as claiming your place as the best team in the world, it was strictly an amateur competition.  Disputes over whether teams had indeed paid their players as compensation for "lost time from work" led to Britain's withdrawal from the 1924 games and it was then dropped altogether in 1932, due to it's lack of popularity in the United States.  By then something else had grabbed a hold of the footballing masses, something which has never let go.  The World Cup.

Following on from World War II, the Great Britain football team continued to participate in the Olympics, handcuffed by the fact that it's now flourishing league system could not be utilised - with it's players counting as professionals.  With that in place, the gap between the England amateur team - from which the basis of the squad was picked - and the rest of Europe shortened, to the point where they did not even qualify for the main tournament for another twelve years.  At this point the FA decided that there would be no distinction between amateur and professional and that they would all be "players" instead.  Since then, with a football team from these shores not taking part in the Olympics there has been very little of a connection or emphasis on it and Liverpool Football Club.

Even after the rules were changed to include professional players, Great Britain declined the chance to take part - even though twice Scotland and once England were both given qualifying berths based on their European Under 21 Championship performance.  This may have seen a greater opportunity to LFC players throughout the nineties to have a chance of winning a medal but as it was it would not be until 2008 until a Liverpool player would take part in an Olympic games, with Lucas Leiva, Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel becoming the first men ever to take part while at the club (Arthur Berry, Joseph Dines & Tom Armstrong represented Britain in 1912 and would all later go on to play for the Liverpool).

Having dipped their toe into the competition last time around, Liverpool will again be represented in London.  Craig Bellamy, Sebastian Coates and Luis Suarez will all be doing their part to get their hands on a medal.  It's unclear as to how much of a role Bellamy will have within Stuart Pearce's side and there will still be a concern over his fitness, especially in the latter stages of the tournament when the games come thick and fast.  Having said that this represents Bellamy's best and only chance of ever being able to grasp something on the international stage and he will be chomping at the bit in order to do so.  As one of the elder members, it's both a sign and a test of Craig's growing maturity that he will be be given a paternal role in the squad.  With regard to his place in the pecking order at Liverpool, there's no doubt he has the ability but both his injuries and lack of consistency over the last year mean that while he will be missed, his place in the starting eleven is far from certain.

It seems that barely a tournament goes by without a player from Anfield taking centre stage.  From the Spanish contingent that came via of Melwood in 2008 and 2010 to Suarez lighting up the Copa America last year, success and Liverpool go hand in hand as ever.  Impressed heavily during Uruguay's triumphant campaign in Argentina last year, Sebastian Coates will be hoping to pick up where he left off.  Having tasted nothing but success so far in his short career, the man who could just as easily played for Scotland has everything going for him right now.  His talent is raw but obvious and any experience for him at a major tournament can only be good for both he and Liverpool.  With playing time again likely restricted to League Cup and Europa League games, he may miss an early opportunity to impress Rodgers but it's a chance he will almost certainly have again.

As influential a figure as one can be, especially in an area in which is so vital as Liverpool failed in that respect so spectacularly last season, it's fortunate enough in that Luis Suarez will potentially miss no league games.  The final takes place a week before the curtain falls on the opening day of the Premier League season and with the tournament being on home soil, barring injury all those taking part will only miss Europa League qualifiers.  Following the tournament in 2008, however Javier Mascherano took a long time in getting back to full form and fitness, missing four out of the next seven league games in the league after the tournament had finished.  Having finally had a summer break after a couple of years, Suarez will report for international duty with a team tipped to go far if not quite all the way.  He is unlikely to be home early, although Brendan Rodgers may be secretly rooting for it.

Because of it's four year cycle so few get more than one shot at glory, to the point where Mascherano is currently joint top of Argentina's all time gold medal winners.  Players from all over the world may go on to challenge for further glory and London 2012 may be just the springboard that set their career into motion but for some this tournament is all they are ever going to get.  Footballers the world over will forever hunger for success and trophies, athletes and sportsmen crave nothing more than to have that gold medal draped around their neck.  This is a unique occasion in which a lucky few get the chance to represent their country as well as showcasing the sport itself.  When the tournament is all over, Suarez, Coates or Bellamy may have written a new chapter in Olympic folklore.  Brendan Rodgers will be waiting, ready for them to make history with Liverpool as well.

The Invisible Armband

Men have gathered together - from the dawn of time - and looked toward a figurehead.  Placing a solitary figure at the head of a cause does more than make it easier to give orders, it gives them a purpose.  That person becomes symbolic of a cause, be they chosen for their past glory or what characteristics make them a champion right then and there.  You cannot train to be a leader.  They are born, not chosen.  The hidden intangibles that make it so one man can stir others into fighting for him - or for something greater than them all - are no more elusive than what makes up a great human being.  Despite all this - and whatever else makes them special - they cannot do it alone.  Captains may lead, soldiers can still be heroes.

The idea of having one person on the pitch who is responsible for everyone else somewhat outdated these days.  Though Gerrard was captain all throughout the Rafa Benitez years, he would more often than not be found talking to Xabi Alonso but that does not mean that neither one of them had any less value than the other.  Because of the recent explosion of multi national teams, there is more accountability to be shared around the side.  It wasn't long ago that Liverpool boasted almost a team full of captains.  Sami Hyypiä, Yossi Benayoun and Javier Mascherano all captained their national team on a regular basis with many more having experience of it (Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, Jerzy Dudek).  Of it's current crop of players, there are a handful still left who regularly lead their country out and despite the fact that only one of them can do it for Liverpool it's important that all of them remain as strong as they would otherwise.  Modest shoulders make not for such a heavy burden, regardless of how those shoulders may have been made out to be.  One man alone cannot carry a team nor vanquish an army.  Every sheriff needs a deputy.  

It's just as important now as it ever was that a club has an identity.  Representing certain values aren't just corporate level buzzwords, it's what prevents a club from just becoming a set of undistinguishable faces.  One of the things that defines Liverpool are the two local lads but as scouse as they are, both Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard are very different leaders of men.  One prefers to lead by example while the other is very vocal in his efforts to drag the team over the line.  The other key difference - one that has been spoken about ad infinitum this past off season - is that only one of them is likely to play a major part in the future.

New manager for a new era and another year along in the career of Steven Gerrard.  More so than anyone, over the years he has embodied  Liverpool Football Club and done all in his power to move it forward.  There is no doubts as to the legitimacy of his claims to still be able to contribute, he is certain to be as integral a part as ever.  As the other half of the scouse heartbeat of the team, it is important that his legacy lives on but that we begin to prepare for a future without him.  Installing a new vice captain now would allow them a decent amount of time to learn exactly what is required of them should they then go on to take the armband on a permanent basis once Gerrard enters the final phases of his career, just as Carragher is now.

Fickle the way life is, those that are given the phyiscal ability to play football must watch as that talent withers away as the years go by.  Father time has a better record than Man United when Howard Webb is refereeing and right now appears to have his sights set on one Jamie Carragher.  The idea that he can no longer give anything to a team is somewhat premature but we have reached a point where that club may not be Liverpool.  Over the years it only a fool would write of the number twenty three for time and again he has shown that when it really matters Jamie can and will get the job done.  His experience and organisational skills are unparrelled and something the club will definitely need if it is to bring through a whole host of new talent.  That being said there is very little left for him to do on the pitch.  Rodgers tactics and Carras aptitude for the long ball, in addition to his lack of mobility suggest that unless he is content with being a second string player then it's unlikely fans will see much of him this year.  With that in mind, a space opens up alongside Steven Gerrard at the top table.  Who would then be second in command?

First on the list of candidates, step forth Pepe Reina.  It's very rare in football that a goalkeeper would posses all the qualities required to lead a team, for most prefer to be led at the front.  That being said, Pepe is a rare breed of goalkeeper.  Mentally tough, technically brilliant, calm under pressure and also someone who connects with people.  From his outings with the Spain squad over the last few major tournaments, Reina has demonstrated his ability to bring people together and create a harmony around the squad, even if Casilas has prevented him from doing so on the field.  He may be coming off the back of a tough season but under Brendan Rodgers' new set up it's likely he will play a much bigger part and handily bounce back.  Having had no real injury concerns over the last few years, he is a diving James Perch away from being an ever present in the team, that kind of dependability is something that could see he becoming a future Liverpool captain.

Next in line is someone who has many things in common with Steven Gerrard himself.  Coming off the back of a fantastic European Championships where he marshalled his national side valliantly, Daniel Agger may arrive back at Anfield this year with some new responsibilities.  As a centre half, he has all the attributes that make him a great defender and as a commander of a team very few could do better.  The major concern over Agger on a long term basis would be the problems he has with injury.  Last season he played his joint highest amount of league games and if he is able to remain off the treatment table then would be a prime candidate to take over from Gerrard once his career comes to a close.

Of those most likely to be deputy, there is one more.  He is hardly the sterotypical choice but the fact that despite everything that has gone on his name stands out means that he is a viable candidate.  Lucas Leiva has seen it all at Liverpool Football Club having gone from reviled to revered in a few short years so there can be no doubt that he has the mental tenacity that's required to lead the club.  Having had breif experience with captaining his country at youth level and being one of the few candidates that maintains a calm enough stature to put him forth as a choice to do so for the full Brazil side should he ever get a regular place in the team, provided he comes back from injury without any damage to his fearless playing style then it's very possible Lucas Leiva could have the last laugh on his doubters by being the man to drive the team forward into the future.

Because nothing is certain - in football and in life - there are a few outsiders who could also rise above the ranks.  Suarez getting the job would be eventful, but at least it would give him have an actual excuse to talk to the referees.  His over exuberant style of play makes it rather unlikely Luis will be seen with extra responsibilites anytime soon.  Glen Johnson has both the talent and the experience of playing at a high level for so long but is not the most vocal and also has persistent injury problems.  There is also the chance that over the next couple of years Rodgers may bring in somebody who takes the team by storm and forces himself into the reckoning.  What is important - as well as getting the decision right - is that there is still enough time to deliberate about it.  Steven Gerrard isn't going anywhere just yet.

As of right now, save for Jamie Carragher demanding a transfer it's very unlikely that there will be any drastic changes with as far as the chain of command at Liverpool goes.  Brendan Rodgers will need all the experience and help he can get in moulding this team together and taking it where we want to go so to completely tear up what exists at the club now would be premature, especially with the added prospect of European football and the likelyhood of there being a large number of players used over the course of the coming season.  What Liverpool does have however, is a core of young gifted talent not yet to reach their full potential.  Agger, Reina or Lucas could all grow into wonderful Liverpool captains in years to come but that's not yet to be decided.  The fact that it is not yet set in stone which of them Gerrard will pass the torch onto is not so much a worry as it is a bonus, in that there is a pool of talent to choose from rather than having very limited options once Stevie cannot go on any more.  Though things may not be perfect, we face a brighter present today than the future given to us under Hicks & Gillette.  Who knows what tomorrow may bring?

Diouf, Diao, Dzagoev & The Poborský Effect

In the past twenty years, football has become an even more global game by bringing the world to our doorstep.  Once upon a time the greatest players on the planet only ever played against each other in major international tournaments, now we can see them every other week in the Champions League.  The pool from which teams could draw upon to find people is deeper now than it has ever been due to vast expansions in worldwide scouting.  Up until the 1980s, Liverpool only ever flirted with talent that wasn't from these shores.  Hugh Lester was a twenty something American when he became the first overseas player to play for Liverpool in 1912, his career spanned only two games.  Throughout the century, a handful of South African exports plied their trade at Anfield, most notably one Gordon Hodgson who went on to score over two hundred goals (241) for Liverpool, placing him in the all time goalscoring charts above the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Robbie Fowler.  It wasn't until the arrival of 1980s that Liverpool began to cast an eye upon the wider world, having all but conquered things domestically.  Avi Cohen (signed late 1979), Craig Johnston, Bruce Grobbelar, Glenn Hysen and Jan Mølby became household names up and down the country, let alone on Merseyside.  Liverpool had opened it's door to the world, a door that would never be closed again.

A decade later and the foreign revolution was in full swing, what with money being readily available and often they being a cheaper alternative to their English counterpart.  Unfortunately that led to some more than questionable signings.  Stig Inge Bjørnebye fared better than Istvan Kozma and Torben Piechnik, mostly because even Charlie Adam looked like a decent bit of business compared to those two.  The less said about Sean Dundee, the better.  Fast forward to the mid nineties and we are now looking to the wider world as a way of keeping up with Manchester United, as opposed to setting the pace ourselves.  Gérard Houllier, Liverpool's first ever foreign born manager was the man to be set that task.  With him came Sami Hyypiä, Dietmar Hamann and Jerzy Dudek, players who would go on to join the likes of Grobbelar and Mølby.  The Anfield trophy cabinet was getting stocked again on a regular basis.  By the arrival of the 2002-03 season, Liverpool - on the back of finishing as runner up the season prior - were in buoyant mood of finally ending their wait for a nineteenth league title.  That's where El-Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao come in.

Karel Poborský will forever been known in his homeland for lobbing the ball over Vítor Baía in their quarter final match of Euro 96.  He wowed onlookers to the point where clubs all over Europe were vying for his signature, Liverpool included.  Manchester United were the team that managed to get his signature and he arrived at Old Trafford amidst a wave of hype and expectation.  Hype he could never live up to and expectations he had no chance of matching.  Two years and a mere thirty three appearances later Poborský and Manchester United moved on, both trying to forget it ever happened.  This is most often cited as an example of why teams should not buy players on the basis of having had a good international tournament.  Karel has - somewhat unfortunately - become the poster child for the caution one must heed with those who appear to be a lot better than their record would suggest, it happened before then (Piechnik's performances in the 92 European Championships will have done a lot to persuade Souness to go and get him) and since.  But for all that was wrong with Diouf and Diao, one of them was signed before the World Cup had started and the other played all of one game before Liverpool acquired his signature.  

A lot has been written about Salif Diao, most of it includes any number of profanities. “With Salif, I knew after a week of training that he wasn’t going to be good enough,” said Steven Gerrard in his autobiography, a frighteningly accurate statement from the Liverpool captain who no doubt will have been as frustrated as anyone with the club so close to where it wanted to be.  Players who are lacking in ability are fairly blameless.  It is not they who asked to be put forth in the spotlight in such a way, for even those who have the talent to thrive in such an atmosphere wilt under the pressure.  What really separates a flop from someone who isn't fit to wear the shirt is attitude.  Liverpool requires it's players to carry themselves in a certain way, perhaps more so than many others.  Which is why the image of him trying to get his hands on the European Cup when he had spent the last few months on loan at Birmingham City stands out the more than any of his failures on the pitch.  

Even more baffling than some of the mind boggling performances Diao put forth on the pitch will have been the reasons behind his transfer in the first place.  He agreed terms to come to Anfield on May 27th 2002, four days before Senegal opened the World Cup with a shock victory over the holders France so it wasn't as if the scouts at Liverpool had been collectively bamboozled by a one off performance.  A few days later in Daegu saw the best and worst of Salif Diao.  Scoring arguably the goal of the tournament and then being sent off in the final ten minutes.  At the very least Houllier would have saved himself a few million, as this would no doubt have added to his transfer fee, had he indeed signed the midfielder post World Cup as is erroneously believed to be the case.  That he has still managed to carve himself out a career in the Premier League suggests that there was always some talent there but that tactics needed to suit in order to coax it out.  In that sense Stoke and Diao are a match made in heaven and to a lesser degree could have worked at Liverpool.  But not at the expense of Steven Gerrard, Didi Hamann, Gary McAllister, Danny Murphy, Nick Barmby or Patrik Berger.  Liverpool had an abundance of central midfielders at the time, signing another one would be a glaring case of ignoring what problems did exist in terms of chance creation.  After his illness, Gérard Houllier went to his default setting of buying from Ligue 1 and got found wanting.  Unfortunately he would not be finished.

Going through the list of players that have worn the Liverbird upon their chest over the years, it's hard to find anybody worse than El Hadji Diouf.  There have been players that came and went who had nowhere near his ability but his conduct was so far below what you'd expect from anyone in terms of representing the club, let alone a paid employee.  After lighting up the world stage with his performance against France on May 31st, the BBC announced his signing for the reds the following day.  It's possible that Houllier could have been watching his countrymen fall at the hands of this nation of seemingly untapped potential, while simultaneously patting himself on the back for signing Salif Diao prior to the tournament when it occurred to him to sign Diouf aswell.  With that, Gerard instantly reached for the chequebook and somehow managed to get all the necessary paperwork completed within a few hours.  A far more likely scenario is that everything had been sorted prior to the tournament and after the opening game Liverpool wanted to prevent anyone from coming in at the last minute and complicating matters.  Whereas Diao was lacking the talent to be a success at Liverpool, Diouf had all that and more.  More came in the form of an attitude that made Didier Drogba and John Terry look wholesome.  

Trying to make sense of the Diouf transfer is a little like trying to barter with Freddy Krueger, except that Diouf has given me more nightmares.  Choosing him ahead of Nicolas Anelka appeared baffling at the time but this was the tipping point in terms of Houllier's decision making with regard to signings.  He'd not really got one wrong up until then, unfortunately this one backfired spectacularly.  Having said that, if you discount the goals scored by Anelka in the last ten games of the season, Liverpool still managed to hit the back of the net nineteen times.  Houllier could have been forgiven for thinking that we needed more of an unknown quantity in terms of opening up defences or someone to cut inside and cause a threat.  Signed as a goalscorer - if that was indeed the case - Diouf was a bust from the get go.  He was hardly prolific, having only managed nineteen goals in ninety eight games during his time in France.  There's also the fact that Gérard Houllier was a massive disciplinarian and taking a chance on such an impetuous footballer smacks of either desperation or a gross overestimation on his part to either coach the goals into him or the demons out of him.  He may also not have liked the idea of breaking up the Heskey/Owen partnership with there being very little chance of Anelka being happy on the bench.  Fitting him into the side wasn't the issue, it's what he'd do off the pitch - and sometimes even on it - that made Diouf one of the worst pieces of business Liverpool have ever done.

This time next week the Euros will be over and the teams will begin their annual shopping sprees, highlighted by those names and faces that are on now at the forefront of our minds that would a few weeks ago was nothing more than a spectre.  Dzagoev, Mandžukić and Pilař have seen their respective reputations enhanced to a level that they would have only dreamt of prior to the tournament.  Do the lessons learnt from Diouf and Diao mean that these players should be avoided at all costs because they now represented an inflated sense of worth? Yes and no.  Because of how much money is involved in the game these days, success and those players that will bring it mean that scouring all over the globe has become a necessity.  In terms of finding the right player, there is no stone to be left unturned and as such if a team wanted to buy Alan Dzagoev for example then this tournament would only confirm what they already know about the player, not that nobody had ever heard of him before Euro 2012.  The idea also that any club would be willing to pay over the odds for a player based on the strength of a handful of games is naive bordering on lunacy.  Many teams in the Euros play little over three or four games, to underline how small a sample size that is, three games into the Premier League season, Wolves were sat third.  

Buying players - whether they've had a good tournament or not - is a risk.  A team like Manchester City - or Manchester United during the nineties - can ignore almost any advice and take a chance with a Poborský like signing, if only to prevent him from being successful in a rival team.  Real Madrid it could be argued have done this with Özil and Khadira after the World Cup in South Africa with the gamble seeming to have paid off.  For everyone else it's about knowing as much about the player as possible and even then hoping for the best.  At the top level of European football, it's unlikely there are ever any genuine unknown talents to break through in any tournament and that those that were previously low profile players will have done nothing more than add a couple of zeros to their value.In this age of information and the influence of the internet over all aspects of society - let alone football - mean that even the most casual of fan can become somewhat knowledgeable on all aspects of the game.  One of the reasons it's harder for these players to come into a team is because they lose part of what made them successful in the first place, that element of surprise.  Expectation weighs heavily upon certain people and that somebody can instantly go from being a high profile player in an international side built around them is too big a leap for many people to hurdle.  Despite the lack of empathy toward the England national team, a lot of players around the world are still as motivated as to play for their country, something which might be lacking - or at least not on the same level - when it comes to having garnered your big money transfer following on from that.

From the outset, it does not appear as if Brendan Rodgers will be using the European Championships as an excuse to spend some money.  The players we are being linked with (Sigurðsson, Rodriguez, Borini, Tello and Adam Johnson) are all either players he has worked with in the past or talented prospects that are unable to force their way into the superstar teams they play for and as such may be more affordable.  No doubt that certain stars of this tournament will find themselves in new cities and with new challenges in the coming season.  Whether they work out or not is not down to the fact that they're playing well now.  The so called "Poborský Effect" may have carried some weight sixteen years ago but with the changing face of football the way it is, only the rich can even afford to take that chance.  Gérard Houllier made a massive mistake in signing Diouf and Diao but they were not caused by what Senegal achieved on the world stage.  They are mistakes Liverpool cannot afford to make again.

Forgive and Forget: A Tale of Two Strikers

The marriage of player and fan is rarely a happy one.  Before the ink on the contract is even dry, people all over the world have pinned their hopes and dreams on someone they're not ever likely to meet.  While clubs reward talent with obscene sums of money, it is the love and support of the fans that cement the legacy of a professional footballer.  For example; Dirk Kuyt has the same number of winners medals with Liverpool as El-Hadji Diouf, who meant more to the club?  In return for our devotion, their duty is to step out over the white line and do the things we don't have the talent for, with the minimum requirement that they put in the same kind of commitment to the cause that we do.  It's not an arrangement that most of them can adhere to.

Ending a relationship can be very painful.  The spark that first united tends to either fizzle out or explode.  When something that was seen as a promising partnership dissolves into nothing, while unpleasant can be very easily rationalised.  It's the ones that were taken close to heart that leave the biggest emotional damage.  With whom we placed out trust and believed - with no real foundation - that they would never hurt us.  Two such cases spring immediately to mind.  Similar in name, nationality and position.  Everything else about them - and their time at Liverpool - is at opposite ends of the spectrum.  They are Fernando Morientes and Fernando Torres.

Heroes on different sides of the same city, Torres and Morientes both rose to prominence in Madrid.  Whereas the one they called El Niño was a fully fledged product of the Atletico youth academy and the one to whom everybody looked toward, Morientes was a fairly modest acquisition - 6.6 million euros in the summer of 97 - from Real Zaragoza bought with the intention of being nothing more than a back up striker.  Despite occupying the same space on the field, their on field play is far removed from each other.  Torres' best form has been as a result of a team suited to play through him - unlike Morientes who was always cast in a supporting role.

They arrived at Anfield under different circumstances and at separate stages of their careers.  One arrived as a star of world football - albeit a faded one - with all the medals to prove it.  The other was an incredible prospect but also an expensive gamble, a risk many teams had decided against taking.  In addition to everything else, their fortunes at Liverpool contrasted dramatically.  Torres dazzled while Morientes couldn't quite match the heights he'd reached previously.  In the end, both of them have reasons to be unhappy with the way things ended up.  While neither of them became heroes, one of them became a villain.

If it's possible to comprehend, twelve years ago Real Madrid were even more untouchable than they are now.  The Galácticos - even as a concept - were a world away from the chaos of Roy Evans and the functionality of Gérard Houllier that followed it. Steve McManaman's transfer over there was one of bemusement rather than contempt - after all - nobody could turn down the chance to play in that team.  Despite assembling a team made up from the best players around the world - and Macca - there still remained a Spanish focal point within the team; Raúl and Morientes.  While the former was far and away the heart and soul of Real Madrid, Morientes played his part in what was one of the best tandem strike partnerships of the last twenty years.


The fans loved him but he was no Galáctico. Players came in to replace him on a yearly basis.  Still he remained loyal to the team even though never being at the forefront of either the manager or the directors plans and in the process added to his incredible medal collection, ending his stay at the Bernabéu with a total of three European Cups and two La Liga Titles among others.  After being sent away to France he would eventually get one over on those that had looked him over by knocking them out of the Champions League in 2004 while on loan at Monaco.  After returning to Madrid, there was another striker to be found that had been bought in his absence; Michael Owen.  Little did he know that it would not be long before he was to go the other way.

With six months of the season still to go and an ever worsening striker crisis, getting somebody in of the quality of Morientes was a coup.  Slightly past his peak, that didn't change the fact that his game was seemingly perfectly suited to the Premier League with his strength and heading ability as well as a magnitude of experience having played at the highest level in Spain for so long.  His first goal arrived almost a month later, grabbing the equaliser goal in a comeback victory over Charlton.  Though it took a while in coming, it had all the hallmarks of a striker who had been among the very elite.  Taking the ball outside the box, skillfully dragging it past the defender and then smashing it beyond the keeper from the edge of the box.  The hope was that it would be the first of many.  It wasn't.

Four months after the arrival of Morientes came Champions League glory in Istanbul.  Had he not been cup tied and subsequently been anything other than a spectator that night, his place in Anfield folklore would be assured.  He would have his part to play in the FA Cup success a year later but would be overshadowed - as with everybody else - by one Steven Gerrard.  That summer saw a return to Spain for the original Nando, to Valencia where he would forge another partnership with one of their young prodigal talents, this time it was David Villa in place of Raúl.  The overall feeling of Morientes' fifteen months at Anfield was one of disappointment.  He seemed to have everything that was needed to succeed over here and the sheer mystification over why he did not faded him into obscurity inside many Liverpool fans minds.  There was no ill will there whatsoever, sometimes you have to just accept when things aren't meant to be and move on.  Having said that - even when it does seem like it's meant to be - things don't always work out.

Twelve months after one Spanish striker left Merseyside, another came in.  This was a younger, flashier model than the Fernando that Liverpool had sold on to Valencia.  Fresh faced, rosy cheeked and eager to incorporate his ever growing talent to the Rafa Revolution, Torres was every bit the marquee signing that had fans drooling with anticipation.  He was not a member of Real Madrid's exclusive club but a boy who at times alone carried the weight of ambition from his hometown club, much like Steven Gerrard.  Torres and Liverpool was like a whirlwind romance and Anfield fell in love with him faster than he could get around Tal Ben Haim.  He would very quickly go on to be regarded as among the best strikers in world football.  There appeared to be no limit to the heights he could take the club.  The fall would be just as great.

A partnership formed as records tumbled and debt mounted.  On the back of yet another successful tournament for Torres and Spain, Liverpool would embark on a campaign that would see them as agonisingly close to the title as ever before.  Missing out by just four points having lost only two games, it was an opportunity lost.  With things at boardroom level now worse than ever, it was only a matter of time before things went sour on the pitch.  Seventh place the following season would see Rafael Benítez depart as manager of Liverpool and in his place was a man incredibly out of his depth.  Injuries - by now - had taken their tole on Torres, with every international break that passed being the cue for another problem with the star striker.  Broken down and incredibly isolated by the inept tactics of Hodgson, salvation came in the form of Kenny Dalglish and a change in ownership.  No longer would the club have to sell in order to buy.  Three goals in three games under Dalglish and with the prospect of playing with Luis Suarez looming on the horizon things were looking up for Liverpool and Torres.  Then he did the unthinkable.

Many people see Manchester United as the antyhsis of everything Liverpool stand for.  At least we both have tradition in common.  In the modern era, Liverpool and Chelsea are a much better fit as nemesis to one another.  What began with Abramovic taking over was only accelerated by the personalities of Mourinho and Benítez.  The continual - seemingly annual - engagements in the Champions League only harboured that ill feeling long after the self proclaimed "Special One" had left Stamford Bridge.  In dealing with Hicks & Gillette that rivalry was forced to take a back burner as we got our own house in order.  Once that arduous process was completed there was one final insult left to add.  Torres had turned blue.

The fact that it was Chelsea rankled, but it hurt more to know that Torres was just another in a long line of those players who say one thing and do another.  His goals made us cheer but it was the boy himself to whom Liverpool took to heart.  His quotes about the city and Liverpool fans, were in the end nothing more than a well executed PR exercise.  It hurts because of the fact that there was this perception that Torres was more than just a modern footballer.  That he would go to Chelsea and embrace that club in much the same manner as he did Liverpool - despite the way they will have reacted to him during his time as a red - feels hollow and empty.  That his goals dried up or whether he comes back to form is inconsequential.  Torres chose to walk alone.

There are a plethora of reasons why transfers don't work out in football.  In many cases it's simply a case of the player in question not being good enough - either physically or mentally - to do the job.  Part of the reason why we love the beautiful game is because it's one with an infinite number of possibilities and they sometimes involve the unexpected.  Even when things do go according to plan the world of football is such that circumstances - even people - can change overnight.  Should we then not try?  Not open ourselves up to sharing their professional moments and our personal moments of joy for fear of eventually being hurt, or that they will fail us?  Life is all about taking chances, whether it's five yards out with an open goal or opening our hearts to someone.  With some it's love at first sight.  Others take a while to get used to.   A few don't work out at all. Plenty more fish in the sea.