Liverpool FC: Won't Look Back

LIVERPOOL LAND DUO

Liverpool has spent a further £22.5 million with the signings of Xherdan Shaqiri and Steven Caulker to take their total of summer transfers to eight.

Swiss international Shaqiri had been rumoured to join Liverpool for some time due to the excess of options at Bayern Munich, agreeing a five-year deal on £80,000 with Liverpool.

With a lot still to live up to, Liverpool manager Michael Laudrup is confident the ex-Basel man can prove he’s worth his salt at Anfield.

”Shaqiri has plenty of ability and potential to expose yet, and Liverpool is the right club for him to do that,” said Laudrup.

”Playing for Bayern Munich at a young age and competing with Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben was no doubt a difficult task for him, and he’ll also have a fair bit of company here too, but with time and patience I believe Shaqiri can become one of the most loved players here.”

Caulker joins Liverpool for £7.5 million from Cardiff City, a release clause that came into effect after the Bluebirds’ relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.

The Englishman will bolster the numbers in Liverpool’s defence, who have seen Martin Skrtel and Sebastian Coates leave in recent weeks.

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LIVERPOOL SQUAD 2013/14

Goalkeepers

1. Brad Jones, 22. Simon Mignolet, 25. Pepe Reina

Defenders

2. Glen Johnson, 3. Jose Enrique, 4. Kolo Toure, 5. Daniel Agger, 12. Marcos Rojo, 17. Mamadou Sakho, 19. Steven Caulker, 34. Martin Kelly, 38. John Flanagan

Midfielders

8. Steven Gerrard, 10. Philippe Coutinho, 11. Xherdan Shaqiri, 14. Jordan Henderson, 16. Emre Can, 20. Adam Lallana, 24. Joe Allen, 31. Raheem Sterling, 33. Jordan Ibe, 46. Jordan Rossiter

Forwards

6. Luis Alberto, 7. Rickie Lambert, 9. Iago Aspas, 15. Daniel Sturridge, 18. Lazar Markovic, 29. Fabio Borini, 48. Jerome Sinclair

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PRE-SEASON 2013/14

Hoffer (23), Liendl (53 pen), Pohjanpalo (60) – Allen (21), Gerrard (26 pen), Shaqiri (41), Sterling (79), Hodzic (84)



De Jong (21, 32), Herrmann (51), Kruse (87) – Lambert (2), Sturridge (33)



Gotze (21), Rojo O.G. (26), Schweinsteiger (50) – Gerrard (81 pen)



ten Voorde (41) – Markovic (6), Coutinho (15), Shaqiri (22)



Coutinho (5), Wan-Ji O.G. (16), Lambert (42), Gerrard (80)

Our time in Germany promised very little, in all fairness. We scored a few goals, but we also look quite fragile in defence. Worryingly, our first three league games are versus Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Although we are aiming for the title, I would happily take an unbeaten start to the season with one or two draws at the moment. The tactics are new to some, however, and we do need some of our new additions to gel. I believe we have a great crop of players and we should be able to mount a title challenge.

August 2013

Willian (51), Lukaku (58), Johnson O.G. (89) – Gerrard (65)



Sterling (23), Sturridge (41), Lallana (53) – Vertonghen (21)

Barclays Premier League Table



Liverpool’s Player of the Month



Adam Lallana

New boy Lallana looked lively when coming off the bench versus Chelsea, so I decided to play him against Spurs. With a little help from Tottenham’s less than attractive choices at full back, Lallana ran the show from a wide position cutting in on his left, assisting Sterling and Sturridge before scoring one himself.

The Verdict

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll mention it again – our defence is very shaky at the moment. We struggled to handle the physicality of Lukaku and Diego Costa versus Chelsea, so I may have to tweak a few things. Our play, however, has been encouraging and I can already see this team being a real threat going forward.

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TOUGH DRAW FOR REDS

Liverpool has been drawn together with UEFA Champions’ League holders Real Madrid upon their return to European football, following the group stage draw in Monaco.

The Reds were third seeds for the draw and were matched up against Los Merengues, a team they last met in 2009.

Also in Liverpool’s group will be Xherdan Shaqiri’s former club FC Basel, as well as Martin Skrtel’s new club Lille.

Elsewhere, Chelsea have landed themselves a reasonable draw, facing AS Monaco, Zenit St. Petersburg and Belgian Pro League champions Anderlecht.

Manchester City faces off against Bayern Munich once more, with Olympiakos and AS Roma making up the remaining half of Group A.

Entering yet another edition of the Champions’ League will be Arsenal, who along with Paris Saint-Germain will be favourites to progress past the returning faces of Sporting Lisbon and Legia Warsaw.