Liverpool, You'll Never Walk Alone!

It's Liverpool's first season back in the Champions League, and my word they have started well. Not a single loss in the group stages, even in a group with Roma, Leverkusen and Atletico. They have become so far the highest scoring team in the Champions League with the joint highest goal scorer Fabio Borini, level with Ronaldo on 5 goals.

So it's safe to say Liverpool passed their first test with flying colours but who were the reds drawn with in the round of 16 for the competition? Well, arguably one of the easier opponents in the draw, but still a tough team. Liverpool will play Schalke in the round of 16, which if they play like they did in the group stages, they should have no problem at all.

The other games also look quite appetizing and should keep neutrals and fans quiet for a while, with some exciting games to be played. The rest of the draw looks like this...

Porto vs Bayern
Paris Saint Germain vs Dortmund
Bayer Leverkusen vs Chelsea
Olympiakos vs Real Madrid
Barcelona vs Benfica
Juventus vs Manchester City
Galatasaray vs Arsenal


So all English teams have qualified from their groups. Definitely something they are extremely good at, but can one of them or even all of them progress any further? Well on fan believes each one has the potential to go all the way and win the competition. Will we see and English side bring home the Champions League for their country? Here is what that blogger had to say on Englands chances.

The writer wrote on BBC Sport:

"I think out of all the sides, Chelsea and Liverpool have the edge with Liverpool slightly bigger favorites. I mean you can't beat Anfield nights in the Champions League. Not unless you're someone like Dortmund, and even then it's difficult. Chelsea and Liverpool both have fine young but experienced squads, and both have won on at least one occasion. Liverpool so far in the Prem and the group stages have been phenomenal and it will be extremely hard for others to beat them. Chelsea have also got some huge players that can make a push for progression as well and I see these two going far."

"City and Arsenal, well...I don't rate their chances. Whilst City might have some really big players, such as Toure and Aguero and Kompany, they just never seem to live up to the pressure of European football. It will take something special for them to get past Juventus, and something even more special for them to become a force in Europe."

"As for Arsenal, they're just a round of 16 team aren't they? They have Pedro, Ozil, Berardi, Mertesacker...But I don't think that's good enough. If they had a few more players as good as these, they could go far, but once again I can't see that happening. I think for the first time in a few years they will get past the round of 16 beating Gala, but I can't see them getting into the semis.

Schalke isn't a bad draw. Some of those draws look really exciting, though!!

Not the hardest draw, but be aware for their attack with Farfán and Huntelaar! Good luck!

You had a great season so far! Keep it like this and you'll be the Premier League winner!

Neal: It could have been a lot harder, but currently Schalke are sitting in second in the Bundesliga and are doing incredibly well to challenge Bayern so it'll be tough!

ASR: Yeah, again, it could have been harder but will still be quite tough! And yes, players like them and KPB are very good, we'll have to be careful.

AAN: It's been great yeah, just need to stay consistent now! Let's hope so eh?

One of the most exciting days of the football season. Deadline day, and for once Liverpool aren't short of action! They have made their second and last signing, which will be Serge Aurier. A right back that originated from Ivory Coast, a country that can boast talent like Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba.

The Toulouse youngster has agreed to sign with Liverpool as backup to Glenn Johnson on a 4 year deal which will keep him with the reds up until 2018.
He'll undoubtedly be finding himself playing down the right side supporting new signing Markovic, and fan favorite Lallana.

The fee Liverpool are thought to be bringing the right back in on is around £14M which will be paid in installments over 24 months. Half of the money shall be paid straight up in full, and under-performer Iago Aspas will play out the rest of this season in a Toulouse shirt as he is also involved in the deal as a player exchange.

Liverpool have strengthened well we think. They lack quality full backs, despite already having Enrique, Johnson and Murru. Jack Robinson has also been getting some quality game time and has even scored against arsenal in last months first fixture. But three of the four fullbacks Liverpool have are indeed left backs, so they definitely need someone to help out Johnson when needed.

As for wingers, they have Raheem Sterling and Lallana. Can both play on either side. Coutinho can play on the left as well, Suso seems to be able to play both sides to. But with no natural wingers, Liverpool needed someone intelligent enough, and fast enough to use the wings to his advantages. They got this in Markovic, and at such a young age, he'll definitely develop into a fine player.

Quite a hefty fee, but Aurier is a very good player, better than Johnson and the deal sees you get rid of Aspas!

It's that time of the year again, where all the best players and coaches collect their awards for their outstanding performances over the course of the year, and the two biggest awards are the ones we shall focus on today.

Ballon D'or: Frank Ribery of Bayern Munich
The Ballon D'or is probably one of the biggest individual awards a player can win, and it's considered by many the award that gives you the title 'best player in the World'. It would come as no surprise to find that Messi had won it due to him already having won four. But no, for once Messi has not won the Ballon D'or.

So what about Ronaldo? Well, having already won it once you could say if not Messi, then you'd expect it to be the Real Madrid wide man. But once again, no.

Frank Ribery, on the other hand has won it. And his efforts this year have not gone unnoticed. 8 goals, and 18 assists in 21 is extremely good. Although some may argue that Messi's 17 goals and 6 assists in 26 games should have helped the Argentine win the accolade, but Frenchman Ribery will go home with his first ever Ballon D'or trophy.

Of course, the likes of Ibrahimovic, Suarez or Yaya Toure will have thought that maybe they could have broke the top 3 (In fact, Ibrahimovic would think he should have won it) but for now, one more year remains for these three and many others to see if they can bring Ronaldo, Messi and Ribery from the spotlight.

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European Golden Boy: Phillipe Coutinho of Liverpool.
Yes, that's right! For those fans out there expecting some other hot shot such as Pogba or Griezmann, you will be left to wait at least another year, so long as Liverpool star Phillipe Coutinho doesn't keep them out of the running.

Phillipe Coutinho, a man with 9 goals and 11 assists in 18 appearances has collected the European Golden Boy award this year. Whilst it may come as a surprise to neutrals that are probably against Liverpool and in support of players like Pogba and Griezmann who were actually second to the Brazilian, the award will go to Liverpool's attacker.

Liverpool left winger Raheem Sterling also found himself in a long list of candidates for the award. He did come close but ended up finishing around about the 7th in the list.

Great to see Coutinho performing so well, hopefully he'll be a star for Liverpool for many years to come

LIVERPOOL 3-0 SWANSEA | SUAREZ, COUTINHO, ENRIQUE
LEICESTER 3-0 LIVERPOOL | N/A
LIVERPOOL 4-2 CRYSTAL PALACE| FLORENZI, MARKOVIC, SUAREZ
STOKE 2-4 LIVERPOOL | BORINI, STURRIDGE, SUAREZ, JOHNSON
ASTON VILLA 1-1 LIVERPOOL | MARKOVIC

Liverpool got the month to a fine start against Swanasea at Anfield. 3 goals to 0 the final score, and reflecting back you can see just how good Liverpool are becoming. Attacking wise, they are breathtaking at times, and they have really improved defensively. But the team work, and the effort that the the players put in week in week out is just incredible. This is why they have done so well. They are confident, and relaxed on the ball and most importantly they know their team mates well.

However, saying that their next game was absolutely mind blowing, and I can't believe I have written the paragraph I just wrote. The FA Cup 3rd round ended in a 3-0 LOSS against Leicester City away. Now of course, it's one game, and yes players were rested. But Rodgers will be devastated at this result, especially since they only just thumped them 4-1 at home! Top marks for Leicester though, they were bloody brilliant!

They were however back to their good old selves and the loss didn't hinder them from making progress in the league as they thumped Palace at Anfield 4-2. Luis Suarez, and Florenzi scored two. Whilst Markovic got himself a goal on his debut. Scott Dan got himself an own goal as well to gift Liverpool a fourth.

It was the same again, this time away at the Britannia. 4-2 the score. No own goals here, just sheer brilliance from the Liverpool attack...And defense. Suarez, Borini, Sturridge and Johnson all scored to make this result possible.

Aston Villa though managed to seep through the Liverpool defense before Liverpool could do the same in the last match of January through Benteke and it took Markovic to rise like a salmon in the 75th minute and ram in a glancing header.

A good month for Liverpool. Not great, but good. It'll have to do. Whilst they might be out of the FA cup, they have only dropped two points this month and that could mean all the difference come the end of the season.

Some really good results there Aaron, except that defeat against Leicester

Good work thus far, keep it up!

Good month, except those 2 results against Leicester and Aston Villa, but you're still on top by points! Great work!

Hey guys, sorry for not uploading this weekend, I have been away and I should be able to continue tonight
Josh: cheers! Yeah it was horrific Not to sure what went wrong.

Degs: Cheers mate I'll try

ASR: We're still top yeah! Which is what matters! Thankfully the Leicester reult was in the FA Cup as it's the Premier League I am focusing on right now. Cheers for the comment!

He's a man who has only just broke into the Liverpool first team. At just 19 years old he has already been involved in two title races. Finishing second in the first, and currently sitting top in the second.

The man I am talking of is indeed Raheem Sterling, one of Liverpool's most promising players going, and he is here to answer all of the fans questions on twitter. We urged you all earlier to send your questions in with hash tagging '#RaheemTalks'. Here is some of the questions asked, and his answers.

Question: Raheem, can we keep up the form we are in and get top spot come the end of May? #RaheemTalks

Sterling: Of course we can. We have been superb all season and we have managed to take the form from the first half of the season and being it into the second half, and there is no reason why we can't keep on winning and bring home that Premier League trophy. Our biggest focus is the Premier League, and when we focus on something, you can see how well it turns out.

Our focus was not on cup competitions, and this is why we are out. However, it was and is on the league and Champions League, and look where we are now.

Question: How will we do in the Champions League now that we are into the round of 16? #RaheemTalks

Sterling: Well, we got out of the group surprisingly easily didn't we? And there were some tough teams there. Atletico and Roma are massive sides and of course Leverkusen are quite a good team. But we dominated the group, and we'll look to keep that up in the knockout rounds. We want to go as far as we can in this competition and we want to prove ourselves. So with that incentive and the leadership from players like Gerrard and Reina, who have already played in this competition, there is no reason why we can't go far. We will do everything we can to bring it home.

Question: Sterling, how does it feel to be in the position you are? A Liverpool regular at 19, a hyped and very skillfull player. #RaheemTalks

Sterling: Well, that's a question we all get asked a lot, and it's probably the hardest of the lot because you just can't explain it! I guess it's one of the best feelings you can get really. To have played at a World Cup, been in 2 title races at just 19...It's just unbelievable. I'm always looking to prove myself and be a calm and confident player and after the gaffer put faith in me, I took my chances and here I am. I want more of the success I have had. I'm hungry for success.

Question: What's it like working with players like Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard? #RaheemTalks

Sterling: Its a dream really. I am lucky to have grown up in the Liverpool academy. I mean had I stayed with QP, who knows, I could be playing with Shaun Wright-Philips, no offence to him, but he's no Suarez or Gerrard. Players like Gerrard are what helps you become the player I have become, and playing with Suarez is just like being on the streets of Uruguay, he pull-ups off new moves in training everyday, and you learn so much from him.

Question: Will you stay with Liverpool through your entire career? #RaheemTalks

Sterling: it's something I would like to do. But that all depends on how things turn out, if the club end up not wanting me or needing me, I will have no other choice but to leave. I mean, if Real Madrid came knocking tomorrow, i'd reject. I am loyal to Liverpool, I am loyal to the fans, and I am loyal to the gaffer. I don't want to go anywhere. No one does in the position we are in.

Question: Are the glory days coming back to Liverpool? #RaheemTalks