Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

2015-06-05 02:26#214136 Pauker : Hendo?

Maybe?

Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent has won it's second Story of the Month, and for me personally, it's my seventh win! Well, if I remember correctly, anyway. Thank you to everyone who voted and to anyone who's reading this story

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It has been a rather eventful pre-season so far for Liverpool with captain Steven Gerrard retiring from professional football after 21 years in the game. However, the club will now have to move on and it's time for another transfer window once again.

Brendan Rodgers is understood to not want to make any changes to his quintuple-winning side, but he will look to finalize a deal for center-back Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

The 27-year-old joined Liverpool from Arsenal last season on a season-long loan after his career stagnated at the Emirates Stadium, and has been a fantastic backup option for Rodgers, making 37 appearances in all competitions in 2018/19. He also managed to add a Premier League title and a Capital One Cup medal to his list of achievements.

And Rodgers is keen for Papadopoulos to stay on after his successful year at Anfield, either in a loan capacity once again or a permanent transfer this time. Arsenal are willing to let the Greece international go for about £8 million.


On the other hand, Toby Alderweireld has been the polar opposite of Papadopoulos, failing to make an impact since signing for Liverpool last summer from Roma, and has been classed as a flop after just 7 games in the Premier League.

The club want to offload him as soon as possible, and he is set to stay in England with Tottenham reported to be admirers. Spurs will submit a bid in the region of £10 million, £4 million less than what Alderweireld joined Liverpool for just one year ago.

With Liverpool having reaped much of the benefits in the loan signing of Papadopoulos, Rodgers might be tempted to go back to the well.

Arsenal forward Son Heung-Min was purchased for a hefty £35 million fee in 2014 and enjoyed a bright start to life at the Emirates, but his fortunes soon changed with the South Korean making just 3 appearances last season.

Naturally, Arsenal want to get the £80k per week player off the wage bill and would be open to a loan deal if Liverpool agree to pay Son's wages throughout the duration of the loan. The 97-capped man can not only play on both wings but also up front as a striker, and Rodgers is known to like having versatile utility players in his squad.

A person most certain to depart Merseyside this summer is Daniel Sturridge. The 30-year-old played only 6 games in the Premier League last season and registered 0 goals, although he did manage to hit home 9 in cup competitions, with the majority of that number coming in the Champions League group stages.


Tottenham are very interested. Roberto Mancini wants to bolster his side's attacking options, with only Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo being the only strikers in his first team. However, both are past their peak at the age of 33 and 34 respectively.

Southampton will also enter the running to sign the England international, joining Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, and Sassuolo, all of which want to convince Sturridge to leave the country.

Despite the amount of interest in him, his £155k per week wages could prove to be a big stumbling block for most clubs.

After finishing 6th in the Premier League, Manchester City have readied themselves to go on yet another spending spree. Rafa Benitez has been awarded with a £100 million transfer kitty in return for promises of Champions League football, and the City boss wants to sign no less than eight players.

One of his targets is young Liverpool right-back Ryan Joseph. The 19-year-old joined the Reds from West Ham in January 2017 for £16.5 million shortly after making his first team debut.

At Liverpool, Joseph has won 10 medals in two and a half years, while also registering 38 league games for the club. His rise to prominence has not gone unnoticed and City will attempt to entice the England Under-21 international with offers of huge wages and first team football.

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James Ward-Prowse has been appointed as Liverpool's club captain, replacing long-serving legend Steven Gerrard in the role.

The midfielder has played an instrumental role in the club's steady rise to the top of the footballing world since arriving at Anfield from Southampton in 2015. Liverpool paid about £23 million and he has since repaid that fee with 125 league appearances in 4 years.

He began to serve as second vice-captain to Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson after displaying exemplary leadership qualities, and has rose to the position of captaincy with manager Brendan Rodgers recognizing the positive influence he has on his teammates in the dressing room.

At the tender age of 24, Ward-Prowse could very well repeat the feat of Gerrard and hold onto the captaincy for a good number of years.


Last season, Ward-Prowse played in 56 games, grabbing 6 goals and 27 assists in the process. He has also won 34 caps for England, and is widely regarded as one of the national team's best players alongside fellow club teammate Raheem Sterling.

Henderson will continue acting as vice-captain, with Reds goalkeeper Jeronimo Rulli being promoted to the club's second vice-captain despite arriving just 12 months ago from Real Sociedad.

"To be the captain of this great club is brilliant," Ward-Prowse told Liverpool's official club website. "I'm delighted, I really am. Hopefully I can prove that I have what it takes.

"Stevie G has been a role model to me even before I stepped into Liverpool and to be replacing him as club captain is a great honor. I want to replicate exactly what he's done and stay here for many, many years.

"I've enjoyed my time here ever since I came into this club. It's been a great ride and I want to lead Liverpool to accomplish even more now that I'm captain."


Rodgers' decision has been applauded by Gerrard himself and the 39-year-old also took to the club's website to share his thoughts.

"James has all the qualities needed to be a great captain and I'm confident that he'll succeed," said the youth team boss. "We have many leaders at Liverpool but he stands out the most. Handing the captaincy to James is a good choice and I'm looking forward to seeing how he will lead."

Fans had called for Rodgers to install Henderson as Gerrard's successor but they will not be too unhappy with this arrangement either, with Ward-Prowse having worked his way into the hearts of the Kop after his magnificent few seasons in a Liverpool shirt.

And he could lift his first trophy as Liverpool captain as early as this month. His side is scheduled to play against Chelsea in the Community Shield, the Premier League's traditional curtain raiser, on the 10th of August.

If that is not enough, he will have another shot just three days later. Liverpool play last season's Europa League winners Arsenal at St. Mary's Stadium on the 13th to contest the UEFA Super Cup, a trophy they failed to acquire last season after losing to Zenit in extra time.

Ward-Prowse, I see a leader in him for the future as well. I was going to go for Hendo, except that he didn't have much of an impact as of last season and JWP has a decent length at the club.

2015-06-05 21:17#214181 Pauker : Ward-Prowse, I see a leader in him for the future as well. I was going to go for Hendo, except that he didn't have much of an impact as of last season and JWP has a decent length at the club.

Yeah, Ward-Prowse has been awesome and he's been at Liverpool for 4 years so why not. Hendo definitely had an impact last season, he played in 55 games for me haha, but yeah not as much as JWP.

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Liverpool and Arsenal have agreed a deal for Kyriakos Papadopoulos to extend his loan until the end of the 2019/20 season.

The Greece international has been frozen out at Arsenal since joining the club for a fee of around £5 million in 2017, with Laurent Koscielny, Joel Matip, and Jeison Murillo being ahead of Papadopoulos in the center-back pecking order. Arsenal's latest signing, Juventus defender Aleksander Dragovic, has not helped his case either.

At Liverpool though, Papadopoulos managed to play 37 games in all competitions, acting as a highly reliable backup player for the defensive pairing of Eder Alvarez Balanta and Samuel Umtiti.

His comfortable integration into the Liverpool squad has impressed Brendan Rodgers, who succeeded in convincing him to stay at Anfield for another year.

"I'm delighted to confirm that I will be a Liverpool player for at least another season. Playing for Liverpool has been one of the best experiences of my life and I can't wait to continue what I have been doing," Papadopoulos told Sportsmail.

He also ruled out any chance of playing for Arsenal again. "Things have obviously not worked out for me at Arsenal. I like the club and the fans but I'm sure I won't be playing for them again.

"Of course I still have a contract that doesn't expire until 2022, but next summer I hope to be able to leave permanently. I am still at a young age and I don't want to continue ruining my career."


Unfortunately, fellow defender Toby Alderweireld has not made any sort of impact at Liverpool, and Tottenham have taken the Belgian for £10 million.

The 30-year-old was signed as a replacement for Mamadou Sakho but struggled for game time and failed to recapture the form that he enjoyed at previous club Roma. He played only 7 league games for Liverpool, starting only 4.


Alderweireld stated that he would like to remain in England and it is Tottenham who have given him a second shot at playing in the Premier League.

Spurs manager Roberto Mancini has backed Alderweireld to be a success at New White Hart Lane, contrary to his short spell with Liverpool.

"Toby Alderweireld should not be judged solely based on his time at Liverpool. Look at what he accomplished at Roma when given the opportunities. He did not receive any of those from Liverpool but we are definitely going to give him the game time he needs to shine here. He's going to be a great signing for us."

Mancini could go back to Liverpool for another raid with Daniel Sturridge on the brink of an exit, having frequently repeated his desire to leave after losing his place in the first team to the young Richairo Zivkovic.

Mancini is a huge admirer of Sturridge, but he will first have to beat Fiorentina and Atletico Madrid in the race to sign the England international.

lol @Mancini tbh.

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Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is set to link up with Serie A club Fiorentina after agreeing personal terms today.

The 30-year-old joins for a paltry fee of £2 million and will slot straight into a team that he scored 4 goals against in 2 games last season. He hit a hat trick for Liverpool while the club hosted the Viola at Anfield for the Champions League group stages before scoring another goal at Stadio Artemio Franchi in a 1-1 draw.

Ever since then, Fiore manager Devis Mangia has kept tabs on the England man and will be pleased to add Sturridge to a strike force lacking heavily in terms of finishing.

Sturridge will leave Liverpool as a huge fan favorite with a brilliant record of 105 goals scored in 154 league appearances. He joined the Reds from Chelsea in January 2013, making an instant impact before becoming Brendan Rodgers' first-choice at center forward following the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

As Liverpool's main attacking threat, he flourished, earning himself awards such as the PFA Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017, as well as the Golden Boot in 2016 with 25 goals in 29 games for that particular season.


Unfortunately, a serious injury to his ligaments in 2017 forced him onto the sidelines for 8 months and his place in the first team was quickly snatched by Richairo Zivkovic, who has proved to be a much better option with his young age and great pace.

At Liverpool, Sturridge managed to clinch 12 trophies, with his final one being the UEFA Super Cup triumph against Arsenal this season, for which he was present in the matchday squad.

The 62-capped player posted a short goodbye to Liverpool fans on his Instagram page, saying, "Will never ever forget my time at Liverpool. These six and a half years have definitely been something else. A big, big thank you to the fans... you guys are just so amazing and it felt great to play for all of you. It's with a heavy heart that I have to say goodbye, but for now I am going to embark on a new adventure with Fiorentina. Once again, thank you!"

Fans are clearly unhappy with the sale of the club icon. One particular Liverpool supporter by the Twitter handle of @GayForBalotelli tweeted: "now there's no one to give Zivkovic competition + bad piece of business allowing Studge to leave for just 2m."

With Sturridge out of the club, the only recognized forwards in the squad are Zivkovic, Mario Balotelli, and Raheem Sterling. However, Balotelli and Sterling are mainly wingers.

And it appears that Liverpool boss Rodgers has no intentions to add any firepower during the remainder of this transfer window, as he was quoted as saying last week: "I don't think we will be doing any buying this window. I'm happy with the quality and quantity of the players that I have currently, although things might change in January."

Liverpool have certainly kick started their 2019/20 season well, winning a double off the bat after a strong showing against Chelsea in the Community Shield and a nail-biting face off with Arsenal in the UEFA Super Cup. One other highlight of the season's opening month was a 2-1 win over rivals Manchester United.

Liverpool August Player of the Month

James Ward-Prowse has had a fantastic debut month as Liverpool captain. The Reds' midfield talisman came to the rescue against Arsenal, scoring a delightful free kick in the 115th minute to seal the cup for his side. His performances in Liverpool's opening three league games have also been exemplary, and was United's greatest tormentor of the pitch. In three appearances, Ward-Prowse has won two Man of the Match awards and will be hoping to continue his red hot form.

Manager's Thoughts

A really, really good first month for us and if we are going to play like this for the rest of the season I see no problems in winning even more trophies than a quintuple. Ward-Prowse has been extraordinary and handing him the captain's armband may prove to be one of the best managerial decisions I've ever made in my life. Next month, we're going to make a return to the Champions League as it's defending champions once again. The European Cup is definitely something we have to retain, and hopefully we can start our group stage campaign with a good win.

Great start to the season, sad to see Studge go though ;/

Great story mate, only just now caught up with it..definitely deserves the 2 SOTM awards it's won! Looking forward to seeing more (Even if it is Liverpool!)

Fantastic story Glenn have been reading this for the last couple of weeks. it has kept me entertained all the way. congrats on the 2 story of the month awards totally worthy.

2015-06-09 01:53#214385 Pauker : Great start to the season, sad to see Studge go though ;/

Would have made him retire at the club but had to get rid of them 155k per week wages :S

2015-06-09 02:06#214387 Devzie92 : Great story mate, only just now caught up with it..definitely deserves the 2 SOTM awards it's won! Looking forward to seeing more (Even if it is Liverpool!)

Thanks a lot! Always great to hear positive feedback (Even if it's from Man Utd fans!)

2015-06-09 06:45#214410 ChrisN : Fantastic story Glenn have been reading this for the last couple of weeks. it has kept me entertained all the way. congrats on the 2 story of the month awards totally worthy.

Thank you, glad to know you're enjoying the read.

Liverpool refrained from making any permanent buys this summer, and only sold two players to rake in a profit of £12.5 million. Reds icon Daniel Sturridge finalized his long-awaited move from the club and Roma flop Toby Alderweireld was also quickly offloaded after a disastrous season to Tottenham Hotspur.