Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

Having won twelve trophies in a period of two years, this is one of the best Liverpool squads in history and they will be hoping to repeat their feats from previous seasons. Daniel Sturridge and Toby Alderweireld were allowed to depart from the club this summer but no signings were made. However, Brendan Rodgers will still be able to add on to his squad with the loan extension of Kyriakos Papadopoulos as well as the promotion of exciting midfielder Ernie Sharp from the youth teams.

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Having won the Champions League not once, twice, but three times in a row between 2017 to 2019, much will be expected of Liverpool this season. They have been granted a fairly easy Group B though, and should top their group easily against the likes of Benfica, Mainz, and Viktoria Plzen.


Benfica are a team with plenty of history, and are 35-times winners of the Primeira Liga, as well as 25-times winners of the Taça de Portugal. However, things are a little different in Europe. The Portuguese side have only won the European Cup on two occasions, but the last time they celebrated as winners came in 1962. The famous 'curse' of former manager Béla Guttmann, in which he proclaimed: "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champion", has certainly been working. If Benfica want to defy the superstition, this season would be the perfect time to do it, although they do have the option of waiting until 2062, when the 'curse' officially ends.


The Milan youth product joined Benfica in 2014, but struggled to make an impact in the first team and frequently turned out for Benfica B instead. A superb loan spell at Greek side PAOK in 2016/17 changed everything though, and the 24-year-old became a key member of the squad almost as soon as he was inducted into it. A flexible midfielder who primarily bases himself in the center of the pitch, he has been attracting the attention of Italian champions Juventus in recent times. It would be wise for head coach Leonid Slutskiy to keep hold of him however, as there is no one who defines the play style of Benfica better than Cristante.


Mainz burst onto the German scene from literally nowhere last season. Der Karnevalsverein have enjoyed a 10-year stay in the Bundesliga after constantly flirting with relegation, but only recorded their highest ever league finish in history this year at 4th place. Of course, that also means this will be Mainz's debut season in the Champions League and as a result, not much will be expected of them. Nothing is for certain in football though, and Mainz have proved before that they can cause major upsets.


As someone who's been with Mainz since 2011, Karius has seen almost everything and the 26-year-old goalkeeper experienced one of his best seasons yet as he kept 9 clean sheets in 34 league games to help his side to 4th place. He will be hoping to replicate that form in the Champions League, although it may be a little harder against the likes of goal-hungry Liverpool.


There is no doubting Viktoria Plzen's local dominance, having won the Czech Liga in four consecutive seasons. Against tougher opposition in Europe though, things may be a little different. Indeed, Plzen have almost never made it out of the group stages, save for a rather amazing 2017/18 season where they finished 2nd to Juventus in a group with Bayer Leverkusen and Vitesse. Will they manage to do that again? Highly unlikely, but nothing is impossible.


A left-sided player who is incredibly versatile, Kovarik can be a defensive left-back or an offensive left winger, depending on what his manager wants. His willingness to play anywhere has contributed plenty to him being a mainstay in the Plzen first team, and at 31, is still putting in fantastic performances for his side. Easily Viktorka's most valuable player, Kovarik may be the deciding factor of a Viktoria Plzen upset.

A relatively small squad this season! Is Brendan Rodgers planning some big January transfers?

Easy group and only one striker? Balo ain't a good DLF :S

2015-06-10 01:54#214444 Justice : A relatively small squad this season! Is Brendan Rodgers planning some big January transfers?

Maybe! We'll find out!

2015-06-10 07:08#214472 Pauker : Easy group and only one striker? Balo ain't a good DLF :S

Yeah, the decision not to get a striker is backfiring on me now, but I'll hopefully resolve that issue in January.

Liverpool recorded their first loss of the Premier League season to Arsenal, but pushed on regardless and enjoyed a winning start to life in their Champions League group. In the Capital One Cup, they also managed to edge out Tottenham for a spot in the Fourth Round.

Liverpool September Player of the Month

James Ward-Prowse is Liverpool's Player of the Month once more after some amazing performances in September. The Reds captain was his side's best player in the 2-0 loss to Arsenal and followed this up with a fantastic goal against Benfica in the Champions League. He also won the Man of the Match while playing Aston Villa, and has seemingly stepped his game up to an even higher level than before.

Injury Report

Alejandro Moreyra - 2 months (damaged spine)

Attacking midfielder Moreyra has been dealt a blow after club physios confirmed that he would have to stay away from the pitch for 2 months at most after suffering a damaged spine against Benfica.

Manager's Thoughts

We slipped up against Arsenal but thankfully that hasn't hurt us so much and we're still at the top of the league, although by just one point. However, we have some major issues to address, namely, Richairo Zivkovic, who has not been in the best of form with only 1 goal from 4 starts this month. It appears that the lack of strikers in our squad may be getting to him and at this rate I am definitely going to have to splash the cash in January on a world-class forward to keep Zivkovic on his toes.

Identify the target, get it!

2015-06-11 00:11#214502 Pauker : Identify the target, get it!

Yes sir xD

This month, Liverpool had a clean record of wins aside from a 1-1 draw to Mainz in the Champions League. Brendan Rodgers' side swept Viktoria Plzen away, putting 6 goals past the Czech club before returning to their domestic cup competitions for a 1-0 win over Bolton to progress to the next round of the Capital One Cup.

Liverpool October Player of the Month

Ernie Sharp takes the Player of the Month for October after bursting onto the scene from literally nowhere. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder marked his first Premier League appearance for Liverpool with a superb showing against Brentford and went on to score 4 goals in 4 games this month. With Philippe Coutinho currently experiencing a drop in form and Alejandro Moreyra out injured, the emergence of Sharp will definitely serve to give Rodgers some food for thought.

Manager's Thoughts

A great month, with the only bad thing that I can point out being the fact that the team appears to be struggling for goals. Zivkovic and Balotelli have been sub-par so far compared to last season, and hopefully they can pick themselves back up. Still, I did not expect Ernie Sharp to perform so well and I will definitely be looking to use him more next month. The lad has a bright future and if he continues what he's been doing I may have to pick him for games regularly ahead of other established players.

Zivkovic has definitely scored a decent return this month..

2015-06-11 22:54#214569 Pauker : Zivkovic has definitely scored a decent return this month..

Still haven't been hitting the heights of last season but it's a start I guess!

Liverpool will have something to celebrate come the end of November and the beginning of the festive season, as they smashed five opponents this month for a one hundred percent win record. Rodgers' side have maintained a tight grip on the summit of the Premier League, and also secured qualification the Champions League knockout stages with dominant wins over Viktoria Plzen and Benfica.

Liverpool November Player of the Month

Raheem Sterling has been a force within the Liverpool team and this month was no exception. The winger has been thrust into a striking role in recent times, and rewarded that decision with 3 goals in 5 games. Currently Liverpool's top goalscorer in the league, Sterling might even lay claim to the Golden Boot at the end of the season if he can apply his prolific finishing on a consistent basis.

Injury Report

Gustavo Cuello - 4 weeks (broken wrist)

22-year-old midfielder Cuello has not appeared in a single Premier League game for Liverpool this season, and his broken wrist suffered while playing against Benfica in the Champions League will not help his cause for more first team action.

Manager's Thoughts

Yet another good month for us and we're in a terrific position in the league, 3 points clear at the top yet we still have a game in hand. Our status in the next round of the Champions League is also secured and it's going to be rather relaxing for us until the knockout stages kick off. Next month the lads are going to have to play in quite a few games, including the Club World Cup tournament in Japan, so I hope they're geared up and prepared.

Last time, LFCTV's Youth Spotlight brought to you the profiling of left-back Yusuf Turan. Today, we'll be focusing on Liverpool's Ernie Sharp, who just celebrated his 20th birthday last month.

Sharp primarily plays as an attacking midfielder and excels in being the playmaker and orchestrating the attacking play of his side. Aside from being a player with superb dribbling and technique, he is also mentally powered and may be fit to be a future club captain.

For now though, he would be better off focusing on his game, and it's clear that Sharp has done just that after bursting onto the professional scene in October, scoring 3 goals to land himself his first ever Premier League Player of the Month award.


As a Fulham supporter from young, Sharp enrolled in the London club's academy at a tender age. His potential was recognized quickly and Liverpool swooped in for him when he was 16 for a fee of £2.5 million.

Immediately, he was farmed out on loan to an affiliated club, and newly-promoted Accrington Stanley were only too happy to boost their attacking options in a bid to avoid relegation.

Eventually, Sharp made his professional debut for Accrington against Brighton in League One. He would go on to play 22 games, scoring 2 goals. It wasn't the most impressive of loan spells, although he did manage to contribute as Stanley successfully avoided relegation back down to League Two.

Another loan move beckoned, this time to League Two's Luton Town. Sharp made 23 appearances, scoring another 2 goals but overall failed to impress as Luton finished 15th. However, it was his third and final loan move that propelled him into Brendan Rodgers' thoughts.


The next lower league club to agree a deal for Sharp was League One side Swindon Town, who were chasing promotion to the Championship after 5 years of languishing in the third tier of English football.

Ultimately, promotion didn't happen, but Sharp took the league by storm as he evolved into Swindon's key man, making 39 appearances and scoring 8 goals, while at the same time notching up 11 assists.

An impressive year with Swindon led to more clubs taking notice, and Championship sides interested in engineering a temporary move for the exciting youngster began queuing in the summer, as Sharp returned from his Swindon heroics.

However, Rodgers turned them all down, instead handing the midfielder the number 33 shirt for the 2019/20 season.

So far, showing faith in the England Under-21 international has paid off immensely, and if Sharp can keep this up, he may well develop into an important player for club and country.

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Fiorentina striker Daniel Sturridge returned to England for the first time today since his move to Italy, ahead of the international break where his Three Lions team will face off against Gibraltar and Lithuania in qualification matches for Euro 2020.

England, the current holders of the European Championship title, currently top their group with 20 points taken from 6 games, and are on course to top their group and qualify for the 2020 edition of the tournament.

Former Liverpool man Sturridge is a national legend, with 53 goals scored in 66 caps for England, and will look to add on to his tally against Gibraltar and Lithuania, two minnows that are unlikely to cause upsets.

The 30-year-old is still looked up to as an icon on the red half of Merseyside, with 105 goals in 154 league games over a successful six and a half years with Liverpool, and took the opportunity of reuniting with local media to speak about his old club.

"Yeah, I have been following Liverpool," said Sturridge, in a short interview conducted by Sky Sports journalists. "They have been brilliant, although I expected no less."


However, he has demanded more from Richairo Zivkovic with the young Dutchman suffering from dismal form and a lack of goals in the Premier League.

Last year, the Reds' number 9 netted 22 times in 30 league appearances, but has only 2 goals in 11 games so far this term. He failed to score for the entirety of November, save for a goal in a 2-4 rout of Benfica in the Champions League.

"Richairo is not playing well at all and he should know that if you want to be a first-choice striker for a club like Liverpool, you need to be a lot better than this," said Sturridge. "I don't know what happened with him but he seems like an entirely different player compared to the past two seasons.

"He isn't as exciting to watch anymore and he's not getting in the right places to score. That's not a good sign especially for a forward.

"But I know just how good of a footballer he is and I'm sure he can turn this around. The kid's a magnificent player on his day, everyone knows that."


Zivkovic is not the only ailing striker, however. Sturridge himself has not managed to completely settle into his new club after his £2 million summer move, and also has only 2 goals in 9 Serie A games.

As a whole, the Viola have failed to inspire in the league and are languishing at 15th place, after finishing 3rd in as recent as 2018.

"My career has experienced a really big change, from fighting for titles with Liverpool to struggling in the Serie A," admitted Sturridge. "Changes are quite tough to get used to and I haven't been playing as well as I would have liked. But of course, I'll keep trying to make my time here in Italy a success."

Settling into the Italian league will not be a problem soon enough, as the Liverpool fan favorite is joined by a host of various former teammates. Simon Mignolet is at Milan, Martin Skrtel plays for Inter, fellow England international Jon Flanagan turns out for Roma, while Mamadou Sakho has evolved into a key component of a star-studded Juventus squad.

At Fiore, he is accompanied by Spanish winger Ruben Garcia, who played with him at Liverpool for two years between 2015 and 2017.

I love the update style you use and as a silent reader i will comment more now, the Sturridge update is amazing keep it up