While international breaks do provide some football, I’m sure most football fans can’t wait to get back to watching their particular club side week in, week out again.
Sure, we get to watch England play a few games, one against some accountants, but is that enough? We’re used to being interested in twenty or thirty matches a week, and now the only other games we’re interested in -other than our particular nations – are the games in which our club players are playing.
“Spain and France drew last night”
“So?”
“Giroud scored.”
“YES!”
Is how Arsenal fans may look at it.
Anyway, one set of fans that may not go into this interlul in the greatest cheer, are Liverpool fans. A 0-0 draw at home to Stoke last weekend seemed to highlight exactly the same problems as last year, a goaless draw at home, where they seemed to spurn chance after chance. Even though he hasn’t started the season in great goalscoring form, Fabio Borini’s injury on international duty for the Under-21’s (I really thought he played for the full national side these days?) doesn’t help either, with Luis Suarez now the only fit senior striker at the club. Is it all bad though?
Liverpool’s failings in previous transfer windows may be a blessing in disguise, as the players coming through the ranks seem more than ready to step up. Raheem Stirling, Suso, and Andre Wisdom have all shone in recent weeks, and with a core of experienced players around them, the team seem to be clicking. What’s more, it seems there is a group of future England players in this squad: Stirling has already been called up, as has Jonjo Shelvey, while Wisdom, Flanagan and Robinson have all been spoken about as future internationals.
Brendan Rodgers must be given credit for this. He obviously has a great eye for a player, picking up youth players already at the club, who were constantly overlooked by KK, and being merited with fine performances. The new Manager has also done brilliantly to keep hold of other players, although with some of them it may just be the stature and history of the club that makes them stay – see Daniel Agger’s Y.N.W.A tattoo on his knuckles! Agger’s apparent pledge to the club means that an already excellent centre back pairing may be ready to blossom for many years to come with Martin Skrtel, while Pepe Reina – poor start to the season aside – will be one of the world’s best keepers over the next few years at Anfield.
Now I don’t know where the club will finish this season, transitional periods at clubs are mighty difficult to predict, but with this possible first 11 for years to come already showing some promise this season, good things can be expected:
Reina – Wisdom – Skrtel – Agger – Johnson – Allen – Shelvey – Gerrard – Stirling – Suso – Suarez
A hell of a lot of criticism has been thrown Liverpool’s and Rodgers way, perhaps because it’s easy, perhaps because of the hateable character of Luis Suarez, or maybe because of a rivalry with the fans that has lasted longer than that of this new era. One things for sure though, there is plenty of reasons for ‘Pool fans to be optimistic about at this early stage of the season.
@MattMorlidge
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