Broken foot rules Jordan Henderson out for 6-8 weeks

Liverpool have been hit with a hammer blow, following news that captain Jordan Henderson will be out of action for up to two months.

Henderson suffered a broken foot in Friday’s training session at Melwood, with minor surgery expected to be done on Monday.

The likes of Tony Barrett, James Pearce and Paul Joyce, all among the most reliable Liverpool-based journalists around, confirmed the news on Saturday lunchtime.

The injury is completely unrelated to the heel problem that saw the 25-year-old fly out to America earlier this week, in what is a cruel twist of fate.

It is a huge blow for Liverpool, who will now be without one of their most important players in the lead-up to Christmas, with some daunting away fixtures on the horizon.

The England international’s consistency, creativity and all-round box-to-box influence are all vital to the Reds, and others must now step up to the plate.

Joe Allen is set to return to action in the near future, while youngsters Jordan Rossiter and Pedro Chirivella may also be used more than expected now.

Henderson has made giant strides since his dark early days at Anfield, and this setback acts as an undeniable setback to everyone associated with Liverpool.

How big a loss will Jordan Henderson be to Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below.

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Brendan Rodgers urges Liverpool to ‘take risks’ in attack

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers wants to see his side taking more risks in attack as they bid to remedy their goalscoring problem.

The Reds have netted only three times in their opening five Barclays Premier League games this season.

Liverpool fans will be hoping for a considerable boost to the tally on Sunday when Rodgers’ men host Norwich, against whom the Merseyside outfit have notched 21 goals over the course of their past five meetings.

And Rodgers said ahead of the contest at Anfield: “It is about risk-taking. “I think, for some reason, that wee bit of risk has gone out of our game.

“We need to ensure we take those risks in order to create in the game and bring that intensity to it. “The players have been working really hard at that over the last week or so and it only takes that one performance to spin the season around again.”

Liverpool – with seven points so far, the same as newly-promoted Norwich – go into Sunday’s match having lost their previous two league games, 3-0 to West Ham and then 3-1 at Manchester United.

In terms of risk-taking, Rodgers may well be thinking of the kind of individual moments of daring that saw Christian Benteke score acrobatically at Old Trafford – or Adam Lallana nutmeg an opponent before slotting in during Thursday’s 1-1 Europa League draw at Bordeaux.

Rodgers has expressed his confidence about things improving for the Reds as various personnel become available again, with Daniel Sturridge, Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen all in contention to make their comebacks from injury on Sunday.

Lallana himself was returning to action on Thursday after a month sidelined by a thigh problem, and Rodgers afterwards hailed the midfielder’s “outstanding” goal, adding: “It was his touch and creativity which we have not seen so much of this season.”

And as he looked ahead to the Norwich game, Rodgers said of Lallana: “I think when he’s played he has been excellent and if he plays consistently over a period of time, Adam will reach the numbers that we would like from him – I think it is only injuries that have curbed that so far.

“His goal on Thursday will be great for his confidence. He has not been training that long, so to come through 90 minutes of a game at that level and score the goal he did shows he has got his eye back in very early and he will be looking to push on now.”

Liverpool also have key playmaker Philippe Coutinho available again after he missed the United defeat due to a one-match suspension. Defender Kolo Toure is being assessed having sustained a dead leg in the Bordeaux contest.

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Liverpool’s Major Flaws Laid Bare

Alex Malone takes a look at three major flaws in the Liverpool side at the moment – with some pretty damning statistics uncovered.

When the team sheet was announced before last Saturday’s crucial game, I had to do a double take – 2 strikers? No obvious wide players? Lucas, Firmino, Can and Milner? Oh my god, we’re going back to the diamond in midfield and two strikers… at Old Trafford! Momentarily, I was optimistic.. after all, this United team is absolutely there for the taking, so why not?

But even before the team took the field, I had tempered that unfounded optimism with the realisation that Brendan Rodgers wouldn’t dare be that brave. And yes, unfortunately, I was right.

I also looked at the defence which once again included the over-rated Martin Skrtel and the inadequate Dejan Lovren as the central pair. Did the West Ham game count for nothing?

What I observed in that performance was a team in search of itself. It was gut wrenching to watch a Liverpool team so lacking any self-belief and showing no intent whatsoever to try to win the game against a genuinely poor Man United team. It was a 90 minutes which encapsulated what I believe are the the 3 major flaws in our team right now.

This team does not (and is unlikely to) score enough goals

3 goals in 5 league games is poor by anyone’s standards, but statistically it’s not a blip – it’s unlikely to get much better given the current squad’s goal scoring record, how the team is set up and how the players are utilised. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Benteke – 44 goals in 93 games for us and Villa equals about a goal every 2 games in the Premier League. So we can expect a very credible 15-20 goals from him this season.

Ings – 38 goals in 122 appearances for Burnley means we can expect 1 goal every 3 games from the lad. Given he’ll likely play only 20 games or so, let’s be very optimistic and say he’ll give us 10 this season.

Sturridge – 35 in 55 games for Liverpool is a tremendous strike rate…. but he’s not fit and hasn’t played for the best part of a year. But let’s be optimistic again and say 10-15 this season.

Origi – 14 in 74 is 1 goal in 5… or a maximum of 7 in the remainder of the season.
Given we’re only ever (if ever!) going to play 2 of these 3 with Origi likely being 4th choice, we can expect something around 25 goals from our strikers. That’s actually not that bad…… but now let’s take a look at everyone else:

Milner – 13 goals in 147 games for Man City, and 36 in 411 in his career. That equates to 1 goal per 11 games… or 3 per season. His last 5 seasons have wielded 0,3,4,1 and 5 for City.

Henderson – his last 3 seasons have given us 5, 4 and 6 goals respectively. His career average is 1 goal in 8, but let’s predict he’ll give us another 5 or so.

Lucas – 1 goal in 198 games speaks for itself…. or if it doesn’t, 1 every 5 seasons!

Lallana – 17 in 97 goals in the Premier league means 1 every six games… for an average of about 6 a season. Lallana’s seasons tend to be injury prone, and this one is already no exception, but let’s be generous and leave it at 6.

Can – 64 games, 5 goals. That’s one every 13 games, although Rodgers has mainly played him in defence. But even for Leverkusen, he scored 3 in 29 (1 in 10) – so let’s estimate Emre will also give us 4 this season.

Coutinho – for all his magic, it’s 11 in his last 72 (or 1 every 7 games) for Philipe. His last two full seasons have seen him net 5 times in each. So let’s estimate he gives us 6 this season.

Ibe – 7 goals in 57 games and none in the Premier League… 1 in 8 in lower leagues probably translates – optimistically – to around 1 in 10 in the top league. So let’s say he’ll likely give us 4 goals this season.

Firmino – 46 in 183 is a decent 1 every 4 games…. So in theory he could bag us a maximum of 9 in the final 33 games – assuming he plays!

Allen – 10 in 201 – that’s 1 in 20 or an average of 2 per season… and unlikely to feature much anyway.

As for our defenders’ average goals per game it’s Lovren (1 in 36 games), Moreno (1 in 15), Skrtel (1 in 17), Clyne (1 in 55), Sakho (1 in 23), Toure (1 in 31), Gomez (never scored). So, irrespective of which four the manager chooses throughout the season, the defence will pitch in an estimated maximum of 8 goals.

Totalling it all up:

Predicted goals from the forwards if we play 2 strikers – 30 (20+10)

Predicted goals from the forwards if we play 1 striker – 13 (average of 15-20, 10-15 and 10)

Predicted average goals from midfield using all players equally = 3+5+0+6+4+6+4+9+2 = 39 divided by 9 players = 4 goals per midfielder

Predicted goals if we play a 4 man midfield = 16

Predicted goals if we play a 5 man midfield = 20

The defence – whichever 4 we choose… will give us a maximum of 8!

Predicted total goals this season assuming 4-5-1 = 41 (8+20+13)

Predicted goals this season assuming 4-4-2 = 54 (8+16+30)

(For reference, last season, even with Steven Gerrard and Sterling, we scored 52.)

Whichever way you look at it, goal scoring – and goalscorers – are likely to be a real issue this season, because other than the front 3, we don’t have a single other player on the books (with the possible exception of Coutinho) who will come anywhere close to double figures.

Defensive Frailty

Was anyone really fooled by the 3 clean sheets to start the season? I certainly wasn’t, as Lovren still looked a liability against Bournemouth, and we still looked more than a little bit shaky on far too many occasions. The next 3 games have seen 7 goals conceded – against an average West Ham, the worst Man U team in recent memory (who had no strikers!) and a French mob with 1 win in their first 5 games.

Individually, Clyne and Gomez are proving to be overall upgrades to Enrique and Johnson, but as a unit the back 4/5 is still calamitous. The central pairing of Lovren and Skrtel is just, simply, not good enough. Lovren has consistently proven himself incapable at this level, while Skrtel – who I know remains fiercely protected by many Liverpool fans, but I’m telling it as I see it – is not good enough either! Both West Ham’s and Man U’s 3rd goals would have been prevented by a top class central defender. Skrtel is not.

104 goals conceded in the last 81 games (2 full seasons plus the first 5 games of this) is a miserable record… and Skrtel has been an almost ever present in the team during this time featuring in 74 of those 81 games. Why Sakho (the star of the show against Bordeaux) has been frozen out is anyone’s guess… but the lad is class and needs to be playing… and playing next to a more accomplished partner than either Lovren or Skrtel can provide. It’s actually irresponsible of the manager to play Lovren ahead of Sakho and smacks of a manager not knowing what he is doing (more of that later.)

Behind him, Simon Mignolet has played in 79 of those 81 games. Mignolet is a decent, but not great goalkeeper. Let me ask you… would you have Mignolet in your team if you had the option of Courtois, Cech, Hart or De Gea? I’d be surprised if too many would.

So let’s compare the 104 goals conceded to that of our top 4 rivals in their last 81 games:

Man City – 75
Chelsea – 71
Arsenal – 80
Man U – 83

So, in 81 games we have conceded 21 more than United, 24 more than Arsenal, 29 more than City and 33 more than Chelsea.

The harsh reality is, that each of our rivals have a significantly better defensive record over more than 2 seasons, and each of them have a better goalkeeper than we do… and until we find a truly class goalkeeper, plus replacements for both Lovren AND Skrtel, we will continue to concede at a rate that will prevent us from ever challenging for the top spot… and maybe – like last season – even for the top 4.

The Manager

Last, but by no means least… Brendan Rodgers.

All of the above is testament to Rodgers inability to create a balanced team, or to exhibit any kind of tactical awareness.

Can at right back, Gomez left back, Ings on the wing, Henderson wide right, Lucas doing the hokey cokey etc. etc. etc. etc. The list goes on…

The man plays players out of position. He tinkers, seemingly to showcase his tactical prowess. When it works, he’s out there in front of the cameras waxing lyrical about his understated genius. But when he plays 5 different formations in one FA cup semi final and it goes wrong, he’s full of excuses and how success is ‘a process.’

He has changed from the original ‘Swansea-esque’ version of ‘tiki taka’ and ‘death by football’ to ‘if you have x% possession you will win y% of games’ to ‘marking the space’ to whatever that was recently at Old Toilet. He’s used virtually every possible formation under the sun, but without any consistency.

When he stumbles across a certain formation which seems to work, he sticks with it only until the first sign of it failing… then the formation merry-go-round starts again. Players don’t know their roles and are often in unfamiliar positions. The teams’ understanding of the tactics and formations creates confusion and the confusion leads to misunderstanding, mediocrity and poor results.

Just take a look at the last 2 league games to see players and a team completely unsure of itself. The back 4 is comedic at times with defenders looking fearful of the ball as we have tried in vain to pass our way out of the back.

Teams have worked it out; press the Liverpool back four and they’ll bottle it – but will still try to pass out from the back… it’a recipe for disaster!

There is no cohesion moving the ball from defence to midfield to attack and as such the forwards are feeding on scraps. To put it bluntly, after 3 years in charge, Rodgers has created mediocrity, with a team that lacks identity, self-belief and direction.

In summary, while points 1 and 2 above are genuine and important statistics, they are only statistics because of point 3. I was willing to give Rodgers time. I was genuinely excited at the progress made when we terrorised opponents 2 seasons ago. But instead of moving on from those heady days, we have not just slipped a little, we are a shadow of the team on display back then.

The flaws in the current set up are real and there for all to see on the pitch and the manager is 100% accountable for fixing it. This is HIS team, HIS signings, HIS tactics. It’s up to him to create a balanced team who can score goals, prevent the opposition from scoring goals, and win football matches.

This season will tell us if he is the man for the job… the man capable of taking our great club forward.

Over to you Brendan.

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Video: Brendan Rodgers’ pre-Norwich press conference — Injury updates and keeping focused

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers addressed the media on Friday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Norwich City.

Video: Norwich City TV (YouTube)

Rodgers was reflective of Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Bordeaux in the Europa League on Thursday night, and gave injury updates on captain Jordan Henderson and striker Daniel Sturridge.

He told press, “Jordan will train today so we’ll see how he comes through that – he has obviously been away and had some work done on his foot, so hopefully all will be well with that but we’ll assess it over the next 48 hours.

“Daniel has been training with the team now for a week or so and again we will assess that in relation to the game.”

Liverpool will be looking to turn around a poor start to the season after losing their last two Premier League games 3-0 to West Ham at Anfield and 3-1 at Manchester United.

Rodgers and his team have come under increased scrutiny and pressure, but the Northern Irishman says maintaining professionalism and looking at how to improve things will be key to positive results to come.

“It is about never getting too carried away if you win or disappointed if you lose,” he added.

“It (the lack of goals) has been an ongoing issue for a little while now but we will get there, and the players coming back will enhance that quality in the team and give us a greater opportunity to score goals.

“I think it’s very important you remain calm and, for me, I always focus on what I can control – I can’t control what is written or said about me.

“All I can do is control the team and how we operate, and try to maximise what I can get out of the players available.”

Liverpool vs. Norwich City gets underway at 4pm on Sunday, 20th September. Keep an eye on This Is Anfield throughout the weekend for more build-up, team news and coverage.

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Confirmed: Mamadou Sakho signs new long-term contract with Liverpool

Liverpool have announced that defender Mamadou Sakho has signed a new long-term contract with the club.

Sakho moved to Anfield from Paris St Germain in 2013 and wore the captain's armband for the first time in Thursday's UEFA Europa League draw in Bordeaux.

The 25-year-old told Liverpool's official website: "I am very happy to sign a long-term contract with Liverpool because, as I've always said, I am very happy here and my family are happy in Liverpool.

"It is important for me because every day when I wake up, I am very happy to come into the training ground with all the players."

The news will be welcomed by under-pressure Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, who said Sakho was in contention to start in Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Norwich.

Speaking before the news was formally announced, Rodgers said: "He (Sakho) is really working hard on his fitness and his game and I think you have seen the benefits of that.

"He was left out of the last France squad and you can go one of two ways – you can sulk, or you can put your head down and work even harder, and that is what he has done.

"I think you can see that in his performance last night. I thought he was brilliant in the game and that is what we want, so he has certainly brought himself into contention for the weekend."

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“Our best defender by far” – Liverpool fans react to Mamadou Sakho’s reported new deal

With Liverpool favourite Mamadou Sakho close to signing a new five-year deal with the Reds, we round-up the best social media reaction.

The news was reported on Friday afternoon, arriving quickly after Sakho captained the side in Bordeaux on Thursday evening.

Reports claim that the 25-year-old is close to agreeing a deal that will keep him at Anfield until 2020, bringing an end to much speculation surrounding his future. The Echo report that Sakho’s representatives were on Merseyside on Friday for discussions.

The Frenchman made a terrific return to action against Bordeaux, performing excellently throughout on what was his fist appearance of the season.

Sakho will surely be pushing for a start against Norwich City on Sunday, as Brendan Rodgers contemplates leaving out Dejan Lovren.

Here is how social media reacted to the news of Sakho’s rumoured new deal:

‘RedRivelino’ in the comments section:

He’s a top class player and with the potential to get even better with the right backing. Should be the CB that we build the defence around.

Kane Martin on Facebook:

He should be playing week in week out, and should be captain.

‘Phantoman’ in the comments section:

He (Rodgers) should eat his humble pie and build his defence around Sakho for the foreseeable future. Lovren is a not bad squad player and will hopefully get a game every now and then but having him as the first choice centre back was a big mistake.

[…]

It’s sad that it had to be 5 games and 6 goals after he realised this.

Let us know your thoughts on Sakho’s new deal in the comments below. Is he Liverpool’s best defender?

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He scores 12 goals and the Kop go wild… Liverpool vs Norwich Preview

Chris McLoughlin is looking forward to new Liverpool No. 7 James Milner opening his account for the Reds against Norwich on Sunday…

I’m looking forward to seeing James Milner score his first goal at Anfield on Sunday. Notching your opening goal in front of the Kop in your third home match isn’t bad – there are plenty of players that have taken far longer to open their goalscoring accounts – and you don’t need me to tell you that this Liverpool side need goals from midfield.

Why so confident that he’ll score? He wears the number seven shirt and our number sevens always score against Norwich. At least the last fella who wore that shirt did. At will.

There’s always a danger when writing about Luis Suarez that you can come across as an overly sentimental, misty-eyed Kopite wistfully looking back at a genius of a player that Liverpool lost.

However, given his record of 12 goals in the last five meetings between the Reds and the Canaries then you can bet Delia Smith will be cracking open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon with her pre-match coq au vin to celebrate the Uruguayan being nowhere near Anfield on Sunday afternoon. John Ruddy will have slept a hell of a lot better on Saturday night too.

What you’ve probably forgotten, though, is that Suarez’s tally of 12 against Norwich should be far higher. In October 2011 they came to Anfield and dug out a hard-fought 1-1 draw, Grant Holt equalising after Craig Bellamy had opened the scoring against his old club. During the course of that game Suarez had 11 shots on goal – more than any single player had managed in a Premier League game all season – but failed to convert any of them.

Ruddy produced two sensational saves to deny him, tipping one effort onto the post and somehow stopping a late volley, but it seems that only served to ensure Suarez was determined to make amends whenever he played Norwich next and proceeded to beat Ruddy from pretty much every angle imaginable during four of the next five encounters (Mark Bunn played in the other). Even by his standards, Suarez’ goal collection against Norwich is something special.

First came the 3-0 win at Carrow Road in April 2012. His opener was a run-of-the-mill left-footed cross shot into the far corner. Not that we’ve seen such run-of-the-mill finishing this season. Then he got serious. For his second he shrugged off a tackle on the right wing, sprinted forward and blasted a in a low right-footed shot from the type of diagonal angle that bishops on a chess board take to scatter pawns.

He then lobbed Ruddy from so far out for his hat-trick clincher that he was almost closer to the pedestrianised Norwich City centre than the Canaries’ goal, prompting a bald fella to run on from the away end to celebrate with some interesting hand gestures.

Five months later Suarez went back to Carrow Road and, despite wearing that garish ‘nightshade’ kit that appeared to be based on the bins round here, scored another brilliant hat-trick, firing the first from just in front of the 18-yard line with his instep, the second from outside the box with his outstep (after tackling and nutmegging Michael Turner) and curling his third home from outside the box again. How many other hat-tricks can you think of that have been scored from outside the penalty area? Any?

Suarez’ only goal in the 5-0 win at Anfield in January 2013 was fairly tame – Danny Sturridge’s dummy from a Lucas’ pass sending him clean through to finish past Bunn – but when Norwich returned to Anfield in December 2013 it was a privilege to witness probably the finest individual display from a Liverpool player at Anfield I’ve ever seen. And I was there when Bernard Diomede had an overhead kick disallowed against Sunderland.

He wasn’t quite as far out when beating Ruddy at Carrow Road, but when Suarez let the ball bounce twice and launched a dipping half-volley towards the Kop end goal from 30-odd yards out you just knew where it’d end up. And it did. He didn’t miss with a close-range half-volley on his let foot from a Coutinho corner shortly afterwards, either.

To go on to complete a 20 minute hat-trick was phenomenal, but the way in which he did so simply summed his brilliance up. He flicked the ball over one man but whereas most players would let the ball bounce once before shooting, Suarez let it hit the turf again before striking it with barely no backlift from just inside the box. It flashed past Ruddy in the blink of an eye having hardly risen above knee-height, an outstanding piece of technique from a unique player.

That also happened to be Suarez’s 50th Liverpool goal and made him the first player in both Liverpool and Premier League history to score three hat-tricks against the same club. He celebrated by scoring again. “His fourth goal was average,” said Steven Gerrard. “It was a 30-yard free-kick, so I think that sums his performance up. You have seen a world-class performance, probably one of the best individual performances I’ve seen at Anfield – and I’ve been playing here a long time.”

His 12th and final goal against Norwich (well, unless he one day comes back – but don’t be getting your hopes up!) was essentially a tap-in from eight yards in a nerve-jangling 3-2 victory at Carrow Road which looked like it had set us up to win that elusive Premier League title. A week later we played Chelsea, so let’s move on. Although moving on without Luis Suarez has evidently proved to be very difficult for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool.

Clearly the Reds are lacking goals at present, but I live in the hope that the number seven shirt may somehow be lucky in this fixture. Kenny Dalglish scored six (of his seven) goals against Norwich while wearing it and Paul Walsh, who features in the official This Is Anfield Matchday Programme this weekend, had seven on his back when becoming the only other Liverpool player to have netted an Anfield treble against Norwich (in 1986).

Could James Milner ‘do a Suarez’ against Norwich City? Norfolk in chance. But I’m convinced that he’ll get goals for Liverpool and Sunday would be a great time to start. Until then, enjoy watching those Suarez goals v Norwich that you’re off to search for on YouTube next…

• The This Is Anfield matchday programme is available at the ground on matchdays, from official Liverpool FC club shops or to order from http://ift.tt/1ErA0iV. Subscribers can currently save £12, the equivalent of three issues free.

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