In Brendan we trust: Why Liverpool fans should look forward to the future

A couple months ago I wrote an article on the youth at Liverpool and why they are so key to the success of the football club. Now in November, Liverpool find themselves mid table and ten points away from the top four. Despite this, as a fan, I feel there have been plenty of signs over the last couple of months to be positive about where the club is going under the reign of Brendan Rogers.

picture: mirror.co.uk

Having only won three games this season, it's far too easy to criticise and complain about the manager. Look at Chelsea, despite winning the FA Cup and the Champions League, Roberto Di Matteo was sacked only 6 months into the job just because of a few poor team performances.

With Liverpool and Rogers, progress is being made. The input of young players has had a big impact on the team and has shown that the football club has a very bright future. Looking back over the past couple of seasons, it has been hard to watch a team struggle to make any impact on the top half of the league. Big signings were made and these players didn't perform.

As mentioned, we have only three league wins this season which could well be doubled based on a number of games. Having lost to Spurs on Wednesday, Liverpool's eight game unbeaten run came to an end. Despite losing this game, looking back at the highlights of the game, we should have easily come out with a draw, maybe a win. Last season's fixture at White Hart Lane saw the home side win 4-0 in a resounding performance  One season on we were unlucky to suffer a 2-1 defeat. The difference in performances is obvious, we looked stronger, quicker and competed much better with a very strong Spurs outfit.

What I am trying to get at is the progression in the small amount of time under Rogers. Not just in the Spurs game but in general over the beginning of the season. Yes we didn't get off to the best start to the season, but the unbeaten run showed what a good side we can be. The draw against Swansea last weekend was one which should have been a win. The same can be said for the Everton game where we were denied a clear winner. Now it is easy to say 'we could have won that' but having witnessed these games it was disappointing to come out with just a point.

picture: telegraph.co.uk

The form of Luis Suarez is one I could not miss out and but for him, yes we would be a lot further down the table. Rogers has put a lot of faith in the Uruguayan and he has repaid that with some excellent form and some superb performances. This is where my only criticism of Rogers comes in. His signings in the summer lacked another forward, it's been clearly made in the media and the football world and I'm very sure he regrets that now. January will be massive for Rogers and bringing in another striker to aid Suarez is vital. There have been mentions of a number of forwards but with Darren Bent out of favour at Villa, signing him I believe would be an excellent addition.

The form and performances of the younger players in the squad is a massive positive that I can take out of the season so far. In particular Jonjo Shelvey, Raheem Sterling, Andre Wisdom and Suso have taken to the Premier League excellently and have proven their selection by Rogers. These performances have been rewarded and noticed at national level seeing Shelvey and Sterling called up to the England national squad, and Wisdom and Suso called up to their respective national under 21 teams.

The faith Rogers has shown to these youngsters is great to see from a fans perspective and have proven a good decision. If performances continue the way they have been over the past couple of months then there is a lot to look forward to for the fans of Liverpool. For me Rogers is proving to be the right man for the job and as long as he is given the backing, Liverpool will eventually get back to where they once belonged.

Capital One Cup: Quarter Finals

The fourth round of the Capital One Cup saw some of the best League Cup games in its existence. The eight games saw a total of 37 goals scored in some enthralling encounters.

The stand out game of the round saw Arsenal make a remarkable comeback away at Reading in front of the Sky cameras winning 7-5. It all looked rosy for the home side after 35 minutes, as Brian McDermott's men lead 4-0 through Jason Roberts, Noel Hunt, Mikele Leigertwood and a Laurent Koscielny own goal. Despite an awful first half display Arsenal went in at the break with one goal to their name and a slither of hope as Theo Walcott chipped home after through on goal.

picture: ozsportsreviews.com

The second half of the game started as the first half finished. Arsene Wenger brought on Olivier Giroud who made an immediate impact to head home a Walcott cross and to make the scoreline 4-2. As the half came to a close, it looked like Reading had withstood the Arsenal comeback but in the 89th minute Koscielny made amends for his own goal as he headed home another fine Walcott corner. It was the winger though that completed a remarkable game as his 95th minute shot crept over the line despite the efforts of Nicky Shorey to stop the strike.

The equaliser took the game to extra time, and the 30 minutes did not disappoint as the Gunners went ahead for the first time in the game as Marouane Chamakh drilled home from outside the box. Chamakh's goal had looked like it was to be the vital goal to take Arsenal through but Reading had other ideas. As extra time neared the end, Pavel Pogrebnyak popped up to head home their fifth from a Chris Gunter cross. The game looked set for penalties but it was Walcott again who blasted home from six yards after Andrey Arshavin's cross was blocked to complete his hat trick. Chamakh lobbed home in the dying moments to end a remarkable game and one that will be remembered for a long time.

The drama on Tuesday night continued on Wednesday as Chelsea faced Manchester United at Stamford Bridge for the second time in four days. Like Arsenal, this game was in front of the Sky cameras and didn't disappoint either as Chelsea won 5-4 after extra time. Goals from David Luiz, Daniel Sturridge, Eden Hazard, Ramires and Gary Cahill were enough to overcome a reletively inexperienced United side whose goals came from the boots of Giggs (2), Hernandez and Nani.

picture: theguardian.co.uk

The cup wasn't completely dominated this week by the goal fests but with a shocks too as both Wigan and Sunderland were beaten by lower league opposition. Sunderland fell down to Championship side Middlesbrough 1-0 at the Stadium of Light as Scott McDonald's goal was enough for them to win the Wear-Tees derby. Wigan were embarrassed at home as League Two Bradford City beat them 4-2 on penalties to take them to the quarter finals. Both Liverpool and Spurs were eliminated from the competition as Brendan Rogers side were beaten by his former side Swansea 3-1. Spurs were beaten 2-1 away at Norwich with Spurs' Clint Dempsey missing a penalty in the dying moments of the game to end their involvement in the competition.

The quarter finals saw the 'bigger' teams avoid each other and will see Chelsea travel to Leeds who have already deposited of Everton and Southampton in the competition so far. Bradford's reward is a home tie to Arsenal while Middlesbrough face an away trip to Swansea. In the final tie of the quarter finals, Paul Lambert will face his former side as his Villa team will travel to Norwich City.

All games will be played the week commencing the 10th December whilst Chelsea's game at Leeds will be played on 19th December due to their commitment to the Club World Cup which they will play in after their Champions League success.

Quarter Final ties:

Bradford v Arsenal
Leeds United v Chelsea
Swansea v Middlesbrough
Norwich City v Aston Villa

Capital One Cup: Fourth Round Draw

The newly named Capital One Cup continued this week as we saw the third round of the competition take place. This round saw the remaining seven Premier League clubs enter the fray including current holders Liverpool and Premier League winners Manchester City.

picture: whoateallthepies.tv

It was City though, who surprised everyone as they were beaten 4-2 at home by Aston Villa after extra time at the Etihad Stadium. Roberto Mancini fielded a strong side which included Kolo Toure, Jack Rodwell, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez. It was the Italian striker that opened the scoring in the game after an excellent through pass from James Milner. It was another former Villa man in the City line up, Gareth Barry, who scored a deserved equaliser for Villa as he put through his own net after good work down the right from Andreas Weimann. An Aleksander Kolarov free kick and a Gabby Agbonlahor goal in the second half, saw the game go to extra time. It was Villa though, who took the initiative in extra time as goals from Charlies N'Zogbia and Gabby Agbonlahor gave Paul Lambert and his Villa side a surprise victory away from home.

Another shock in the third round of the competition came at Elland Road as Championship outfit Leeds United beat high flying Everton 2-1. The game was largely dominated by Leeds who could have easily scored more. They opened the scoring in the first half as Aidan White was given time and space to beautifully curl home. David Moyes fielded a strong line up which included Steven Pienaar and his side should have been level when Steven Naismith headed wide from 3 yards. Leeds effectively ended the game in the second half as midfielder Rodolph Austin flicked home after a well worked free kick from the left. A late Sylvain Distin header made an exciting end to the game but the Premier League team were unable to take the game to extra time.

picture: theguardian.co.uk

Having beaten Stoke in the last round, Swindon were at it again causing another upset beating Championship team Burnley 3-1 at home. They were joined in the fourth round by Bradford, who came down from two goals down at home to Burton to win the all League Two clash 3-2 after extra time. Arsenal and Chelsea set up their Premier League clash beautifully on Saturday, as they both hit their opponents for six. The Gunners faced League One Coventry City at home and two goals for Theo Walcott and a first goal for Olivier Giroud, saw Arsene Wenger's side came out 6-1 winners. Chelsea fielded a strong side against Wolves and that was evident as they beat the Championship club 6-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Current holders of the cup Liverpool, faced a tricky tie away at West Brom who beat them on the opening day of the league season 3-0. Brendan Rogers young outfit though came away 2-1 winners thanks to two goals from Nuri Sahin. Tottenham, Southampton and Sunderland all eased past lower league opposition and were joined by Man United who came out top against Newcastle United.

As the competition progresses nicely, the fourth round draw was made immediately after the third round and threw up Chelsea v Man United in the tie of the round. Arsenal face a tough tie away at Reading, while holders Liverpool are at home to Swansea which will see Brendan Rogers come up against his former team. Aston Villas reward for beating Man City is a tricky tie away at League One Swindon Town. Bradford are the lowest league side left in the competition and will travel to Wigan, whilst Sunderland will face north east rivals Middlesbrough.

All ties will be played the week commencing the 29th October 2012.

Fourth Round Fixtures:

Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Swindon v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Swansea City
Chelsea v Man United
Wigan v Bradford City
Norwich City v Tottenham
Reading v Arsenal
Leeds v Southampton

Deadline Day: A Summer of Transfer Madness

We saw a huge amount of activity last week as the transfer window came to an end on Friday. We look at the winners and losers of the window and round up which players made the biggest moves to and from England on the final day.

Deadline Day Winners:

picture: Manchester City

Unlike their rivals, Manchester City left it to the final day to make any moves. Roberto Mancini had only brought in Jack Rodwell in the window before the last day, with the former Everton youngster moving for £12million. The midfielder was joined by a number of players on the final day, as Mancini left it late to improve his squad. Brazilian full back Maicon made the move to the Etihad from Inter Milan for around £3million. The new arrival was joined by another defender with Fiorentina centre back Matija Nastasic moving to Manchester in a part exchange deal which saw Stefan Savic go in the opposite direction. Other arrivals brought in by Mancini included winger Scott Sinclair moving from Swansea, and Benfica midfielder Javi Martinez who cost the club £16million. Moving out of Manchester, winger Adam Johnson went to Sunderland, midfielder Nigel De Jong went to AC Milan whilst striker Roque Santa Cruz went to Malaga on a season long loan.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

As well as City, Tottenham Hotspur had a successful last day as new manager Andre Villas Boas took advantage of the window. AVB had previously completed the permanent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor who had spent the previous season on loan at White Hart Lane. The Portuguese manager had already captured Gylfi Sigurdsson and defender Jan Vertonghen earlier on in the summer. The surprise move of the summer was American Clint Dempsey who had looked set to move to Liverpool. Spurs had taken advantage of the Merseyside club's inability to match the asking fee for Dempsey who made the move across London for £6million. Dempsey joins his former Fulham team mate Moussa Dembele who also joined Spurs the previous day for a fee of £15million. Moving out of Spurs, Luka Modric made the expected move to Real Madrid for £30million which also saw Rafa Van Der Vaart return to Hamburg where he played before moving to Spurs.

Deadline Day Losers: 

picture: liverpoolfc.com

It was a deadline day to forget for Liverpool and Brendan Rogers. Despite managing to bring in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini earlier on in the window, Rogers was unable to strengthen the squad much to many fans annoyance. Having let £35million man Andy Carroll leave on loan to West Ham the previous day, Liverpool were expected to replace the striker. American Clint Dempsey had been linked with the reds all summer but having fallen short of the valuation of the midfielder, Liverpool missed out meaning he made a last gasp move to Spurs. Having failed to sign another striker during the window, it leaves Rogers with only Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini as options in attack. Deadline day at Anfield saw midfielders Charlie Adam and Jay Spearing leave, with the latter on a loan deal to Bolton Wanderers. Adam, who had only spent a year at Liverpool, made a £4million move to Stoke City where he signed a four year deal.

No-one may have been as unlucky or as unfortunate as Liverpool in the window, but Arsenal may feel they could have done slightly better over the summer. Having already brought in Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski, Arsene Wenger was keen to bring in an additional midfielder. Having lost Alex Song to Barcelona, and with Jack Wilshere still injured, Arsenal had been close to capturing playmaker Nuri Sahin on loan. But having failed to come to an agreement, Sahin moved to Liverpool leaving Arsenal finding themselves one Abou Diaby injury away from having to play youngster Francis Coquelin.

Premier League round up:

picture: stokecityfc.com

Fulham were heavily involved in transfer activity this summer seeing players come in and out of Craven Cottage. Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov made the switch on deadline day making the move from Manchester United for a fee in the region of £4million. He was joined by Kieran Richardson who moved from Sunderland for £3million. Stoke City were also busy in the window and captured the services of free agent Michael Owen. The 32 year old had been released from Manchester United in June and signed a one year deal with The Potters. Tony Pulis had looked set to bring in Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone on loan but having failed to reach an agreement, Pulis brought in Blackburn man Steven N'Zonzi, paying £3million for his services.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Yossi Benayoun: Chelsea - West Ham (season long loan)
Danny Rose: Tottenham - Sunderland (season long loan)
Gaston Ramirez: Bologna - Southampton (£12million)
Hugo Lloris: Lyon - Tottenham (£11.8million)
Stephane Mbia: Marseille - QPR (£4.5million)
Bryan Oviedo: FC Copenhagen - Everton (£5million)
Christian Benteke: Genk - Aston Villa (£7million)
Pablo Hernandez: Valencia - Swansea (£5.5million)

Football League round up:

picture: examiner.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers sealed one of the biggest deals of the window by capturing Jordan Rhodes who moved from Huddersfield Town for £8million. It looked likely that Rhodes would stay with the Terriers, but with Leon Best out through injury, Steve Kean needed a replacement. Fellow forward David Goodwillie moved out of Ewood Park though going to Crystal Palace on a season long loan. Palace were again involved on deadline day as they captured defender Damien Delaney who moved on a free transfer from Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys were the talk of the Championship on deadline day as they were in talks with Peterborough United duo George Boyd and Paul Taylor. Both were transfer listed at London Road and it was the latter of the two that made a permanent move. Despite on going talks, Boyd rejected the chance and remains at Peterborough for the forthcoming months.

picture: pnefc.net

In League One, Sheffield United were involved in transfer activity on deadline day as they brought in Dave Kitson from Portsmouth and saw midfielder Stephen Quinn move out as he went to Hull City. Promoted from League Two last year, Paolo Di Canio's Swindon saw many comings and goings during the window. The Italian brought in striker Adam Rooney from Birmingham City, with Paul Caddis moving in the opposite direction. Despite financial worry, Portsmouth were able to make deadline day moves as they saw Darel Russell, Josh Thompson and Johnny Ertle all make their move to Fratton Park on free transfers.

In League Two, Southend striker Kane Ferdinand made the step up to the Championship as he went to Peterborough United for £200,000. Another mover out of League Two was Wycombe forward Stuart Beavon who moved to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee. Beavon had scored 25 times for Wycombe last season. Despite losing Beavon, Wycombe had previously brought in striker Jo Kuffour who moved from fellow League Two side Gillingham on a free transfer.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Jay Bothroyd: QPR - Sheffield Wednesday (season long loan)
Craig Noone: Brighton - Cardiff (£1million)
Billy Sharp: Southampton - Notts Forest (season long loan)
Andrea Orlandi: Swansea - Brighton (undisclosed fee)
Nicky Maynard: West Ham - Cardiff (£2.5million)
Iain Hume: Preston - Doncaster (season long loan)
Martin Taylor: Watford - Sheffield Wednesday (undisclosed fee)
David Stephens: Hibernian - Barnet (Free transfer)

The future's bright: Why the youth at Liverpool is key to their success

Despite only managing a draw against Manchester City yesterday, Liverpool fans can still take a lot away from the game. Losing 3-0 away on the opening day of the season, things hadn't gone to plan for Brendan Rogers and as per, immediate pressure was heaped upon him. Rogers appointment brought a young fresh approach to the club, which was immediately shown in his line up yesterdays afternoon.

picture: bbc.co.uk

With the average age of the team under 25, it was the youngest fielded line up the club had fielded since 2003. In his line up, saw the selection of 17 year old Raheem Sterling. Despite being so young, the winger had a fine game and proved the justification for his selection. Sterling had figured last week in the club's Europa League game at Hearts where again, he showed his excellent talent. Sterling's selection meant that fellow wide man and England international Stewart Downing, was left sat on the bench. The former Middlesbrough man was at the heart of much criticism last season having failed to register a single goal or assist for Liverpool in the Premier League. Having witnessed Sterling's admirable display yesterday, Downing will have to expect to be sitting on the bench more regularly, especially with the way Rogers now has them playing.

Alongside Downing sat Jordan Henderson, who also had to settle for a seat on the bench. Much like Downing, Henderson also received a lot of criticism last season having cost the Merseyside club £16million. Henderson was a key figure in his former club Sunderland's side, but the step up to Liverpool for Henderson was a difficult one and was not helped with such a big fee paid for him. Performances last year under Dalglish were below par and a call up to the England squad for the Euro's last summer sparked much controversy. In his place though yesterday was Joe Allen. Having only played one season for Swansea in the top division, Allen was brought in by Rogers. At £15million, you may say that Liverpool have once again paid over the odds for a young midfield player. However in his first two games Allen has shown why he will be a valuable asset to them this year. In yesterdays game against Manchester City, Allen completed 93.5 per cent of his passes. At just 22, Allen could well be one of the signings of the season, especially if he has a similar season to the one he had with Swansea. But just like Downing, if Allen continues the way he's started, Jordan Henderson will be twiddling his thumbs on the Liverpool bench.

At the back, Sebastian Coates, the Uruguayan centre back, was used to partner Martin Skrtel ahead of club legend Jamie Carragher. Coates was brought in by Dalglish last season, and only featured ten times last season at the back. With Daniel Agger out through suspension, Coates was given his first start of the season yesterday and would have been happy with his performance against Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli. The 21 year old may be used more as a back up this year but certainly has a long future at Anfield and definitely under Brendan Rogers.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

The three above weren't the only youngsters to feature in yesterdays game. Apart from Steven Gerrard, the remaining members of the team were all aged under 30. Rogers is keen to take on the youngsters at the club and give them a chance. Jonjo Shelvey was brought on the injured Lucas yesterday, ahead of Jordan Henderson, and Charlie Adam, who didn't even make the bench. Shelvey is only 20, but his display yesterday showed maturity and a willing to do well in the team. Martin Kelly has become a regular feature into the team and his call up to the England squad in the summer showed the progress the young right back has made whilst at Liverpool. Nuri Sahin has recently been brought in on loan from Real Madrid, and the 23 year old will add an exciting talent to the squad. Rogers took a wealth of youngsters to the club's pre season tour, with Adam Morgan, Suso Fernandez and Connor Coady making the trip and have all progressed through Melwood.

So Liverpool fans can expect to see more of Sterling and co this year. Yesterdays performance will give fans some hope that the team can improve on last season's poor efforts. Rogers is keen to bring youth to the team and after yesterdays performance there is a lot of encouragement to take into the season.