Liverpool are reportedly among several Premier League clubs in the transfer race for a teenage prodigy who’s lighting up the Championship this season.

According to 90min, the Reds are ‘long-term’ admirers of Adam Wharton, with the Blackburn Rovers midfielder also attracting interest from the likes of Brighton, Tottenham, Manchester United and Newcastle.

Their report appeared to indicate that Spurs may be the frontrunners for the 19-year-old, having ‘been closely and intently watching’ his recent performances at Ewood Park, along with having a good relationship with the Lancashire club owing to the summer acquisition of Ashley Phillips.

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Wharton has been a regular starter for Blackburn this season, being selected for a dozen Championship games and coming off the bench three times (WhoScored) while also giving a good account of himself away to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup at the start of November.

He’s earned glowing praise from his manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, who declared that the teenager has ‘a big future‘ and dubbed him a ‘Champions League level‘ player in terms of his use of the ball.

Someone else who could provide an accurate character reference is Tyler Morton, with the Liverpool midfielder playing alongside the teenager 13 times while on loan at Ewood Park last season (Transfermarkt).

A report from Football Talent Scout described Wharton as ‘a box to box player who has the stamina and work rate to be equally as effective on both ends of the pitch’, listing his main strengths as ‘vision, ball carrying, work rate, defensive aggression and IQ’.

He appears to fit the profile of the bespoke number 6 that the Reds are still seeking, while also offering enough in possession to make an impact further forward.

Having only racked up 39 senior games, none of those in the Premier League (Transfermarkt), he’d be a player for the future rather than the here-and-now at Liverpool, but he could be a potentially shrewd long-term pickup if the Anfield hierarchy ramp up their efforts to win the increasingly crowded race for his signature.

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The post Liverpool admire ‘Champions League level’ gem touted for ‘big future’; Tyler Morton knows him well appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Tyler Morton has taken to Instagram following surgery on a metatarsal injury which has ended his season prematurely.

The Liverpool midfielder has spent 2022/23 on loan at Blackburn, featuring in 40 Championship games (starting 30) and playing his part in Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team being firmly in play-off contention.

However, the 20-year-old won’t be able to help Rovers in their final push for the top six, as his campaign is over after he fractured his foot in the match against Preston at the weekend, as per Lancs Live.

Morton has posted on social media this afternoon with an update on the injury blow, sharing an Instagram story which shows him smiling and giving a thumbs-up.

The youngster added this caption to the photo: “I am devastated to announce I have broken my 5th metatarsal in the game on Saturday and that will finish my season early, but on a positive note my surgery went well and I’m on the road to recovery already”.

It’s a real shame that the midfielder won’t be able to feature in Blackburn’s final push for a play-off place, having had such a productive loan spell at Ewood Park as they fight for Premier League promotion.

However, it’s encouraging to see Morton sharing an upbeat and defiant message amid that significant body blow, and hopefully he might yet have a part to play in pre-season over the summer once he returns to Liverpool.

You can see the youngster’s social media post below, courtesy of @tylermorton6 on Instagram:

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An unnamed Blackburn player has asserted that Harvey Elliott is “the best 17-year-old I’ve ever seen”, with the Liverpool loanee excelling on loan in the Championship.

The youngster’s plaudits have been well-earned, with the winger amassing a remarkable 12 goal contributions in 21 league games for Tony Mowbray’s side.

“One senior Blackburn player told Football Insider that Elliott is “the best 17-year-old I’ve ever seen”, and tipped him to have an “unreal career” at the top level,” Dylan Childs wrote for Football Insider. “Particular attention was brought to the loanee’s decision making and ball retention at Blackburn’s Brockhall training ground, attributes that will no doubt please Jurgen Klopp.”

Not many would have backed the highly-rated teen to perform to such a high standard in England’s second-tier – certainly, very few outside of the Reds’ fanbase did.

Elliott’s form for the Rovers will have caught Jurgen Klopp’s attention, with the former Fulham starlet likely putting himself into contention for the German’s plans next term.

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While it will be tempting to add to the 17-year-old’s experience with another loan spell in the following season, we at the EOTK would expect Klopp to give the Liverpool prospect an opportunity to play himself into the squad during pre-season.

The forward looks talented beyond the level of the Championship, but the question remains whether he is ready for a step up to the highest level.

The post ‘Best 17-year-old I’ve ever seen’ – Blackburn blown away by Harvey Elliott’s talent appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Harvey Elliott has been found, statistically, to be one of the most creative young footballers in the world, according to a graph shared on Reddit.

The graph in question details how many ‘smart passes’ and ‘key passes’ the analysed players are making on average, per 90 minutes, with the Liverpool loanee coming out rather well against his peers.

The winger particularly excels at delivering smart passes with regularity, outperforming the likes of highly-rated Dortmund starlet, Gio Reyna, with only three other youngsters providing a higher average of key passes.

It’s a remarkable finding from Italian company Wyscout, with the stats illustrating just how promising the 17-year-old’s recent performances for Blackburn have been.

We at the EOTK are delighted to see the Red embedding himself alongside the world’s most promising youth prospects.

Given how many had written off the Englishman before his loan move to the Championship, it’s even more satisfying to see Elliott proving his doubters wrong.

Though a lot can change in a player’s development over time, it’s still important that the winger is playing himself into that bracket of elite youngsters.

With a year in the Championship under his belt, the No.16 could well work his way into Jurgen Klopp’s plans next term.

Take a look at the graph here:

Not bad Harvey, not bad at all. from LiverpoolFC

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Harvey Elliott registered his fourth assist of the season, after Jacob Davenport collected the winger’s short pass from midfield to score a superb solo goal.

The Liverpool loanee played the entire 90 minutes for Blackburn in their 2-2 stalemate against fellow Championship side Brentford.

In truth, the Englishman had little to do with the goal, with Davenport taking on three Brentford players before slotting away into the right corner from 18 yards.

Nonetheless, the 17-year-old’s latest contribution means that only four other players in the Championship have a higher assist total.

Only four players have more Championship assists than Harvey Elliott so far this season. pic.twitter.com/rdJcnrPlUY

— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) December 5, 2020

It’s a rather impressive stat for the Liverpool man, given that some had speculated the forward would struggle to adapt to the physicality of the league.

While we’re aware that this doesn’t necessarily indicate the player’s readiness for a more active role within Jurgen Klopp’s squad, it’s nice to see Elliott leaving his mark on the stats table.

We at the EOTK have no doubt that the player will be in regular contact with the club, with the German likely delighted at the youngster’s progress.

Should he continue to acquit himself well on the pitch, we may yet see the highly-rated winger featuring more regularly at Anfield next term.

You can see the full clip here, courtesy of Streamja (via Reddit):

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Damaging defeats to rivals haven’t ruined our season…

Brendan Rodgers does not believe Liverpool have to win the FA Cup to make this season a success but says a win would prove the side are making progress.

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The damaging defeats to both Manchester United and Arsenal which have put our Champions League qualification into serious doubt are in stark contrast to the kind of form we were showing at this time last season when we were in the midst of an exciting Premier League title challenge.

On that basis, it’s easy to see why Rodgers believes a win in the Cup is so vital in signifying squad improvement and club development.

“I don’t want to go down the route of saying that. Our objective was to win a trophy,” said Rodgers, according to the Daily Express, when asked if FA Cup victory was the be all and end all this season.

“If we didn’t get in the top four and we didn’t have a trophy this year, we ourselves would be disappointed.

“Certainly the FA Cup would give us a great boost as a team with lots of young players and players coming into the club. That’s the expectancy we want. We want to be able to be challenging every year.

“That was the key thing for me, to get the group challenging at the top end of the league and for trophies. The FA Cup would mark a good step forward for us.”

Whilst may fans might be looking towards tonight’s game with a sense for foreboding, we cannot forget that up until that game with United, we were the form team in English football.

Yes the last two performances have been disappointing but there is still so much more to play for in both the FA Cup and, following on from Manchester City’s loss on Monday night, arguably the Premier League and it’s Champions League places as well.

This is why it’s so key to get the mind-set right for tonight.

If we mope around Ewood Park, feeling sorry for ourselves and we’ll no doubt lose against a Championship side who have already collected Premier League scalps and who are on a scintillating run of form.

If we go in with the confidence and respect this fixture deserves and suddenly we have an FA Cup semi-final on the horizon and that seven-point gap doesn’t look so steep considering the number of fixtures we have left….

We simply must go to Blackburn and give it our all.

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Liverpool could be almost back to full strength in the middle by next week…

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen is expected to return to the squad for the trip to Swansea City on Monday.

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The Welshman sat out the 0-0 FA Cup quarterfinal with Blackburn Rovers at Anfield on Sunday after picking up a hip injury in training a day previously.

But the Liverpool Echo now reports that the 24-year-old should make a quick recovery from the minor problem and will be back for the trip to his home country.

Whilst his involvement has come at the absence of Gerrard, you’d have to say the midfielder has certainly filled his boots as best he can and was sorely missed against Blackburn.

However, unfortunately for Allen, his recovery from injury coincides with the expected return of our captain as he steps up his rehab from a hamstring injury.

It will certainly be interesting to see who Brendan picks – will he let his heart rule over his head?

Steven Gerrard only has a handful of games left before he leaves at the end of the season but you’d struggle to find a side who have been as fluent as us over the past few weeks.

Who would you pick?

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Our recent results have been inconsistent. There’s no doubting that. We just don’t score enough goals. Too many players seem to either not be up to playing for Liverpool or they’re taking a lot of time to settle in. Carroll still looks like he’s off the pace. Adam isn’t living up to what people expected of him when he signed for the club and even Enrique has struggled since January, losing the ball in dangerous areas on too many occasions. But we’re already guaranteed a place in Europe thanks to our Carling Cup victory and we have an excellent chance of getting to the final of the FA Cup.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been as frustrated as anyone watching us lose games against teams such as Arsenal, despite outplaying them. QPR is the latest example where we have dropped three points. And it isn’t good enough. But why do people keep calling for Kenny to go?

The man’s a legend. As a player, Kenny had more twists and turns than any title race. As a manager he’s experienced, loyal and he commands the respect of every player at the club. Maybe some of his critics are too young to remember Kenny the player. Because I doubt anyone who recalls his sensational first touch, magical runs and delicate chips in a red shirt would be so quick to call for his head.

We aren’t Chelsea. And we shouldn’t get into the habit of sacking managers every year. Unfortunately, it was probably the right time for Benitez to go. He was finding the situation with the previous owners intolerable and had become quite stubborn in some of his decision-making. Letting Alonso leave was a big mistake. Hodgson was out of his depth and should never have been given the job in the first place. But in Kenny we have a manager who has won the league with Liverpool as both a player and a manager. He even won it while managing Blackburn! Yet all I seem to hear is fans on phone-ins calling for him to be sacked.

The fact is, Liverpool’s squad isn’t good enough. I know some people will argue that Kenny, along with Commoli, bought many of the players but it’s hard to attract the best talent when we’re not in the Champions League. This was always going to be a transitional season and our best chance of taking teams by surprise in the league was ironically our lack of European football. Sadly the top four now seems beyond us for another year so we have to do our best, aim to win two cups this season and hope top players see the potential at the club. There have been lots of games during this campaign where the team has played the opposition off the park and we desperately need a goal scorer. Also, Suarez needs to add more goals to his game. A lot of people will jump to the defence of Suarez but I’m not slating him – his strike against Stoke was brilliant. I just think if we want to improve, get back into the Champions League and have a chance of winning the title we need all of the players to step up their game.

Messi has scored 54 goals for Barcelona this season. Now I’m not expecting Suarez to start scoring 50 plus goals a season but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a player of his quality to get 20. Torres (3 in 36) Carroll (5 in 31) and Suarez (10 in 36) have scored as many goals in a combined 103 league games as Messi has in his last 7. That’s phenomenal. Obviously Liverpool have no chance of signing Messi. Carroll is probably never going to be a twenty goal a season man. And I personally wouldn’t want Torres back. So we need Suarez to stay at the club and start scoring more. Thankfully he wants to stay. He’s still young and he will only get better. In him we have a player with similar qualities to Kenny – now we need a player alongside him with the game of Ian Rush. A young Robbie Fowler. That’s the level we need to get back to if we are to be up there challenging for the main trophies.

Some of the other players either have to dramatically improve, settle for being squad players or need to move on. But for me the only place Kenny should go is back to Wembley when he lifts more trophies with us.

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Both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres start tonight as Paul Konchesky and Sotiris Kyrgiakos return to the starting lineup

Starting XI : Pepe Reina, Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Paul Konchesky, Lucas Leiva, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Maxi Rodriguez, David Ngog, Fernando Torres.

Subs : Peter Gulacsi, Daniel Agger, Martin Kelly, Dirk Kuyt, Christian Poulsen, Ryan Babel, Milan Jovanovic

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In a previous article I had warned not to get complacent after the well deserved win against Blackburn at Anfield and even suggested the game at Bolton would result in a boring draw or worse still another defeat. Thats the price paid whilst weathering the seesaw scenario brought about by regime change and which is only natural and part-and-parcel of a re-structuring process.

Well, how close to being spot on I was. Signs of improvement at containing a willing Bolton side but poor touches and finishing saw us create minimal danger going forward. In particular, Stevie was out of sorts with a particular shot way off target in the first half and which a few months ago would have been blasted goalwards leaving the goalie rooted to the spot. Miereles was the usual hard working character but still not decisive with his last touch. Patience is a virtue and right now Liverpool won’t have none of this and are resorting to precipitous passing and finishing. This is a result of huge expectations put on a club which has been through turmoil from top to bottom in the last few months.

The turning point in the match against Bolton was when Joe Cole was forced to leave the field after sustaining what seemed to be a hamstring pull. On came Ngog and now Liverpool had a player much more in tune with his Liverpool team mates. Joe Cole has been uncharacteristic so far (put back, one must say, by the three match ban earlier on in the season) and has failed to provide a satisfactory link-up with Torres bar one or two occasions. I’m sure that given more games, this aspect will be rectified.

Ngog has been the unsung hero so far this season. He is Liverpool’s top scorer in all competitions and is starting to improve his overall game, in particular ball control. It is then no mystery why Liverpool showed a step improvement with Ngog on the pitch. I have always been a fan of the 4-5-1 or 4-3-2-1 mode of play as it beefs up the midfield considerably well and provides for a reasonable attacking force. The focal point of such a formation is the area occupied by the two providers just behind Torres, namely Cole and Kuyt/Maxi as of late. If these two fail to provide the necessary link up, the three behind them – Gerrard – Lucas – Miereles – (the latter two are also keen to attack play) are left exposed and having to intercept attacking surges by the opponent. Cole and Maxi failed to reproduce the same intent shown against Blackburn and many times Liverpool’s attacking attempts were easily foiled.

Reverting to a conventional 4-4-2 system caught Bolton by surprise. Torres again took center stage during Liverpool’s goal setup, first by luring three Bolton players and then feeding the ball towards Maxi with a classy back heel. The Argentine’s finish was superb and was fully deserved after failing to grab a goal against Blackburn the previous week inspite of his excellent performance. The issue is now what setup to adopt for the game against Chelsea. Given the home advantage, the usual 4-3-2-1 formation looks like the ideal candidate, although Hodgson needs to sort out who to play instead of Cole now that news from medical quarters suggests the ex-Chelsea man will be out for two weeks. Given Cole’s below par form I was never convinced he would have given Chelsea a hard time. Ancelloti will know too well how to counter Cole’s influence so the injury, although never a good thing, will come as a blessing.

The safest bet in terms of formation is to use the same 4-4-2 system which paid dividends against Bolton towards the end of the game. Focus will again be on Torres as the Spaniard is now showing signs of a revival and Chelsea will want to ensure he’s well looked after but this may leave Ngog with more room to operate. Maxi will retain his place most notably because he is up for it at the moment and a classical four in midfield alleviates the pressure off the full backs when going forward. So although a 4-5-1 is ideal it’s not feasible given the injury concerns.

The Chelsea game is an ever more important encounter now that we’ve won two on the trot. Defeat at Anfield can send us spiraling out of control again heading towards the hectic Christmas period. So defeat must be avoided. A draw would be a good result against a high-flying team. In the mean-time focus will be on the events on Thursday evening when Liverpool host Napoli in a much anticipated encounter. The Italians have had a good start to the season and will want to build on the win at Brescia after a few draws and defeat at AC Milan. The atmosphere at Anfield will surely be electrifying and the crowd will play a part in helping the Reds overcome another Italian hurdle. What’s certain is that the home advantage must be made to count on Thursday but more importantly against the Blues on Sunday.

See you next time.

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As usual, before Liverpool games, I sit back a few minutes before kick off listening to a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. I was particularly looking forward to watching yesterday’s match primarily due to Liverpool playing at Anfield which adds that extra spark and tends – only just these days – to lift an underachieving team. Secondly, I was hoping to see an improved performance by a Liverpool team which has been totally out of sorts as of late. We needed a good performance by the Reds to lift our spirits.

Liverpool did just that. Still lots of room for improvement but the performance put in yesterday was reminiscent of a team wanting to win things, to score goals and most of all keep a clean sheet. The latter was a futile exercise but there was much to be positive about and look forward to. Needless to say, the feeling deep down is that Liverpool will fail to build on this next time round against Bolton. Not being pessimistic but acquiring stability is typically a roller coaster ride so don’t be put back if all Liverpool can achieve against Bolton away is a boring draw, although this may even be too much asking for.

Back to yesterday’s game and in my view leaving Poulsen out was a key decision. I’m not yet certain what’s happened to Poulsen but, unfortunately, the less he plays, the better a chance Liverpool have of being adventurous, creative. Poulsen is too one-dimensional, playing the ball sideways. Playing Poulsen is like trying to drive a car with the hand brake not entirely released. Liverpool tend to focus play in the midfield, loose the ball and end up having to defend in an effort not to concede. Aggressiveness is the key to an attacking side so deploying such a defensive midfielder means the team can’t move up to top gear. Not much to say about such a situation: just don’t play Poulsen altogether. Lucas needs to up his game and I’m sure he’ll cement his place in the first team; and he’s got a perfect chance to do that. In this respect, the Brazilian (sounds a bit ironic using the word Brazilian..), is a far better alternative to Poulsen. He tackles cleanly, has vision coming forward and is not rooted to the midfield quarters. That said, still a huge way to becoming that super player we all hoped for on his arrival. He’s improved a great deal in the last few months so the only way can only be up.

A performance which left me awestruck was that put in by Maxi and how he owed that to the fans. Maxi has been poor, terrible I must say. One senses he has the potential to be a great squad player, the way he controls the ball, the dynamics all point to a player capable of some neat flashy football. And I’m sure this is the case, but many times, he’s chased shadows and only shown glimpses of the player Liverpool fans were so excited about a few months back. Yesterday was a different scenario and Maxi was pivotal – together with Stevie – in pushing the Reds forward. Quite simply class. Again, not much to state, just more of this expected!

My man of the match has to be Sotirios Kyrgiakos. The Greek international has shown, not on one occasion that he has the qualities to be a first-team choice in defense, indeed take over stewardship of the defense duties in Jamie’s absence. He is a tower of strength, cool and likes having a pop at goal. Partnering Skrytel results in a best of two World’s scenario. Skrytel is swift, tackles wisely, but Sotirios gives that added personality when defending high balls and muscling opponents away. And, as mentioned, he doubles up as an attacker when the Reds attack spot kicks. Carragher seemed relaxed on the right; actually I was quite impressed with his sprints and attacking passion – let’s not forget that Carragher has always been very defensive minded.

The only problem in having a good pairing in CB and two good full backs (currently Carra and Konchesky) is what to do with the likes of Agger and Auerlio. More worried about the former who has found it hard to impress Roy and is a player we can’t just ignore. The problem these days with top clubs having two great players in the same position is that it’s hard to play them both regularly. Who would you play – Skrytel or Agger? Playing both is a no option since they share similar characteristics. Rotation is healthy but should not be overused. So, inevitably, one of the two has to be sacrificed and it’s up to the player to understand and accept that a peripheral role is equally important within a club of Liverpool’s stature.

Last but not least, how relieving it was to watch Torres score his second goal for the club this season. I used the word watch, but I actually didn’t enjoy the goal live as the video stream went bananas a few seconds before the goal. You can imagine how cheesed off I was, but anyway. The anger was soon to fade and Torres’ frustrations must have been cut down too after his much improved performance on the pitch culminated in a goal which ultimately proved to be the winner against a stubborn Blackburn side, undoubtedly helped by a fantastic keeper. We can only now keep our fingers crossed this is just the beginning for Torres.

All, in all, a great game to watch and a massive three points in the bag. It was a collective effort and one which needs to be used as an example to how Liverpool should approach all games, home or away. Being aggressive is the way forward. Cautious, yes, not too much though. Scoring one goal is not enough. Winning a game of football is all about scoring goals (and trying not to concede) so sitting back and conserving a one-goal lead should not be part of the system. We’ve seen this many times. Score a goal and slowly let the opposing team get back in it.

I re-iterate that this may not necessarily lead to another game won at Bolton but may be the start of the stabilizing sequence of which leads to the team finally gelling together. Expect one or two more defeats and/or draws before such a unit is put in place.

See you next time.

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To my fellow REDS,

At last !! A performance from our RED MEN that we can be proud of !!
Keep it up and we can smile at the storm that will be passing soon.. giving way to the golden sky !!
http://www.lscm.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=242&catid=47&Itemid=41

With pics courtesy of Getty Images !!
http://www.lscm.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=238:motd-lfc-vs-blackburn&catid=43:motd&Itemid=83

Walk On..
Boo Soon Yew
webmaster, Liverpool Supporters Club Malaysia

It has been a long time coming.. but after what we have gone through so far this season.. we gladly embrace this precious win, and more so the encouraging performance by our RED MEN that came with it !!!

With intense speculations surrounding the future of Roy Hodgson, he set out what would possibly be our current best-11 in many ways.

Reina had Skrtel & Kyrgiakos in the middle while Carragher reprised his role at rightback while Konchesky resumed leftback duties.

In the middle of the park, Meireles & Lucas partnered each other to link up play with Torres and Gerrard upfront as Maxi and Cole operated at the flanks.

But it has to be said that the choice of Meireles & Lucas is proving to be the better combination compared to what we have suffered so far. Poulsen in the equation has not proven solid enough. And pushing back Gerrard into the middle of the park negates the attacking sting he brings when he is further up the pitch.

Admittedly, Lucas still sprays the odd bad passes.. but he makes up for it with his work-rate and tackling. Ok fine, he still has to work on his headers after a finely crafted set-piece corner flew to his head that he headed wide.. off the mark.. from point-blank range !! But let’s give credit where it’s due.

Now Meireles, he is a gem.. unpolished and just waiting to glitter in due time to show it’s worth. It was an outstanding game by the Portuguese guarding the midfield and also freely supporting the attack in all parts of the field. It kinds off remind you of Mascherano, minus the rash tackles early in his Liverpool career. But Raul can still pick up some tricks in stealing the ball in tight situations from the opposition rather than just stand his ground.

Attack-wise, Joe Cole always possessed the flair and work-rate. His forte is getting into goal-scoring situations.. but he will need to score rather than having his shot saved. A brilliant move set him up nicely only to be denied by Paul Robinson early in the game. Then Meireles just scuffs the rebound on his weaker left leg.

But, in my opinion, the player that scaled the heights above expectations has to be Maxi Rodriguez. He played out a brilliant support role and was a constant thorn in the Blackburn defence. Short, quick passes and clever runs into space just amplifies the good that Rafa saw in him despite his age. There were so many breakthroughs in the first half, all from his darting runs in & out of the box. Could it be any chance due to Johnson’s absence, thereby giving him the room & green light to express freely rather than having to look out for the current England rightback.

Speaking of which, I thought Carragher did a good job protecting our right side of defence. Jamie was equally eager to join in the attacks and provide that quick delivery for Maxi or even Torres to chase. Fine, Carra adds another to his unwanted OG collection. It wasn’t really his fault when Konchesky’s clearance hit him flat on the face and rebounded into goal after good work by Benjani.

And all that after Kyrgiakos gave us a well-deserved lead right into the second half with a header that Olsson diverted into goal. Our Greek has certainly been a TOWERING RED, commanding in the air and equally tenacious in his challenges. He may be sold for speed but he makes up for it with his fighting spirit and drive for the ball.

Speaking of which, Martin Skrtel has gradually excelled into his role as the cool centre-half. Precise in tackling and equally adept in clearing the ball. Together with Soto, they make Reina’s job much easier in dealing with the crosses and aerial barrage that comes.

Konchesky on the left side of defence was simply delightful, strong in tackling but even more adventurous supporting the attack on the left with his darting runs. This takes away the attention of some Blackburn defenders to allow Joe Cole more space to work with.

And with such high level of cooperation and team ethos on the pitch, no wonder Torres was applauding all the hard work done each time a good pass comes to him. And Gerrard was just happy to do his part driving things along. In fact, it could have capped a fine move when Reina released him on a counter-attack. As the advancing horde of RED MEN descended on Paul Robinson’s goal, the move presented Stevie G with an in-step shot to the top corner.. only to be saved brilliantly by Robinson, who showed why he was once England’s No 1 keeper.

Finally the winner.. it was just a simple cross by Cole, angled and collected by Torres at the far side who stayed onside.. and deftly placed the ball away from the keeper rather than blazing it over the bar as other strikers might end up doing.

A simple winner by Torres, but more importantly.. it puts back the smile on his face.. and his teammates.. and all of us fans.. worldwide.

The post Match Review : Liverpool 2 – Blackburn 1 appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

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As expected Torres, Gerrard, Lucas, Meireles and Cole* return to the starting lineup after being rested on Thursday.

No word on what happened with Aurelio as he is not even in the lineup.

Starting XI: Reina, Konchesky, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Lucas, Meireles, Maxi, Cole, Gerrard, Torres
Subs: Jones, Jovanovic, Babel, Ngog, Poulsen, Shelvey, Kelly.

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*Cole did play for a few minutes on Thursday

The post Lineup vs Blackburn appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Following our stalemate in Naples we return to Anfield to face Blackburn Rovers and their big foul mouthed manager.

Blackburn are known for their aggressive play and unfortunately we have had many injuries in the last few seasons playing against them. The only thing I like about Blackburn is the fact that their sponsor is “Crown Paints” which brings back wonderful memories of when used to sponsor Liverpool.

Some are calling this as possibly Roy Hodgson’s last game at Liverpool and should we fail to win I think it might be true. The irony is that Blackburn were relegated in 1998 following a terrible start under Roy’s leadership, Hodgson was eventually fired but it was too late as Rovers were still relegated.

The gaffer has some injuries to deal with; Daniel Agger and Dirk Kuyt are still injured and Glen Johnson is doubtful. I think that he will give Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky a rest following the game on Thursday and opt for the Brazilian duo (Fabio Aurelio and Lucas Leiva) instead.

Predicted Lineup:
Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Fabio Aurelio, Lucas Leiva, Raul Meireles, Maxi Rodriguez, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Fernando Torres

Kick off is at 3PM BST

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