After finishing the premier league season 2010-11 with a gusto , the expectations on the red on the red half of Merseyside were high.
A Liverpool side languishing in Twelfth had managed to salvage the season . Kenny Dalglish had worked his magic charm , the confidence was back and Liverpool were playing with a sting in their tail .
But , in retrospect , it was all too late and sixth was a paltry showing for a side boasting the likes of Pepe Reina , Jamie Carragher , Raul Meireles , Steven Gerrard , Glen Johnson , Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez.
Nevertheless , Melwood was buzzing with excitement in earnest for the new season.
The Liverpool side last season had a lot of glaring loopholes . Defensive and attacking reinforcements were needed . Our New American owners made no secret of the fact that they were willing to invest heavily into the squad .
Kenny Dalglish drew out his transfer-targets and began pursuit swiftly. First in-line was the surprising signing of Sunderland's young midfielder Jordan Henderson . Much coveted over the last few seasons because of his impressive performances at the stadium of light , earning him a call-up to the senior side , signing him raised a few eyebrows.Considering Liverpool have a plethora of midfielders , Signing Henderson for £16 MILLION showed a level of intent.
Charlie Adam's rise to prominence in the premiership was unmissable . So, it was only fitting that Liverpool jumped into swoop for him. Liverpool have for the past few seasons, lacked some serious width and a quality winger . Stewart Downing had put in match-winning performances for Aston Villa since signing and after a long-drawn out transfer saga , Downing put pen-to-paper on a five year deal at Anfield. Roma's Alexander Doni was next signed on a free . The Brazilian having endured a poor season with Roma , having fallen out of favour in Rome. In Doni , Liverpool possess an experienced back-up for Reina.
All the right moves were made in the transfer market and , now it was time for the players to function as a cohesive unit.
Pre-season is all about getting the players back into the right frame of mind , getting their fitness up to the mark and using a lot of the fringe players to gauge the depth of the squad. The pre-season fixture list was drawn up and Liverpool's fixtures were as follows - A trip to Asia , Hull City , Galatasaray , Valarenga and Valencia .
Copa America winner Luis Suarez was given the month off , Steven Gerrard was still recovering from a groin infection while all the new signings were expected to get a good run-out.
Pre-season gives the manager a clear indications of his side's strengths and weaknesses.
Liverpool have a massive fan base in Asia . So , it was a good ploy football and business-wise to play two friendlies in Malaysia and Singapore .
Liverpool kicked off their pre-season against Guangdong Sunray Cave. The game , on the whole was controlled by Liverpool . In the first half , Liverpool raced ahead with goals from David N'Gog and Christien Poulsen and stamped their immediate authority in the first half only have a goal pulled back because of slack marking. Kenny Dalglish rang out wholesale changes in the second half with the introduction of Charlie Adam , Alberto Aquilani in particular .The impressive Conner Coady scored the third slotting home brilliantly after trading passes with Andy Carroll
Charlie Adam showed glimpses of his wonderful array of passes , Liverpool showboated in the front of the cheering Chinese supporters. But football is an unpredictable game and Liverpool were caught napping as two quick-fire goals from The excellent Lu Lin and Ying Hongbo took the gloss of an established Liverpool performance . The Match ended 4-3 .
Next up for Liverpool was a trip to Malaysia to face the Malaysia XI . Liverpool started off well but faded off as the half wore on . Charlie Adam scored his first Liverpool through the penalty spot to give Liverpool the lead . Safiq Rahim equalised with a superb free-kick to make it 1-1 . The game sparked into action in the second half with both teams playing attractive ,flowing football. But Liverpool's experience and skill overwhelmed the Malaysian resistance as 2 goals each from David N'gog and Maxi Rodriguez put Liverpool into the driving seat.Malaysia XI fought back bravely though with quick goals from S.Sali but a Dirk Kuyt Goal demolished all hopes of a remarkable comeback . Liverpool winning comfortably on the night 6-3 . Alberto Aquilani was the standout performer for Liverpool pulling all the strings in central midfield.
However , the trend emerging was Liverpool's inability to keep a clean sheet. After the Asian escapade it was back to England for the remaining fixtures .
Hull City at the KC Stadium was Liverpool's next encounter.
Liverpool's new signings Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing were on the bench while Alexander Doni was given his debut. Hull City started the sharper of the two sides and broke the deadlock on 21 minutes with a superb strike from on-loan Manchester United youngster Robbie Brady. The home side doubled their lead 13 minutes later when Slovenian international Robert Koren found the net after working a one-two with Aaron McLean.Dalglish made 11 changes at half-time but failed to change the outcome of the game as Hull added a third following sloppy Liverpool defending to cap an impressive 3-0 win . Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson failed to make a mark but showed a few touches of class . Next up on the menu was a daunting trip to Istanbul,Turkey. It was built-up as Liverpool's glorious return to the unforgettable city of Istanbul that marked the club's most famous triumph in 2005.
Galatasaray possess a lot of Europe's has-been coupled with skilful youth . Surprisingly , Liverpool fielded an under-strength squad with Charlie Adam , Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson not travelling with the squad. The game from the onset was dominated by an experienced Galatasaray squad . Two goals from former red Milan Baros and a thumping Volley from Johan Elmander sealed the game on a rather forgettable night for the reds. The Liverpool attack lacked cohesion and the defending was shambolic at times. Although a friendly , the manner of the defeat left much to be desired . Liverpool went back to the drawing board and after a hard workout at Melwood travelled to Oslo to play unfancied Norwegian Valerenga . Liverpool put out a strong amidst criticism following the Galatasaray game with Glen Johnson (playing his first game) Jordan Henderson , Charlie Adam , Stewart Downing , Dirk Kuyt , Daniel Agger and Andy Carroll all starting. Liverpool dominated the early exchanges with Downing , Kuyt and Carroll linking up well. Valerenga took the lead though against the run of play with a low cross from the left that was neatly slotted home by Lars Iver Strand . Minutes later the Norwegian’s went two ahead as the ball broke to Yssouf Kone inside the Liverpool box and, while he was in the act of shooting, he was carelessly, clipped by Charlie Adam and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Fegor Ogude finished off a neat penalty giving Reina no chance . Liverpool huffed-puffed after that without threatening the Valerenga Goal . Just before the half-time interval , the impressive Stewart Downing delivered a delightful cross towards Andy Carroll who controlled and finished a well worked goal . In the second half , Liverpool grew into the game and dominated possession following the introduction of Alberto Aquilani . The Italian International , rumoured with a move away from the club , forcing two good saves from the Valerenga keeper . The Liverpool pressure finally paid off as Daniel Agger scored off two Aquilani corners to put Liverpool 3-2 up . Liverpool looked to have pulled a narrow comeback only to be denied by a wonderful 20 yard goal from Mohammad fellah as he dribbled past two Liverpool defenders and struck a rasping left-footed shot past the helpless Reina. The match ended 3-3 , a fair result in the end.
Liverpool's final pre-season game was at Anfield against Valencia . On paper , Valencia was the toughest fixture . The pressure was on the hosts as they needed to perform in front a expectant crowd following a mixed pre-season. After a cagey start , Valencia defender Davil Albelda made a back pass that was intercepted by Andy Carroll and after his initial shot hit the post , He made sure of the rebound finishing expertly from an acute angle to give Liverpool the lead. Juan Mata found himself overshadowed by a decade of Premier League experience in Downing, whose barrage of deliveries into the Valencia area began in the opening minutes. Valencia barely threatened Pepe Reina's goal and they failed to find their rhythm . The second half continued much like the first with a pedestrian Valencia performance and Liverpool failing to make the most of Downing's whipped balls from the flanks. The game got its second goal as Sotirios Kyrgiakos scrambled home a Jay Spearing free-kick from the Left . Liverpool ran out comfortable victors with a deserved 2-0 victory . The victory came at a cost as Glen Johnson picked up an Hamstring strain which will rule him out for two weeks.
And with that , came to end a mixed pre-season for Liverpool FC having won 3 games , losing 2 and drawing 1 .
The fringe players showed a lack of class and skill . Players like Christian Poulsen , Jonjo Shelvey ,Emiliano Insua , Philip Degen ,David N'gog, Daniel Ayala and Joe Cole are far from proving they are Liverpool material . The youth players like Andre Wisdom , John Flanagan , Conner Coady , Jack Robinson and Raheem Sterling impressed and showed that the future is bright for Liverpool football club. Amongst the most notable indicators from pre-season were Liverpool's lack of defensive cover , inconsistent attacking play and creativity in the final third . At times , they looked one-dimensional with their direct passing . Alberto Aquilani was easily Liverpool's best player combining immense technical ability with flair and accurate passing . Liverpool's new signings Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing put in able performances . Jordan Henderson needs to play more games to justify his £16 million price tag. Daniel Agger needs to remain fit in order to steady the defensive shift . Andy Carroll looked sharp in the final two games . With Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez to come back into the squad , Liverpool have the necessary depth this season to finish in the top four . Consistency in the away games has been Liverpool's downfall past seasons . With abundant and variable resources available this time , it remains to be seen what actually transpires on the football pitch.
Written by Mayank Adhye, who blogs at The Musical Escapade and also a Reds supporter.
The 22-year-old Frenchman has been a long-time target of Trotters boss Owen Coyle, who is desperate to add a striker to his ranks before tomorrow's transfer deadline.
Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owner, has met the Uruguay champions' current valuation of their 6ft 6in centre-half as they look to provide the manager, Kenny Dalglish, with his sixth summer signing.
The Italy international midfielder was left out of the Reds’ 18-man squad for Saturday’s 2-0 win at Arsenal and appears to be surplus to requirements at Anfield.
The 24-year-old came off the bench to make it 2-0 following an unfortunate Aaron Ramsey own goal.
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Reports regarding Shawcross joining Liverpool have increased since Pulis seemingly signed covering options in Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson.
Enrique will become Dalglish's fifth signing of the summer and join Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Doni at Anfield.
Dann was a player who was definitely tipped to be heading to the Premiership after Birmingham City were relegated at the end of last season.
Now, two tweets from Liverpool Argentinean fullback, Emiliano Insua has hinted that his future could lie away from Anfield next season.
Kenny Dalglish is working hard to shipped out the deadwoods at Anfield to refill his transfer kitty for at least one more new player before the new season kick-off.
According from source close to the club, another midfielder, Joe Cole looks set to return to West London to join Queens Park Rangers on loan for the 2011/12 season.
The Reds conceded 12 goals in four pre-season games and Dalglish is well aware that if his side is to match expectations of a top-four finish, he'll have to strengthen the department.
Yesterday match against Valerenga which ended in a 3-3 draw in Oslo and the Italian international played a major part in Liverpool coming from behind to drew level at 2-2 in the second half.
