Make Us Dream

This entertaining book is somewhat of a revelation, the type of book that many a fan wishes they could write about their beloved football side. However, what strikes you most about the book is that it is ultimately one about belief and inspiration.

From the foreword by Ben Smith, the book is about how an unheralded Liverpool side came mightily close to winning the Premier League ahead of the eventual champions Manchester City; only succumbing in the last week of a tumultuous season.

Neil Atkinson and John Gibbons, are born and bred Red, and host a successful podcast entitled The Anfield Wrap, which has seen them host shows in Australia, USA and Ireland.  Whilst this reader has never heard that podcast, the wit and humour in the writing makes it one to seek out for a true unbiased view of the club.

The book takes on a chronological slant on the season, so you get a sense of the writing as the season progresses, with the match reports begin filed shortly after the game.  You get a sense of the smell of Anfield and of a city enjoying its return to the limelight.  The best writing comes from the more emphatic victories namely those at home against Everton (4-0) and Arsenal (5-1).

Also the glowing for one Luis Suarez, is telling in that you were witnessing one of the great single seasons in Football league history, and to think he couldn't play for the first 9 games of the season.

You even get a sense of when they cannot be at the game for work commitments such as when one writer is stuck on a plane while Liverpool play; the sense of helplessness at the situation and the frustration when 28 text messages arrive when you turn your phone back on.

It's quite right that a book about this specific Liverpool season should be chronicled, at times they were the best team in the land and much like those entertainers of Newcastle in 1994/95 who came up short for Kevin Keegan, there's is a side that will live longer in the memory than the actual champions. And thanks to this book the memory will never fade. 

Walk on dear reader 

Make Us Dream is published by DeCourbetin Press and is available at their website for £9.99 or from all good online retailers.

Follow the guys for more at the audiobook 

And on twitter @makeusdreambook 

Lamenting Liverpool

Liverpool FC are supposedly in crisis, they have one point from there first 3 games. They have failed to score in two of those games, they gifted the one point to their opponent in the other.  They have just offloaded a certain striker.  Yet this is Liverpool, they play to full houses, they still have quality in the squad yet this is a crisis.

You may detect a whiff of sarcasm in that opening paragraph, mainly because this is not a crisis.  This is a team in transition.  Over the summer, the decision was made to inject fresh blood into brand Liverpool by the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) led by John Henry, who owns the Boston Red Sox.

They sacked legend Kenny Dalglish and hired Brendan Rodgers from Swansea City, who elevated the southern Wales team from the Championship to the Premier League; leapfrogging Cardiff and playing football that was both beautiful and profitable.  Rodgers employed the tactic of tika-taka football like Barcelona, using a lot of possession to frustrate opponents yet being clinical with finishing; in their first season in the Premier League, they were safe with something to spare winning many friends and respect from fans.

Rodgers needed to get some talent in, yet for some reason the funds that were available to King Kenny - who bought Carroll, Downing, Henderson, Adam - were seemingly this time unavailable to Rodgers.  Rodgers did manage to bring one stalwart of his Swansea side, Joe Allen with him; and they were able to swat away admirers of Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Luis Suarez to remain at the club.

Now Rodgers has a side with general quality, but no impact players apart from Andy Carroll on the bench, then Liverpool made the costly decision of letting him go to West Ham on loan for the season.  Carroll's debut for the Hammers on Saturday for an hour before an untimely hamstring injury, showed him at his best. A fearsome aerial target who brought fear to the Fulham defence, his mere presence led to two goals coming from set pieces as West Ham maintained a 100% home record.

Liverpool on the same weekend at home to Arsenal looked toothless and lifeless in attack.  Rodgers system of 4-2-3-1 is all well and good for keeping possession and soaking up pressure but if you do not have the right people doing the right jobs it will come with no end result.

The problem for Rodgers and most importantly Liverpool is that they have a personnel issue.  The players there are not the right ones for the job.  At Swansea, he had men like Neil Taylor, Leon Britton, Gylfi Sigurdsson who could do a job in linking up with Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge whose pace was second to none, whilst Danny Graham would be that goal poacher up front.

Liverpool unfortunately have a midfield general in Steven Gerrard who has always been more combative than  creative; he is good in a fight but he has never had a good touch and his wayward pass led to Arsenal's first breakaway goal.  That goal was also helped by a wayward defensive display by Glen Johnson at right back. Whilst Rodgers must like the idea of having Johnson bombing forward, he must not neglect his defensive duties that left Messrs Skrtel and Agger exposed as Lukas Podolski scored his and Arsenal's first goal of the season.

Also, Pepe Reina is having a bad time or crisis in confidence.  In midweek he dropped a shot from a Hearts player into the net, adding to the number of goalkeeper errors occurring so far this season; but he was to blame for allowing Santi Carzola to seal the game on 68 minutes as he was down too slowly and it ricocheted into his net.

Rodgers would be better served, using Martin Kelly when available at right back and morph Johnson into a right winger like Gareth Bale did for Tottenham in those nights against Inter Milan. With Johnson and Stirling down two wings you have the pace of Dyer and Routledge replicated.  It does bear a question as to why they did not pursue Scott Sinclair who has been sold to Manchester City, when he clearly wanted away.  Whilst Allen is a good player, he will not win you matches like Sinclair possibly can.

So is Rodgers to blame for raiding his former club for the wrong players?  Liverpool are not in crisis, they just maybe put themselves in that position.

Premier League 2011/12 Review - Week#2 - Tuesday 23rd August

Week 2 of the Premier League will be remembered as one where the wheels came off at Arsenal, and the two Manchester clubs laid down markers for the season.

Firstly, lets start with the bad news at the Emirates.  Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to a cohesive Liverpool side, admittedly it took the needless sending off of Frimpong (two in two for Arsenal on that front) and the introduction of Luis Suarez to inject something into the rain-soaked affair.  Suarez's intervention led to Aaron Ramsey putting through his own net, though a clearance ricocheting off his chest over the stranded Sczezeny can be construed as unlucky, and then Suarez tapped in the sealer in injury time.  
    Before that Arsenal looked limp in attack - devoid of creation and impetus.  The encouraging aspect was that Frimpong was the best player before his dismissal, but the constant ill discipline (81 players sent off in the Wenger era) coupled with absentism through injury of vital players such as Wilshere, means that Arsenal have started the season with no continuity and no formula for success.  Along with the uncomfortable saga of Samir Nasri's move to Man.City and you have an anguished Wenger on the sidelines cluthcing at straws putting a team together as best he can. 
    And all this before a vital Champions League play-off game on Wednesday night in Italy against Udinese, where Arsenal hold a tentative one-nil lead - though Udinese showed enough combative effort to make sure that the second leg will not be easy.  Arsenal may well score, but the lack of Wilshere travelling means Wenger may force City's bluff and play Nasri rendering him cup-tied for the season in that competition.

Man.City kept up there 100% record beating Bolton 3-2 at the Reebok thanks to goals from David Silva, Gareth Barry and Edin Dzeko. 
   Silva was inspirational, whilst Agureo looked a little off the pace in his first start - later to be substituted by Tevez in a like for like situation.  Dzeko led the front well and relishes the prospect of having two people behind him feeding balls to him, and he took the third goal well.
    However, it is in defence where the questions will be asked.  Kompany and Lescott could not handle the imposing presence of Kevin Davies, who scored Bolton's second with a header simply by outjumping Lescott.
    If Mancini, has the belief that they can outscore every team then they probably are capable but teams will ask more questions of their defence than Bolton did, and last year's incarnation of City would probably have dropped points.

As for Man.Utd, they joined their neighbours and Wolves as the only teams who are perfect.  United continued their impressive PL record at home against Spurs, not losing at home to them since 1989 when Gary Lineker scored a winner.  Gazza did not cry until 1990, now he cries all the time, thats how long ago Spurs last won at Old Trafford.
   Spurs, playing there first league game of the season, following the postponement of their home game to Everton following the civil unrest in the area looked a bit of the pace by the end of the game, but for an hour more than held their own against the Champions.  Good in possession, creating chances and with Van der Vaart employing a shoot on sight policy against the ropey David de Gea, Tottenham looked good for a point.  Until the hour mark when a cross from the ever stable Tom Cleverley was met by the head of Danny Welbeck who again started with Rooney. 
    After that, the wind fell out of Tottenham and the fight left them and United with the lead and the superiority and a typical boisterous crowd roaring them on, had the wind in their sails.  And it was scary at how good United looked, the last half hour was a passage of irresistible passing and movement, never more apparent than the second goal when Welbeck in a one-two with scorer, Anderson, backheeled to the Brazilian who had an easy task of scoring past Brad Friedel, who was impressive in goal on his Spurs' debut and was blameless for any of the goals. 
   Jermain Defoe hit the post on 88 minutes, and that might have made it interesting but the introduction of a trifecta subs of Hernandez, Park and youngster Giggs meant United could keep possession of the ball and Giggs duly teed up Rooney for the third with a well-placed header.

City may be going to plan at the moment, but United worryingly look a better side at this stage with a stronger squad this season compared to last year's Champions League finalists.  With Vidic and Ferdinand injured, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans did an admirable job and maintained a clean sheet, no matter how many times De Gea fumbled the ball - Cleverley is growing slowly in stature, Ashley Young is offering something different on the wing and Welbeck's loan spell at Sunderland has paid dividends as he looks stronger and hungry to impress up front this season.  And Fergie has Chicarito and Berbatov available on the bench, and he could still add to the squad with nine days left of the transfer window.

United were my prediction for the title and so far (apart from that worrying keeper) they remain the favourites in that degree.